Stephanie Wolf-Hicks
Born in the Midwest to a world-class shopaholic and her barrister husband, my formative years illustrate a life destined to end up as a "fair yet critical" fashionista, artist & lover of life. Hours of sorting at Loehmann's, unafraid of communal dressing rooms even in my teen years, my life changed radically with the installation of cable television at my parents mid-century suburban Denver home, and the subsequent obsession with M-TV began. The impact on the cotillion-going "Symphony Debutante" was a sudden transformation into a pink-haired "New Romantic" desperate to know everything there was to know about music, fashion & pop culture (or imported from England). Only my soda-jerk job at Baskin-Robbins seemed to hold me back from my fated life as artist, costumer, image consultant, writer and designer.
Through the lens of an ordinary 35mm camera, I aimed and shot my way out of Denver. Snapping my "punk" pals at grimy clubs and winning photo competitions, I found myself in photography school in Rochester, then NYC, some studies abroad and had formed an über-trained critical eye. I landed in a rent-controlled dump in Santa Monica (following the sun) and worked at a series of odd jobs: media buyer at an ad agency, shoe salesgirl, telemarketer. Then, as if in answer to a life of directionless mediocrity, I met a guy with a trend service looking for a photographer who was willing to go to Europe four times a year to shoot street fashion for his client's stores (!!!). This began a whirlwind journey of travel, fashion criticism, writing, retail store mastery and international fashion espionage. In other words, every design-savvy girl's dream. When the Gulf War put an end to my travel temporarily, I settled into the local scene as the Fashion Editor at The California Apparel News, where working as a stylist-writer.
My entourage of friends, fans and admirers growing, I sought the help of the Cloutier Agency to direct and guide my career, and the rest is history. Within a few years of doing Endust commercials and Teen Vogue covers, I found myself looking out the M-TV windows down at Times Square with clients Britney, Christina, Avril, & Vanessa in tow. My life had become the surreal vision I had only dreamed of! Working with rock stars, my life was a touring, clubbing, award show-going circus!!!
Eventually I married my soul mate and gave birth to our son, Ziggy, I took pause from the rock and roll lifestyle and redirected my creative pursuits downward. While pregnant, I dreamt of Italy and shoes (and pasta)? a dream made real when a creative collaboration formed with designer Cynthia Vincent. I flew to Italy and learned the artisanal method of shoemaking from an eccentric ex-pat who worked at Bally for years. As an independent contractor/creative director, I led the formation of Vincent's shoe division, and went on to help other shoe startups thereafter.
Recently I've taken up portrait painting, working in oils on a body of work called "Aging Hipsters". I study painting in two different workshop settings, one is fun, one is not-so fun. I'm pushing myself to paint as much as I can, and for the past few years I have begun to sell my portraits, which is spiritually rewarding and intense.
I write a blog for my husband's successful digital ad agency about technology?and try to approach every creative endeavor with flair and ingenuity, including the thankless board position at my son's public school where I help to plan events and tirelessly design and sell swag. I love cultural anthropology, and have every intention to write a book someday, between work, working out, soccer games, fashion shows and lovingly making dinner for my family. My goal is to create more than I consume. Loving and learning, spending time around art & nature, and expanding & communicating appreciation of beauty and individuality is my life's work.
