Thursday, September 10, 2009

Shutting It Down: Why I Love The Rachel Zoe Project


I’m not sure what I imagined the life of a celebrity stylist to entail but I don’t think it was ever as melodramatic or as full of catchphrases as The Rachel Zoe Project.

A fly on the wall reality series that is equal parts fashion porn and camp-y injokes its one of the most entertaining reality shows I’ve come across.

You’ll know Rachel Zoe’s work if you’ve any familiarity with celebrity culture. One of the best known stylists she gained prominence when she styled Nicole Richie and Lindsay Lohan during their uber-skinny uber-stylish phases, she now works with well known stars such as Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Garner (swoon) and Cameron Diaz. She’s also a famous figure in her own right, keen to develop her “brand” and always giving interviews at fashion events.


The show follows Zoe and her team namely her two assistants, the long suffering Taylor who is filled with attitude and bad-ass style and an undeniable work ethic and Brad, the newly hired and slightly green assistant in training who regularly comes under fire for not quite knowing the ropes at Team Zoe. There’s also Rachel’s long suffering husband Roger who seems to see his wife for a total of 5 seconds per episode such is her work load.

Anyway the show is entertaining to see the frantic planning that goes into organising clothes for celebs and more importantly for the hilarious banter between Rachel and her assistants. Rachel talks in this crazy over exaggerated voice that makes Everything. Seem. Really. Important. And her assistants find everything tough as well. Watching Rachel declare a black tulle dress “BANANAS” or that “that cream jacket is so cute, I wanna die!” is endlessly entertaining. Zoe’s crazy work ethic makes her an interesting figure, who when not covering her face in enormous sunnies is regularly pointing out how exhausted she is.

What makes this such an enjoyable watch is that perfect reality TV mix of ridiculous people and the more human moments. Rachel might think a certain piece is “BANANAS” but you get a hint of the struggle she goes through to keep her ridiculous job going aswell. This is fluff, no doubt about it, but fluff that will keep you sucked in.

This spoof also does a great job summing up the ridiculous side of the show:


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