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The Glossy Podcast
Met Gala reactions, fashion's tariff response and making a Met Gala look with Angela Bassett's stylist, Jennifer Austin
00:50:51
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- [00:02]
Glossy Podcast Host
Hello Glossy Podcast listeners. As you kick off 2025 and work toward your aggressive revenue goals, one digital marketing platform partner is all you need and that's listrack. Listrack is your beauty and fashion revenue insider. List Track understands the beauty and fashion space and is the proven go to Partner for revenue creation Powering personalized consumer connections for leading retailers and brands List. Like Peter Thomas Roth Anastasia, Beverly Hills, John Varvatos and Oscar de la Renta, Listrack's powerful AI integration with Shopify allows you to access and unify your customer data to deliver personalized cross channel messages that resonate, engage and inspire your customers. Partnering with ListTrack gives you access to beauty and fashion experts who act as an extension of marketing teams, sharing proprietary industry benchmarks, data and real time behaviors and trends. Learn more@listtrack.com that's L I S T R A K.com.
- [01:10]
Jamie Elden
I think it's going to be huge in 25 and in 26 because the beauty in the fashion industry love to put high powerful creative that they've invested in in front of consumers through all channels. RCS allows them now to leverage all the investment they've made on this content and use it in a mobile channel.
- [01:31]
Danny Parisi
That's Jamie Elden, Chief Revenue Officer at List Track, our sponsor on this episode.
- [01:37]
Zofia Zvyglinska
Of the Glossy Podcast. Later in the show custom talks with.
- [01:40]
Danny Parisi
Jamie about how beauty brands are using.
- [01:42]
Zofia Zvyglinska
Personalization, working to stand out and new creative formats on the horizon.
- [01:57]
Danny Parisi
Hello and welcome to the Glossy Podcast. I'm your host, senior fashion reporter Danny Parisi and I'm here with our international reporter Zofia Zvyglinska. Hello Zofia. Thank you for joining.
- [02:07]
Jennifer Austin
Hi. Lovely to be on again.
- [02:09]
Danny Parisi
Thank you for being here. We are gonna be talking about the Met Gala this week, which was on Monday. I'm sure most of our listeners are very aware, but we are gonna dive into some of our favorite looks, some of our reactions. Later in the episode I have a conversation with Jennifer Austin, who is an amazing kind of powerhouse stylist who styled Angela Bassett for this year's Met Gala. So we'll talk about the gala and her experience and how it kind of works behind the scenes. We're also going to talk, you and I, about some earnings reports. There were so many earnings this week in our worlds in fashion and kind of in adjacent retail spaces. There was like 15 relevant earnings reports. We could not cover all of it, but we will talk through some of them. And then last thing I want to mention is we also Zofia you and I have both been working on this specialty retail series, which the rest of the glossy team has also been involved in. All week, we've been publishing stories about specialty retailers, which we know brands love. So it's been a very busy week. I mean, has your week been super busy as well, Sophia?
- [03:08]
Jennifer Austin
Oh, yeah. The specialty retailer stories in particular, I think, is a really interesting look at the sector and kind of what's working from that retailer side. But I also had the luxury briefing, so covering the Met Gala, you know, one day after, and all about the ROI playbook around the Met and kind of what's working there.
- [03:28]
Danny Parisi
Yeah, there's a lot going on. But let's jump right into the Met Gala, like I said, happened on Monday. I like the Met Gala quite a lot. I think sometimes I can be, and many other people can be a little cynical about, like, rich people dressing up and, wow, look how much fun they're having. But I do really like the Met Gala because of the emphasis on fashion. Obviously, that's my job. But I like that the fashion is center stage. And you'll hear in my conversation with Jennifer later that the stylists and the people who are involved in making a really iconic look happen are sort of, I think, more present at the Met Gala. People are more aware that this celebrity didn't just pull this look out of their closet and put it on. There's a whole team of people involved in kind of creating it. So I think the Met Gala for Fashion is a great moment to kind of remind people of all the work that goes into fashion, like the designers, the stylists, the makeup artists, everybody. So I like it for that reason, before we jump into some of the specifics of it, I mean, do you watch every year? Do you check? Do you tune in? Do you like it?
- [04:34]
Jennifer Austin
Weirdly enough, I actually did tune in for this year. I don't typically. Sometimes I end up watching, like, little clips of it in the morning. It is very late my time, let's be honest. In the uk, I think, you know, it's the same thing as with the Super Bowl. You have to kind of have a bit more commitment to end up watching it. But it is really fun. I think that, you know, with this year's theme, there was a lot of opportunity there to kind of show up with the tailoring. And I think that everyone delivered in a bigger way than maybe some of the other themes that might have been a little less directional, let's just say.
