Sammi Woo: fashion stylist

One of the things I absolutely adore about the fashion scene in this cosmopolitan Shanghai, it incorporates luxury, art, and culture… it's the perfect place to explore the elusive idea of personal style. The blending of contemporary popular culture with traditional aesthetics makes this fashion so artistic and refreshing. So many social media pictures filled with a range of stand-out and experimental styles breaking all rules.. or following some. You don't have to be in the fashion industry to throw some serious looks.

在国际化的上海，我最喜欢时尚界的一点是它融合了奢华、艺术与文化……这里是探索个人风格这一难以捕捉的想法的完美场所。当代流行文化与传统美学的融合使得这种时尚在具有艺术性的同时令人耳目一新。许多发布在的社交媒体上的图片充满了才华横溢的和实验性的风格，它们打破了所有的规则……或者你也可以可以说它们遵循了一些规则。你无需身处时尚行业，你自己就能展示这些有想法的造型。

One of my favourite things is the markets, especially the Savvy Exchanger market, where I first met Sammi Woo. She is a fashion stylist who knows how to throw down some serious looks, and worth hearing her insights. When I met her, she had a stall at the market, and I was trying to bargain on a dress there. 2 years later, a couple of likes on her Wechat posts, and a friend prompting me to message, I finally asked her if I could write an article on her and she agreed. I am always very excited about getting some insights on different stylists and how things work around them.

我最喜欢的事情之一是逛市集，特别是Savvy Exchanger市集，这里也是我第一次遇见Sammi Woo的地方。Sammi Woo是一位时尚造型师，她知道如何抛弃循规蹈矩的造型，她对时尚的见解很值得倾听。当我遇到她时，她在市场上有一个摊位，而我正在那里试图给一条裙子讲价。两年后，在她的微信朋友圈里有一些赞，还有一个朋友催我给她留言，我终于问她是否可以写一篇关于她的文章，她同意了。我总是很兴奋能得到来自于不同造型师的见解，以及了解他们的生活是如何运作的。

So, tell us a little bit about your background, how you kind of got started as a fashion stylist. What determined your passion for fashion? 那么，告诉我们一些你的背景，你是如何成为一名时尚造型师的？是什么使你对时尚产生了热情？

I grew up in a time when we would collect magazines and go through them page by page. My favourite, especially when I was a teenager, was Elle magazine. To say the least, I was so obsessed with the outfits and the looks. I also wanted to try the different styles, and honestly, I enjoyed this very much and still do. When I graduated from university, English was my interest, so my mum found a job advertisement in the newspaper for an English translator. I went for the interview, which turned out to be a model agency. They were looking for a model agent to work with models from around the world. Of course, I took up the job! Working as an agent was super fun; you meet good-looking young girls/boys from different countries and go to different jobs with them. Help them to solve problems. I did this for almost 8 years, and because I enjoyed this a lot, I stayed in the industry but became a fashion stylist.

我成长在一个我们会收集杂志并逐页翻阅的时代。我最喜欢的，尤其是当我还是青少年的时候最喜欢的，是《Elle》杂志。至少可以说，我对那些服装和造型非常着迷。我还想尝试不同的风格，说实话，我非常喜欢这样，现在也是如此。当我大学毕业时，英语是我的兴趣所在，因此我妈妈在报纸上为我找到了一个招聘英语翻译的广告。我去参加了面试，结果是一家模特经纪公司。他们正在寻找一位模特经纪人，这个职位将与来自世界各地的模特一起工作。我当然接受了这份工作。成为一名经纪人是非常有趣的，你会遇到来自不同国家的好看的年轻女孩和男孩，并和他们一起经历各式各样的工作，帮助他们解决问题。我做了将近八年，因为我非常喜欢这份工作，所以我留在了这个行业，但转而成为了一名时尚造型师。

Can you remember your first fashion experience? Describe it a bit, whether it is an outfit you put together at 4 years old, or something impactful in your experiences 你还记得第一次和时尚相关的经历吗，无论它是你四岁时拼接的一件套装或者对你有重大影响的经历，简单描述一下吧

I’ve always loved fashion for as long as I can remember. When I was in kindergarten, my mum bought me Barbie. I preferred to dress her in different clothes so we would make clothes for her together. It was so fun and I can still remember the pieces we made. One of my favourites was a black bra top and a high waist A line skirt.

