The Stylemaker: A Profile of VH1's Fashion Expert Alana Kelen
NEIRAD enilno edition
This summer I had the lucky opportunity (along with my previous Neirad editor from two years ago, Courtney Rogers) to meet with VH1 stylist Alana Kelen, stylist for popular VH1 shows such as “Best Week Ever,” “Top 20 Countdown” and “I Love the 70's/80s/90's.” I thought Alana spent her days in the studio putting together outfits for celebrities: I was extremely wrong. In a span of four hours, I rode the subways with Alana accompanying her on a tour of the studio; did a quick visit to the Dolce& Gabbana showroom; and stopped by the InStyle magazine office where Courtney and I helped Alana put together outfits and accessories for a freelance job of Alana's to style for the new Bravo television show “Tim Gunn's Guide to Style.” While helping Alana in the InStyle office, she noticed something missing from one of her outfits; a black turtleneck.
Alana sent me and Courtney out on the streets of New York City with a credit card on a quest to buy a 'tight black turtleneck.' How could we possibly find a black turtleneck in the middle of summer? Our first stop was J. Crew, a preppy, classy clothing store; they did not have a black turtleneck. Second stop, Banana Republic, no luck. Our third stop, Saks Fifth Avenue. With the elevators at Saks not working, We hiked up ten levels to the 'intimate apparel and hosiery' floor and found a $245 dollar Wolford skin tight turtleneck that resembled the tight shirts most athletes wear under their pennies in the middle of winter. After rushing back to the InStyle building Alana remarks that our task was, "very typical in the fashion world." Luckily, the Wolford turtleneck worked perfectly for the shoot.
Alana pursued her fashion career quite early in life going to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City for four years and receiving her bachelor’s degree as a 'buying major.' Immediately after graduating from F.I.T., Alana received an internship styling for MTV networks (where she has now worked for eight years), combining her creativity and understanding of the public relations aspect of fashion.
As I learned during my day with Alana, the fashion industry is not as easy as it seems. Alana remarks, “there are super long hours, a lot of schlepping, tons of emails and follow up emails [to merchandisers,] lots of bag carrying, early morning shoots as well as shoots that end very late at night."
As for talent, Alana has worked with many celebrities during her many years at VH1. Her most challenging celebrity to dress was NBA star Shaquille O' Neil's cousin who was a size 5X. Her most exciting celebrity to dress was singer John Mayer when he was doing a commercial for VH1 where he had to dress in all sorts of costumes. Alana remarks, "Anything having to do with a costume is exciting, John dressed up in a chicken suit at one point, he's such a comedian. It was also fun because John and I went to Fairfield High School together." Most of the styling Alana does for VH1 is for shows where the celebrity should look like they dressed themselves. Alana states," the goal is to make them look like they weren't styled."
There are many rules on what the celebrity should not wear on camera. Alana informs me, "We're not allowed to have celebrities wear clothing with logos (such as the Nike swoosh) It could conflict with advertisers." Alana also states, "I would never style someone wearing stripes, checkers, or tweed together. It buzzes on camera and looks like a rainbow on television." Because the demographic for VH1 ranges from ages 18 to 55, Alana states she would never use anything, "too trendy." Since Alana has a huge demographic to fill she borrows clothes from many stores such as Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, H&M, Ben Sherman, Oakley, Element, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, Shopbop, and Macys. Because Alana is borrowing the clothes she has to, "Build relationships with designers, and their name ends up on film during the credits."
Then there are the many upsides to a career in the fashion world. Alana states, "The clothes are amazing and you have the people and the interaction with the really great talent."
