Celebrity stylist Brad Goreski has been making a name for himself since his public departure from The Rachel Zoe Project. With his own reality show, Bravo’s “It’s a Brad, Brad World” and a new book Born to Be Brad: My Life and Style, So Far, he is sharing more about who he really is and is generating quite a following in the process. The CelebrityCafe.com had a chance to catch up with Brad to discuss closet makeovers, fall fashion trends and his back-up dancer fantasies.
TheCelebrityCafe: There are so many people out there that would love to do what you do? Why do you think you’ve been so successful?
Brad Goreski: I think it’s mostly just about hard work. Once you find something that you love, it doesn’t seem like work anymore. So that makes working hard at it a lot easier.
TheCelebrityCafe: Recently, you teamed up with eBay’s Chic Squad to offer tips on selling old clothes to free up closet space. Which fashion items sell the best?
Brad Goreski: The best sellers are designer denim. Jeans go, I believe it’s one pair every six seconds and designer shoes are one pair every four seconds.
TheCelebrityCafe: Whose closet would you love to raid?
Brad Goreski: I would love to raid Lady Gaga’s closet.
TheCelebrityCafe: Which fashion rules should never be broken?
Brad Goreski: I think they should all be broken. That’s the fun of fashion - being a rule breaker. And I think that those people who really stand out and who people really pay attention to are definitely the people who are brave enough to break the rules.
TheCelebrityCafe: How would you define your own personal style?
Brad Goreski: I would say I’m very geek chic with a dash of showgirl.
TheCelebrityCafe: Is there anything you wouldn’t be caught dead wearing?
Brad Goreski: Embellished jeans and an ill-fitting suit.
TheCelebrityCafe: You have a substantial collection of bowties. How did you acquire such a fondness for them?
Brad Goreski: I decided to collect them because I was finding that they were becoming so much a part of my style. There is lots of variety and you can never have enough in my book.
TheCelebrityCafe: Besides bowties what are some other favorite fashion items you could never live without?
Brad Goreski: I could never live without a good pair of shoes, ever. I’m a true believer in a good jean. I wear a lot of Levis, so I don’t think I could live without those. I could never also live without my Thom Browne suits.
TheCelebrityCafe: Who inspires you?
Brad Goreski: The people that inspire me the most are the designers because I feel now more than ever men’s designers are really challenging guys to think outside of the box and are giving us different choices. Whether it be pant lengths, or luxurious fabrics, or colors, I think there’s so much variety out there that I actually really look to the designers to see what they’re doing each season for inspiration. And I naturally gravitate to the more outrageous looks in their collection.
TheCelebrityCafe: If you could go back to school tomorrow, what would you like to learn?
Brad Goreski: I would go back to school for dance and I would be a backup dancer.
TheCelebrityCafe: For who, anyone in mind?
Brad Goreski: Gaga, Rihanna, Madonna. I’ve always had this fantasy of dancing on stage in front of 40,000 people behind a big pop star, even if it’s just for one night.
TheCelebrityCafe: What are your favorite fashion trends for fall?
Brad Goreski: I think one of my favorite trends is this return to opulence. There was a lot of really rich velvets and extravagant beading. I think after many seasons of the designers kind of responding to the recession and designing pieces that would sell really well and that the stores would buy, I think there’s definitely this return to giving the customer something that’s kind of special. Not that the clothes weren’t special before, but I feel like they ‘re offering a more cohesive story and I like that. Dolce and Gabbana stands out in my mind as a designer who did that for fall/winter. On the flip side of that, there’s also a return to a continuation of minimalism, and very clean lines, and the return of the strong, confident woman. Lastly, there was this nod to the Far East and orientalism and brocades.
TheCelebrityCafe: What prompted you to write your book?
Brad Goreski: While we were filming “It’s a Brad, Brad World,” I figured that my life was so much on display as it was, and that I was revealing so much about myself on the show, that I might as well round out the picture for everybody of who I really am. And also, to kind of let people know no matter what struggles we face in our lives that if we go after our dreams a lot of the times they’ll come true.
TheCelebrityCafe: What are some of your upcoming projects that we can look forward to?
Brad Goreski: I am still continuing my work with Kate Spade and my clients. There are some other projects right now in the making. I will be announcing them when the time is due. My website MrBradGoreski.com will be launching in the next month or two so people will have a home base to come to for all things me. There’s a lot of really positive, good things happening. I’m coming to work every single day and I get to work with really great assistants and just have fun. And try to make the world a prettier place.