5 Mins With: Cass Anderson
5 Minutes with Cass Anderson
You can find fashion forward stylist and creative director Cass Anderson working among some of the biggest fashion labels throughout Australia and styling A-List celebrities including Olivia Newtown-John!
Hailing from Tasmania, her fashion journey began after moving to London at the age of 20 and seems to have sky-rocketed over the 10 years she worked in PR and online styling for Cue and Veronika Maine in Sydney. Now located in the fashion mecca of Byron Bay she continues to style to perfection with local labels like St Agni and Flash Jewellery.
Stitch & Hide has been lucky enough to team up and collaborate with Cass on several creative styling projects; taking to the camera to style and shoot our Limited Edition capsule collection this year, plus regularly placing Stitch & Hide throughout her Style Magazine fashion pages in the Northern Rivers.
We wanted to find out more about her background, what inspires her wardrobe, her go-to styling tips for the next seasons to come and what she is up to!
Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into fashion styling?
I grew up in Tasmania and left home for London when I was 20 to chase my travelling and fashion dreams! I’ve always had a clear vision of working in fashion and have tried to put the work in to make it happen. I did a fashion styling course in London at Central Saint Martins, then when I returned to Australia I thought a fashion business course was my most stable bet, so I studied in Sydney at FBI Fashion College. This opened me up to some incredible work experience opportunities. I then took a position at Cue Clothing Co and worked my way up through PR and business roles, to become Head of Online Styling and Accessory Developer. Now I call Byron Bay home and run my own business styling as a freelancer. The journey has been one of not being afraid to go with opportunities when they happen.
We love your city-inspired wardrobe, who are your biggest influences that inspires your own style?
Oh thank you! Since moving to Byron I have dialled back the city look quite a bit, but I guess that’s just my style! Australian designers are really coming in to their own and I love Ellery for her beautiful cuts that are quite sculptural with unexpected details.
On an international level I love Stella McCartney and the incredible work she does with product innovation and sustainability, Alexander Wang has a cool but chic, downtown style. Balenciaga, Celine and Acne Studios are favourites too.
I have huge love for the local Byron labels and the incredible ranges they put together, all with such a fuss free attitude. And I have had the pleasure of working with some talented people and brands in the last two years.
Can you share your top go to styling tips and tricks?
Embrace your shape and dress for it with silhouettes that flatter you. If that means missing out on a current trend that’s totally fine, it will serve you better in the long run.
I always have a go-to jacket or blazer on hand (in the cooler months) to help me look ‘pulled together’. A leather jacket vamps up a look, a denim jacket over a shirt keeps the look more casual-cool and a blazer with a lapel can transform a soft dress into a sharp one.
Don’t skimp on a good bra! Especially a good t-shirt bra for under those unforgiving tissue-thin fabrics! The right one will give you so much more confidence.
And sticky tape is excellent if you don’t have a lint brush!
As well as styling, you are the editor for the fashion pages in Style Magazine – what new trends should we be taking seriously over the next couple seasons?
For this spring/summer, pastel colours are going to be big. Shades of pale pink, green and lemon look beautiful in soft, draped pieces. And the biggest pastel comeback – lilac. The easiest way to get in on the trend is to start off is with a small bag or clutch.
Love them or hate them bumbags (or the new term is belt bag), have been lurking around for a while now and are only getting bigger.
Originally from Tasmania, then working in Sydney and London - what enticed you to give up the big city life and move to Byron Bay?
I always thought I would be a big city girl, the thought of living in a small town scared the hell out of me! But Byron Bay is not a small town at all and seemed a logical step down from the big city life. There are so many labels, artists, writers, designers, creatives, just so many people doing amazing things that we knew there would always be growth here. I was working in corporate fashion and starting to feel burnt out and in need of some new, creative energy.
After one short visit to Byron Bay my partner and I knew this was the place for us to recharge and refocus on the next phase of our lives. Within 3 months we had made the decision to leave Sydney, I quit my full-time position of 9 years and we moved.
And we have never looked back.
Biggest highlights from your styling and fashion career so far?
A special moment for me was having my first shoot as a freelance stylist featured in a magazine. After making those big life changes to go out on my own, that moment brought it all into perspective.
Working in Byron Bay has been a real highlight. I’ve been able to meet and work alongside some amazing people and I am so grateful that they have trusted me creatively.
Biggest fan moment so far was styling Olivia Newton-John.
What essentials do you carry in your bag at all times?
My iPhone, it’s like my mobile office sometimes.
Portable phone charger.
Burt’s Bees Lip Balm, the coconut and pear flavour is yum!
A few baby wipes – perfect for soaking up stains on clothes and cleaning hands.
And lately I seem to always have an emergency Banjo Carob Bear in there too!
Daily Mantra?
I mainly focus on positivity, being an honest person and putting in hard work.
Something I read daily is a post-it note that my partner wrote and left on my desk a while back, and I’ve kept it there to remind me. It says - ‘you are doing an amazing job’.
Check out her latest styling and trend direction on @cassanderson_style
