Trendsetting stylist Rachel Zoe masterminds the wardrobes of Hollywood’s hottest stars, and has numbered Cameron Diaz, Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway among her clients. It’s a world of high-end fashion, leggy models and unrelenting pressure but when she comes home, Rachel looks forward to throw off her stilettos by the front door and collapse on her oversized Fendi sofa in the open and breezy living room.
The glass-walled, mid-20th-century home and studio she shares with husband, investment banker Roger Berman, overlooks Sunset Boulevard and is a vibe of minimal bohemian living. ‘My work life is really busy so this is my oasis where I can hang out with my husband. It’s also central, so it’s near my clients and the red carpet events they attend,’ says Rachel.
I asked Rachel a few questions about her style, home and life.
AT: What will be the next big interiors trend?
RZ: Luxury. The detail and texture on my dining table is like an oversized Fendi handbag. It’s something I’ll love forever.
AT:What do you collect?
RZ:My passion in life is the vintage clothing and jewellery I have collected since I was 12 years old. I group my dresses, coats and scarves according to designer, style, period and hue.
AT:Where are you most creative?
RZ:I like to sit in the living room and flip through my collection of fashion books. When I’m feeling creatively stifled, I look at the sketches and muses of my heroes: Chanel, Dior, Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent and Halston.
AT:What are your home styling tips?
RZ:It’s not about having a lot of money, it’s about having that one thing that makes you feel fabulous – from artwork to a sumptuous throw to spread across your bed.
AT:What is your favourite piece in the house?
RZ: I love my Visionaire dolls. They’re highly collectable and each one has their own personality. I move them around the house all the time. If I am working a lot in my office I will often sit them on my desk and when I have some time to hang out in the living room they will follow me there.
AT:How often do you change your interiors?
RZ:I buy pieces in my home that I will love for a long time. However, what changes my interiors is the gowns that arrive for the Grammy’s and the Oscars. The dresses and accessories transform the mood with their colours, patterns, sparkle, fabrics and glamour.
AT:How do you display favourite objects?
RZ:Accessories are very important to me. I use the same style tricks for my interiors as I do for the red carpet. I prefer to have a dress in one block colour as this leaves more room to add jewellery, scarves and belts. In the home I have the big pieces of furniture in neutral colours and add colour with a great lamp, Missoni blanket, and my fashion books.
AT:What sort of atmosphere were you trying to create?
RZ:Rodger and I spend so much time in hotels we have been influenced by the designs. We liked the idea to make the house feel like we were in a luxury hotel or spa which had some kind of Zen quality.
AT:How do you keep the space fresh and relaxing for when you’re not working?
RZ:I keep it uncluttered. The minute it starts to get untidy I start to get anxious. My life is so hectic I need a place where I feel like I can escape and find a little peace.
AT:What side of you dominates the space – the personal or the professional?
RZ:Unfortunately my biggest downfall is my personal life is my professional life. My poor husband has gone to sleep and woken up with gowns, furs, bags, clutches and shoes for fifteen years.
AT:How do you cope with all your assistants and film crews who come to your house?
RZ:My assistants are like family to me. We spend a lot of time together and we will often sit and eat meals with each other. My favourite time is when everyone has left for the day and I am able to walk around the house and enjoy the quiet.
Season 2 of The Rachel Zoe Project premieres Monday August 24th at 10 p.m. EST on Bravo.
