Were you always interested in fashion?

ES: I think I was always into fashion. I laugh about it now, but I used to get in trouble for dressing up my little brother and sister. I would put them in these wild outfits and borrow stuff from my grandma and mom – all their designer stuff. You know, big gold Versace belts. I would do the whole thing, even take pictures of them and polaroids late at night. I feel like it started really young. I didn’t know back then, of course, what a stylist was. That is something that just emerged, I think, in the last twenty years. But there was something inside of me, I was an artist. I wanted to create from a young age and I loved to play with the idea of a character. Back then it was just playful and childlike.

When did it start to become more of a career for you?

ES: It was super organic, I originally studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and Brown and I was trying to be a designer. I started very young, I was a junior in college and I went over to London to intern with Alexander McQueen. That’s sort of, I guess, the beginning of my life in fashion. Working with Lee, it was a small team at that time, was a very exciting intense environment. He was a genius, he really pushed you to bring out that creative fearlessness. Even though I was an intern, I was assisting Alex Mullerr, who was one of their head designers under Sarah, and I became very close with them. I was basically their assistant – I was with them all the time.

It was intense at McQueen, we actually made many of the show pieces. That experience was amazing but it was also learning experience – I knew that I didn’t want to pattern cut and I didn’t want to physically sew the pieces. When we would work on the shows and work with the other stylists, or when we would do fittings, that’s when I really felt I was most inspired. I loved that, and I loved working with the girls. I loved the idea of taking pieces and putting them together and creating. I thought that was remarkable. You know, Lee always said, “you should be a stylist,” and I didn’t really listen I just thought, ‘oh no – I’m going to be a designer.’

Must have been intense balancing school with such a phenomenal opportunity.

ES: I was going back and forth to finish college. We had big critiques and we would design shows for our final semesters. It was intense I was flying back doing shows and working at the same time trying to graduate. But it was exciting.. such an exciting opportunity that I’m so grateful for. I was going to go back and work with them but I ended up getting a call from a friend, who was working for Art Partner at the time, and Beat Bollinger was looking for an assistant. He was just coming over from Paris and they were working on the first issue of The Great Performers for New York Times Magazine with Inez & Vinoodh. I ended up working on that project with him and it was really such an exciting project because that was the first one that they did with Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson and Charlize Theron. I mean there were so many great stars. It was a really memorable, incredible portfolio.

Was that the one where Bill had the flowers in his beard?

ES: Yes the flowers in his beard! Inez is a genius, honestly, both of them, but she’s just so spontaneous and she had a lot of incredible ideas. She works very closely with the talent. I felt like some of those ideas just happened organically. Tim Robbins had brought a little portrait of himself as a child just to show her and she was like, wow we need to put that in the shot. So, that was sort of how it began. I assisted Beat and we did a bunch of great jobs. We did some stuff for V magazine, a Viktor and Rolf campaign, some stuff for Terry, Japanese Vogue. He was working a lot with Inez at the time and still living in Paris, so I wasn’t working with him full time. He had another assistant as well.

Then I got offered a position, really honestly, after assisting for probably only 4 or 5 months. I was really lucky to be an assistant at Blackbook Magazine. I did that for about 5 or 6 months and then I was lucky enough to become the fashion director there very quickly.

With Blackbook you really reshaped the way celebrities were presented – what was that time period like?

ES: It was an interesting time, I was super young and it was a lot of responsibility. It was very exciting, we had an amazing editor in chief. During my time at Blackbook I had two editors in chiefs – both of whom were absolutely wonderful and so intelligent. I don’t want to say we were “the beginning of the celebrity” because we, by all means, did not invent that, it’s been in existence forever. But we definitely harnessed it in a new, kind of, avant garde way. I felt like Blackbook was all about art and collaboration and creativity. Using the celebrities covered in that kind of capacity was new. I’ve never been interested in celebrities in a “Hollywood” way. I like the idea of doing something with them. You know, they’re real people. Obviously they have an image but they’re incredibly interesting and talented people – and that’s why they’re famous, we hope! So to get to know them a little bit and to collaborate with them was really remarkable and that’s what we tried to do a lot at Blackbook. We did that with artists, with celebrities and I worked with some of the greats.