- [05:09]
Danny Parisi
Yeah, and you mentioned the tailoring, the theme for this Year was super fine tailoring, black style. And the dress code was tailored for you, so there was a strong emphasis on tailoring, like you said. And. And I feel like people often talk about how the Met Gala will have these dress codes, and then 50% of the people just don't bother and do something completely unrelated. I didn't crunch the numbers, but it seemed like there was way more going with the actual dress code. I feel like almost all of the really memorable outfits that I saw felt very much on theme, with a focus on tailoring, with a focus on the history of black style, especially this kind of black dandyism or dandy kind of fashion, which was, I think, is the subject of the exhibit that is going to be at the Met, which is obviously what the whole kind of gala is raising money for. Did you feel like people kind of stayed on theme much more than they typically do?
- [06:06]
Jennifer Austin
Yeah, definitely. I think the tailoring cue kind of makes it easy to think about suiting. And obviously, black dandyism also has a very particular look as well. So, again, kind of touching on the tailoring, focusing on suiting. All of those details end up with having a very kind of fashion and menswear tilt that maybe some of the other Met galas did not have. I think Sleeping Beauty last year was quite a vague theme, and a lot of people struggled with that as a result.
- [06:38]
Danny Parisi
Yeah, I think it's kind of helpful when the theme is more specific, but also not super outlandish. You know, there was Garden of Time, I think, was the theme one year, and it was basically like, you have to wear florals. And I think a lot of it's like, both specific, but also it was, like, very, I think, kind of narrow. And I think that year a lot of people just kind of ignored it. This year, I feel like tailoring is specific. It basically means suits or some take on suiting, but it's also, like, very wide open. You know, you could take that in a lot of different directions while still staying on theme. And I think we. We saw that in some of the looks. I want to go through some of the. My favorites, and I'd love to hear yours as well. I always think Bad Bunny looks very cool. I think whoever. I'm not sure off the top of my head who he works with normally in terms of stylists or design. Actually, I know the designer this year was Prada, but the look he wore this year was this kind of almost like a zoot suit. Like this very loose but still kind of clean looking suit with A leather bag and tiny glasses. And I don't know what you would call this hat. Did you see this? The hat he was wearing? I don't know what you'd call that hat, but I thought it was just very co. I also think he's got a great energy, so he kind of just. He often, no matter what he's wearing, even if it's a little bit on the sillier side, I think ends up looking very cool. So I liked that one. Maybe we trade off. That's one that I liked. Tell me one you liked.
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Jennifer Austin
Oh, gosh. There was quite a few that I liked. I think the Janelle Monae one in the Thom Browne suit was very cool. The monocle as well, and kind of referencing the kind of great era of avant garde dandyism with a monocle was very cool. And then also Docci in the shorts and the cigar, which I think was again, like. She ends up always taking these looks and then almost like giving them a theme and styling them in a way, like an actor kind of gets into character. I kind of feel like she gets into character with every outfit. I thought that was very, very good. And then obviously Colman Domingo, who was referencing Andre Leon Talley with this very beautiful deep blue cape. I was hoping to see more capes. I do love a good cape.
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Danny Parisi
There were a good number of capes, actually. Again, you'll hear my conversation with Jennifer later. Angela Bassett wore a beautiful cape that was Burberry designed. And Jennifer and Angela and Daniel Lee from Burberry all kind of worked together on that. I also wanted to say, I think it's Rige Jean Page, the actor wore a really cool, like this sweeping, striking red suit with a big flowing red cape over it.
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Jennifer Austin
I did see that.
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Danny Parisi
That was really cool. Speaking of capes, I was like, that might have been my favorite cape of the night. And you mentioned the Janelle Monae look. I really liked that one. And I was going to say, sometimes the super outlandish looks don't work for me all the time. As much as I love Andre 3000 and I think he's like a titan of style, incredibly stylish guy. Did you see he wore, like, a big piano strap to his back?
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Jennifer Austin
I did.
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Danny Parisi
Didn't really work for me. Again, huge fan of Andre 3000, but. But Janelle Monae, which I thought was also outlandish, that look was just really cool to me. It was almost like a cubist take on, like, I don't know, it felt very, like kind of sci fi y in A way which has been part of her aesthetic over the years, but also felt very reverential to, like, the history of black tailoring in, like, the 20th century, but also, like, black art. Like, it looked like something out of, like, a Harlem Renaissance painting as well. I just thought that was insanely cool. And she's got. Talk about a good energy. I think she's got an effortless vibe and makes something really wild like that just work.
