Esmée Geeratz
Esmée Geeratz
Creative Director & Stylist
Studio City, Los Angeles, CA
www.esmeegeeratz.com
instagram @esmee_geeratz
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“I am a creative director & stylist. I help brands create beautiful, interesting and attractive content ranging from brand identity to marketing purposes like campaigns. From concept to finish my job is to create content while working closely with photographers, graphic designers, stylist and models.”
WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
I have has always been in love with fashion. After finishing my Bachelor degree in Fashion Design I gained experience in the magazine industry. Several years later I became one of the youngest Fashion Directors in Amsterdam, where I helped create and stamp my style aesthetic on &C Magazine, a celebrity driven monthly with fashion, pop culture and lifestyle articles. Being part of a magazine launch was exciting. I got to hone my skills as a visual storyteller, dreaming up creative concepts for everything from fashion to stills to each magazines theme carefully curating ideas to jive with the upbeat brand. My presence is still felt throughout the magazine, where I am a now a freelance contributor. I started my own company last year and I am very happy my clients vary from fashion magazines to worldwide brands like Wolford & L'oreal . Born and raised in Amsterdam I currently travel regularly between Europe and LA.
How do you stand out in your field?
My talent, my eye and my viewpoint is how I express the evolution of myself, women, advertising and fashion. This is the gift I bring to every shoot. I can’t not do that. I am the link, the conduit between the clients vision and it's expression. I translate their vision into the visual- via the filter of my experience. Clients now want high quality content in a short time for a good price, I deliver that.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
At this moment I'm creating a new campaign for Europe's major lingerie brand Hunkemöller. I am in the middle of vision boards that are approved by the board before I can start collecting everything I need to bring my vision to life.
Also I am working on my own clothing brand Fumée, having a bachelor in Fashion Design kept hunting me. So I decided to do something about it. Fumée is dedicated to make beautiful and ethical garments without compromise. I serve women that want to feel gorgeous and value themselves as well as high quality & sustainable fashion.
WHAT'S YOUR STYLE/PERSPECTIVE/TASTE? DO YOU HAVE A PROJECT THAT REPRESENTS THIS?
I would describe my style as feminine, playful, sexy & colorful. I want every project to show high quality and it has to make you smile. What I like with my visuals is to get a reaction out of people, wether they like the image or not, I like it to be memorable.
WE ARE ALL SLASHIES WITH MULTIPLE SKILLS, WHICH ONE DO YOU WISH YOU COULD DO MORE OFTEN?
My creative direction. Now I work as a creative director & stylist for many brands and magazines. Which can be overwhelming because you are actually doing two jobs at the same time. I have to lead a team, create the vision and dress the model for wardrobe.
WHAT IS FRUSTRATING YOU RIGHT NOW?
The way stylist can get their stuff for photo shoots, visual showrooms are starting to rise but I would just love to shop online for my shoots and pick it up when ready or have it delivered. That would be heaven.
IF YOU COULD HIRE SOMEONE FOR $20/HR, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE THEM DO TO MAKE YOUR DAY EASIER?
Well that's easy, pick-up all the stuff we need for the shoots, it could be in a little pink pick-up truck that say's: Pick-me-up-baby.
LET'S BRING OUT THE TIME MACHINE. WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE TOLD YOURSELF, WHEN, AND WHY?
When I started my career as a Fashion Director, it was what I had dreamed of. I carefully mapped it out that I would go from being an intern, to fashion assistant, to fashion editor, to fashion director. So when I finally became one I thought everything would just fall into place. Well anything that has to do with ego doesn't work like that. We are fully complete as we are. More of anything wether that's job or more money doesn't complete you. And if you find yourself unhappy for a long time at a job, I don't mean your sh*t sandwiches because we all have to eat those when pursuing our passion, but if you are unhappy for a long time this is not where you need to be. There is something else still waiting for you. Move on honey.
IF YOU COULD TALK TO AN EXPERT TO GAIN MORE INSIGHT ON SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE ABOUT?
It would be about learning how we can make fashion as sustainable as possible. There is so much to learn about fabrics, dyeing processes, packaging, shipping, wages: everything has to improve for us to be kind to our planet and its people. I want to learn everything there is to learn about that.
WHAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES/PROJECTS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
Any projects that need me to help translate their vision into a visual. I am so happy when I get to work on a project like that.
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL JOB/CLIENT/COLLABORATION.
Clients that hire me always have amazing creative visions of their own. It's a careful job to get their vision translated, through my filter into a visual project that is loved and successful. I don't want to overstep their power but I also know what needs to be done for the project to succeed. When they trust me, when they are honest and clear, that's when we get the best results together.
WHAT IS YOUR HOURLY RATE, RETAINER, OR SALARY RANGE?
It depends on the client/project, but I’m open to discussing this on a per project basis.
HOW SHOULD SOMEONE APPROACH YOU ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER?
I always like to know their passion / message, so when I read the request I can immediately start to envision content for them.
HOW DO YOU STAY CREATIVE?
I tell myself this: Everything is figureoutable.
This member profile was originally published in October 2019.