Rachel Zoe, who started as a magazine editor, has evolved into the go-to style adviser for a myriad of celebrities.
She has received attention for transforming the looks of Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Richie and Maria Sharapova, highlighting her penchant for late- Seventies attire and accessories.
“A minimalist I am not,” said Zoe, who wears a variety of yellow gold jewelry, including a Cartier Roadster watch and several snake rings in gold and diamonds that complement her California tan. “Simple bores me. It’s the accessories that should excite an outfit.”
The accessories company Leiber tapped her to create a bag collection this fall. Zoe worked alongside Frank Zambrelli, creative director of the New York-based brand, to create two styles: the Medusa and the Cleopatra, a satchel and a clutch, respectively, which are topped off with a heavy gold fob depicting two snakes coiled around a ring. The bags come in 12 color and skin variations, including a siren-red snakeskin and matte-gold leather.
“It’s kind of bizarre,” Zoe said of designing accessories with her name on the label. “When you design an accessory, you don’t go into it with the hopes of what it could be: to create an ‘It’ bag. With this endeavor, it was something that I really loved, and it was off the mark for Leiber, but Frank was really supportive. It was a really big risk in my mind. I didn’t know how it would go. I love that I created a fantasy for people…but having them in the windows on Madison Avenue [in Leiber’s flagship] makes me kind of nervous.”
The stylist, who is also a creative consultant to several luxury ready-to-wear brands, said 2006 was an exceptional year for accessories, citing its pinnacle with her pairing of an iridescent plum one-shoulder Vera Wang dress with a jewel-drenched vintage Bulgari bib on Keira Knightley for the Oscars.
Zoe’s favorite haunts for accessories include Dior, Cartier and Fred Leighton.
“Fred Leighton is a candy store of jewelry,” she said. “All the emeralds and rubies and 1940s jewelry — it’s every girl’s dream.”
Next up for Zoe is her first book, “Style From A to Zoe: The Guide to All Things Glamour,” due next year from Warner Books. There is speculation she might get her own TV show.
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“If it’s possible, I love my job more now than I did 13 years ago,” she said. “If I had to, I’d do this for the rest of my life for free.”