You really have worked with the greats; were there any moments that really stood out for you?

ES: I loved Cate Blanchett. She embodies, to me, one of the ultimate great stars. She is an icon so to speak. She came in and at the time we shot her she was working on that Bob Dylan film (I’m Not There) and she just was so.. I don’t know exactly the word to describe it, but she was so engaged in playing the part of Bob… really method acting. She really wanted to look like Bob in the pictures and have the curly hair and she didn’t care about looking beautiful or normal, like the younger celebrities request. She was really about portraying her character and I was so moved by that. I loved it. I thought it was amazing. She had a power and a vision and she was excited about the shoot. We worked with so many great stars, she is one of many.

We did Amy Adams and that was an incredible shoot as well. Now that I look back we shot such incredible stars. We shot Naomi Watts, we did tons of really great stuff with her. Hilary Swank, the list kind of goes on. That was a really formative part of my career, it was a super small team, not everyone knew the magazine. I came from a very high fashion world and I wanted to bring that elegance and decadence and beauty and luxury from the market and into the magazine. As the fashion director, that was my job and I worked very hard to try to do that. At the same time while doing that, working on all of the ideas and working on the covers. I was also doing all of the beauty, the mens, the women’s, the accessories… it was really, sort of, 6 jobs in one. But I definitely learned a lot and learned how to lead a team and inspire people on my team to create amazing work and to work on a magazine together.

When I finally left, I always knew I wanted to do really high fashion and I felt that in my soul. I knew I wanted to work with Vogue and Numero and luckily that’s pretty much what happened.

Your hard work paid off! I love how you approached those goals in such a positive way.

ES: What you just said is how I embrace my entire life. I think life is a series of chance meetings, you never know who you’re going to meet. You never know their story. Everybody to me is so interesting and exciting. There’s so many opportunities that maybe seem like nothing at the time, but I think it’s about keeping your eyes open and being positive and excited and believing in your work. You have to believe in your talent or no one else will. You have to believe in yourself. Being honest and being a good person, being grounded, these are qualities that you can attribute to people who become successful. Hard work.

I always felt like I had to see my future in order to be my future. If you envision who you are and what you want and live that honestly every day you will become that, in a sense.

So true. People often have these preconceived notions of what it is to be a stylist – how do you deal with the misconceptions?

ES: At the end of the day everyone has an opinion and I think it’s constantly changing. We’re always, at least from my perspective, I feel like I’m always evolving. I’m constantly growing. I’’m constantly changing. Everyone has ideas about what a stylist is and I think it’s definitely rapidly changing in the industry right now. I think the stylist is a very powerful and important role. A lot of stylists today have become real creative directors on set and visionaries. There are so many people that I admire and look up to.

I see the role of a stylist is a lot like an art director. They create the look, they work very closely with the hair and makeup teams and the photographers and editors at the magazine cultivating trends or different iconic moments in time and we translate them into a story depending on the season and what the magazine needs or the brands that you’re working with. These are all really big tasks. I was just speaking on a general term but even stylists working with these huge mega brands today, they are really giving their ideas. They’re really helping with the full design process. They’re so involved and ingrained from the beginning and it’s only now, I think, in the last few years that stylists are getting the recognition and the power that they really deserve for all of the hard work that they do.

It’s definitely changed a lot – what would you say is the biggest shift you’ve seen?

ES: I think my career has changed quite a lot, but also based on my interests and what I want at the time. I have a very strong style and aesthetic and I’ve always had that. That woman, she’s really glamorous and decadent and powerful, but I love the idea of creating a character. That has always been my rock in styling. Within that, there are a lot of things that have changed. You’re working with different teams, but it’s all a big family. I mean, I think I always get more responsibility as the years go on but I can’t complain about that. I love what I do so much and I’m happy to take the reins and be a leader when asked to. To have that opportunity is exciting and empowering. It’s something I’m very grateful to have.

