THE CREATIVE COUNCIL:

MEET LEAH ABBOTT

The stylist talks music videos, the Brits best-dressed list and working with Jorja Smith.

WORDS: HANNAH DUNN

‘A person, especially a celebrity, with several professions or skills,’ reads the dictionary definition of a multi-hyphenate. Enter Leah Abbott. The stylist has spent the past decade flipping between modelling and styling - you might recognise her from Skepta’s Shutdown and Ladies Hit Squad videos - but in 2023, her influence is felt most firmly in the looks she creates.

Abbott made the move from Bristol to London 11 years ago to study English Language. With no connections to the fashion industry, it was a chance encounter on a night out that set her on a new path. A stylist came over to ask if they could borrow her vintage jacket for a shoot, and the rest, as they say, is history. “That was like a lightbulb moment for me,” she explains. “Where I was like ‘if you want to use what I have, and I have a lot of stuff, then I can do what you’re doing’.”

A stint working as a stylist’s assistant followed. And then came Jorja. Aka, Jorja Smith, the critically acclaimed British artist, renowned for her killer red carpet looks and tour wardrobe. “I basically quit my job, went on tour with her and I’ve been styling ever since,” laughs Abbott.

Abbott has made a name for herself building up images for new artists, working with them from the start of their journeys to really define their style and message. She’s recently added R&B girl band sensation Flo to her roster, alongside longstanding clients Celeste and Skepta.

What was the moment she knew it was all coming together? “When I started to get a bit of traction from magazines like Vogue and Elle,” she says. “I did the Brits, and we were on the best-dressed lists for everything, like front page. Vogue wanted to an interview with me, and I was like ‘oh damn, I guess people like it.”

Like it they do. Few stylists out there get the music/fashion merge quite like Abbott. Last year alone she worked on Stormzy’s iconic Mel Made Me Do It video, alongside his long-time stylist and collaborator Melissa Holdbrook-Akposoe, Chris Brown’s Call Me Everyday ft. Wiz Kid, and Unknown T and Knuck’s Right Hand.

“I’m someone who’s always been obsessed with music videos. I sit and watch a lot of old music videos and films and get huge inspiration from that,” she explains. “When I hear a song, it almost becomes better for me once I see the visuals.”

So how does she now work to define the looks herself? “I can’t really describe what it is, but I hear a song and the looks kind of come to me.” It’s as easy at that, we wonder? “In my head it just comes so naturally, and I just love to dress people and make them feel good. But for people to be excited about it and to be asked to be a part of stuff like this, I’m like okay, it must have something special to it.”

In true multi-hyphenate form, Abbott is looking to expand her brand in the future, whether that’s through her own label or via educating others. “I’m always itching to try something new and see what will happen with it,” she says. “I think because this career was quite unpredictable anyway, I’d like to see what else I could do and maybe be successful in.”

Abbott’s latest addition to her CV? Joining The Creative Council, a next-generation advisory board filled with six of the most exciting voices in the industry. Over the coming months, Abbott will be curating a series of projects for FLANNELS X that tap into her expertise in the world of styling. First up, an exclusive FLANNELS Rental pop-up in FLANNELS X, Oxford Street, London. ‘The Dress Up’ by Leah Abbott sees a fresh curation of threads from the FLANNELS wardrobe added to our rental offering for the first time. True to form, the pieces from Poster Girl, Coperni, Aya Muse and Laquan Smith et al, play into Abbott’s expertise dressing for events and the stage, with a glam take on rental. So long floral midi dresses, hello mini skirts, cut-out dresses and barely-there tops.

Abbott certainly has the magic touch, but it’s a door she’s trying hard to kick open for others. “I hope to show people that this career is for anyone who has passion and is willing to work hard,” she says. “No matter where you grew up or what you started as, you can prosper in this career and change your course as long as you work hard. It’s for anyone and for everyone if you want it.”

"I HOPE TO SHOW PEOPLE THAT THIS CAREER IS FOR ANYONE WHO HAS PASSION AND IS WILLING TO WORK HARD." - LEAH ABBOTT

Plus, on the 27th of April you can catch Abbott on the panel at the launch of Inside Job in partnership with The Face; a series of URL and IRL events spotlighting industry voices at the intersection of fashion, culture, art and music at FLANNELS X. Designed to share knowledge and remove barriers to entry within the creative industries, Inside Job will provide a new generation of fashion creatives and entrepreneurs with the tangible advice they need to level up on their own creative journey.

Abbott will be joined by Heidi Bivens, the costume designer behind the iconic series Euphoria and Harmony Korine films Spring Breakers and The Beach Bum, to name but a few, and Brooke McCord, digital director of The Face. Expect an insider view of the industry, an exploration of style and identity, and a look at how fashion in pop culture is shaping the zeitgeist. Find out more via FLANNELS X.

EXPLORE FLANNELS X