Styled by: Patricia Lagmay. Photo by: Ellyse Anderson.
At Aritzia — an innovative design house and women’s fashion boutique headquartered in Vancouver — the depth of design and quality of every item is at the forefront of the daily grind.
“The Aritzia woman is effortless. She cares a lot about fashion, but her confidence allows her to translate seasonal trends in a way that still reflects her personal style,” shares Patricia Lagmay, who for more than three years upheld the standards of Aritzia as the brand’s Senior Stylist.
Founded in 1984 by CEO Brian Hill, the retail leader has more than 70 boutiques across North America, including Vancouver, San Francisco, Toronto, Chicago and New York. Its e-commerce platform – Aritzia.com – ships worldwide.
Lagmay developed and executed the styling direction of the brand across their print and digital platforms. Namely, her minimal aesthetic and refined sense of style could be seen across Aritzia’s seasonal lookbooks, international campaigns, and extensive online product catalogue.
During Lagmay’s tenure with Aritzia, the company received the 2014 Canada Post E-commerce Innovation award for “Best E-commerce Shopping Experience.” It was also recognized in the industry by Best of Vancouver as “Best Women’s Clothing Store” and “Best Store for Spotting the Next Trend”. The retailer also received the French Merits Award in the category of “French Website and French, Language of Work and Commerce.”
Lagmay’s role required that she balance the delicate line between the business and the creative. She did so with ease, partnering closely with the Creative Director and key stakeholders across the company’s various departments, successfully ensuring that all styling choices propelled the Aritzia brand as a whole, while simultaneously advancing the objectives set out by the company’s merchants.
“You want to elevate the clothing and push the creative sensibility of the customer, but not to the point where they can’t relate to what you’re presenting to them. At the end of the day, the clothes need to sell,” said Lagmay, who styled upwards of 4,000 looks.
Lagmay’s role extended beyond just styling. She was also often the on-set art director on catalogue and content shoots, directing the photographers, models and hair and makeup teams, as well as selecting the final images for use.
How did Lagmay manage to consistently push the success of the brand? She kept her finger on the pulse, studying up on the latest and greatest in her field, while at the same time developing product and service-centric stories that inspired and educated Aritzia’s customers. “A lot of it is instinctual, but a significant part is informed by conducting research – be it online, at the library, or by visiting galleries wherever I travel,” she said.
Lagmay built the infrastructure that allowed for more than 2,000 looks to be shot for the Aritzia eCommerce catalogue annually, maximizing the brand’s sales. She has an innate sense of how her role fits within the bigger picture, which allowed her to establish a seamless workflow within her team.
“The designers dictate what the collections look like, but the creative team — which I was a part of and is led by the Creative Director — determines how these collections are then presented across our print and digital platforms,” said Lagmay. “It takes a significant amount of open communication to make sure that both sides are aligned. When the design and creative teams are both happy, that’s when I know I’ve done my job.”
As Senior Stylist, Lagmay proved herself integral for Aritzia with her extensive marketing background and strong instinct of what’s to come. “We work closely with the designers to ensure a deep understanding of the brands and the seasonal collections, while constantly looking at runway, art and film to stay on top of what’s going on in the industry. Each brand has an identity that we maintain regardless of season, but tweak and develop depending on what’s culturally relevant and where we want to take the current collection.”
In an ever-changing landscape, Lagmay’s outstanding ability to fuse numerous crucial skill-sets into one passionate body makes her a secret weapon not solely for Aritzia, but for the industry at large. From her creative eye, to her wealth of fashion knowledge, to a ceaseless drive to get the hard work done, she is a powerful force in today’s fast-paced fashion industry.
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