Rachel Zoe is taking New York Fashion Week by storm this season — this time, with Tanqueray.
The top stylist, designer and 2011 FNAA Launch of the Year winner is partnering with Tanqueray for her upcoming Damn Fancy styling suite on Feb. 9 — a SoHo pop-up where she’ll dress VIP guests with pieces from her shopping website, Curateur. Naturally, the setup will include Tanqueray’s dry gin cocktails on hand — fitting, as they’re a longtime Zoe favorite.
Rachel Zoe attends her Curateur dinner with Tanqueray at Moby’s in East Hampton, New York on July 14, 2022. CREDIT: GREG KESSLER/KESSLER STUDIO
“We’ve been in sync for quite some time; it’s a very organic partnership,” Zoe tells Fashion News. “I think when people think of the best gin, they think of Tanqueray. It’s something that I obviously love; I love entertaining with it, I love having it out on my bar carts, I love creating new drinks with them. It’s just fun.”
As the suite is held at Fashion Week, Zoe’s reflecting on her time in the front row — including her favorite memories with designers like Marc Jacobs, Carolina Herrera, Prabal Gurung and the late Oscar de la Renta.
“One of my greatest memories was one of the last times I saw Oscar de la Renta,” Zoe recalls. “I went backstage to talk to him, and it was just before my show the next morning. I wasn’t going to go to the [Oscar] show because I had all these fittings, and I remember just pushing myself out to go because I have such a special relationship with him. I think it was the best thing I ever did, because he ended up passing away shortly after that show. I’ll always be so happy that I was there and that I spoke to him and he was such a mentor for me, so now it’s so nice to see Laura [Kim] and Fernando [Garcia] carrying that torch.”
Oscar de la Renta and Rachel Zoe attend Oscar de la Renta’s fall 2008 fashion show at 583 Park Ave. in New York City on Feb. 4, 2008. CREDIT: DAVID X. PRUTTING/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Of course, as a self-proclaimed shoe lover, Zoe’s ecstatic over her signature platform heels trending today in new styles by Valentino, Saint Laurent and Versace.
“When I go out, I’m in a platform, when I don’t go out, I’m in a platform. It’s funny, because I saw this headline of an article [that] said, ‘Platforms and sequins are back.’ I was like, ‘They’ve never left,’” Zoe says. “Just because all the designers are now making them again, I’m thrilled; it’ll be easier to find them.”
Zoe’s also been contemplating the early 2000s, as the era has faced a fashion revival — and she created its aesthetic for stars including Nicole Richie, Jessica Simpson and the Backstreet Boys at the time.
“Some of my favorites will always be the the massive red carpet moments that stay in my mind forever,” Zoe says, citing Anne Hathaway’s Met Gala dress and Eva Mendes’ Golden Globes gown from 2009 as favorites. “When I look back at those moments, they still feel new, fresh and so glamorous. That’s the thing, as a stylist: you want to create looks that you’re going to love in 20 years, or 10 years, or five years or 30. That’s the goal, at least for me: create those unforgettable forever moments.”
Anne Hathaway attends “The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion” Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 4, 2009 in New York City. CREDIT: Stephen Lovekin
Surprisingly, Zoe isn’t turned off from more controversial returning Y2K trends, like crop tops and low-rise jeans. In fact, she’s embraced how “it girls” like Hailey Bieber and Kaia Gerber have made them their own.
“What’s great about all of those girls is that they have such a unique style about them, and they all dress very differently from one another,” Zoe says. “I think it’s very clear that so much about the ’90s and early 2000s is here, but it ranges. If you are that person, and you want to do the crop top and the cargos, and the sneakers and the platforms and all that stuff, great. It’s so much fun, [and] fashion should always be fun.”
Speaking of new generations: Zoe’s returned to social media fame today with past interviews, red carpets and her “Rachel Zoe Project” reality show making the rounds on TikTok; she’s also done fan Q&A’s on Instagram. The rediscovering of her career by young adults today is one Zoe is still processing, but hopes will make a positive impact.
“It’s a very surreal thing, because I was a fashion-obsessed girl just trying to find my way and build the career not fully knowing what I was doing,” Zoe recalls. “To watch people now learning from what I did is one of the greatest feelings, because there’s nothing that actually feels better than when you see somebody working really hard and building their own name and their career. I think in anything anyone does in a career, your dream is to have an impact on people and change the conversation in some way. So if I was able to do that in any way, I’m happy.”
Rachel Zoe and Brian Atwood attend the 25th Anniversary of the Annual CFDA Fashion Awards at the New York Public Library in New York City on June 4, 2007. CREDIT: Peter Kramer/Getty Images for CFDA
As Fashion Month begins, Zoe is most excited for fashion’s future — especially the current divide between minimalism and maximalism.
“Right now in fashion, there’s this real dichotomy; on one hand, you have very Y2K cargos and crop tops and platform sneakers, and on the flip-side you have women of every age wearing a gown that’s completely transparent on the red carpet,” Zoe says. “The style icons of today are really wearing both equally. It really shows the dual personality that you can have in fashion right now; you don’t have to be one thing. I’ve always believed in, ‘Everything goes’; I love platforms, and I’m so happy everyone’s in sequins. Nothing made me happier than when I got you know, all these videos of Harry Styles over the [Grammys] weekend and he was in a full-on sequin look. I was like, ‘He’s my person.’”
PHOTOS: Discover Rachel Zoe’s FNAA 2011 Launch of the Year photo shoot in the gallery.
