POP INTERVIEW: StyleTV’s Colin T. McDonald
Stylist and StyleTV YouTube channel creator Colin T. McDonald started working at Manhattan PR firms until he earned himself a job with Hollywood stylist Mary Alice Stephenson. With his new boss, he worked styling shoots and fashion brainstorming for The Oprah Winfrey Show, red carpets and my Illinois homegirl, our beautiful First Lady, Michelle Obama. Last year, he branched off on his own with the Colin T. McDonald Agency.
“Sex and the City” defined a generation, but not every woman wants to look like Carrie Bradshaw, or our world would all be the same. For that woman who does not, what is your style advice for her?
The best style advice I can give to those who don’t want to look like the masses is to wear what you feel most confident in. Image + Confidence = Style, is a very simple equation that I tell everyone to live by. When you create an image that you feel most confident in, others will notice you and want to imitate that very look.
When you grew up in Upstate New York, what did you see in your hometown’s style that still inspires you as an adult?
Well, I have to admit, I was probably one of the most fashion forward individuals in my town growing up. To this day when I visit, I stick out like a very stylish sore thumb. However, there’s something still so chic and sexy about a t-shirt and jeans look if styled right.
The Internet is paving the way as the new medium for video content. With your YouTube channel, how are you making the most of this new era?
StyleTV is a channel created on Youtube for the fashion lover by the fashion lover. Basically we’re willing to give those who might not have had the opportunity to cover some of the most exclusive events, shows and parties, as long as they get us the story. This includes interviewing their favorite celebrities on the red carpet and mingling the fashion elite. Facebook & Twitter has now given us the opportunity to communicate directly with celebrities. The StyleTV Channel is giving the opportunity to directly meet and interview them on the red carpet.
Who is your audience you try to speak to on the StyleTV YouTube channel?
Anyone interested in fashion.
Talk about your role with your new consulting firm. It sounds exciting!
I created the Colin T. McDonald Agency to combine all my areas of expertise, creating a platform like nothing anyone’s seen before. I’ve come to realize what I truly love to do is create and build things. I love the feeling of helping others achieve their creative goals. The Colin T. McDonald Agency, styleSOURCE and styleTV are connected to allow my clients to be viewed in a variety of ways other than through a traditional approach.
How does a stylist see differently than the client looking through his or her own eyes or a photographer viewing it from his/her view?
A stylist or photographer usually can paint a picture through their creative vision, something a designer or client might not have been able to see or envision.
When you worked with marketing, how does one sell fashion? How does it change from being a physical beauty to a need to earn money and how does a company make that happen well?
Fashion is broken down, marketed and sold by trends each season. Designers & brands take the most popular and incorporate them into their latest collections. For a company to make this happen well, it’s really about creating original and visually appealing ad campaigns, look books, etc. One of the reasons why I created my agency is to help brands achieve these goals.
You volunteer for several organizations. What positive things have happened to you as a result, and how have you been able to help others?
At the end of the day, fashion is about having fun and giving back. At times, I find myself getting so caught up in this world that working on projects like these keeps me grounded and in touch with what matters most in life. Nothing can compare to the moment you’ve given back the confidence a person has lost whether it be though an illness, traumatic experience or just taking care of others and not focusing on themselves. It’s the best feeling in the world and truly captures the essence and power of fashion in its purest form.
