Ilka Dunn is a personal brand stylist at Ilkadunn.com. She works with influential clients across a number of fields, including real estate, and contributes to Ginger Communications’ training for the EG Future Leaders programme.
How did you embark on a career as a personal brand stylist, and how would you describe the work you do?
I’m from Berlin and I studied political science. My focus had always been on political communication, especially election campaigns.
After university, I started working for a public affairs agency. It started at a photo shoot, where I was asked to help because the client didn’t look quite right.
I always had a knack for styling, and I found I could very diplomatically put into words what that client needed to do to look better. He was incredibly happy and the feedback was so positive that it turned out to be more and more my job.
I started looking into the political science research about the impact of somebody’s image on the electorate and how quickly they make their minds up just based on what they see for just a few seconds.
I went to London to study it more in depth and I found so many work opportunities here that I stayed. I also found my husband!
Do you enjoy working with Ginger Communications to offer styling advice to our Future Leaders?
Yes. When I first met Sarah Lloyd-Hughes from Ginger we connected over our desire to help young people, young women, show how brilliant they are and what they can offer the world. In a nutshell, I say I help people look like the authority they are. Ginger helps you to connect with and inspire your audience by finding the real story and the right words, and I come in to amplify that.
You’ve worked with leaders in many fields. How does real estate hold up in terms of our sense of fashion?
I’m always impressed by the variety of people I meet and their jobs, from project management to designing the future spaces in which people come together. In terms of fashion, it’s everything.
I’ve seen suits and formal outfits, and sneakers with suits, but I also see creative, casual outfits. There’s some change happening.
On the one hand, there’s a chance for the industry to modernise visually, on the other, it’s quite a challenge for companies to understand their employees’ wish for more individual expression, and synch that with knowing those employees are their face to the public.
Our own editor, Sam McClary, is known for making a statement with her trainers
I met Sam at a seminar and what struck me about her was that she has a very strong, sporty personality. So, for her, a pop of colour or a sneaker really brings across what she stands for. I find she gets her personality across so well.
How much do you think the traditional approach to workplace attire has evolved in the 21st century?
I think the process of change was influenced by two events. First, the dotcom bubble, where everything was more relaxed and we saw the change of dress codes at Lehman Brothers. And then the reverse happened.
After the finance sector lost so much trust, it had to go back to establishing that trust, so there was a backlash to looking more formal again.
But then a cultural shift is also taking place, as the older generation – who were brought up in a time when they only saw suits – slowly retire and the younger generation come in.
Millennials and Gen Z are just saying, ‘that’s not me’. That also connects with that trust issue, because they are not necessarily connecting a suit with trust.
Having said all that, I think there is still a place for a suit and a formal dress code. Whether we want to admit it to ourselves, we can’t really help but be swayed by a few underlying visual codes that people can put on in order to project either status or achievement.
Then, of course, the lockdown periods of the pandemic changed everything about how we worked, not least how we dressed. Do you see that as having a lasting impact?
The Covid pandemic has had a major influence. I see it perhaps most in women’s choices of shoe. I see very few women going back to high heels.
One of the reasons why I think the pandemic has a lasting impact is not just because we got more used to dressing more casual at home and on Zoom.
It has also strengthened that generational shift. The older generation that was used to wearing a more formal dress code prefers to stay home more now, whereas it’s the younger generation that really want the social connection at work.
And it sounds wonderful, right? I can be myself at work and be more casual. But it makes life quite difficult for some people. Because, if you’re given a dress code it’s like a uniform. You just put it on and you don’t have to think about it. Whereas now, it’s like a constant casual Friday.
Before the pandemic, a lot of my clients would say, ‘I hate casual Friday because it gives me the biggest headache. I never know what to wear’. So that’s now the situation for a lot of people.
It must be important to tailor your advice towards the particular client and the work they do
Absolutely. When I start working with a client, I ask them to tell me as much as possible about their work environment: the people who are directly above them, the people who are working with them and actually competing with them.
I try to meet them close to their workspace. It’s important that I understand the environment they work in because that determines which visual cues they have to use.
For example, a client started working in a male-dominated company and I told her she should get a very good watch because it is one of the visual cues for men that they can relate to and value highly. Two years later, she came back to me and said it was one of the best pieces of advice she ever had, because men always appreciated and commented on it.
Your work must be very rewarding
It really is. It’s wonderful to help my clients blossom and develop.
Because, suddenly, they see that, when they change their outfit, they are perceived differently. They may go on to be given more responsibility or get another job, and it’s so rewarding to see people using the tools I give them.
Not worrying about what they might look like, but really using those tools and running with them to get ahead and to change the world for the better.
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