True to BSTN’s proprietary ‘Feed Fam, Fuck Fame!’ philosophy, we’re introducing you to some members of the immediate as well as the extended BSTN family. In their own words, they talk about themselves, their career, and selected topics close to their heart. This is Feed Fam – Episode XV featuring personal stylist Marco Halbinger:
On his earliest memories of fashion:
Ever since I was a little boy, I’ve always been interested in fashion. And if they didn’t have shoes in my size anymore and my dad got them for me in a bigger size, I used to stuff newspaper in the shoes so that I could wear them.
On his work with the likes of Shindy, David Alaba and Emilio Sakraya:
Today, I work with several people from different branches of show business. Actors, musicians, athletes. I try to make them feel comfortable with my work, so that they can find their own style. Just making it fun for them to dress.
I do a lot of different things: I dress people for events. I put together outfits for music videos. I take my clients to Paris for Fashion Week, we go to shows there, and I dress them for the shows, for the dinners in the evening, for the parties. I create stage outfits for tours: Two of my clients are musicians who go on tour once a year. So I dress them on tour and put together a wardrobe for their shows.
On his detour into fashion:
After graduating from school, I took the next best job in the trades that was at least a little creative. And that was a car painter. After more than ten years, I broke my metacarpals. During the time I was on sick leave, I realized, “This is definitely not what fulfills me and what I want to do for the rest of my life.”
Because I spent more time with colleagues than with my family and friends. And it wasn’t for me anymore, because, to me, work should always feel like fun. It’s not just about making money, but about having fun in life universally. And it’s about happiness.
So I quit my job overnight and followed my passion for fashion. I went to the Fashion Week in Berlin and met my subsequent boss there. I asked him if I could possibly retrain with him, he agreed, and so I worked at “Pool” [luxury concept store] in Munich’s Maximilianstraße and completed my training there.
After that, I first worked in a store again in Berlin, and then at a fashion PR agency of a friend of mine. There, I took care of events and showroom management.
On getting into styling:
After my time in Berlin, I went back to Munich and worked in a store again, but I didn’t really enjoy that either. At that time, David [Alaba] was looking for a stylist. Then one thing led to another and I started working with David and started doing his styling. And I’ve been doing that with him for about four years now.
On the importance of good vibes:
I enjoy working with everyone. The most important thing to me definitely is, that the personal relationship feels right. Because, of course, you’re very close to these people. Because you dress them. It doesn’t really get any closer than that. So it simply has to work on an interpersonal level.
Styling is not just a job. It also develops into a friendship. I know the families of my customers. I know their children. It’s very, very personal. So if the personal level would not work for me, then I could not work with a person at all.
On his sources of inspiration:
I get most of my inspiration from the Fashion Weeks. At the end of every Fashion Week day, I check the Vogue to watch the shows and get a lot of inspiration from there. But it’s also a lot of Instagram, where I stumble across people and look at the brands that have been tagged. The internet in general plays a big role. I do research on new brands and of course I always try to be the first to find certain brands, which I then use to dress my customers.
On outfits that didn’t work and the trust his clients put in him:
I never experienced that an outfit completely failed a client. But of course it’s like this with my customers: you have to approach things cautiously. In the beginning, not every piece works, and over a certain period of time you develop trust and then they dare to do more; you get more involved with the other person. I haven’t had a real fail yet though. But there have certainly been one or two times that a look of mine didn’t meet people’s taste, and then it wasn’t put on.
On what’s next:
In the best case, I will have fun my whole life making other people happy when I dress them. And it would definitely be nice to go to America at some point to see another market and work there. And possibly grow the whole thing. And maybe work with another stylist. I just want to enjoy doing what I do. That’s the most important thing to me.
