Fashion Glossary UK x Joanna Hir
24th February
Words by Chimmy Lawson
CLASS OF 2014
The graduation ceremonies are over and the new students are completely settled in and looking forward to the end of term. Magazines across the world have just published their “ones to watch” lists but who’s reached the top of Fashion Glossary’s Class of 2014 program?
Joanna Hir is a London based creative who specialises in fashion styling for runway shows, editorials and music videos. She also produces styling projects on a celebrity and commercial level. Additionally, Joanna is a well known DJ on the fashion and indie scene. DJing has been on my bucket list since I was a reckless 6 year old getting scowled at by my Aunty for gallantly singing along to Horny ’98, so Hir is already my girl crush.
I met up with her to discuss her achievements, her views, and society’s hot topic – girl power.
CHIMMY LAWSON: What one word would you use to describe what you do?
Joanna Hir: Talk about starting with a hard question! Wow. I guess create. I create. Everything I do involves creating. I style, I consult, I produce…I create. I also look after the business side of fashion. I build brand awareness. I also do this through my styling work. I aim to send certain messages though my jobs.
CL: What kind of messages?
JH: I want people to forget that what I am doing is fashion. I want it to be seen as art. [Pause] Like paintings! Completely out of this world. Sadly not everyone does what they love. I want those people to look at me work and feel excited. That’s why people buy magazines. It’s a way of appreciating something beyond your everyday life.
CL: Do you try to send the same messages when you DJ?
JH: [Laughs]. Not really! I DJ at fashion parties all around London but mainly in East. It’s the same sort of crowd but a different line of work. I see it as a hobby rather than a profession.
CL: Well I wish I had such a cool hobby! Collecting bottle caps just doesn’t have the same effect... Like yourself, I am a very creative person. Most people assume that people in creative industries aren't strong academically, how do you feel about this?
JH: I totally disagree! Most creatives actually have strong academic backgrounds. I have a BA in Business and a Masters in fashion marketing. I am actually a nerd! Styling was just a hobby for me at the beginning. But I feel like the two go hand in hand.
CL: I think people underrate the power of a degree and the fashion sector is notoriously known as the hardest industry to crack. How did you break the curse?
JH: I always say, “If it’s meant to be, you will find a way”. I didn’t always know that I wanted to work in fashion. It doesn’t really exist back home (Poland). When I came to London, I enrolled on a business for fashion course at LCF and assisted the styling course leader at the same time. Nobody really believed I could make it. But my life changed when I started the course, and I haven’t looked back since.
CL: And then the perfectly beautiful Princess Joanna lived happily ever after?
JH: [Laughs]. Not like that! But I believe in the power of the mind. I think that everyone is control of their own reality. Self belief is extremely important. Positive thoughts too. That’s why I find it so crucial to surround yourself with positive people who actually support you.
If you didn’t think Joanna was living the dream up until this point, you will soon. Miss Hir has some amazing brands on her curriculum vitae, with one of them being underground megabrand KTZ. KTZ was almost unheard of a few seasons ago, but with the help of a few billion dollar net worth celebrities Kokon to Zai (not everyday acronym) has come punching out of the closet like Elton John after his public masquerade of a wedding to Renate Blauel.
"KTZ was a brand with amazing product that lacked the awareness it needed. Celebrities show that the brand is wearable and can be toned down."
CL: You've done a lot of work with KTZ which has had huge celebrity interest recently, do you think that this works for or against a relatively underground brand?
JH: It’s amazing! Before all of the celebrity hype, KTZ was a brand with amazing product that lacked the awareness it needed. Celebrities show that the brand is wearable and can be toned down. You don’t have to be as out there and bold as it is in the catwalk. For example, Rihanna is a great ambassador for the brand. These days celebrities are looked up to and praised more than any religious figure. [Pause]. If you give the right celebrity the right product, it is the best method of PR.
CL: Apart from. KTZ, who's AW14 show are you most looking forward to seeing?
JH: There’s so many! McQueen..Westwood.. Hood By Air. I absolutely love them all. I also like watching new designers. It’s nice to watch a show from a brand who has no boundaries on their creativity…
CL: Before the fame controls their thoughts?
JH: Yes. Fashion is purer before all of that. CL: Your own styling work is very expressive and liberating. How important do you think freedom is regarding todays fashion.
JH: I mean it depends. When it comes to commercial work, you have a strict brief from the editor. This doesn’t mean your work won’t be unique or good, it’s just more challenging. I prefer to style and produce as a package. I like having total freedom. It gives more of a creative impact. Fashion that comes from the heart is far more interesting.
CL: Fashion show producer, Etienne Russo said something very similar. He also said that with the invention of social media, everything has to be bigger and better. Do you agree?
JH: Social Media is an extremely useful marketing tool. Everyone always has their iPhone in their hand. Always! It makes fashion more accessible. It’s great for business.
CL: Yeah, it’s also great for stalking your boyfriend’s mates to make sure he is actually where he said he would be...
Unless you have been living under a rock trying to deal with your Celebrity Big Brother withdrawal symptoms, you should know that the F word has been making a proud appearance in near enough every publication under the sun. Feminism is a hotter topic than Miley Cyrus’s crotch (she claims to be the world’s biggest feminist by the way) but Joanna isn’t too keen on the word herself.
CL: Would you call yourself a feminist?
JH: No, not at all! I believe in girl power…
Zigga Zig ah anyone?
JH: I believe in equality. I think that right now, it is finally the time of the woman. But I’m not here to fight for my place and push out men. I am very traditional when it comes to all that. I am a warrior who chases her dreams, but I’m also feminine. There is no word for what I am. Not yet anyway! But I’m not a feminist. I want to inspire women. Independence is very sexy.
CL: Who are your female role models?
JH: I don’t have role models as such. But I look up to Coco Chanel. She took women out of corsets and changed womenswear fashion forever.
CL: Does it annoy you that corsets and overt sexuality is back “in” then?
JH: Sex sells! It’s a subtle truth. Being sexy is such a great tool. [Laughs]. A feminist would never say that! I like to represent sexy women who have more to offer. Talent and intelligence is the most attractive part of a woman though.
CL: Well if Coco, can I call her Coco? No? Okay. Well if Coco Chanel changed how women dress, what would you change about the fashion industry?
JH: [Sighs]. I would change how others look at the fashion industry. It’s not all glamorous. It is probably one of the few industries that can’t be started and finished between 9am and 5pm. We don’t all sit around drinking champagne and trying on clothes. Also, I would change how those in the industry behave. You don’t have to be a bitch! If it’s meant to be, it will, there is no need to kick and push others on your way up.
I honestly couldn’t have summed it up better than that. Joanna is truly a breath of fresh air, with not a pretentious bone in her enviably thin body. It is for this reason that Miss Joanna Hir, formally of Poland (sorry Anja Rubik, but she’s my favourite Pole now!) is teacher’s pet for Fashion Glossary UK’s Class of 2014.
Give the girl a sash!
Images from JoannaHir.com
Image shot by Giselle Palou