I love the freedom that I have and the creative, artistic, challenges that I have. I never feel burdened. Credits don’t burden me, hard work does not burden me. I love hard work. I love to travel, I love the girls so much that I work with… and the boys! I mean, they’ve all become really good friends. The photographers, makeup artists, etc I feel like we’re a really big family. I feel so lucky. I’m very blessed. Everybody is amazing and it’s an honor to work in this business. I feel very blessed to have everyone’s support and loyalty and love. It’s a good thing.

Any sources of inspiration you look to when you’re crafting this character?

ES: The way that I work is sort of like a method actor, especially with women. I feel that I have to research and become that character in order to create it. It’s almost like how a director works on a film, you have to really find out who that character is and create a narrative. That’s going to bring so much more. The looks for me are important and they help tell the story, but the story starts with the character first.

I feel like I’ve always been really inspired by Helmut Newton. I love his work. I love Chris von Wangenheim as well. All of which I have prints hanging in my house because it’s my biggest inspiration. I think “she” is very powerful, she’s very strong, you know.. she’s very beautiful and not necessarily a traditional beauty. She’s powerful and interesting and strong and diverse. Depending on the concept that we’re working with, I feel that regardless of the clothes she’s wearing that will come across. So that’s sort of, “my woman.” She’s definitely decadent, she’s elegant, she’s unexpected.

I’ve just been reading recently Diana Vreeland’s book and memos and it’s just incredible. She had such a strong vision and clarity for the magazine – obviously like Anna Wintour does as well as many other editors – but it’s just really inspiring to read those notes and to see how she directed and created decades in an era of fashion. I get inspired by other powerful women and I love seeing what their take on it is, as well.

Sounds like you’re going for a very take charge, strong woman.

ES: I like the idea of strength and courage in my work. There can be more of a quietness to it too. Like I said, it depends on the brand and it depends on the job. A lot of people also love that kind of cool, and it’s not about the man it’s still about the woman, kind of downtown rock & roll, a little bit Balmain, Yves Saint Laurent, French Vogue girl and I feel that I’ve been more and more asked to work in that direction or to work with brands helping them kind of find that woman. She’s young and very cool and effortless. So I have that in my work as well. Something to become a part of this “woman.” I mean, she changes based on the brand. Also where I am, kind of in my headspace or based on what stories I’ve done recently and how I evolve as an artist and change.

Why I loved doing this models.com project is because I was so inspired by the idea of something that was iconic and that lived on – because I’m inspired by all of “the greats.” Penn and Avedon and those portraits are, they’re so simple and they’re so timeless. That’s something that I not only admire but aspire to have in my work.

It’s great when you see something and you think even 40 years ago and you say “this is beautiful” and nobody can argue with it. Can you get a feel for that when you first see the images?

ES: When you look at a shoot that you’ve done you know all of the secrets behind how you created it so you can’t always look at it the same. I often feel that I need time away from my work to be able to come back later and actually appreciate it. Sometimes you’re too close to the work.

Sometimes when you create something it takes a lot out of you and I give a lot so I find that you might need a minute to go back and rebuild or to focus on a different aspect. Maybe you’re working on something really really creative and wild and then there’s another part – so it’s nice to be able to go back or take a little time just to let the project breathe and appreciate later what it was. Understand what you were trying to say with that.

What about some of the new constraints placed on stylists – some brands only want their clothes styled together, does that ever put a damper on things?

ES: To be perfectly honest, I never really feel constrained. I’ve been very very lucky. Every brand or magazine that I’ve worked with has supported me. If my biggest constraint is that I have to use a certain brand but I can pick whatever the look is, I mean that’s minor. I understand at the end of the day this is a business. I never feel constrained, I think I just try to see all of the positives and opportunities that I have within the project I’m working on.

