Born to Be Brad (25 page)

For Halloween 2008, I went to Kate Hudson’s house party in Los Angeles. I dressed as Jennifer Beals in
Flashdance
. Liv Tyler (left) was a sexy Charlie Chaplin. And our hostess was a Pan Am stewardess.

In February of 2009, I went to Milan for Fashion Week. This was backstage at my first Louis Vuitton show. I’d been saving this three-piece Yves Saint Laurent suit for a special occasion, and this felt right. As for the ears, that season there was a punk/mid-eighties/French boudoir inspiration to the Louis Vuitton show. Backstage, I had to try on the twisted bunny ears. A few months later, Madonna wore these same ears to the Met Ball.

I was backstage at the Oscars on February 22, 2009. You forget what a clusterfuck it can be with limousines and parking. I actually thought we were going to be late. The badge helped.

Between fashion shoots and awards seasons, there were surreal moments, too. Like when Mattel invited Rachel to the Barbie factory and presented her with a Barbie made in her likeness. I assumed Barbie would come from heaven. But actually, she lived in Inglewood, near LAX. My mind was blown. We were in the actual workshop, and there were different Barbie heads all around and endless hair options. The shelves were full of every Barbie you can imagine:
Wizard of Oz
Barbie, Marilyn Monroe Barbie, Barbie dressed in Bob Mackie. But what freaked me out the most were the shoes. When I was a kid playing with Barbie in the basement, I would always lose one of her shoes. And who wants to play with her once she loses a shoe? But here at the factory, they had bins and bins full of single shoes. What’s more, everyone who worked there talked about Barbie as if she was a real person. No one referred to her as a doll. They said things like, “Barbie likes to wear her makeup like this.” Or “Barbie loves her closet.” I aspire to speak like this. At the factory, I told a story from my childhood. My grandmother Ruby had given me a set of Barbie dolls called Barbie and the Rockers. This was when Barbie started a girl band, and I set up their stage in our family living room. I loved those dolls, but when I came home from school, they were gone. My father had thrown the whole thing in the garbage, and I wasn’t to ask any questions.

At the Marc Jacobs show in September 2009, I sat next to Kim Gordon and across from Helena Christensen. I could barely speak. As for this jacket, I bought it in Japan. The Thom Browne cut is a big thing in Japan. They have baby clothes everywhere.

Mert and Marcus shot Scarlett Johansson for a Moët campaign, and Rachel was the stylist. This was taken on the roof of the Château Marmont after the shoot.

In November 2009, Gary and I adopted Penelope—a rescue dog. This was the second night we had her, and she slept on my shoulder. She still does. I keep this photo on my phone, and any time things get crazy, I look at this photo and it reminds me of what is important in life.

I met Donatella Versace for the first time in February 2010, backstage at her show in Milan. I’m wearing a Dsquared
²
blazer—the D, in this case, stands for Donatella. She’s holding a red marabou coat. She did not disappoint. She never does. For the rest of my life, I will have butterflies around her.

Anne Hathaway wore a gorgeous Valentino dress to the 2010 Met Ball. But the dress had been reconstructed. At the fitting, we had to make sure Anne could move around in it. I was happy to dance with her.

It’s Barbie’s World. We Just Live in It.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM BARBIE

1. The art of dressing up. It’s possible to look fabulous in any scenario. Whether you’re an astronaut, a teacher, a scientist, or in Malibu.

2. That nothing matters as long as you drive a pink convertible.

3. That imagination is everything. Barbie is built perfectly, but she’s not really about being thin. She’s about endless possibilities and dreaming big. She will be whatever you want her to be. As long as that includes being beautiful and glamorous.

“I don’t think you make Barbie and the Rockers anymore,” I said at the factory. “I tried to buy it on eBay.” When I finished telling this story, a press rep disappeared down a hallway and emerged with a brand-new set of Barbie and the Rockers, still in the box. It sits on the shelf in my office now, and every time I look at it I smile.

I got sick on a Lancôme commercial with Anne Hathaway, and I quit smoking cold turkey. I was up all night with a fever, I didn’t have a cigarette for a week, and that was it. Giveth and taketh away. It wasn’t easy. I had night sweats. I was moody and agitated. I ate more—a lot more. Let me tell you: It was harder to quit cigarettes than to give up anything else. I should mention, being sober and in fashion is a challenge. But it’s not like it’s 1964 and I’m the only one clean in the room. There are lots of people in fashion who don’t drink. It’s been ten years, and there are days where I wish I could check out. But I don’t kid myself. None of this would be possible if I had a cocktail.

The ratings for the second season of
The Rachel Zoe Project
were on the rise, and the third season would be even bigger. Though it would come with changes. Shortly before we started taping, Taylor was fired. I was devastated. The first six weeks on the job might have been a horror show, but Taylor and I had developed a genuinely healthy working relationship. We’d do pulls for each other. Even though we sat across from each other all day, when we’d get our cell phone bills at the end of the month we’d laugh at how much time we’d spent talking out of the office. Our jobs were less compartmentalized, and we were more of a team. Out of loyalty to Rachel, I did not keep in touch with Taylor. But I did learn so much from her.

“I don’t want to say Taylor taught me to be a man, but she taught me to assert myself. And for that I will be forever grateful.”

In life, one day we will all work for someone like Taylor—someone with that kind of strong personality. You’ll probably be afraid of him or her and you’ll worry that you’ll never be able to please them. But these are sometimes the best teachers. From Taylor, I learned to keep it moving. She’d say those words on set all the time, “Keep it moving.” An hour before a shoot wrapped, we’d be packed up and ready to messenger clothing back to the designers. Under Taylor, everything flowed smoothly. I also learned to fight back. That doesn’t mean you need to have your fists up, but you can’t let people walk all over you, either. And sometimes, you need to give people time to let their deeper selves show through. Taylor and I didn’t get along at the outset, but we grew to be close friends. Give people time and you will see beyond the exterior. When I was traveling and the shit sometimes hit the fan, Taylor was up at three in the morning with her phone in her hand, sending e-mails on my behalf. In a way, she made me less afraid—in front of clients, in front of celebrities. It’s funny, in a weird way she taught me everything Dr. Zucker was supposed to teach me. I don’t want to say Taylor taught me to be a man, but she taught me to assert myself. And for that I will be forever grateful.