“This collection means so much because it’s my favorite one since my first collection,” said Rachel Zoe of her fall 2018 presentation, her 28th outing since adding “designer” to her many job descriptions. “It’s got all my favorite things: sequins, fringe, gold, velvet, lace. Why not, right?”
For Zoe, especially when designing for her favorite season, piling on the lush fabrics only adds to the Hollywood glamour vibe. The setting – The Jeremy Hotel on Sunset Boulevard, its grand staircase draped in red velvet – amplified her message. As guests like Kris Jenner, Paris Hilton and Molly Sims made their way inside, it was clear that Zoe knows who and what her customer aspires to.
“Life should be a party. Even if you are not actually at a party, you should dress like you are,” she said. “As a designer, I set out to make glamorous clothes that somehow can work into your everyday life. To see so many of my designs come to life on all of [the guests] here, it never gets old.”
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In addition to her mainstay palette of gold and black – which she employed in a crocodile-textured pantsuit, a gold leather-trimmed tuxedo and shimmery velvet and hammered satin slipdresses – Zoe added ruby and midnight blue. The latter two she fashioned into velvet variations of her Seventies-inspired tuxedos, and one midnight blue sequin tuxedo jumpsuit.
“Silas Chou told me when I first started out, ‘Don’t ever change. Design what you love the most,'” said Zoe, who has taken his advice to heart. She did include some more modern pieces, such as a black suede bomber with gold sequin leopard spots and burnout velvet blouses and moire suits with a woodgrain pattern. For Zoe, even a turtleneck can be slinky, when done in a tissue-weight lurex knit.
For the second season, she also presented a selection of white, wedding-appropriate looks, and one unmistakably bridal tiered tulle gown that looked like it had Hilton’s name written all over it.
“Everyone’s like, ‘It’s the year of the woman.’ The funny thing is, every year is the year of the woman. I don’t feel like we should ever single out a year,” she said.