ET Canada’s
bombshell Stylist, Alicia MacNamara, on her first job, Canadian designers and her
advice to future ambitious stylists
Beauty and brains,
Alicia MacNamara is the Stylist for Canada’s number one Entertainment News
destination, Entertainment Tonight Canada.
At ET Canada, Alicia oversees wardrobe direction and maintains her craft
and passion for fashion design. After
focusing her studies on political science, history and fine art, Alicia graduated
from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor in Education and Masters in
Teaching. Alicia tackles both her
passion for fashion and teaching by mentoring students through a styling
internship program at ET Canada.
Between the masses
of shimmering dresses on racks, two walls taken up by shelves of the tallest heels imaginable, another wall dedicated to the jewelry lining it sits Alicia at her sticky-note covered desk and
day-planner. I was fortunate enough to
sit down with Alicia despite her busy schedule and talk about the making of her exciting career.
Creativity lives
inside of all of us in different forms, for Alicia the fine art of seamstress
and pattern making came to her naturally.
Not only brave but bold, Alicia’s first venture in the industry was a
personal business, “Initially I did custom evening wear and bridal gowns for
private clients” this venture showcased her couturier skills and grew her
industry experience and network. This
experience lead Alicia to working in wardrobe, “In 2010, I became the assistant
costume designer for Dan For Mayor: Season 2.” This experience set her career into
high gear where she had the opportunity to work on sets of multiple television
series. Her lengthy resume includes
working as Assistant Costume Designer and Wardrobe Supervisor for episodes of Covert Affairs in 2010, as well as wardrobe
assistant for episodes of Against the
Wall in 2011.
Styling encompasses
different job requirements in each setting and brings new challenges. When
Alicia transitioned from television series to on-air filming at ET Canada she
found that although they sound similar by both being on sets, they are completely
different. Rather than characters having
their specific style throughout a television series, on-air filming at ET
Canada is “Non-stop busy! There is always another event, we are always on
television or working on editorials, it’s not like a television series or show
that stops and finishes, it’s completely non-stop” this means that new dresses
and styles change on the show in an instant.
Alicia scours every nook and cranny in the 6ix and beyond as she
sources, bringing in new styles every day to create and assemble a vision that
is as unique as it is stylish for the on-air staff at ET Canada including
Cheryl Hickey, Sangita Patel and Roz Weston to name a few.
Being a Canadian
entertainment news outlet, Alicia believes it is important to keep it Canadian with
the show in terms of style, “Canadian designers are to be respected and
spotlighted as the leaders in our community” she says, “we wear Canadian on the
show because it is important to invest in our fashion community first.” As a celebrity stylist in Toronto, Alicia
keeps her personal style Canadian conscious, “I try, if I am purchasing clothes
personally, to purchase from my sponsors, whether it is a Canadian boutique or
a Canadian designer or Canadian brand.”
Alicia explains that working at ET Canada “Is nothing short of entertaining
and when I do have that rare down time, all I want to do is get back to
work”. The passion she has for her job radiates
from her presence. To date in her
styling career her most stand out moment is explained as the time she dressed
Sangita Patel in a stunning white and shimmering gold accent cut out dress by
Canadian designer L’Momo for the red carpet at the Emmy Awards this year.
Passion fuels the
journey that life takes us on and with the career that Alicia has built herself
this far in the industry, she makes sure to pass the opportunities on to
aspiring stylists and fashion students.
Alicia takes on student interns at ET Canada to give them access to
experience and the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of not only the
wardrobe department itself but also the opportunity to network oneself in the
fashion industry. Alicia’s words of
encouragement to fashion students include volunteering in any fashion setting
to network yourself, “you need to work on creative projects with whoever you
can get involved, whether it’s volunteering to work for a designer or work for
an online magazine, or even being creative with artistic friends who have their
own passions as say a makeup or hair artist, whether it be on social media or
in an online portfolio to show what you are capable of doing. You have to develop an aesthetic and show
your work ethic to set yourself apart from your competition”.
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