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After helping countless interns and assistants make their way into the business over the years, celebrity wardrobe stylist Luke Storey decided it would be most valuable to share his knowledge with a classroom full of fashion-hungry students all at once. Thus, the School of Style was born.

Since its humble beginnings in November 2008, when Storey taught his first class of 15 people at a friend’s house, the School of Style has grown into the premier place to learn about the business of wardrobe styling. Now held at Smashbox Studios in West Hollywood, the school’s curriculum consists of three classes that can be taken individually or in succession, each with a different focus.

Class one, taught solely by Storey, is a two-day course centered around the business aspects of styling. It provides lessons on how to deal with restocking fees and requesting samples from designers, and it gives an overview of all the different jobs available in the industry. The second class, taught by both Storey and fashion blogger Lauren Messiah the following weekend, delves further into the fashion side, teaching students how to style, forecast trends, judge different body types and follow the general rules of the trade. In the third and final class, the School of Style produces a professional photo shoot that the students get to style themselves under the guidance of Storey and Messiah.

“The whole idea is that someone can walk in knowing absolutely nothing about styling and walk away with a few images to start their website,” says Storey. “It goes from A to Z in a very short amount of time.”

Because of its versatility, the School of Style attracts students ages 16 to 60, some with absolutely no styling experience and others with a few styling jobs already under their belts. Storey, who has been a stylist for 13 years, has more than a few jobs under his belt, having worked with Marilyn Manson, Kanye West, Daughtry and Kim Kardashian, just to name a few.

“I was inspired to start the school based on my career because I realized there was nowhere to go learn what we’re teaching,” says Storey. “It’s a very esoteric, very secretive career that you can’t get a degree in.”

Rather than a degree, Storey provides firsthand knowledge and experience, both of which he hopes to share with aspiring stylists nationally, and possibly even globally. He has already taken the School of Style cross-country to New York City — where he offers class one and two only — but he hopes to expand to some of the cities in between.

“We get so many inquiries from people all over the country,” he says. “We get people from D.C. who want to style politicians, people from Atlanta who want to style for athletes, so we’re looking into making it a traveling school where we pop into different cities.”

More specialized classes for those interested in becoming a personal shopper or pursuing other styling-related careers are also in the school’s future, a future where at least one thing is certain: Storey’s styling advice and expertise will continue to inspire.

theschoolofstyle.com