Photograph by Kevin A. Roberts
St. Louis native Ellen Kozarits is a freelance creative director and stylist whose work can be found in Vogue Thailand and Milan’s Coeval Magazine. Though she only graduated from college last May, she’s already traveled the globe while working in the fashion industry, making stops in such places as London and Bangkok. Her favorite city in which to vintage-shop: her hometown. To Kozarits, St. Louis will always be the place where she scored Sergio Rossi pumps for a dollar.
How’d you fall in love with fashion? I wanted to be an actress when I was younger. I’ve always been enthralled with the idea of a production and playing different characters. I also loved to dress up. When I was 15, my mom drove me to my first job at a boutique, where I realized I had a knack for styling.
What’s your approach to styling a fashion shoot? I’m definitely a dreamer. I’ll be looking out the window and connecting certain colors and patterns. The process is my environment, first—wherever I am to create a concept—and then I put things together… I actually have used all my own clothes [for fashion shoots] until recently. I really don’t shop at mass-produced stores. I guess that’s what makes the look unique, because there is a big sense of vintage about my style.
Any concerns about the fashion industry? Everyone expects the next thing in about seven seconds, and it’s just not fair. I have seen firsthand the work that designers put into clothes. Rushing for each collection—summer, spring, fall, winter—it’s absurd. And the worst thing about it is that even designers like Alexander Wang, Cynthia Rowley, and J Brand I kind of consider fast fashion, because [their products are] made in a factory...but I’ve noticed some designers scaling back, slowing down, and making clothing a true crafted art again.
