'The Rachel Zoe Project' On Bravo: Not So Bad After All

As my regular readers can attest, I tend to shun pretty much anything pertaining to celebrity fashion lines and celebrity culture in general. My distaste for the whole celebrity/fashion nexus is such that I will actually shun a designer look that I otherwise love if it has been photographed or too closely associated with the red carpet. I particularly disdain the whole 'stylist manufactured style' sported by the red carpet set. Why on earth would anyone want to completely abdicate control over something as intimate as one's personal style? To me, it's tantamount to delegating the task of defining one's individuality to someone else. Case in point, at the height of their 'friendship', Nicole Ritchie actually started to look disturbingly like her then stylist Rachel Zoe. Creepy. So, when I first read that Zoe was shooting a new reality show for Bravo, I couldn't stifle a dismissive eye roll (OK, I didn't even try). But then, I watched a twenty-one minute clip of 'The Rachel Zoe Project' on Fabsugar and I have to admit, she comes off unexpectedly well. In fact, I think it would be pretty difficult to dislike her on a personal level. Not only does she come off as pretty genuine but you have to give her credit for being downright gutsy - the clip in question shows some tense moments most notably in her exchanges with her husband. I don't know too many people in her position who would allow the cameras to film those exchanges to begin with let alone use them in the final cut. After all, Zoe is in the business of manufacturing glamour for her celebrity clients and in the process has become a celebrity herself. It would stand to reason therefore that she has nothing to gain from showing the less glamorous aspects of her own life. I give her high marks for showing it like it is. The effect of allowing us a glimpse into her less than completely glamorous life is to endear Zoe to viewers - no easy feat given the uber-bitchy world of celebrity fashion. So, while I may still intensely dislike the world of celebrity fashion (for which Zoe and others like her are at least partially responsible), I find it difficult to dislike someone as genuinely passionate about fashion.

Sincerely,

The Luxe Chronicles

All photos by Greg Kessler, courtesy of Style.com.

Comments

[Helene]

Thank you Anon Ymous! I love, love, love that you love, love, love The Luxe Chronicles!

Sincerely,

Helene

[Anon Ymous]

Love, love, love the intelligence of your comments. Congrats on putting together such a quality blog.