The Art of Styling. EXPOSURE reveals what lies behind a stylist’s work.

“No one seems to know exactly what their role is”, writes Emanuele Coccia in his opening text in the catalogue for EXPOSURE – The Power of Being Seen, from Harry Styles to Lady Gaga, “ yet everything appears to depend on the work they do.” And indeed today stylists often appear to be the new rulers of the fashion industry. Red carpets, talk shows, editorials and front rows are their playgrounds to silently scramble fashion’s vocabulary, re-combining its words as they please. New creators on top of creators, taking that next step that makes a look unmistakably connected to a specific individual, creating moments meant to remain in visual culture history.

The relationship between bodies and clothes is shaped by their art, by their frequently anonymous hands that set the rules, choosing and combining infinite shapes, colours, fabrics and silhouettes, giving our appearance a deeply personal and unmistakable identity. Though not the creators of the garments themselves, they govern their life and death in cities, homes and wardrobes.

Curated by one of the leading figures in contemporary styling, Tom Eerebout, EXPOSURE retraces the process of styling in reverse. From the red carpet – a kind of temple capable of transforming a face into a visual prayer that redirects and reshapes the lives of millions – the journey moves back to the hotel room, the cocoon where a private body acquires universal force, a workshop where glamour is built. 

The exhibition also reveals the tools behind this almost Frankenstein-like process of constructing and dismantling identities: a form of sculpture built on illusion and technical precision, where craftsmanship and anatomy converge to create presence and visual power. The creative process typically begins with memories, images and influences that conspire toward a new and unprecedented present. Everything ultimately leads to the stylist’s final signature: a silent gesture, an invisible touch that transforms preparation into a finished image. 

Styling matters — as the final section of the exhibition makes clear — because it allows every garment to become a complete self, because it turns our very own self into something made in the same material as our clothes. 

EXPOSURE showcases many such alchemical transformations, choosing to exhibit some of the most relevant examples of apparently ephemeral fashion moments which have gone down in visual fashion history. 

For the visual world of Harry’s House, instrumental in shaping the new expressive and fluid yet deeply personal “Styles era” we recognize today,  stylist Harry Lambert brought in emerging designer Arturo Obegero, who ended up producing around 20–30 pieces in a very short window of time in preparation for the album launch. “I’ve still got sequins all over the house,” he famously reported.

This custom black-and-blue jumpsuit, defined by its bold diagonal striping and elongated, dance-inspired silhouette, reflects Obegero’s sculptural, performance-driven approach to fashion, echoing influences from modern dance and 1970s stagewear. Designed to interact dynamically with movement and light, it embodies the era’s blend of intimacy and theatricality, with Obegero consciously referencing artists like Freddie Mercury, David Bowie and Mick Jagger as touchstones, capturing Harry’s ongoing exploration of gender-fluid style and contemporary pop iconography. It also represents Harry’s continuing collaboration with emerging designers, something his stylist Harry Lambert was strongly involved in.

Another example is Chappell Roan’s 2024 Rolling Stone feature, photographed by Dutch-American fashion photography duo Inez and Vinoodh wearing a theatrical ensemble by London designer Maximilian Raynor, ITS Contest 2025 winner. 

Blending Victorian gothic references with exaggerated pop-surrealism, the look pairs a sharply structured grey jacket with flared sleeves and a distressed gingham skirt, layered to create a sense of deconstructed nostalgia. Elevated by extreme platform heels and Roan’s towering sculptural hair, the styling was meant to amplify her signature camp sensibility while showcasing Raynor’s talent for fusing dark romanticism with playful, performance-driven fashion.

The look is a revisitation of one of Raynor’s outfits for his ITS Contest winning “Manor for Heaven” collection, composed of costume designs for a short fashion movie with the same title. Each look dressed one of the characters of this protest movie surreally set in purgatory, where a cast of ‘others’ roam the misty grounds and rundown corridors of a manor house, awaiting entry to the patriarchal heaven they’ve been denied. Maximilian’s work displays historical traces and a conscious use of artistic codes taken from theater and music. A perfect mix for dressing a star of the likes of Chappell Roan.

Other times one unique accessory can completely define a look taking it into iconic territory. Exiting a London hotel in 2013, Lady Gaga carried a sculptural custom umbrella by experimental designer Luke Brooks.

 Crafted from layered, iridescent shell-like forms – and for this reason appropriately renamed “shellbrella” by Brooks – the piece transforms a functional object into wearable fantasy, echoing the designer’s fascination with organic architecture and surreal, oceanic motifs. His career was launched after graduating from Central Saint Martins college, receiving the award for the most creative project by legendary performance artist Marina Abramovic during ITS Contest 2012.

credit photo Lady Gaga: © WENN Rights Ltd via Alamy

The umbrella complemented a Geisha-like ensemble (completed with Lego constructed Japanese sandals) that Gaga wore to attend a shoot session with legendary director and visual artist Robert Wilson for his iconic “Video Portraits” series. It was a clear example of Gaga’s own commitment to “performance as fashion”, with the “shellbrella” acting as both accessory and art object. Its biomorphic structure and meticulous hand-built detailing showcase Brooks’ avant-garde approach, making the piece a striking example of how Gaga’s collaborations blur the line between everyday objects and couture-level spectacle.

To the exhibition visitor, what could have appeared as a futile, superficial profession uniquely meant for the uber-narcisistic turns into a refined fine-tuning of who we are to the outer world. Styling, when it is executed at its highest level, is more about hyperdefining the image we project of ourselves to the world, creating a description of ourselves that needs no words. 

“When styling is done well,” recites Tom Eerebout’s voice on the Why Styling Matters? section of the exhibition, “you don’t just see the clothes — you feel something. And feeling is what people remember. In a world saturated with images, styling helps cut through the noise. It gives clarity. It gives intention. It gives emotion. And that is why styling matters — because it is not just about how we look. It is about how we exist, how we express, and how we tell our story without ever needing to speak.”

EXPOSURE – The Power of Being Seen, from Harry Styles to Lady Gaga, ITS Arcademy’s fourth exploration of the relationship between body and clothes,is open Thursday through Monday, 10am – 5am (last entrance), until January 3rd 2027. And you can book your visit here.