#16 Maryam Malakpour

Maryam Malakpour comes in at number 16 on the Hollywood Reporters top 25 stylist to the stars list. This talented fashion lover always knew she wanted to work in the industry, so at the age of 19 she took a bold step and left school in Northern California to follow her fashion dreams. Maryam became the buyer and creative director for Roppangi, a store one of her friends owned. This lucky opportunity allowed the aspiring stlist to travel to Milan, Paris and London where she was granted invites to all the top fashion shows. These days, Maryam styles one of the world's most well known models. Project Runway starlet, Heidi Klum. And to satisfy the stylists rocker edge, she also dresses legendary rock band, The Rolling Stones.

When asked how she started working with the Stones, Maryam shared “at the time, I had a pager, not a cell phone, can you believe it?  I was on my bicycle when I got the page.  I stopped at the nearest pay phone, called back Anton Corbijn, the photographer, and he asked me to style a Rolling Stones shoot with him. It was a hard shoot but the most incredible experience.” The boys loved Maryam so much she's been their full time stylist ever since.

Stepping into the high fashion scene, Maryam styled Heidi Klum for the entire sixth season of Project Runway. Maryam shared that when styling Heidi she likes to pull from collections such as The Row, L’Agence, Michael Kors, Elise, Matthew Williamson and Temperley. 

Maryam most recently styled the incredible Thomas Whylde Spring/Summer 2011 campaign, which I'm completely obsessing over. She also styled the Elise Overland Spring 2010 show at New York Fashion Week. Not only is Maryam an unbelievably phenomenal stylist, she is also a designer. The fash expert teamed with her sister to create a new line of leather shoes called Newbark’s. “Newbark is a little company that my sister and I started out of the need for great flat shoes that aren’t ballerinas, Maryam shared. “They are thin leather flats that are super comfortable and also very chic.” They also have some super cute handbags that I’m dying over! I'm completely obsessed with their weekend tote, its super simple and chic. Check out their complete collection at www.newbark.com.

When asked what advice she could give to aspiring stylist, Maryam shared, “Do the internships, learn the behind the scenes projects, be in those big house offices, and get that knowledge.  It is important to really know which direction you want to go.” I couldn’t agree more. Being an intern can get you into the top companies in the country which can give you knowledge you will apply for the rest of your career. That's how I started and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. Below are some of Maryam’s incredible credits. Aren’t you loving Maryam’s work?

Editorial Credits:

Thomas Whylde Spring/Summer 2011 Campaign