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Celebrity stylist Molly Dickson wasn’t always going to work in fashion. In college, Dickson majored in advertising, and two weeks before her graduation, she had an “aha” moment and realized that she wanted to work in fashion. “I called my mom. I’m like, ‘I do not want to do this. I’m gonna move to New York, and I’m gonna do fashion,'” Dickson said. While it took a little convincing, she eventually persuaded her parents to let her go to Los Angeles after graduation. 

After getting her start working for a small designer and showroom in Los Angeles, Dickson secretly booked a flight to New York to interview with Marie Claire for an internship. Dickson landed the internship and stayed at the publication for two years before she felt like she was ready for a change. “A task that used to take me like two hours, I could literally do it in like two minutes,” Dickson said. “I don’t like being stagnant. I love to be challenged.”

Dickson was hired by celebrity stylist Leslie Fremar and worked with Fremar for seven years. In 2018, Dickson went out on her own and now works with clients such as Sydney Sweeney, Katherine Langford, and Camila Mendes, just to name a few.

For the latest episode of Who What Wear With Hilary Kerr, Dickson shares how she went from North Dakota to New York City to work in fashion, what it was like going out on her own, and more. For excerpts from their conversation, scroll below.

I know that you grew up in North Dakota and that you’ve mentioned in the past you didn’t have a ton of access to fashion where you lived. Can you tell me a little bit about where that initial interest came from?

I grew up on a farm in North Dakota, and our nearest neighbor was a mile away. The nearest store to get a magazine was like 30 minutes away. I was a very, very active kid that did a lot of sports, so we didn’t go shopping a ton. We would do one big shopping trip to Minneapolis—the Mall of America—and I loved it. I looked forward to it every year, but I was a very sporty, tomboy kid.

When I got to high school, I started really getting into style, and my mom would be like, “Oh, these are some new trends that we should try.” Then I went to college in Minneapolis, majored in advertising, and two weeks before I graduated, I called my mom. I’m like, “I do not want to do this. I’m gonna move to New York, and I’m gonna do fashion.” And she’s like, “You have no experience. You’re not going to New York. We know no one there.” I persuaded them to go to L.A., and I had a couple of internships there.

Tell me about your first proper job in the industry.

I graduated college during the recession of ’09, so no one was hiring. I also didn’t have any experience in fashion. My experience in internships in college was sports marketing. I did two internships in L.A.—one for a small designer and then one for a showroom.

I’m like, “If I really want to do this, I need to move to New York.” I really wanted to work at a magazine, so I flew to New York behind my parents’ back. I had no money. I was a college grad. My internships in L.A. were unpaid. I had like $500. I flew to New York. I did an interview at Marie Claire magazine. You had to receive college credit to intern, and I’d already graduated. I enrolled back into college [and paid] to get credits to intern for free. It was crazy.

My first big fashion internship was at Marie Claire magazine. I remember walking in, and I was so excited. I’m smiling, and one editor stopped me, and she’s like, “It’s your first day, isn’t it?” I’m like, “Yeah.” I’m bright-eyed, smiling. She’s like, “Yeah, you’re not going to be smiling every day.” I’m like, “What?” After a week, I’m like, “Oh my God, this is a lot of hard work.”

At what point did you start thinking about the celebrity styling piece of it? I’m curious about what your thought process was like and how you were thinking through everything on a strategic level.

I would like to say it was strategic, but it wasn’t. I had been at Marie Claire for maybe two years, and I wasn’t being challenged anymore. A task that used to take me like two hours, I could literally do it in two minutes. I don’t like being stagnant. I love to be challenged. … I knew the editor above me wasn’t going to leave. You couldn’t get promoted without a position open above you, so I started looking.

I met with Leslie [Fremar]. I didn’t really understand what celebrity stylists do because I’d only really been around editorial, and we hit it off. One of the reasons why I really wanted to work with her was because she seemed so happy in life. She’s like, “I love my job. I love my life.” I’m like, “Oh my god, I want to be around someone that is so passionate about it and so happy.” I left Marie Claire, and I worked with her for … a little over seven years.

You decide to go out on your own. What was the first six months like? How were you thinking about clients?

When I left to go out on my own fully, the only client that I really had was Katherine [Langford]. I knew I needed more clients, but it was hard because all of the publicists and the hair and makeup people knew me as an assistant.

I met with a few publicists, and I’m like “Guys, I’ll do anything if you want to spec shoot.” A spec shoot is when you do a photo shoot when the actress and the photographer and hair and makeup and the stylist all just want to get content, and no one gets paid.

I had to invest a couple thousand dollars on each spec shoot to get content into meet these young actresses. That’s how I got a few young clients through these spec shoots. I saw it as … my college. After about a month of being on my own, I worked with Scarlett Johansson. I mean, I love her so much. She took a huge chance on me. They hired me to do her for a music video with Pete Yorn, and it went really, really well. After that, we started working together. She put me on the map. Without her, I wouldn’t have had the clout.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Next, check out our interview with Who What Wear’s beauty director on the skincare and makeup to invest in this year.