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Jennifer Austin
Yeah. I think she's been known for having these more outlandish outfits at the Met Gala, and I think she also ends up kind of going for those more avant garde looks, which I think ends up suiting her as well. Monochrome in general, I think works very well for a red carpet because obviously the photos end up being very good. And I don't know, I saw some of the other looks like the Zac Posen ones with Gap Studio. You know, Shakira, I think there was someone else as well who wore something from him, and I felt like maybe those were slightly less on theme. Shakira's one in particular, I thought was very. Like, it was very gown rather than tailoring.
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Danny Parisi
Yeah, I agree. I tend to gravitate towards some of the more subtle looks. And I really liked Zendaya's all white, crisp suit with a big hat. And there was a great detail, which I only saw because I was flipping through the slideshow, and they had, like, a zoom. She had, like, a subtle. It was like just a clean white suit, and then with, like, a subtle silver snake detail, like, just below the collar, very small, not, like, covering the whole back. And I just thought that was the white and silver, I thought was insanely cool.
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Jennifer Austin
Yeah, definitely. And it was quite funny how her and Anna Sawai, who's, like, well known from Shogun, like, they both ended up in these very similar white suits. But I do think a white suit is particularly effective. So, you know, you can't fault someone for appearing on the red carpet in something similar.
- [11:44]
Danny Parisi
No. And especially when, again, the theme, like, when so many people were on theme and the theme was suiting or tailoring. Like. Yeah, I think it's inevitable that some of them are kind of similar. But you're right that there was a lot of, like, monochrome, just, like, single, solid, strong, bold color. Sometimes the entire suit is like, every piece of it is that one color. But there was also, like, Angela Bassett's look. It's, like, mostly black, but with this one shade of deep, rich blue. Kind of worked into it through all the details and patterns and stuff. So, yeah, definitely noticed a lot of monochrome or single color kind of looks. I wanted to talk a little bit, as our last point about just the event itself, which has grown a whole lot over the years. This year they said they raised more money than ever before. $31 million. It also costs like $7 million to make. So the total take kind of for the museum was still 20 something million dollars, which is huge for a single night event. That's crazy. And the ticket prices have also kind of grown significantly over the years. I read that they have tripled in the last decade. They start at like $75,000. So it is definitely one of the most coveted and kind of exclusive galas or fundraising events definitely in the country.
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Jennifer Austin
Yeah, I mean, I think they ended up raising 31 million this time, which I think is the most they've ever have. So insane amounts, like very, very big.
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Danny Parisi
Yeah. It also has like a lot of. Well, maybe we can stop there because I talk more with Jennifer about it later. But it's definitely like a boon, I think, for both designers and stylists and for the celebrities too, to make an appearance there. It's just grown so much that it is definitely like a profile raising moment for a lot of people. Let's move on and talk about. Like I said, there were so many earnings reports this week from a lot of the companies that we cover. So I want to just run through some of them and just maybe spend a minute or two on each one and talk about kind of what we can learn from them. I think obviously tariffs dominate the conversation still, but it's interesting to see what companies are kind of like freaking out about it and their sales are bad and which ones are kind of heading into it a little more confident. I want to start with Warby Parker because I feel like their earnings showed some. Some of the weirdness of like, being a publicly traded company. Their revenue was up like 12%, almost 12%, I think. And they had their highest E commerce growth since 2021. And they seem like they did really well, but then their shares still dropped like 5%. Why? I don't know. I guess because investors are like skittish, nervous horses and will run at any sudden noise. It's really. It's a weird time where like, performance does not always equal, like, solid share price, you know, because people are so. The investors are so freaked out about their investments that they're like, not sure when to buy, when to sell. And so you see some strange behavior like that.
- [14:46]
Jennifer Austin
Yeah, definitely. And obviously the other part of it is that as with most of the companies right now, the supply chain impact is going to affect any kind of forecasting for the next quarter or even the next two quarters. And I think Warby park is one of those that is also going to be affected. I know that some of its frames are manufactured in Italy and Japan, so obviously tariffs are lower, but some are also manufactured in Vietnam and China and those tariffs, on the other hand are higher than. So I'm wondering if it's also just a little bit of a precautionary look at what might be happening with the brand in the next quarter and how that supply chain would end up being affected as a result.
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Danny Parisi
Yeah. I have a list of some other companies I want to go through, but were there any that you were keeping an eye on or noticed anything interesting from?
