Pharmaceutical Campaign Styling
The Brief
A healthcare communications agency came to me with a campaign for a cardiovascular pharmaceutical brand. Four models, multiple looks per model – built entirely around moodboards that the agency team had spent a long time putting together.
The creative vision was clear: older people who are fully alive, each with their own personality, their own story, their own way of dressing. Nothing muted, nothing passive, not trendy.
Vintage-inspired, specific to each character, and grounded in what that person would actually own.
When the creative vision belongs to someone else, your job is always more precise.
There is no room to interpret. You are not presenting options and seeing if that’ll do – you are finding exact matches that already exists in someone else’s imagination (and Pinterest) and making it real. That is a different kind sourcing and styling assignment.
The Challenge
Several of the pieces needed were not things you could order online. Sourcing vintage is a very tactile process. If you buy online without handling it and you take a risk – the texture is off, it does not drape the way you expected, and under studio lights it shows.
For characters with this much personality, the attention to detail, fabric, fit and colours mattered.
Sourcing took multiple days on foot – vintage markets, independent stores, as well as calling in helps from contacts across the country.
Searching with a specific list and knowing when to move on is a skill. As is knowing when to commit to a non-returnable piece, and when to walk away from it, this is one of the parts of the job that requires experience and self-trust.
Get it wrong and the client absorbs the cost.
The Work
Every piece was chosen to belong to the character wearing it, not just to match a reference image. How something photographs under artificial light, how it moves, how it sits next to another texture in the same frame – those decisions get made during sourcing, not on the day.
This requires outfit many additional moodboards, visualising the look for myself is not the same as showing a remote team how the outfit will come together.
There’s the extra time it takes to find back up outfits and securing each look, so it fits each model.
Then there are the alterations, custom designs, and knowing who to call upon in London so everything arrives on time.
Some pieces required rush alterations and same-day courier logistics to make the shoot.
What the Client Didn't Have to Think About
I managed sourcing, alterations, courier logistics, returns, charitable donation of unused pieces, freelancer coordination (related to the wardrobe) organised trusted HMUAs – secured all the NDAs and expenses across the Styling part of the project.
I also collaborated remotely with another freelance stylist who supported vintage sourcing outside London, whilst I retained responsibility for sourcing direction, logistics and project coordination.
The agency had one point of contact throughout, allowing them to stay focused on the campaign rather than wardrobe logistics, and managing multiple freelancers.
The Outcome
The shoot delivered exactly what the mood boards imagined.
The client was extremely happy and retained select pieces for future campaigns.
Everything else was donated to charity, as agreed from the start.
They agency also documented the entire day themselves – to showcase all the moving parts that go into a creative shoot.
Commercial Styling Past Projects
A selection of past campaigns, creative direction and styling across sectors, audiences and formats.
The Pharmaceutical Campaign
HEALTHCARE COMMUNICATIONS | MULTI-CHARACTER CAMPAIGN | COMMERCIAL STYLING
A complex pharmaceutical campaign requiring multiple looks, vintage sourcing, logistics management and full on-set styling support. Delivered through one point of contact, one wardrobe, hair and make-up RSL team and one invoice.
The Celebrity Partnership Campaign
TALENT PARTNERSHIP | RED CARPET STYLING | SUSTAINABLE SOURCING
Styling a high-profile sporting personality for a premium car brand partnership with sustainability built into every product, sourcing decision and creative detail.
High-Profile Talent Styling
PRIVATE COMMISSION | DISCREET SOURCING | SUSTAINABLE LUXURY
Discreet styling support for high-profile talent attending internationally recognised events, combining sustainable sourcing, NDA compliance and complete confidentiality.
Creative Direction for a Fashion Platform
STYLING AND CREATIVE DIRECTION FOR PROFESSIONAL IMAGERY.
Creative direction and styling for a sustainability-led fashion platform, including model selection, location planning, brand sourcing and editorial image selection.
About Roberta Lee - Commercial Stylist & Creative Director
Roberta Lee is a London-based commercial stylist and creative director specialising in sustainable luxury, editorial campaigns, commercial shoots, television productions and values-led brand storytelling.
Projects span fashion, healthcare communications, talent partnerships and commercial campaigns.