By SAMANTHA CRITCHELL
The Associated Press
This cuffed, short tuxedo is part of a line of clothing designed by stylist Rachel Zoe. She has been a fixture at Fashion Week shows, where she does a lot of shopping for her celebrity clients.
Rachel Zoes 4-month-old son will probably know his Christian Dior from Yves Saint Laurent before he can walk.
At celebrity fittings or business meetings, Skyler is the new favorite accessory of the stylist, reality star and author. But theres another new baby in her life, too: Her line of contemporary clothes, designed, she promises, with love, style and careful attention to detail.
There was a small, under-the-radar preview of the fall collection in February, but shes going center stage in September as part of New York Fashion Week.
Zoe says she doesnt want her label to be like anything else shes seen over the years on runways or red carpets.
My personal collection comes from concepts and ideas Ive been cultivating since I started collecting clothes. Im inspired by Halston, YSL, but I try to keep it true to who I am, Zoe says.
I will still be going to other designers and their shows. Thats something thats very important for me as a stylist, but I dont let it influence me. Just like you cant compare Marc Jacobs to another designer you cant say his collection looks like so-and-so and its the same thing with people like Sarah Burton and McQueen, or Prabal Gurung. I want this collection to look like my collection.
Celebrities seem to like what theyve seen so far. Jennifer Lopez has twice been spotted in clothes from the collection, including a tuxedo-style minidress named after Cameron Diaz.
Also look for long, dolman-sleeve dresses inspired by Kate Hudson for resort.
Zoes probably most famous for a beachy, bohemian look very St. Tropez and she has put a lot of young Hollywood in kaftans, maxi dresses and platform sandals. Of course theres some of that in her collection, she says, but she very purposefully also included pieces for the hipster downtown girl, the fashion-forward experimenter and the more polished sophisticate.
I want people to walk out after theyve seen the clothes and say, I loved it. I see the essence of who this girl is, a girl who loves fashion but (is) not a fashion victim, on trend but not trendy, someone with an appreciation of vintage but modern, the 39-year-old Zoe said.
Thats a tall order in this business, but perhaps even more so for Zoe, who is largely credited with taking behind-the-scenes styling to the front row and in front of the cameras. The fourth season of her Bravo show The Rachel Zoe Project, which made the catch phrase I die shorthand among the chic set for being excited about something, premieres Sept. 6.
While no one in the industry seems to dispute her sense of style, Zoe has become a media personality who attracts paparazzi and gossip.
I will never, ever think of myself as a celebrity. Id never consider myself a celebrity designer, she says. Im a celebrity stylist. Or a designer. Or a stylist-designer. I want this to be perceived as a collection done by a stylist and a designer.
But yes, she allows, she knows theres a likely mention of her Fashion Week debut on Page Six. I just hope that people focus on the clothes.
Shoppers, apparently, have no problem doing that.
Linda Fargo, senior vice president of fashion and store presentation at Bergdorf Goodman, says customers are running, not walking, to get their hands on Zoes items. I went to buy the camel high-waisted trouser, and it was already sold out! she says.
Fargo said in an email that she had a good feeling about the collection long before she saw a sketch, let alone a garment.
Rachel let me in on the secret over two years ago that she was developing a collection. I took this little whisper very seriously. I made her promise to show us as soon as she was ready. And we dont say that to just anyone who has a line up their stylists sleeve, Fargo says.
Zoes passion for fashion translates to the fabric, the silhouette and the style, Fargo adds, noting that it only helps Zoe that she lives the glamorous, jet-setting life of many of her clients and her labels customers.
Rachels years as a stylist has put her in the dressing rooms of a lot of choosy, image-conscious women and their needs and phobias. Its also happened to have given her tremendous access and exposure, Fargo says. She has a firm grasp on the power of personal style and the value of a well-chosen closet.
Unlined pockets on white pants? Thats something her clients hate, reports Zoe, and has been duly addressed on her version.
Mid-calf skirts are another dont, especially in the Diaz rule book, and you wont see them in her line, either.
Those, she says, are the little things Ive picked up along the way.