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Jennifer Austin
Yeah, definitely. Tapestry and Pandora. I think those were the two that I was looking up. In terms of the other ones that I featured in the Luxury Briefing. I also spoke about Hugo Boss, which has quite a bit of exposure. Again, on the supply chain side, I think it was doing quite well. The sales are up. However, the diversification of the brand over the last couple of years has been under question. I'm wondering if it's able to move its categories around so that it ends up, I guess, benefiting from the next couple of months or quarters because typically most of its sales are done in the winter time. Just because it's more well known for outerwear and suiting.
- [16:17]
Danny Parisi
Yeah. And we're definitely in a stage where some companies are already, their earnings are affected by tariffs and craziness and others aren't yet, but will be probably soon. We can definitely talk about Tapestry and Pandora. I wanted to mention QVC is an interesting one. Last year, in this quarter, last year they had a profit of $8 million. This year in the same quarter they had a net loss of 91 million, which is like a huge drop. And their CEO said tariff volatility significantly affected consumer sentiment. Basically, people are spending less because they have no idea what's going on. Which, you know, I don't blame them. I'm one of those people.
- [16:56]
Jennifer Austin
Yeah, definitely. I think everyone's keeping their dollars slash pounds very, very tight. I know that my kind of spending as well has gone down as a result. And also I think it just means that all of those purchases are being recons considered even more carefully than previously on the tapestry side of things. I think that it's again the same thing as what was happening with Prada and Versace. You don't quite know who's doing that well, apart from its main brand. And it does seem like the earnings supported Coach is still doing the best of all of their brands. Coach, I think delivered 12% of revenues up year on year. And then Kate Spade reported a decline in sales of about 15% and Stuart Weitzman as well reported a decline of 17%. So it's like you always have this like one hero brand which ends up doing very, very well, and the other brands, I guess less so. And while I have seen a little bit more effort, especially from the Kate Spade brand on the awareness side of things, I'm not sure if has been quite enough, I guess, to get that visibility. And as well, like the same level of cult icons that Coach has been focusing on for the last couple of years.
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Danny Parisi
I want to contrast Tapestry with Puma. So Tapestry said they acquired 1.2 million new customers in North America this quarter, which I thought was interesting because they're sort of in contrast to a lot of other companies that I think are de emphasizing the US because of tariffs. They're like pulling away or just like sort of turning their attention elsewhere. In contrast, Puma, their sales were flat, but their profits were down a lot. But they said their sales were going up in Europe and the Middle east and Africa and down in the US they're more emblematic of the company that the US is and North America is becoming less of a priority. Whereas Tapestry, which also is an American company, saw more growth in the U.S. or at least more new customers in the U.S. yeah.
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Jennifer Austin
And I'm wondering if we're going to keep seeing that, that like American brands are going to keep doing better in their local market, whereas international brands, especially those coming out of Europe, might end up deprioritizing America as a kind of sales channel or else kind of shifting some of their attention to like the UAE or to Asia just to kind of focus on different markets which might not be affected by the tariff impact.
- [19:21]
Danny Parisi
Yeah. Let's talk about Pandora last. So their sales were up 7% so far this year. But on the call, I'm sure you saw this too. Sophia, their CEO was basically like, there is no way in hell everyone is not about to just raise their prices. Pandora is going to raise their prices. Probably every jewelry company will have to. He was like, there's just no way you can just Suddenly eat like 40% higher costs without changing your prices. Just not possible. Did you see some of that?
- [19:51]
Jennifer Austin
Yeah, and I think that that's something that I've seen before as well. With jewelry brands. There was a couple of weeks ago that I covered the kind of tariff impact on the luxury and diamond side of things and just the amount of price hikes that are going to be happening on that supply chain side. I think that for Pandora, especially, you know, when you're looking at either things that are partly made in the US or finished in the us, even like getting those parts import, those prices are going up. So I think they've also mentioned that they're going to be shifting their supply chain. Like Pandora is moving some of its supply chain to Canada and then others. I think it's also considering South America, I believe. I think that that's the kind of trend that we're going to keep seeing is that either there's going to be a little bit more near shoring for these jewellery companies or else they're going to refocus by raising the prices.
- [20:45]
Danny Parisi
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. That's all the ones I wanted to talk about. There were more earnings reports this week, but maybe we wrap it up there so we can save some time for my conversation with Jennifer, which I've mentioned several times now, and it's just because it was so fun and she was such a great person to have on the podcast to talk about the Met Gala. Stick around after the break to hear it, but we had a really great conversation. One thing that really stood out to me was the timeline of kind of how the Met Gala works. I kind of assumed that the designers and the guests and the stylists and everything had more than just a handful of weeks to get ready. And that was not true. Seems like it's one of those kind of last minute things and everyone's probably scrambling and trying to pull things together at the last minute. But as you will hear with Jennifer, sometimes that can be a good thing. Kind of forces you to be more decisive.
