Team Kelly vrs Team Rachel

They are the two ladies of fashion but to be honest they could not be miles apart. One is based in LA the other NYC, one is blonde and the other has jet black hair and the other is girly girly while her counterpart is the complete opposite. However, one thing they share is a steely determination to succeed in a business that can be very brutal. Ladies and gentlemen I give you Kelly Cutrone and Rachel Zoe. Kel and Rach have very different styles and last week when I was watching their shows respectively called The Rachel Zoe Project and Kell on Earth I could not help thinking - have they ever met and if so they would get on? We all know that Kelly can be very abrupt but deep down that hard facade is a very caring and responsible mother while Rachel as sweet as she is can be very self indulgent and quite selfish. Check out the 911 on the Queen of fashion PR, Kelly and super stylist, Rachel.

Kelly Cutrone
Age - 45
Location - New York
Brand - People's Revolution, a powerhouse fashion PR, branding and marketing company that reps the likes of Vivienne Westwood, Valentino, Jeremy Scott, Paco Rabanne and many more.  They have three offices in LA, New York and Paris. Reality show, Kell on Earth which airs on Bravo and self help book, If You Have to Cry, Go Outside. 
Team - Kelly: Daughter, Ava, business partners, Robyn and Emily
Style - Black, black and more black! She is quoted as saying "I take no care in f**king appearance
Most likely to say - What the f**k is going on?
The 911 - Kelly moved to New York from Syracuse in the 80s with a degree in Nursing and a never die attitude. She quickly landed a job assisting PR maverick, Susan Blond who had Michael Jackson on her roster. A few years into the game and Kelly had already established herself as one of the players in her field. She went on to do PR for Spin magazine but then left to found her own PR company, Cutrone and Weinberg. However in the 90s she hit a bad spell after a divorce to Ronnoe Cutrone and relinquishing half of her PR firm. So she fled to California where she kicked a drug habit and found her inner self. A few years later she made her way back to PR and eventually New York. Kelly is renowned for her sheer determination kick ass no bullshit taking attitude. She got her big break in The Hills where she was seen giving Lauren Conrad a hard time over tickets for the Felder Felder show at LA fashion Week. Her role in the show progressed when she offered Whitney Port and Lauren jobs at People's Republic. She also appeared in The City as Whitney's mentor and ended up offering her another role at People"s Revolution. 

Rachel Zoe

Age - 39

Location - LA

Brand - She dresses A list stars such as Kate Beckinsale, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Garner, Kate Hudson and Debra Messing. The Rachel Zoe Report debuted on Bravo in 2008 and is a huge success and is now on its third series. Her book, Style A to Zoe gave us a lowdown on how to look great on the red carpet and every other aspect of your life. She is extending her brand by launching a clothing line. You can even keep up with Rachel Zoe by subscribing to her ever stylish newsletter or going to her website.

Team Rachel - Husband, Rodger, Brad Goreski and assistant Marissa (Taylor departed due to acrimonious circumstances).

Style - She can be seen in flared jeans, heels, huge sunglasses with Starbucks coffee in one hand and her Blackberry in another.

Most likely to say - Rachel's quirky catchphrases are pretty much folklore and she can be seen exclaiming "I die!" and "Simply bananas."
The 911 - Rachel was born and raised in New Jersey and after graduating from Georgetown University, Rachel worked as a stylist for Gotham and YM magazine and then broke into celebrity styling by working with a young Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys. She and hubby moved to LA where she hit pay dirt when Nicole Ritchie (who was riding high from her fame in The Simple Life) asked her to style her. Rachel is one of the most influential stylists in the world, she turned round the careers of Nicole Ritchie and Lindsey Lohan in a flash and created the look that is now referred to as Zoebots. Large sunglasses, over-sized handbags, skinny jeans and ballet flats. Pretty soon everyone wanted to know who the lady was behind these looks and Rachel began to be featured in magazines and newspapers. In 2007 her book was launched which went on to top the New York Times bestseller list and she was offered her own TV series.

