In the modern world, where an impression of a person is formed in the first seconds of visual contact, the way a person dresses can say a lot about them.
Their professional field, status, self-confidence, culture, mood, values, and even their type of thinking: analytical or more creative. Through style, people establish connections and find common ground, while differences also become noticeable.
Maryna Kostogryz is a designer and stylist with many years of experience who applies her own unique methodology when working with clients. She creates a cohesive and recognizable image that becomes a personal signature and clearly conveys a person’s character and interests. She also shares her experience in shaping personal style.
“When style is built systematically, it begins to work like a language – it explains without words who you are and what value you carry,” she says.
According to the expert, style is not something intuitive or chaotic, it is a system that is built according to certain principles and has an important impact on a person’s life and activities. It can be quite difficult to build this system on your own, which is why today the profession of a stylist is becoming increasingly necessary and popular.
About Maryna’s unique approach
When forming a style, Maryna uses a systematic approach.
“My unique method of creating a personal style is a built, structured scheme of working with each client. I start with getting to know them, interviewing them, carefully identifying each client’s needs, and together we form a moodboard. A visual concept developed together with the client allows me to feel the style and inspires me to create a personalized style or develop styling for a photoshoot, film or stage image,” she says.
The designer is convinced that it is important for a professional stylist to always work through a dialogue in order to take into account the preferences and desires of the customer as much as possible. Next, after the communication and information gathering stage, creativity comes into play. First, the picture is born inside Maryna, in her imagination and perception, and then it is realized externally through images and decisions. She usually works intuitively and in a state of flow.
Then this internal process goes into practice. Applying her own methodology of working with clients, the woman creates something new and unique.
In the process of working with style, she uses the following basic principles:
– complete personalization;
– distancing from the noise of trends and new releases and creating a space for getting to know the client;
– experience+system+intuition;
– uniqueness.
Style as a visual code
“The client is always a co-creator in this process: shares their vision, tastes, sends references and takes a direct part in the formation of their future identity,” says the designer. “During communication, I get to know the personality, their preferences, tastes, strengths, history. I find out what influenced them, their goals, purpose and professional intentions, what inspires the person and try to find their unique feature.
Each answer is an element of a holistic visual picture. For example, if a person is an architect by profession – Maryna will use more textured things when selecting an image. If the client is fond of traveling to Japan, the designer will partially add things from Japanese brands or in the style of a Japanese theme to the wardrobe.
“In addition, each person has their own visual code, some detail that will be traced in all images. Someone will always add something red, someone will always combine different textures. Such elements become a person’s signature element, by which they are recognized. If this distinctive feature or visual code is not yet defined, I help to find and express it through style”.
The main goal of a stylist’s work is to express a person’s identity through clothing, wardrobe, creating an individual image and strengthening it through accessories, shapes, colors and the use of individual brands. The idea is that through this formed image, people around them should be able to first emotionally feel, and then see the person and their professional skills.
“I analyze a lot when working with a client, I look for images in which a person will feel confident, successful and inspired. I highlight what is important to keep and what is better to remove from the wardrobe” – says Maryna.
Personal style or trendy?
“I prefer not to be driven by trends, but I always stay interested in new ones and follow them,” – says Maryna.
In her words, the formation of style is primarily about the personality and goals that need to be achieved through the image and personalization. Trends are always fleeting, impulsive. They should be taken into account, not imitated, but used as inspiration. Successfully combine in the image, integrate individual details, but still rely on individuality.
“A trendy thing can appear in the wardrobe, but as an accent, and it is worth considering that it will not be worn for long. However, since all trends are repeated after years, this thing can be used later,” she says.
Style as a tool for professional positioning
Personal style directly affects the perception of professionalism and status of a person. It can enhance trust, emphasize expertise, and convey values. And the systematic approach to its formation, which Maryna applies, ensures the recognition and stability of the image.
In the designer’s practice, there are many cases when a change in style has affected a person’s career. For example, her work with models aged 45+ in New York, who are actively developing their careers: they are published in magazines, featured in advertising campaigns, walk the runway, collaborate with famous designers.
“Their portfolio is crucial for success. Therefore, I made every effort to create impactful styling for a photoshoot that enhanced their visibility and helped them stand out from other models of this age category. And as a result: one of the models was noticed by the owner of the magazine and she received an invitation to shoot for the cover after the photoshoot I styled. Another woman’s request was to completely change the style of her photoshoots. The model usually styled her outfits according to her age and in a casual style. Although in reality she dreamed of wearing dresses and working with popular labels. To create her look, I used several dresses from famous brands. And these same brands offered her work shortly after our interaction,” Maryna says.
Maryna also works with models who are just starting their professional journey. She creates looks for portfolios and participates in collaborative styling photoshoots. It is important for novice models to get noticed and get their first contracts, and a professional portfolio strengthens them and helps them with this. Thanks to a successfully created look, new opportunities open up for beginners: working with international modeling agencies, magazines and photographers.
“I style their looks in a way that shows their strengths, makes them bright, unforgettable and thanks to this, they gain recognition and new career opportunities,” says the designer.
After working with Maryna, clients become more confident, begin to express themselves more confidently and present themselves publicly. Through the created images, the stylist opens up new opportunities for them. For example, after a professionally styled photo shoot, one of Maryna’s clients began publishing her content on social networks and, as a result, experienced significant audience growth (+2000 subscribers per month), new projects, and participation in competitions. Another updated her portfolio and this helped her establish new contacts with photographers, designers and the media.
This demonstrates that style is a powerful tool for personal branding and positioning.
Relevance in an international context
Maryna Kostogryz’s practical experience demonstrates that her unique, systematic approach to personal style works effectively in an international environment. In the global fashion industry, where competition is extremely high, it is important to have your own unique identity, a feature that can be formed in collaboration with a stylist. Therefore, when working with clients, the style expert focuses on creating a visual concept that will help a person stand out and integrate into the professional environment. She creates clear yet individual images that contribute to the integration of clients into the international space and help them confidently express their uniqueness.