- [21:35]
Jennifer Austin
That's so interesting. I'll be listening to that too. Excited to hear it.
- [21:39]
Danny Parisi
Thank you. Well, thank you for being here, Zofia. And yeah, stick around after the break to hear that conversation with Jennifer.
- [21:52]
Glossy Podcast Host
We're going to take a quick break to hear from our sponsor. Hey Glossy podcast listeners. Listrack consistently delivers results for their beauty and fashion clients, providing critical data, insights, opportunities and innovation to help them succeed over the holiday season. List Track launched the first rich communication services marketing campaign in the United States for its partner and client, the American Heritage handbag and fine leather goods brand Dooney and Bourke. The campaign proved the power of this revolutionizing mobile messaging format more than doubling the revenue per cent compared to SMS campaigns. Rich Communication Services RCS for short has already made a splash globally and now it's available in the U.S. listrack's industry experts expect RCS to be the beauty and fashion marketers power tool in 2025, driving ROA by delivering rich interactive experiences that bring brands to life. Think enhanced media and photography, product carousels, multiple choice questions, polls all interactions that go beyond the traditional copy with an SMS message. Now is the time to start creating your RCS strategy and listrack is here to help and guide you in reaching your customers via interactive messaging. That's listtrack.com L I S T R K.com.
- [23:27]
Zofia Zvyglinska
I'm Christina Ko, senior editor at.
- [23:29]
Danny Parisi
Customers Digiday Media's and Glossy's In House agency.
- [23:33]
Zofia Zvyglinska
In this podcast intersocial story sponsored by Listrack, we speak with Jamie Eldon, LizTrack's chief revenue officer about how beauty brands.
- [23:42]
Danny Parisi
Are standing out, leveraging personalization and what creative formats are on the horizon.
- [23:47]
Jamie Elden
I think we've all seen these brands that emerge on Instagram reels and they're on TikTok, they just appear and then suddenly they're everywhere and everybody's either wearing it, using it or talking about it. You know, like the direct to consumer brands that may have started in somebody's bedroom, basement kitchen and within a year everybody's bought it. And that is a lot of these smaller brands are able to get that kind of success quickly by leveraging social media channels. Influencers, specifically micro influencers, you know, that they can lean into to use the product, talk about the product and really know how to connect with a consumer and specifically a younger consumer today. And that's where a lot of the larger, more, you know, global brands and national brands, I think struggle is finding that unique voice to connect there.
- [24:44]
Danny Parisi
While some beauty brands are finding success.
- [24:47]
Zofia Zvyglinska
Channeling their passion into social media posts, another way to stand out is to through effective personalization.
- [24:53]
Jamie Elden
What we're doing is we're becoming a shopping partner with that customer. We're making recommendations based upon what their likes are and their behaviors. And that's something that we've been able to do at scale, cross channel across whatever device somebody's preferred method is. We then may pull in two to three blog articles or written content that Peter Thomas Roth done about, you know, best practices for skin care and health care and we might put that in the email as well because we might find that valuable to support the product. So again, you know, what we're able to do is really build this personalized recommendation journey for a customer not only by putting the right product in front of them that they're interested in, but hey, here's some interesting articles and content around the this area that you're looking at. And we're finding that that has become extremely valuable. It's kind of taking everything that they're interested in and putting it in one destination. And when they open it up, they feel that, wow, this is exactly what I've been looking at and what I'm interested in.
- [25:57]
Danny Parisi
As delivering unique personalized experiences becomes what.
- [26:00]
Zofia Zvyglinska
Consumers expect, beauty brands now have access.
- [26:03]
Danny Parisi
To new technology to develop highly impactful mobile experiences that showcase their exceptional creatives in beauty.
- [26:10]
Jamie Elden
And fashion. Brands really focus their creative prowess around print, digital, outdoor. They spend a lot of money on those creatives to make them look beautiful and to really appeal to consumers. That creative discipline around those is now being transformed into email, creative, SMS creative, MMS Creative. Listrack is the first company in the United States to send an RCS message, which is rich, creative. And that is going to be a game changer for the beauty industry and the fashion industry in 2025. Moving forward, RCS messaging through mobile phones allows a brand to pull in their TikTok shop content, their reels, their influencer content all into a video environment on somebody's cell phone. So what that means is it allows to create this unique, rich creative experience with functionalities of they can shop, they can browse through catalogs, they can request something through this. It's a whole new way of a brand to communicate with a consumer through a cell phone. And it's going to be incredibly fascinating to see how that evolves over the next one to three years.
