The Oscars is such a huge moment but when it comes to styling my clients, it comes down to how best to create a story with clothes. The moment that the new year begins, my team and I begin planning every look I’m going to try on during awards season. This year, we asked Michael B Jordan, Letitia Wright and Cynthia Erivo how they would like to feel and then I take it from there, utilising the knowledge I have of the runway to figure out the right pieces to fit.

When it comes to diversity in the industry, I can honestly say I’ve seen a change from when I first started as a Teen Vogue fashion assistant in 2010. You did not see a lot of people like me. It was very rare to see black stylists and black editors being celebrated by the masses and in high-level positions.

At the beginning of my career I would receive a lot of “nos” when I asked to borrow a runway look for a client to wear on the red carpet and I would find myself pleading with PRs at fashion houses to loan designers’ looks to me. It was unfortunately not standard to be aware of inclusivity of talents and new generation creatives until recent times.

It was then that I began working closely – and still do – with newer designers such as Kim Shui, Victoria Hayes, Pyer Moss and LaQuan Smith who understand the importance of recognising and supporting talents of all races and backgrounds.

In recent times, social media has really helped to increase awareness within the fashion industry, allowing for some of the greats who influenced me to be honoured for their contributions to style – people like Misa Hylton, June Ambrose, Patti Wilson and Wouri Vice.

It has also helped shed light on some horrendous designer hiccups that have caused fury within the fashion community when discussing diversity and inclusion within major fashion ateliers. This has been an ongoing problem that I look forward to helping change.

For major fashion houses to avoid continuing issues and to continue to be profitable, I encourage corporate heads at big to discuss diversity and inclusion, and factor in newer creatives into their companies to change the dialogue. There are many new-generation black stylists and editors like me who have the power to help these companies diversify. We’re certainly in a better place than when I first started but we still have a long way to go until many people understand and respect stylists of all races enough to say: “We want to work with you”.

In 2018, I was so blessed to be a part of Essence magazine’s iconic cover featuring Lupita Nyong’o, Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira and Letitia. It has always been ahead of its time and styling an all-black cast for an all-black magazine was history. I’m still honoured to have been chosen to style that imagery, it was truly one of my favourite moments as a stylist.