They have amazingly careers; extremely successful companies with a vibrant team, their own reality shows as well as best-selling books. Kelly Cutrone and Rachel Zoe are both admirable ladies and wonderful role models. Me thinks that Bravo TV has been really smart in snapping them up. 

So are you Team Rachel or Team Kelly?

Really: You Couldn't Make It Up

The term broadcasting means to send a message to many people and a few years ago in the good old world of terrestrial television that was exactly what TV did. Now in the era of cable and Freeview and about a zillion channels on offer, TV stations are becoming more niche. We have MTV, E4, Zone Romantica, Zone Thriller, E! and numerous others which are all aimed at different audiences and the process of narrow casting is being applied. UKTV has got this down to a tee, in 2007 after going through some major rebranding they launched, Dave which is a blokey channel dubbed the home of the witty banter. Programmes such as Top Gear, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News For You and Dragon's Den are featured on here.

This week saw the launch of Really (taking over the now defunct UKTV Gardens) which is a girlie girlie channel that is home to hip reality shows which ladies are not ashamed to admit that they watch. We have shows such as What Not to Wear, Spendaholics, Mary Queen of Shops, The Clothes Show and The Rachel Zoe Project. What an exciting line up! I was so thrilled when I heard and in terms of appealing to 18-35 year old women, UKTV have nailed it on the head here. Along with Dave, Really joins the likes of Alibi, Eden, Gold, Yesterday and Home which is a new home and interiors channel.

You can find Really on Sky 248 or Virgin TV 267. Enjoy!

Image from image.net

Super Stylist

Her fly on the wall show, The Rachel Zoe Project has been recommissioned for a second series in the States and will be hitting the UK next month and on top of this she has been snapped up to design a clothing line. I would say that it must be pretty great to be Rachel Zoe right now. With a loving hubby, a die for wardrobe and a wonderful lifestyle; she is living the life that many would dream of. As stylist to actresses such as Debra Messing, Jennifer Garner and Joy Bryant, Rachel has become one of the most coveted name in fashion and is now a household name. However, people still get confused about what a stylist actually does. Some people think they just shop all day, pick out clothes and get chummy with the designers but the life of a stylist is a bit more complex than that. This is what journo and author, Tamsin Blanchard has to say about styling in an article about high profile stylist.

"Fashion stylists are the people who decide not so much what we are going to wear, but what we are going to buy. They choose the clothes on the pages of the magazines; they decide that Jennifer Lopez looks great in that Versace dress; they are the ones who select the clothes that will make it on to the runway and into the buyers' order books."

I did a bit of digging around and have come up with a list of five stylists whose work I rate:

William Baker

This is the man who puts Kylie in those sumptuous outfits. However take note because William Baker is far more than a stylist, he is in fact Creative Director to the princess of pop. His previous clients have included Vivienne Westwood where he worked on her flagship store.

Andrea Lieberman

She dresses two of the most stylish women in the world; Gwen Stefani and Jennifer Lopez. She takes responsibility to introducing Ms Stefani to the world of style and I would call that some feat considering how renowned Stefani has become in fashion terms. She was also the very same person who put Jennifer Lopez in that plunging Versace gown which she wore to The Grammys which earned her many column inches. Her other clients are Drew Barrymore and Faith Hill.

Eric Daman

He has been dubbed the male version to Patricia Fields with those amazing outfits that he puts together in Gossip Girl. The story lines might be hotter than hot in GG but it is the fashion that has everyone talking and this is all down to a certain Mr Daman. The former model got his big break when he was discovered by Steven Meisel (as you do) who promptly booked him for a Calvin Klein advert. He then went onto to work as a costume designer on Sex and the City.

Philip Bloch

This is the man who dresses the Hollywood A lister for glitzy events such as The Oscars, The Golden Globes and The Emmys. Halle Berry, Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock, Salma Hayak, Will and Jada Pinkett all have Mr Bloch on speed dial. When he is not mixing with fashionistas Philip is either acting or contributing to various newspapers and magazines.