I think sometimes guidelines are good. If you’re working with a brand and they want a certain look for a cover or this or that – there’s still some freedom within that. Within creating the look and working with the concept and the hair and makeup. If there really isn’t freedom, I probably won’t take that project on! You have to pick your battles, but I never feel restrained. I feel that I’m always seeing the positives and the opportunities within. It’s how you see things in life.

Fashion is always changing – what are some things that you’ve noticed in terms of trends or movements that you’re really into?

ES: I think the biggest thing that I’ve seen recently is Hedi Slimane reinventing YSL and in a way, I would use revolutionize very lightly, but he’s come into a brand that is iconic, with an extremely powerful heritage. One of the most amazing brands. What Saint Laurent did in the 80’s and the 70’s… unbelievable. For me, I am so inspired by the 70’s and the 80’s I just think it’s two incredible time periods and eras. I think he’s come in and really taken a brand that’s quite difficult to just step in and design for. He’s really given it a modern, effortless, cool, kind of young take. I think it’s genius, I love it. It’s really inspiring, I feel that it’s very much “my girl.” The sequin pieces are great. I think a lot of people are really inspired by what’s happening. In a way it’s kind of like Dior Homme for women but it’s genius and it’s really great direction for the brand.

Another designer that I absolutely love and admire is Tom Ford. The powerful woman, I love that kind of makeup – the chiseled look and using color and just the fabulous nails and the whole kind of psyche of that woman and the glamour. The sequins and the fur and the decadence; it’s very 70’s and over-the-top. I think what he’s done with the beauty brand is absolutely genius. He broke off from Gucci and has his own brand he designed and then he also took a break and did a film. He’s a genius!

Absolutely, Tom Ford has really succeeded in creating a powerful aesthetic in every aspect of his brand – who else do you gravitate towards?

ES: There are so many talented designers, obviously I love Alber, I love Lanvin, I think it’s incredible. It’s always been, to me, the epitome of luxury and the jewelry at Lanvin I think is just stunning. It’s always been stunning and it’s always been statement. You know, I really love what Olivier at Balmain is doing. Talk about a young talent! He’s incredibly talented and his vision. When he did that, kind of, baroque collection… all of the pearls and it looked like old tapestries. It had a royal quality to it and that’s something that I’m really attracted to. It felt like it really had a heritage and that he really researched. It has obviously an 80’s vibe but I think the silhouettes are powerful. It’s an incredible brand as well, the heritage and the shape. I think the ad campaign with Rihanna is very cool and modern. I definitely think those are things that people are really paying attention to.

I think there’s a lot of change right now, a lot of opportunities – especially for young people. Fashion has always been a young business, but as much as it’s a young business it’s an old business too. There are a lot of really powerful, talented people that have been around for a very long time and have the most incredible bodies of work and careers that are just mindblowing.

Do you think that the younger generation has a lot to live up to?

ES: Definitely! We have a lot to live up to!

For someone relatively new it has to be daunting to work alongside legends – daunting, yet inspiring.

ES: Like I said, it’s the way you look at it. I’ve never, my entire life, compared myself to anyone. I think you just have to be you and you have to be inspired by others but also you have to find your inspiration from within. When you know that you can be your best personal you, that’s all that really matters. You’re not trying to have someone else’s career you’re kind of finding the best career that you can have and what’s right for you. It will evolve naturally through working hard and honing your talents. You use these people as mentors and learn from them, from their mistakes and also from their triumphs.

There is so much to learn and so many of these people are still evolving.

ES: Karl Lagerfeld is a great example of someone who is a complete genius and he is constantly inspired by young people and their ideas. I think in a way that keeps him very young and fresh. That’s how he got into photography in the first place. He was inspired and I think from a man who has so many talents he figured “why not” and he does a great job!

You wonder where Karl finds the time…

ES: I think Karl probably works harder than anyone alive and he definitely states that in multiple interviews. It’s obviously hard to measure how hard somebody works versus somebody else, but there’s a passion, there’s a desire, there’s talent. I think that kind of trifecta is the recipe for success.

