Celebrity Stylist & Fashion Editor Niki Shadrow Making Fashion Magic

The magic of chaos existed in the photo shoot featuring Top Model/TV personality Adrianne Curry. With everything happening all at one time, Niki Shadrow (Life & Style Editor and Celebrity Stylist) had the ability to keep this potentially overwhelming situation at ease and extremely organized. Niki, the photo shoot producer and stylist, has perfected the skills of multi-tasking on a photo shoot after being in the industry for over a decade. 

The Beginning

At the ripe age of sixteen, Niki started working at high-end boutiques in Malibu. Helping celebrities style looks for themselves, she realized that styling was exactly what she wanted to do. Niki made the move from the beaches of Malibu to the nightlife of the fashion district in Los Angeles two weeks after graduating high school. After her big move, she started college at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, majoring in merchandise marketing. Niki’s go-getter attitude brought her to where she is in her career today.

Niki says: "I have made myself become everything I am today and nobody else will do that for you. I wanted to be a celebrity stylist, so I made myself one! I wanted to produce fashion shows so I made myself a fashion show producer. I wanted to be a columnist and a fashion editor and now I am both! I realize that I am not saving lives, but I make people look and feel good about themselves. It’s about always giving back in any way you can,  as a public personality, voice in print and mentor for fashion students, that is what  matters to me – giving back."

Giving Back

Outside of fashion, Niki’s passion is all about helping others. Her attitude and demeanor represent nothing but kindness and the best for everybody. In a second, Niki will pick up the phone or shoot an e-mail connecting anyone of her friends to the right person. She is a natural networker. No matter how hectic her schedule is, Niki will fit in time to mentor fashion students. She is a lively member of the FIDM alumni association and regularly speaks to students at events. There is always a lengthy line of students awaiting Niki to answer questions they may have. Niki’s philosophy is evident in every aspect of her work.

The Adrianne Curry Cover Shoot

Niki’s unique exuberance is portrayed in the looks that she chose for Adrianne Curry’s cover shoot. Standing with my paper and pen in this large studio, I look around at the overwhelming amount of clothing and equipment that really goes into producing a fashion editorial shoot. The room was filled with open boxes of mouth-watering shoes, tables covered in jewelry that would make any girl jealous, a rolling rack over-stuffed with unbelievable dresses, and a single rack with the five perfectly-chosen looks for today’s photo shoot; Niki’s assistant, Raina Silberstein, explains to me Niki’s philosophy. “There is no rule that should come in the way of fashion. Niki will do whatever she wants whenever she wants to do it, and the greatest part of this is it always looks stellar and works fantastically”.

The Looks

All five looks for the fashion spread/editorial feature were being created right in front of my eyes by Niki, with some help from me and her assistant Raina. The first outfit was based around a black and white couture Jovani dress, with a black feather corset top and white authentic feathers draping from the waistline to the floor. It was paired with Stefanie Somers earrings and an Eva & Guy oval ring. To top it off, the shoes by Nina were black silk peep toed stilettos with black rhinestone heels, giving it a stunning subtle sparkle.

Adrianne’s second look was an orange sorbet vintage dress with a feather collar from Sydney’s Vintage Clothing, paired with a 60’s peacock turban, by Sydney’s Vintage Clothing as well.

The look was kicked off by royal blue Walter Steiger platforms and a CC Skye onyx ring and golden braided bracelet. The contrast of the royal blue with the citrus orange was sublime. The third style was a silver metallic minidress by Vincent Libretti, a Project Runway finalist, which Niki believed worked better if worn backwards (I have to agree). A multi-colored metallic turban complimented the metallic dress, another fabulous hat from Sydney’s Vintage Clothing. A necklace draped around Adrianne’s neck by Live Glamorously or Die Jewelry and the silver metallic wedges were Report Signature shoes. Look four was another Vincent Libretti green and black color-block dress, DSW’s/ Franco Sarto patent leather red, blue, and yellow heels, which was ingeniously calculated because as Niki pointed out, "All three primary colors in the shoes make green". Last but not least, was a beautiful gown by Mikael Aghal and CC Skye screw-and-bolt golden bangles paired with alabaster shimmering earrings by Delicate Raymond Jewelry. The best was Adrianne’s feet glowing in Report Signature iridescent platform heels, inspired by peacock colors.

Great Colleagues

The photo shoot was extraordinary due to the great chemistry created between celebrity stylist, Niki Shadrow, hair and makeup guru, Allan Avendano, who was working steadily on Adrianne’s final touches for hours until his work was perfected, and the visionary photographer, Odessy Barbu. The shoot was produced in the remarkable studio owned by Odessy Barbu as well. The shoot came together and showcased everyone’s talents thanks in large part to the gorgeous cover model/TV personality, Adrianne Curry.

This upcoming issue of Supermodels Unlimited Magazine is one that should not be missed – the fashion will be to-die-for and the photos of Adrianne will be awesome. Look out for it on newsstands in CVS and Barnes & Nobel. The launch date is July 3, 2008.

After years of styling celebrities, writing hundreds of columns and producing fashion shows for brands like Virgin Records, The Italian Film Festival, and The Pussycat Dolls.  Niki is confident that this is the year to start branding her name. Niki has several appearances on Bravo coming up as well as an international appearance for Channel Four in the UK. Niki’s website, nikishadrow.com is due to launch early May 2008 and of course a launch party will follow! Keep your eyes on Niki Shadrow, she is poised to be the next big brand, style impresario and It Girl in Los Angeles!