100 Most Influential People in Fashion

Fashion Influential #99: Rachel Zoe

Rachel Zoe in Rachel Zoe At The Vicini Showroom Party In Milan

American fashion stylist Rachel Zoe at the Vicini showroom party. She seems to like the Vicini style and she relaxes on the terrace having a cigarette that she tries to hide when she sees the photographer. (Photo Agency)more pics » RACHEL ZOE
Born:
September 1, 1971 in New York.
Styled for:
Nicole Richie, Lindsay Lohan, Mary-Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen, Mischa Barton, Cameron Diaz, Liv Tyler, Anne Hathaway, Kiera Knightley (and everyone else in this age group)
Fans:
All of the above, except Richie
Fan of:
Marc Jacobs, Chloe, Monique Lhuillier
Beginnings.
Rachel Zoe (born Rachel Zoe Rosenzweig) bought her first Louis Vuitton bag when she was 13, and from there, her love affair with fashion was born. After her college graduation, she moved to New York and worked for the magazines Gotham and YM. In the big city, she made the jump from publishing to celebrity styling with first clients such as the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson.

Career Highs.
When she and her husband, investment banker Roger Berman, moved out to Los Angeles in 2004, Zoe landed a gig styling for Nicole Richie, who was co-starring at the time with Paris Hilton on The Simple Life. Richie's stick-thin frame was draped in piles of accessories, with big sunglasses and long, unkempt hair and, Voila! The "Zoe-bot" was born, and every young woman in the country was copying the look. She currently has a Bravo! show called The Rachel Zoe Project.

Nicole showed up to meet me in an airport once wearing a sweatsuit, with a leopard-print neck pillow tied around her neck, an 'I Love L.A.' cap, and her hair in pigtails ... I think she was doing it to torture me.
- Rachel Zoe

Zoe and Richie posing together.
Career Lows.
Zoe has gotten plenty of flak for the skinny frames of the starlets she styles. Richie, Mischa Barton, the Olsen twins, and Lindsay Lohan began to look too thin while they were working with Zoe, and rumors circulated that the stylist gave her clients drugs to encourage them to trim down. Zoe insists that she had nothing to do with their weight loss, saying that she would never promote anorexia. Zoe was also dropped by Richie in 2006, when Nicole claimed that she was a "bad influence."

Legacy.
"Bohemian chic" is the look that Zoe brought to pop culture and contemporary fashion. She's also working on her own line of clothing and accessories, which is likely to be a huge hit among young women. In any case, the huge designer bags and sunglasses that pop up on runways, the leggings and vintage inspired apparel, the skinny jeans and chunky boots - she may not have invented them, but Zoe was definitely the one who popularized them.

Mischa Barton, classic boho chic.
Get the Look.
Leggings and '70s-style prints are some of Zoe's signatures, as are large, over the top accessories. Pile on necklaces and bracelets and several layers of clothing. Minidresses are a perfect vintage touch.

- Olivia