从记事起我就一直热爱时尚，当我上幼儿园的时候我妈妈给我买了芭比娃娃，我尤其喜欢给她们穿不同的衣服所以我和妈妈会一起给娃娃做衣服，这非常有趣我还能记得我们做的一些零碎衣服，其中我最喜欢的是黑色胸衣，一条高腰A字短裙.

Selecting an outfit can mean tapping into your creative. What’s your thought process when selecting an outfit.

Getting into a space where you are comfortable picking out your clothes takes time and patience. When selecting an outfit, I will first consider the occasion for dressing up. I’ll think about what to match with this outfit and if there’s any other way to wear it. When I select an outfit, I like to make sure it represents my style.

Do you have a signature look? If we had a line up different models dressed by different stylists, how would we know which one was yours?

Accessories are always the first things I’ll look at; a classy simple look with a piece of eye-catching accessories can’t be wrong.

Your first styling experience, do you remember how that came about?

After almost 8 years in a model agency, I thought about going somewhere else to try to see if my life could be different. Then I thought about New York, which I have never been to. I went there and loved it so much! I studied in a language school for about 3 months, then I decided to stay longer since I love the city a lot! During that time, I visited many museums, department stores, and markets and met many interesting people and events like the mermaid parade; I felt like I finally MET the world. I think the time in NYC inspired me a lot; I figured out where I wanted to stay and what kind of lifestyle I wanted to be. I met a Dutch photographer. She was in the same class as my language school; we hung out and did creative shooting there. It could be my very first styling experience. So when I got back to China, I decided to move to Shanghai cause I wanted to live in a city that never sleeps.

Let's say you could travel back in time to one fashion era, where would you end up? What did you like about that period? 假如说你可以时间旅行回到时尚的某一个时期，你会去哪个时期？你喜欢那个时期的什么方面呢？

As I mentioned, accessories are a big part of my aesthetic, and the 80s were big on fashion and accessories. I’d love to travel back to that era, don the puff shoulder pad jacket, a pair of leather pants, and oversized hoop earrings.

像我刚刚提到的，饰品是我审美观的主要构成部分，而上个世纪80年代是时尚和饰品的重要时期，我很想回到那个时代，穿着泡泡袖垫肩的皮夹克，一条皮裤，和超大的耳环。

What's the best style advice you've received?

The appropriate bare skin can optimize the proportion of the body, such as showing a little waist can visually elongate the ratio of the legs, V-neck can lengthen the face line, and some partially naked clothes will also appear unique and interesting. 适当的裸露肌肤可以优化身材的比例 比如露一点腰部 可以视觉上拉长腿的比例 V领可以拉长脸部线条 而一些部分裸露款式的衣服也会显得特别和有趣

What items do you feel are worth splurging on? And as for deals, everyone loves a good deal, what are some of your favorite places to find budget buys?

你认为最值得闭眼购入的单品是什么？从性价比来讲，人人都想买得划算，你喜欢去哪些地方淘一些划算的买卖？

Silver jewellery is the item I’ll always buy; I used to wear jewellery only in gold, then someday I just switched to silver which I still can’t figure out why. I’m a fan of second-hand swaps and markets, where I can find unique pieces at a very reasonable price, and sometimes I get them for free!

银饰是我会一直购买的的单品。曾经我只佩戴金色饰品，但直到现在我也不知道为什么有一天会突然转向银制饰品。我是一个二手交易市场爱好者，在这些市场里可以淘到独一无二且价格合理的物品，甚至有时候都是免费送的！

If you could choose a celebrity closet to shop in, who's would it be and why? 如果你可以选择去一个名人的衣柜购物，你会选择谁的衣柜，为什么？

I have lived vicariously through Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City and indulged in every single episode; Carrie will always be my muse. The fashion exposition on the show always blows my mind. The items she has and how she wears them are all my inspirations. 我曾经代入了凯莉布雷肖并借此深深沉迷于欲望都市的每一季剧集，凯莉永远是我的缪斯，剧中的时尚博览会时刻都在冲击着我的头脑，她的每一件单品以及她穿戴它们的方式都是我的灵感来源。

What is your favorite item in your closet?

你最爱的你衣柜里的一件单品是什么？

A Tiffany blue vintage jacket that I got in a swap. I never found something else with the same colour.

在交易市场淘到的一件蒂芙尼蓝的夹克，目前我还没见过和它颜色一样的物品。

Do you have a style philosophy?.

Always be curious about new things and don't forget to wear accessories!

永远对新鲜事物保持好奇以及不要忘记戴饰品！