EXPOSURE – SCULPTING THE BODY
This section is dedicated to how stylists are capable of sculpting the body.
Because styling is indeed a lot like sculpting, since stylists do more than just pick clothes, they shape the body and redefine proportions using tape, padding, lifts, and other tools. Just as a tailor cuts fabric to fit, stylists craft silhouettes and guide the viewer’s eye, creating balance, surprise, or drama.
This transformation is of course a team effort. Hair, makeup, nails, and accessories all work together to create a polished image that blurs the line between natural and constructed. The goal is not to deceive, but to enhance reality, turning the body into a deliberate work of art.
Illusion has always been part of fashion—from corsets in the 19th century to shoulder pads in the 1980s and modern shapewear. Using the tricks of the trade, stylists achieve flawless shapes that photograph perfectly, especially on red carpets. Behind the glamour is invisible labor, adjusting every detail for the camera.
Stylists help create versions of self that exist between reality and representation.
RITA ORA – REBAR AZIZ
One of the looks on display in this section represents the perfect example. Can you see the black leather embossed ensemble composed of a top with a short skirt?
This sculptural custom ensemble by Rebar Aziz, an ITS Contest 2020 designer, is one of the outfits worn by singer Rita Ora for her hosting appearance together with actor Taika Waititi at the 2022 MTV EMAs in Dusseldorf, Germany, during which she famously changed look 10 times. Crafted specifically for her role as host, the look features bold, padded architectural forms that wrap and spiral around the body creating a futuristic, armour-like silhouette.
A student in mechanical engineering before choosing fashion design, Aziz - who went on to collaborate with a wide number of celebrities - is fascinated by technical elements and refinements, which allow him to explore the field where soft textiles merge with hard metal, to create sculptural, couture fashion. In a 2021 interview Aziz defined his fashion as an “all-encompassing creation, a symbiosis of clothing, jewelry, accessories and staging.” This performance piece for Rita Ora, with its structural, architectural lines creating a bold silhouette reminiscent of leather bag craftsmanship, is the perfect example of Rebar’s vision and of how a stylist can change our perception of the body radically by choosing garments and accessories that shift our attention.
TRICKS OF THE TRADE
You can see many objects in this section, used by the stylist to sculpt the body in order to create the perfect silhouette under the look, the magical illusion. On the left, framed, are a series of smaller elements used to adjust the bra and height. Following them on the right is a bustier, a pair of SKIMS panties, two different kinds of SKIMS body and two kinds of corsets.
The SKIMS panties, always made from soft, stretch nylon, often complement the bodysuit. Their seamless edges make them versatile, creating, just like the bodysuit does, a second-skin fit.
The SKIMS Body is a sleek, one-piece bodysuit crafted from stretch nylon for a smooth, second-skin fit, with a snap fastening at the crotch and seamless edges for comfort and versatility. It is designed to hug the torso and enhance natural contours. In the case of an evening dress with a high side slit, the second body you can see here obviously leaves one leg free.
These are all fundamental tricks of the trade, in the stylist’s art of sculpting the body!
Before moving to the next section, dedicated to the stylist's final signature, check the video box at the center of the room. It shows some of the iconic moments when celebrities wore items featured here, in Exposure. An insight into when the art of styling does its magic.