Why streetwear stylist Phoebe Butterworth never lets her tiara fall
This is A HOT MINUTE WITH, a quick-fire interview series championing all the rising talent catapulting into fashion, art and music’s fickle stratosphere. From pinch-me moments to bad dates and even worse chat-up lines, think of it as an overindulgent conversation – like the ones you have in sticky club toilets at 4.A.M. Except these guests don’t regret the overshare…
Courtesy of @phoebebutterworth
NAME PHOEBE BUTTERWORTH
AGE 24
STAR SIGN Aquarius (although my friends say I’m nothing like one, whatever that means).
LOCKDOWN LOCATION My flat in South London.
LIFE MANTRA Keep your head up princess, your tiara’s falling.
Stylist Phoebe Butterworth’s streetwear infused fantasyland is bound to be every ‘90s fanatics own personal utopia. It’s her illustrious clients, including singers ROSE GRAY, Sasha Keable and Call Me Loop’s, not-so-guilty pleasure anyway. But sleek aesthetics like these don’t just come together – it takes MI6-style thrifting and sifting. “I’m constantly going on deep Depop dives to find a particular item of clothing from a specific outfit in a movie,” she muses. “The most recent one was Beyoncé’s full leather look at the end of Austin Powers. My main inspiration stems from old movies.”
However just as her career was starting to skyrocket into bigger and better stratospheres, Covid swiftly parked up unannounced. “Before the first lockdown I was at a stage where I was completely swamped working on various projects. Even though it was so hectic I was also enjoying every minute of it,” she says. “Finally, I was able to move out and support myself, and it felt amazing. And then the lockdown hit, and it felt like I took 10 steps back.” But as the industry’s young talent have proved time and time again, creativity flourishes in the face of adversity. “I started doing photoshoots over Zoom. I did a few with my friends as a test run, then reached out to a handful of my favourite DJs and did some with them. It was the perfect way to keep busy and creative while also building connections with some really lovely and talented people,” Butterworth muses. “I’ve also been trying to learn to DJ…emphasis on the word trying as I have a long way to go!”
Fitting to her obsession with all things music, a chaotic shoot with Burberry at Notting Hill Carnival has been the rising stylist’s most memorable job so far – “It was one of the hottest days of the year and we were shooting Autumn/Winter. 35 degrees, puffer coats, fleece lined tracksuits…I felt so bad for the models. All of that surrounded by blasting music, thousands of people, teens bashing into you taking Nos. It was really challenging but also tons of fun as we got to boogie at the same time.” So when the pandemic finally takes its leave and Butterworth can go back to adding her hypnotic touch to the industry’s ones-to-watch, what’s next on her radar? “One of my closest friends and I are actually starting a festival. Unrelated to styling of course, but that makes it even better as it keeps things interesting,” she says. “In terms of styling… keep working with Rose Gray as she takes over the bloody world.”
Ella Bardsley: Who would be your dream musician to style and why?
Phoebe Butterworth: Probably JORJA SMITH although she already has an incredible stylist. Or JLo in the ‘90s. Just because the thought of working with her really excites me.
EB: Favourite item in your wardrobe?
PB: A brown corduroy suit that my dad bought when he was 17. I only came across it at Christmas when I was snooping through the cupboards at home. The trousers are too big (as is the blazer) but I just fold over the waistband. It would feel wrong to get them tailored.
EB: What’s the best piece of professional advice you’ve received? And what would be your word of advice to young stylists starting out?
PB: Don’t lose faith. Say yes to every opportunity (within reason…it gets to a stage where you need to know your worth and not work for nothing), but you never know who you’ll meet. There have been shoots that I could have rejected but as a result of going I have met some incredible people.
EB: Best party trick?
PB: Opening a bottle of champagne with an axe.
EB: Biggest style icon?
PB: MIMI CUTTRELL, who has styled the likes of Bella Hadid, Ariana Grande and Iris Law. She always gets it right.
EB: Who would play you in a biopic of your life?
PB: That would be a very boring biopic haha. Let’s make it a cartoon and say…a power puff girl. Now that would bang!
EB: If Covid ended tomorrow, what’s the first thing you’d do?
PB: Straight to the club.
Courtesy of @phoebebutterworth and @freddiestisted
EB: If you could see anyone in concert, dead or alive, who would it be?
PB: A young Al Green, at a small gig where I could imagine he was serenading me and only me.
EB: Biggest date fail?
PB: Showed up to a date without realising it was a date…I literally had to ask him straight out if it was one haha.
EB: Love or lust?
PB: Both. That’s the best feeling.