- [27:37]
Zofia Zvyglinska
You've been listening to Jamie Eldon, chief revenue officer at Listrack, our sponsor, on this episode. And now back to the glossy podcast.
- [27:51]
Danny Parisi
Thank you so much, Jennifer, for being here. It's a pleasure to have you. Jennifer Austin, My guest today is a stylist based in Los Angeles, and I learned from Los Angeles as well. Not a transplant. Probably best known for dressing Angela Bassett, who you dressed this year for the Met Gala, and she looked incredible.
- [28:07]
Zofia Zvyglinska
Thank you.
- [28:07]
Danny Parisi
I know, Jennifer, you also have a background in theater and I know you've styled Runway shows at pretty much all the big fashion weeks. Is there anything else from your background you want the listeners here to know?
- [28:19]
Zofia Zvyglinska
The listeners here to know that I'm just, I'm a regular lady out here in these streets still, you know, slinging, slanging, and banging these clothes out here. But for the most part, I think, you know, just my. My world of fashion is kind of like it's always been there. And so, you know, I guess what I tell people that, you know, don't. Don't listen to that voice in the back of your head. Listen to that. Because that's what made me hear.
- [28:45]
Danny Parisi
Yeah. Well, so as I mentioned, you've styled Angela Bassett for a number of years now.
- [28:49]
Zofia Zvyglinska
Yes.
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Danny Parisi
You've put her in some incredible looks, but honestly, she's so stunning. She could honestly wear anything.
- [28:56]
Zofia Zvyglinska
But you also have a good canvas. I was grateful for a good canvas to work with.
- [29:00]
Danny Parisi
You've got a great canvas to work with. You also styled Danielle Brooks. I think I did. Any other notable clients you could name for us?
- [29:07]
Zofia Zvyglinska
You know what, the past, I would say the past, like, year and a half was like a whirlwind because when I went into the Oscar season, so, you know, I had had Angela. I also, Brian Tyree Henry was someone that I work with. So that year he was the two, you know, the only two blacks that were nominated were. Happened to be my client. So that was a wonderful moment. I worked with Danielle Brooks. I've worked with my other client, Shantae Adams, young, up and cominging actress, still out here. Beautiful theater background work. Tasha Smith is a dear friend of mine. She was one of my very early on, my very second client. And so, you know, the styling world, you know, I won't necessarily. Well, sometimes, you know, it's a. It's kind of revolving door of, of, you know, in the fashion world. So, you know, so I've been blessed to work with and touch on different backgrounds of clients, different varieties of clients. And I think that's what makes being a stylist so amazing, is the fact that, you know, you. You get to work with so many different body shapes, heights, types, men, women. But, yeah, that's been pretty much like the crux of it all. Angela, you know, she. She has the majority of my time.
- [30:23]
Danny Parisi
Yes. Well. And she looked amazing at the Met Gala this year. I wanted to ask, I want to know sort of the timeline of how styling for the gala works. I mean, does it start with knowing that one of your clients is going to go, or does it, I mean, when did, you know, like the theme? When did you start working with Angela and what she was going to wear? Where do things start?