What are some things that you’re working on that are coming up?

ES: There are a few things I’m really excited about. I just did a very big trip to Tokyo, which is really exciting. We shot about a 16 page story for Italian Vogue. . [We shot it] with the actress, Kiko Mizuhara, sort of a day-in-the-life portrait of a woman but every image was really a different character, a different look, a different hair and makeup, so it didn’t run like a traditional fashion story, which I really loved. Obviously it was super challenging on location to change everything that much and to find this woman within so many different “personalities.” So, that was an exciting project.

Also, while I was there we shot Armani – which was really really exciting. Then we did a 16 page fashion story for Japanese Vogue, which for me was a really big milestone. I really admire Anna Della Russo – she is absolutely incredible. She is an inspiration, she is one of the hardest working women in this industry. Very inspiring, very creative, and she loves to have fun! Her, kind of, decadent and creative style – very over-the-top. I can relate to that, I mean, that’s very much my woman as well on many occasions, depending on the story of course. This was my first big story working with her and that was a real honor and I felt very lucky to have the opportunity to do that.

What would you say are some other milestones for you, or products that you’re especially proud of?

ES: Hard to answer… Only recently, when we were starting to go through my book, because of building my new website – I looked at some of my old work. I have so many little tidbits of things that are important to me… and so many people! I mean, Greg Kadel was a huge supporter of me and his team in the beginning of my career, and still is to this day. I absolutely adore him, he is one of the loveliest and most talented people and he’s really a friend as well. We created some really beautiful and amazing things together. One of which we did this, I think to this day it was one of my favorite images. We did a story with Karmen Pedaru, a 60’s inspired, kind of Jean Shrimpton a la David Bailey, in studio type of shoot. She was wearing this full sequined bodysuit embellished and she had this beautiful Philip Treacy flower, one-of-a-kind headpiece on. It really looked like a sculpture. She was sitting on the floor, it was so graphic and so beautiful. I remember saying to Greg, “This is one of my favorite images I’ve ever done with you.” And I meant it, of course. That was a real beauty.

There are so many people I’ve worked with that I love so much and have done such great stuff it’s hard to single anyone out because everybody’s so talented and different. I had a lot of fun working with Ellen von Unwerth on Guerlain with Natalia. She’s incredible such a beauty and so inspiring, Ellen is so fun she’s amazing.

As for milestones in my career, I mean, I did my first Italian Vogue with Greg, so that was definitely a milestone for me because it was sort of the holy grail of fashion. I really did that, pretty much a month or two after I left Blackbook… maybe even a few more months. That was definitely a milestone for me and I’m lucky enough to still be working with them and doing even bigger stories and creating strong work for them that’s memorable. So that was probably “the” milestone, I always really wanted to work with Vogue. Then my first big story for Numero was obviously exciting and great, too.

Is there anything that you haven’t done yet, that you really are looking forward to?

ES: There are tons of things that I haven’t done yet! There are tons of people that I haven’t worked with yet that I would love to work with. I think I’m only as good as my next project. There are so many great high fashion brands that I haven’t worked with. Incredible photographers, I’m working with new people every day that are super inspiring. It’s kind of like; you work with new people, but you never forget the old people and you always work with those people as well.

Regarding new projects, I’m open to everything. I’m definitely going in a very luxury, high fashion, direction with my career and I would like to continue that with consulting with all of the brands and photographers that I work with. I’m also interested in doing collaborations with artists and some stuff for galleries and things that keep me on my toes, keep it interesting. Even working with a great director – film is so big now – I’d love to do more amazing films and videos. That’s exciting, too.

I can absolutely see your woman in a film, that would be definitely exciting.

