Influential Stylists: Part 1

Last week The Boyfriend was comissioned to shoot a band (more on that soon) and I was asked to style and create pieces for the lead singer. The name of the band is about birds, so I decided to use feathers to make a sort of Indian head-piece, shoulder-pads and my favourites, these boots - which I twitted about last week. Turns out Jemma, the singer, liked it so much, she got them for herself to wear in a gig at Barfly, the iconic rock venue.

I liked the job so much it got me thinking about who else is doing the same thing out there. Flicking through my copies of i-Ds/Dazed&Confused/POP/etc (not on the internet!) I came across a few stylists/artists who made their names making one-off pieces for bands, shoots and shop windows - and they are as talented as any degree-bearer fashion designer.

So here's the first part of a series about the leaders and opinion-makers of the fashion pack that don't all come from the catwalk.

Fee Doran

Also known as Mrs Jones, she is the woman behind the iconic hooded jumpsuit that Kylie wore for the I Can't Get You Out of My Head Video, purple leather patchwork dungarees for the Scissor Sisters, Goldfrapp's 'Pony' tails, among other artists' influential costumes, including Duran Duran and The Killers. She started out after being discovered by the girlfriend of a Duran Duran band member in her Portobello stall - although back then she was already a well-known DJ. And she also worked with Giles, Matthew Williamson, as well as her own label Mrs Jones (which launched at Topshop in 2003, but I'm not sure it still out there).

"I hate that look of a girl group all wearing ripped denim skirts," she said in an interview. "There's no individualism—I'm inspired by Eighties artists like Grace Jones and Blondie. When I was growing up, I'd see them on TV and I would just be like, 'Wow.'"

She says she 'Love Clothes and Hates Fashion', and this month she will be in charge of the Oxfam DIY boutique in Camden, which will sell only customised versions of their discarded clothes. She will be holding DIY workshops in-store from 6th of June - in fact, here she teaches how to make a brilliant, very Stella McCartney jumpsuit out of a men's suit.

Styling discarded clothes for Oxfam

Pieces for shoots