- [30:41]
Zofia Zvyglinska
Well, you know what I would say over the past, like, month, we really had a good, good April because this was her first met, and this was actually my first met as well, so. And it was such a beautiful first for the both of us, especially with the theme that it was this year with the black dandies and the African Diaspora. So that was just so exciting. And so when the text, actually, I found out via text message, I was actually in Costco shopping, and my phone goes off and it looks like down. And it comes from her publicist, Gilda Squire. And she text came in. It was like, angela has been invited to the Met Gala this year by Burberry, and I'm going to accept it. I literally, like, stopped over there by the dog food. I was like, it's the Met. Then the process begins. And usually most of the time it's a, you know, if we have a good month out and which we did. And so the process starts. And now we start on the collaboration process of it all. You know, the brand, whoever the. The brand that are working with, and this one was Burberry. They send sketches. We. We get a. A sketch lookbook of ideas of what it is that they're thinking about for the look for the Met. And then I come in with my. This is what I was thinking. This is the direction that we want to go in. And it was such a beautiful collaborative effort with Burberry. I. I commend their team. They were so wonderful to work with. So quick and patient. They got my. I had in my head, they brought it to life and. Which was, you know, which was always a. A wonderful thing, especially as a stylist, when you work with brands that are open to your vision, what it is for your client. Because at the end of the day, we all want an amazing look to hit the carpet. So in the beginning of April, we started the process of, you know, presenting ideas, sending images, doing sketches, deciding on colors, you know, with. With looking at fabric swatches. With this Met G Gala, you know, it was the black Dandy or super fine tailoring tailored to you. So I really wanted to lean into that for this and then let this moment, you know, for Angela be that moment for her, because this was her first met, and I wanted this to be special. And so, you know, always coming into discussing it with your client. So when Burberry sends the sketches to me, it was pretty much like the first week of April, and they presented sketches. You know, I print everything out. Angela and I, we sit down, we have our, you know, our fashion. Our fashion meeting, and then we go over things. I tell her what's in my head and what I love about her, what we've been working together for. This is our 12th year. And that her. Her trust in me, and that's what helps. She understands my vision for her and she goes with it. I mean, her. Her, literally her unwavering faith in me, I love it. But then it's always. That keeps me on my toes because I never want to disappoint her and then disappoint her fans and then everyone else, and then also making sure that, you know the brand, you know, because, you know, it's a joint effort, so everyone is happy. So we went over the sketches and we came. I kept my ideas. I went back to the Burberry team, and then we came with the new round of sketches, and then we landed, and then we built from there because, you know, it's just always having a starting base. And then we did our first fitting in Los Angeles, honestly, maybe about two and a half weeks ago. So it really, you know, a lot of times, people, some, you know, in the fashion where we would love to have weeks and weeks out to design things, it always does make it easier and go smoother. But then sometimes the magic happens in crunch time. You know, when you do those last bits of fittings. I mean, we actually. We did a fitting on the two days before the Met, and we made changes, you know, because you're always still. You're always forever changing something, and then you. But then you always have to edit and stop yourself to make sure that, okay, we've got to be rested at a great place. So I would say, yeah, it's been probably. The total process was maybe almost five weeks. We had a longer grace period because they are in London. It would probably been a little bit less if they were here in New York for some reason. When we feel like we're here in the States, oh, we have time. We have time and you don't.
- [35:19]
Danny Parisi
Yeah.
- [35:20]
Zofia Zvyglinska
But, yeah, so it's been. Yeah, pretty much all of. Pretty much all of April.
- [35:23]
Danny Parisi
It's a surprisingly little amount of time. You know, I would bet that probably a lot of people who. Who haven't been part of the process would think that you'd get two or three months or something, but it's really just comes together. And we were just saying before the recording that, I mean, I know New York Fashion Week, oftentimes they'll be casting a show right up to the last minute. They'll still not have all of their models 24 hours before. So do you think that's. Can that be a benefit to a stylist sometimes or to a designer to spur you to be decisive, make Your decisions and stick with them.
- [35:57]
Zofia Zvyglinska
You know, what? It. It depends. It depends on the designer, depends on your client and the moment. Like I said, I've been blessed with Angela that she is somebody that in the moments when it comes to fashion, and I guess I. I am what I've done to make her rest easy, she knows that I'm never going to let her go out with it out looking amazing without it being perfect. I'm the one that's usually, you know, up all night, you know, worrying about things. But it all depends on the circumstance and the situation. I've literally. I've had dresses made within two or three days. Sometimes it is nice when you go down to the wire, because it's like the olive press, when you know the pressure is on you. You make something magic happen. Where sometimes. And I. Sometimes with me, if I have too much time to think about things, then I start to doubt what it is that it is that you do. And so your great question that you asked it was that we can get into our heads and we can overthink it. So sometimes when we do have shorter deadlines to do things, magic comes out of that. Whereas, oh, okay, I've got six or seven weeks, and you make a dress, and then you have it, and then you'll question it. It would be like, okay, wait a minute, is it enough? Is it enough? Whereas when you have, you know, a week, it's gonna be enough. Cause you don't have any more time to do it. So you're like. So you're pressed into those moments of, you know, making the greatness happen right then and there.
- [37:32]
Danny Parisi
Yeah, no, I think that makes a lot of sense. So when you're making those decisions and, you know, like you said you had only a couple weeks to work on this, and you're obviously collaborating with Burberry and Angela, so you're not the only decision maker here. I saw actually a bit of that great video of you and Daniel Lee from Burberry kind of circling Angela and, you know, making little adjustments and stuff. So you're not the only decision maker here, but you are a big part of it. When did you collectively decide the look was done? Was it, you know, the day before? Or, like, was there some moment where you're like, okay, it's perfect. No more messing with it?
