Tear Sheet October/November 2001

BY KOREN ZAILCKAS

- He's not your average Joe. When he's not juggling regular visits to fashion's most glamorous showrooms, he's fitting the likes of media's "most beautiful" models and celebrities. His work has Allure. He takes pride in Details. Even before Joe Zee became a style guru to the masses, the fashion director at W was exercising the four W’s of fashion journalism: Who, What, When, and Wear. Move over White and Strunk: Joe Zee presents the real "Elements of Style"

KZ: How did you get to the coveted position of fashion director at W?
JZ: I started at Allure in 1992. I worked there for three and a half years before I went over to W.

KZ: Did you always know that this was what you wanted to do?
JZ: I always loved magazines, their readers, their services, and the fact that they have so much information at hand. Plus, I just liked the whole idea of it being a monthly thing where you get to put a product together by conceiving an idea and seeing it come to life.

KZ: All of your shoots show a great attention to detail. For instance, everyone in the Tear Sheet office marveled over your "Broken Dolls" story in the August issue of W. If you look closely, each page contains a perfectly chosen ring, brooch, or anklet. Do you operate by the philosophy that it's the little things that count?
JZ: Details are so important, especially in the fashion business. It might just be a button, a shoe, a pair of hose, or the way a sleeve is cut that is going to make a difference. But the detail doesn't have to be just in the clothes. At the end of the day, it's not so much about the shoe or the dress (that's all part of the concept), but it's the overall idea that I love.

KZ: How did you come up with the overall idea behind the "Broken Dolls" shoot?
JZ: We did the "Broken Dolls" shoot by saying, "You know, there's a lot of Lolita, babydoll-type clothes in the collections. What approach can we take?" And I said, "I've always loved the way Courtney Love did it." So the story came to birth through the idea of early '90s grunge. From there, we thought about how we could make it modern. For me, grunge was always an interpretation of Victorian times. So we incorporated that into the idea in a way that didn't make it look like we were just mimicking Courtney's look from ten years ago. We reinterpreted it. There was a whole process that led to the final point.

KZ: Most of your stories, like the one we've been talking about, are considerably long. How long does it take you to prep a story as long as 16 to 18 pages?
JZ: Oh God, we can get it together in two days or it can take us two months. It depends on a number of factors. But I have a great team of people at Details and W that really help pull things together.

KZ: Speaking of your team, you've worked at length with Michael Thompson, who appears in this "Icons" section as well. When did you first begin working together?
JZ: Well, I was assisting a fashion editor at Allure at the time. We went to go do a cover try at night with Michael, because I think he was still working with Irving Penn at the time. So he was shooting at night for Allure (on his own) and I was assisting. That's when we met. Then, when I came to W in 1995, we really started working together regularly. And we've just collaborated on everything since then.

KZ: Why do you think you work well together?
JZ: Because I think we understand ideas together and we have a good rapport. We know how to get what we need to get. We work diligently, but we also have fun when we're doing it. We can find a way to do something new, keep moving, and never be stagnant.

KZ: You've styled a slew of celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Meg Ryan, Hillary Swank, Jude Law, and Vince Vaughn. How do you manage to make them look fabulous and still retain elements of their personality and personal style?
JZ: That's really important to me. Whenever we style celebrities we go in there with the mandate that they are not models. For me it's very important that they always look like themselves. So when you see it you go, "Oh, that's Jennifer Lopez - Or, "That's Gwyneth Paltrow" We don't try to make them over because that's not what it's about. But we do try to take it up a notch. We ask ourselves, "OK, we're doing Jennifer. How do we retain her style but still make her look even more amazing than she does already?" And I think those types of things are what we have fun with. For our September issue, we did Gwyneth. She looks beautiful. But then we pushed it a little more, so she also looks sexy, provocative, and elegant. I think that's a very important key in terms of celebrities. You have to make them look like themselves so they can feel comfortable. But they also love to look one notch above everyday life.

KZ: Celebrities aside, how would you describe this fall's trends for the average woman?
JZ: There were a lot of great clothes for fall. There were gorgeous coats. There were a lot of beautiful, elegant clothes. And a lot of gorgeous black. For me, black is never wrong. It happened to be a trend this season. But even if it isn't, I think black always works for anyone. It's flattering. It's elegant. It's simple and easy.

KZ: Do you take a different approach when you're styling for a cover than you do when you're styling for a story?
JZ: Absolutely. I think a cover is a whole different animal. A cover is something where you have very little time to register a consumer. When they're walking by the newsstand at a supermarket or a bookstore, they have two seconds to register your magazine amidst all the other ones. So most importantly, the person on the cover has to look beautiful. They have to have eye contact. They should be able to draw you in. It's important that in those two seconds, amidst a sea of magazines, you can separate that picture right away, pick up that magazine, and look at it. And hopefully you'll be convinced to buy it, because there's just so much out there.

KZ: Off the top of your head, do you have any favorite covers that you've done over the years?
JZ: We did one of Kate Moss five or six years ago. It was just her face with her hair blowing. I always loved that cover because it was so classic and timeless. I love a lot of the covers for different reasons. I loved Jennifer Lopez. I loved Jennifer Aniston. I love my September cover with Gwyneth.

KZ: In addition to styling for W, you've also worked extensively with Details. Do you use a different approach when you're styling men as opposed to styling women?
JZ: Yes. But it's also a different magazine, so you can't just say men versus women. In W you have a lot greater sense of fantasy and opulence. Ideas like over-the-top richness and haute couture all work very well. Whereas with Details, it's much more about hip, urban guys with a little bit more street influence. It's just a totally different take.

KZ: Do you have any tips for stylists who are just starting out?
JZ: A lot of stylists think it's just about the clothes. And for me, it is also about the clothes, but I think it is more important when it's about the overall picture: the hair and makeup, the girl, the idea behind it. And the clothes are just part of it.

KZ: This also happens to be our "50 Most Beautiful Models" issue; are there any models working today who strike you as exceptionally beautiful?
JZ: Definitely Gisele. Christy Turlington. Kate Moss. I mean, I love different girls for different reasons. I also always love a new girl like Erin Wasson.

KZ: Do you find you lean more toward classic-looking girls or modern- looking girls?
JZ: It depends. We've shot Hannalore a million times, who I think is a little more modern and on the edge. And I think she's fantastic. I also love sexy. I love beautiful. I love womanly.

KZ: Who do you think are some of the most influential designers working today? Do you have a favorite showroom to visit when you're in the prepping process?
JZ: Definitely Nicolas Ghesquiere who designs Balenciaga. I think he's completely influential right now. Marc Jacobs. Helmut Lang for sure. And without a doubt, Tom Ford and everything he does for Gucci - it's never wrong.