Christina Ehrlich and Estee Stanley

Their clients include Demi Moore, Jessica Biel, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Ritchie as well as The Olsen twins whose style are admired by young women all over the world. The duo are based in LA and have been working together for over five years. Their usp is putting starlets onto the red carpet and turning them into stars. Christina and Estee recently launched their own line, Ms Davenporte which is stylish and easy to wear items for women.

Funnily enough both Carine Roitfeld, editor of French Vogue and Katie Grand founder Pop magazine and now editor of Love magazine started out as stylists. So it goes to show that stylists rock! Check out this article here that was published in The Observer back in 2002 about stylists for fashion brands. Then there is this article here that features stylists who work in the music industry.

The Rachel

She's cute, tiny, girly and a total fashionista who lives and dies for her passion; basically a real life Carrie Bradshaw. Rachel Zoe is not joking when she claims that fashion is her drug. The super stylist collects Birkins - which she dubs, The Birk - like some people collect stamps. I could never grasp the whole Rachel Zoe thing since magazines started raving about her a few years back up to when she released her book, Style A to Zoe. So when I heard that she was to star in her own reality show I was very quick to scoff. The twenty minute preview of The Rachel Zoe Project did not do Ms Zoe any justice as we saw her personal and private life full of drama (read my blog post here). Then I watched the first three episodes and somewhere between the first and second, I was hooked. Rachel Zoe's life is like a fairytale; she is like a godmother albeit a petite one and gets to play with clothes all day. Attending fashion shoots, show houses and meeting with designers to find gorgeous outfits to dress her celebrity clients in. Despite the conflict between her key staff members and several dramas, Rachel never flips and instead maintains her composure and treats her staff like they are her equal. Moreover, our super stylist has an amazing home life which she shares with cute hubby, Rodger who is clearly head over heels in love with her despite the fact they have been together for over 15 years. The Rachel Zoe Project is totally compulsive viewing the same reason why people love The Hills because Rachel is living the life that many ladies aspire to.

After 15 years as a stylist, Rachel is taking it the next level by building The Rachel Zoe brand. Whether she pulls this off is any one's guess but I am damm sure that she will give it her best shot. Watching the show does throws up a few questions. Such as does Starbucks sponsor the show? Every character is seen donning a Starbucks cup in practically every scene, so this is either amazing product placement or Rachel and her posse are some of the most caffeine addicted fiends that we have ever seen.

The Rachel Zoe Project is on Bravo TV on Tuesdays

The Rachel Zoe Project

I have just seen a preview of this show and it is certainly riveting. The Rachel Zoe Project is a behind the scenes documentary that shows the glamorous life of super stylist, Rachel Zoe. Not content with dressing the beautiful A list stars and appearing in style magazine, Ms Zoe is to be star of her own reality show. Well why not, everyone else seems to be. You get to see Rachel smooching with a lot of famous folks, trying on glorious outfits and globe trotting, however this show is really an insight into her work and private life. We meet her two assistants, Taylor and Brad who seem to spend more time bitching and bickering than actually working. Rachel's hubby, Rodger who does something in banking but looks like he would be more at home in art gallery is also on hand.

The concept of The Rachel Zoe Project is to show what it is like to be a top Hollywood stylist. Such as how Ms Zoe juggles demanding deadlines, numerous fashion shows and celebrity clients as well as visiting designers at their showrooms and coast to coast hunting for unique clothes and accessories. The work aspect of Rachel's life is certainly interesting. Feisty, Taylor is a real character and in a lot of her scenes she comes across as very over bearing. This does not mesh well with newbie, Brad who lacks experience in the world of fashion and boy does Taylor make him pay for his mistakes. Unfortunately, the diminutive stylist is too preoccupied with maintaining her uber status to deal with office politics plus there is also hubby who is getting a tad bit tetchy and bitchy about the lack of attention he is getting.

Overall The Rachel Zoe Project looks entertaining enough but whether it gives you a lot of knowledge about the fashion business I do not know. The show seems a bit flaky in some parts and Rachel herself does not seem to have the kind of personality to pull off a show like this. She is not quirky, funny or even gorgeous enough to keep you glued to the screen. In short she is just not watchable plus that croaky voice gets grating after a while.

The Rachel Zoe Project airs on 8th September on Bravo.