- [38:07]
Zofia Zvyglinska
You know what the first fitting we did in la, like I said, the Burberry team, they were amazing because I sent. Sent them all the reference images that I sent them. Like I said, I really wanted to lean into the super fine tailoring of it all. I love we, as women of. In a suit, the button down, the tie, you know, a waistcoat. I love a waistcoat. And so after we went back and forth, when we submitted. They submitted the sketches and so we were in LA and we did our first fitting. And when they came with everything, it was just like they nailed it. Like, I mean, literally, they nailed it. And so we, of course, you know, there was alterations. You know, we got to take things in, let things out. You know, the cape that she had on, it was longer. We shorted the cape. So I felt the references that I sent them. I knew that's what I wanted to do. So from the. When I started looking at what the feel. Because when I. When I create looks for events, there's always a story behind what it is that I'm creating and where the look came from. So once I had the story in place and the reference of the SAP, the dandies of the Congo, you know, I went forward with that. That was just. I knew exactly what I wanted. I wanted a hat. It was so clear in my head. So after we did the first fitting in la, they nailed it. And so we just. It was. And it was so easy. And they were saying that as well, that it was. It came so easy. So our alterations of things were really kind of minor. It wasn't like we had to do a whole overhaul of things. So it was a wonderful experience. Wonderful experience.
- [39:54]
Danny Parisi
I would bet that you, having worked with Angela for so long, probably helped you kind of nail it on the first go. Pretty much, yes. And for those of you listening who have not seen the look, I highly suggest you go look at a picture of it. But it's this beautiful, like, deep blue and black suit, like you mentioned. There's a cape, there's a hat element. Can you talk a little bit more about Le SAP, this Congolese subculture that was an influence on the look?
- [40:18]
Zofia Zvyglinska
Yes, Le SAP and the Sappers. So the Le SAP is a French slang to mean to clothes, to get dressed or to dress up. And the Saps of Kinyasa and Brazzaville, that just the. The. The energy of them, the life of them, just spoke to me and instantly came to me when the theme for the Met happened. And the SAP is a society. It's. And there's a meaning behind it. So La SAP is the society of ambiance makers and elegant people. And so. And they are a group of men and women are growing more so in the group. And that's what they do every day they dress up in. In dandies and to dress up their suiting shoes. And they create movement that is happening and blossoming out there in the midst of, you know, when we, when we think of the areas that they come from, the Brazil and of Kenyasa, these were, you know, technically what has been thought to. Of the more of the underdeveloped or more poor countries. Whereas when you see the laps that are there in the midst of walking on these dirt roads, they are. They have suits and ties and ascots and canes and glasses and colorful suits and furs and prints. And so the movement is there and the energy is there to show fine dressing no matter what condition that you are in. And you know, and really embracing because, I mean, you know, if we are sliding into the history of. Of. Of how the influence of. Of. Of colonialism fell upon the slaves where, you know, we took on the. The wardrobe and the look of the ma. Of our masters or all the free slaves were the ones who got to actually wear the suits and, and. And dressed up in stockings and canes and hats and things like that. So, you know, we, we dress for status and, and symbols of things. And so the lap they really took that movement and it blossomed and it grew into this amazing, amazing, pretty much kind of members only. And they come and they walk through the streets and they sing and it's a celebration and everybody g see what they're going to wear today. And you know, and it's kind of like, you know, they go into. Outdo each other, but it's just a way of life, just a way of life to and to, you know, change your perception of things of life because, you know, at the end of the day where we get the, where we get the slogan of, you know, if you, if you look better on the outside, you feel better on the inside. So fashion has always been a way to. To escape the circumstances that you're in. And the saps have used that at that movement to, to change the perception of you life that they're living in, the conditions that they're living in. You know, we all love to get dressed up and go out because there's something that lifts the spirit. And so when you see these individuals and the energy and the life that they bring to it, that's what I wanted to bring that to the carpet. I really wanted that movement to happen. So, you know, so when I, when I explained it, I feel like, oh, okay. So, you know, it's just not more of okay. We're just Putting on some. No, there's a deeper meaning behind it.
- [43:45]
Danny Parisi
Yeah. First of all, it perfectly matches the theme of kind of black dandyism. And then also, I thought something I loved about it is oftentimes, especially in the US when we think of black style, we're thinking black American style. You know, you think of the Harlem Renaissance, you think of 1980s B boy kind of look, and there's a whole, you know, literally a whole world of black experience and black style outside of that. So I really thought that was an excellent source of inspiration to pull in. I also wanted to ask. I mentioned that the look was very striking, and it had a very strong blue. