MICHAEL MACKO
Fashion Creative: Stylist & Writer
I'm a maximizer, I take something good and make it great.
From industry trends to project-specific custom advice, I provide qualitative and quantitative expertise to help your company create its future. In an ever-evolving fashion world, obtaining the information that matters is hard, getting it right, even harder. I have provided top-tier consulting to brands, retailers, and trade shows across the world, advising them on design, forecasting, and product strategies using my unique set of retail and editorial skills. I am also an accomplished writer and stylist.
Previously the Fashion Director of DETAILS and MR Magazines, Senior Vice President of Fashion, Public Relations & Special Events for Men’s and Home at Saks Fifth Avenue, and Editor-at-Large for Valet, I have worked across the fashion industry for 25 years. Sustainability and equality matter greatly to me and factor into all aspects of my work and strategies. My personal passions are fashion and animals, and my home is filled with both.
Select Styling Work
Current Work
DESTINATION FASHION
Editing
MR Magazine
AUGUST 2023
Styling
DRESS CODE
Styling and Production
MR Magazine
JULY 2023
Photographed by Chris Fucile
FASHION FAVORS THE BOLD
Styling and Production
MR Magazine
February 2023
Photographed by Chris Fucile
BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY
Styling and Production
MR Magazine
January 2023
Photographed by Thorsten Roth
THE END
Styling and Production
MR Magazine
August 2017
Photographed by Menelik Puryear
APRÉS SKI
Styling and Production
MR Magazine
February 2017
Photographed by Menelik Puryear
THE HEIR
Styling and Production
MR Magazine
July 2017
Photographed by Menelik Puryear
CASE STUDY #1
THE INSPIRATION
I had the pleasure of meeting John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy in 1997 when I worked for Saks Fifth Avenue in the Special Events Department. JFK, Jr., and CBK were hosting the opening dinner for our new San Francisco Men's Store in conjunction with George Magazine. Everyone from SF was there, the Fishers, the Gallos the Coppolas, the Gettys, Gavin Newsom, Charlotte, and George Schultz. JFK, Jr. had notoriously not been on the west coast in years and everyone turned out to greet the couple. John and Carolyne were the last people to leave the event and while waiting for their car, chatted with all of us on the PR and Special Events team (CBK had done PR for Calvin Klein and we had all worked together on events), we were laughing and telling stories, forgetting we were with a couple who were the equivalent of a supernova.
I always knew that I wanted to do a JFK, Jr.-inspired fashion story, and the minute I met Jake Sanderson I knew I found the perfect model for the story. To make everything as authentic as possible I researched and studied hundreds of archival photos of Carolyn and JFK, Jr. sourced exact locations and looks even had a casting to find the perfect stand-in for their beloved dog, Friday. The results are a bittersweet homage to a couple we lost way too early but left an indelible legacy.
FIGHT CLUB
Styling and Production
MR Magazine
January 2017
Photographed by Menelik Puryear
PURSUIT OF THE WAVE
Styling
OUT Magazine
August 2016
Photographed by Menelik Puryear
WEST WIND
Styling and Production
MR Magazine
November 2015
Photographed by Menelik Puryear
FASHION DIRECTION
DETAILS/CONDE NAST
FASHION WRITING
CASE STUDY #2
HOW MICHAEL MACKO WORKS
In 2015 I was hired to work on the relaunch of MR, the premier menswear industry's magazine. We needed something for the last page that would leave readers on a high note and wanting to read the next issue but could do that in just one page. I always loved seeing the fashion industry at home when magazines like AD do their industry issues and thought what if we profiled menswear movers in the place they spend the most time after their homes, their offices. I came up with "How ______ Works" so that it could incorporate not only office furniture and decor but also the ephemera that everyone keeps on their desks and shelves, which ranged from a surfboard to Shaquille O'Neal's size 22 sneaker, Kaws sculptures, and a collection of owls. The section proved a big hit and lasted my entire tenure with the magazine.
TREND FORECASTING
ASTOR & BLACK
Production & Styling
Advertising Campaign
Autumn/Winter 2012
Photographed by Matt Albiani
WEST EGG: REVISITED
Styling
Plum Hamptons
July 2011
Photographed by Matt Albiani
CASE STUDY #3
MAKING IT HAPPEN
In shooting the Great Gatsby-inspired story with photographer Matt Albiani for Plum Hamptons we wanted to bring key scenes of the novel to life. We were on location at a beautiful Southampton home and it came time for the dressing room shot, where Gatsby pulls all of his shirts out of the cabinet while Daisy weeps at how beautiful they are. To make it look like the shirts were raining down on them, I stood behind Matt and threw them up in the air as he started shooting. The effect was great, but to make a true visual impact we needed more shirts than we had on hand, Matt went out to his car and returned with his laundry bag, which he was planning to drop off at the laundromat after the shoot. The results were one of the most beautiful stories I have ever styled, even with dirty shirts.
MARCOS PITOMBO
Styling
Made in Brazil #6
August 2012
Photographed by Greg Vaughan
ENGINEERED FOR MOTION
Production and Styling
Advertising Campaign
Autumn/Winter 2015
Photographed by Greg Vaughan
ENGINEERED FOR MOTION
Production and Styling
Advertising Campaign
Spring/Summer 2016
Photographed by Menelik Puryear
MARKET EDITOR
MAX 'N CHESTER
Production and Styling
Advertising Campaign
Spring/Summer 2015
Photographed by Menelik Puryear
STILL LIFE STYLING
FASHION SHOWS AND PRESENTATIONS
MACKO'S MRKET PICKS
MRket Trade Show
2011 - 2017
Fashion Vignettes
CASE STUDY #4
QUANTIFYING CREATIVITY
In 2011 I was hired by Lizette Chin to work on the newly created MRket menswear trade show, she wanted something that would set the tone of the show as soon as the attendees walked in and provide them with a distinct point of view for the show. Since we had the best retailers in the world walking through our doors to shop, it was only natural to give them window displays to look at before they entered. I came up with the idea of vignettes that were ultimately named “Macko’s MRket Picks”. They became a huge hit, with everyone stopping to take photos and numerous success stories from brands telling us how a retailer saw a product displayed in one of the vignettes and then coming by their booth to place an order for that item. Two further examples of the creative success were first when a store owner came up to me at the AW/13 show and shared how he was so inspired by the previous season's display entitled “The Office”, that he went back, rented 6 vintage desks from his local office-supply store and re-created our desk pyramid. The second was when another retailer was so inspired by our “Alpine Fantasy” mannequins from the AW/2014 show that they purchased all 10 of the animal masks that we had commissioned for the display, and took them home with them when the show was over.
