Savannah White
ABOVE: SAVANNAH WHITE IN NEW YORK, MARCH 2015. PHOTO BY TEDDY FITZHUGH. FLUFF OVERSIZED COAT: COACH. RIVETS DAKOTAH 14 CROSS BODY BAG: COACH
Stylist Savannah White doesn’t have a fashion icon. “I like a lot of things—even if it’s something I wouldn’t wear,” she explains. Her personal style is grounded in vintage American classics: old Levi’s jeans, a leather jacket, and sneakers for running around on set. If she could work with any photographer, it would be Cass Bird, who is known for her through-back photos of bohemian femininity. “She’s got such good vibes,” says White. “Fashion shouldn’t always be taken so seriously, and I just feel like she would probably be an amazing human to be on set with.”
In the photo above, Savannah wears her all-American uniform of vintage jeans and a plain white t-shirt. What elevates the outfit, however, is her mint green oversized faux-fur coat with shearling trim from Stuart Vevers’ S/S 2015 collection for Coach. The coat is grounded in Coach’s American legacy—the British-born Vevers spent several summers traveling around the U.S. via Amtrak for inspiration—with a touch of English club-kid whimsy about it. A perfect statement piece to separate the stylist from the rest of the SoHo fashionistas.
HOME STATE: Arkansas
CURRENT LOCATION: New York City. I moved to New York about four and a half years ago, out of school. I went to the University of Arkansas. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, but I had a degree in communications and marketing. I came to New York and interned at Stella McCartney and did some fashion PR, and then I slowly moved over into working in fashion.
FAMILY HISTORY: My whole family worked in the military—I’m the only one that branched out and did something different. I have an older brother who is still currently in the military, and older stepsiblings—they’re a nurse and a teacher. Do I have to explain what I do to my parents? All the time. I’ve shown my mother my website she’s like, “Okay, I kind of understand. You style people and get paid for it.” But my dad…I just am patient and re-explain every time I talk to him.
FASHION HISTORY: Here, there’s all kinds of amazing magazine shops, but in Arkansas you can go to Barnes & Noble and that’s it. I would always go when new issues would come out and I would sit for hours in Barnes & Noble and go through magazines. Was I the fashionable kid in school? No, I wasn’t. I really didn’t like high school very much. When I got to college it was great and I was able to make my own friends, but I definitely would not say I was fashionable or the cool one in school at all.
FIRST INVESTMENT PIECE: It’s actually vintage, but it was still quite expensive. I bought a vintage black blazer when I was starting to go to interviews in New York. I had just gotten my first internship and I wanted something nice that I could wear with everything. I went and got it tailored even.
FIRST PROFESSIONAL GIG: I feel like I eased myself into it. I was interning and assisting at magazines and assisting other stylists and looking to do my own thing. A few years ago, styling for e-commerce was getting bigger, so I started working with several different e-commerce sites and styling for them, whether it was product shoots or editorial. I slowly moved back into styling on my own for publications.
FEELING INSPIRED: I would say music is a heavy influence for me. If I wasn’t working in fashion, I would definitely be trying to do something more in that lane. I get inspiration from music, my friends, my family, New York, travel.
CHOOSING JOBS: I want to be on board with the visual direction. I want to be passionate and to have the same vision as what somebody else is pitching me. I feel like it’s the overall vibe of the team as well and the people that you’re choosing to work with. When I first started out, I was very eager to say yes to every job, because I wanted the experience. I wanted to work with whomever; I felt awful turning down things. But then sometimes, you get in situations where it doesn’t quite workout or you feel like you were not able to execute and deliver the way that you wanted to. Sometimes you are stuck on sets where you’re probably not meshing well with people. Within the last year, I feel like I’ve tried to at least be better about turning down things that might not work out or I just don’t have the same vision as somebody. I avoid those situations, because it’s just not enjoyable.
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