Though she was only making $18,000 a year, Rachel Zoe was always the first one in and the last one out at the office where she worked as a fashion assistant for YM magazine. It wasn’t about the money; it was about doing what she loved.
It was this passion, this determination, that made her who she is today: one of the leading celebrity stylists and designers in America, who makes no less than $10,000 per design.
For New York-born, New Jersey-bred Zoe, a love for fashion blossomed organically. She loved dressing up – even when the occasion didn’t call for it – and was often found making up her friends.
But it was the hospitality industry that appealed to her most during her formative years. Over the summer holidays in both high school and college (she studied psychology and sociology at George Washington University), Zoe would work as a hostess at a local restaurant. It was there that she met Rodger Berman, an MBA student who would later become her husband and business partner. She dreamed about opening her own restaurant with him, but his desire to work in finance inspired her to consider other options.
Upon graduation, however, Zoe realised she was unsure what to do with her life. She turned to her grandfather, who advised “Do whatever it is that you love, and success will come”. The recommendation was potent; Zoe had never been able to succeed in anything that didn’t hold her interest. Now she understood that wasn’t a negative; she would use her strengths to determine her future.
She decided to pursue her lifelong interest in fashion, and through connections, managed to land a job at teen magazine YM. “I didn’t even know what a fashion assistant was, but I figured that if it contained the word ‘fashion’ it was where I was meant to be.”
Zoe learnt much during her time at YM, having the opportunity to work with icons like Britney Spears and The Backstreet Boys, but quickly found herself in a situation that threatened to end her career before it had truly begun. Her boss accused her of stealing clothing following shoots – even though Zoe knew it was actually her boss committing the theft. She considered giving up, but her husband told her to push on. Soon enough, her boss was caught stealing red-handed by the fashion director, and was fired on the spot. Zoe was promoted to senior fashion editor.
Shortly after, the director sat her down, and told her to harden up. If she was going to make it in the industry, she had to stop being nice and start taking charge. On consideration, Zoe rejected the notion. “I did need to toughen up, and surviving the hardships with my boss made me realise that, but I believe people can be strong and nice at the same time.”
So it was that Zoe decided to depart YM and go freelance. She had no clients lined up – only a desire to put in the hard work and make it happen – but when many of the publicists and managers of people she had styled heard she was leaving, they hired her services immediately.
Through her network, Zoe was called in last-minute to style for Jennifer Garner’s appearance at the 2003 Emmy Awards. Garner was the first major actor she worked with, but the look she designed resulted in many more actresses coming to Zoe for style advice, including Keira Knightley, Cameron Diaz, and Kate Hudson.
But it was Zoe’s work with Nicole Richie that saw her establish herself as an industry icon. At the time, Richie was starring alongside a height-of-her-career Paris Hilton in The Simple Life, and was best known for wearing trucker hats and torn jeans. For her, Zoe refined the recently established ‘boho-chic’ look. Drawing on bohemian influences, the style featured loose-fitting clothes and over-sized jewelry. Richie became more than a reality TV star; she was defining herself as a leader in fashion. She stood aside more traditional beauties like Lindsay Lohan and Mischa Barton on the covers of magazines and on billboards, helping to make boho-chic a defining trend in the early-to-mid 2000s.
At the same time, Zoe was making a name for herself on the red carpet. Her ideas broke with tradition, sometimes controversially so. “If you don’t take chances, then what’s the fun in playing the game?”
By 2008, Zoe was a brand unto herself. She launched a reality TV series, The Rachel Zoe Project, which ran for five seasons. In 2009, she founded The Zoe Report, a free daily e-newspaper featuring innovations in the worlds of beauty and lifestyle. As of 2015, 1.8 million people had subscribed to the newsletter, which had expanded into a website with over 17 million page views, and a social media fanbase of 11 million, the largest for any fashion publisher.
2011 saw Zoe launch her own fashion line, featuring jewelry, footwear, and handbags. The collection featured in over 250 major stores, before Zoe established her first stand-alone store in February 2016.
To those who wish to follow in her footsteps, she has some simple advice:
- Don’t look at the clock.
- Know what you’re good at, and what you’re not.
- Learn to prioritise.
- Rise above drama.
- Position yourself accordingly.
- Stand out in an interview.
Finally, she had this to say in an article written for Elle.com.
“I never made a blueprint for my future and don’t believe in setting rigid career goals. Career paths usually require a lot of trial and error, and you have to allow yourself the freedom to go with the flow. Sometimes you think you should go in one direction, but it doesn’t work out or feel right. Occasionally, a better opportunity presents itself and you start over in a different area. If you set a goal that isn’t fairly realistic, you could be setting yourself up for failure—which can really set you back emotionally.”
It’s strong advice, from a fashion icon who is only going from strength to strength.