Styling 101 with Isaiah Dorty
His hope to see more diversity in the fashion industry led to his journey as a stylist in 2015.
Isaiah Dorty by Naporje Washington
As a stylist who’s worked with TiaCorine, Jari Jones, and Abby Jasmine, Isaiah Dorty knows the ins and outs of styling and putting outfits together. Born in North Carolina and now working out of Brooklyn, he began his journey as a stylist in 2015 while still in college. His fashion spark kindled when he saw a desire to see more diversity in the fashion industry — and who better to represent than Dorty?
“I noticed a lack of representation for people who looked like me in this field, and I also knew that my creative vision was different from what I had seen growing up,” says Dorty. “Therefore, I decided to use my skills to showcase black plus-size and LGBTQIA+ bodies and include them in more editorials and fashion shoots.”
Some celebrities on Dorty’s bucket list to style include Tems and Indya Moore. He says their aesthetics blend with his and knows he can create show-stopping looks with them. Dorty gives 1202 MAGAZINE his step-by-step process for styling clients and putting his own looks together.
TiaCorine styled by Isaiah Dorty, shot by Sam Flanders
Create a mood board.
Listen to what the client wants and analyze how to put a unique twist to their interests.
Find inspiration through various mediums.
Vogue Runway, Instagram, and Pinterest are great platforms to find inspiration should there be any trouble seeing the vision. Dorty emphasizes that emerging Black and POC brands influence him to help build their platforms.
Start building looks.
Take photos of individual articles of clothing that were pulled, and play around with the clothes until a complete look is achieved. If there are physical clothes, mannequins are beneficial to bring looks together.
Conduct a fitting.
This step often involves sewing, tailoring, and hemming to ensure an outfit is movable, functional, and well-fitted.
Plan a photo shoot with the subject wearing the final outfit.
Whether the photos are taken on a phone or a camera, taking pictures of completed looks is always a great idea to gather a portfolio and display achievements.