ES: I would definitely love to do that. I mean, it has to be the right project. I think it could even be something strange where I work on a project for a film and maybe I act or play a part in the film as well. Doing something totally different, I’m open to as well. I think the beauty behind being a stylist, at least from my perspective, is that you don’t have to necessarily fall into the confines of what people think you are and how you have to be and how you have to live your life. I think you have to create that for yourself and you have to find out what that is and means to you and that’s, I guess, how I love my life. There’s so much I haven’t done and there’s so much I want to do.

I love your outlook on life, it is very inspiring. You have these things you want to do and you do it, and you’re open to new experiences!

ES: I hope that that’s, maybe, one of my better qualities. I think that being open in life is really the secret to success. It’s hard to be open all of the time and I have to remind myself constantly, for various reasons… maybe you’re stressed or you’re afraid to be hurt. I think the basis of all of these things is based on love and fear, and they’re two things that are really strong in our society and the more that you have love and friendship and you bring all of those things in your life – good things and good people – and you’re surrounded by that energy, the more you’ll be able to be fearless and open. Just ready for new opportunities and I think it is okay in life to not always get what you want but it’s also okay to want things. I think maybe society sometimes doesn’t allow people – they don’t want to, of course you want to be humble, but they don’t allow people to embrace their successes or what they want. I think that isn’t always good… I don’t think you have to go over-the-top either, you want to be humble… but I think people should really be proud of what they’ve accomplished was well. Especially because they’ve earned it.

It’s important to have your dreams and have your goals.

ES: Fashion, the way that I see it, is about dreams. It’s about making people dream, it’s about creating a world and a fantasy that on many levels may or may not be real. But it’s a dream and I’m inspiring readers or clients or all different people – wherever it is – that’s my job: to inspire them, to excite them, show them something they haven’t seen… if I can. That’s my goal of course. Maybe they’ll see something a little different or they’ll see something they like. Make them feel good about themselves or excited or, you know, all of the above. I think everyday, what can I do for someone else – not just for myself. I think with that mentality, when you give then you shall receive in life. That’s sort of the power and the beauty of our universe.

You might look at a picture and you might not be able to afford the whole look but it gives you ideas.

ES: And it’s not even necessarily about that. At the end of the day, yes there are women out there who go and buy the full look. But regardless, she can see that on the website, she can see it in advertising, she can see it in the stores. I mean, fashion is everywhere and on many levels it creates who we are. It’s our identity. We show that and express ourselves through that. Same with a great culture that is obviously easy to see that is in Japan they really express themselves through their style. But it’s here as well, and Europe, all over the world. It’s a fundamental in society. I think knowing that is such a powerful tool. Fashion has so many liaisons into the art world and into Hollywood. The possibilities are endless. That’s what I was saying about different projects that inspire me and I feel like I could work in film and do different projects in Hollywood – which are maybe not necessarily conventional but it’s interesting and I think that’s what keeps life exciting – taking risks and taking a chance.

Things have changed so much, there is no clear set path.

ES: There’s absolutely no correct way to do things and there’s no path – I mean of course there are fundamentals of respect and hierarchy. At the end of the day, I think that those are more about morals and values than anything.

Once you recognize that the freedom actually exists and you act upon it, then you really begin to see it more. I mean, you create your own destiny and you also create a lot of the confines of your own mind and limitations based on a lot of different factors. How you want to live and how you want to see things and your whole state of being. It’s super important.

It is an outlet and I see so many young kids that are so into fashion and they get so excited and inspired. If I could take one little moment and write them on Instagram or something small, it means so much to them. Of course, you know, you can’t do that all of the time but just a little gesture every once in a while is nice. People everywhere like to be validated and acknowledged. We’re all on the same level, we’re all here together, so I think if I can do anything to help others I’m happy to. Inspire them, excite them. Show them a cool denim jacket that they want to wear, it can be something small it doesn’t have to be at the largest level.

I think it’s a lifestyle, it’s a mindset, and what an honor it is to work in fashion. I never really planned it this way, for me, it really just happened. I think I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. I feel that – it’s definitely, it sort of feels right and not like I’m wanting or needing anything else.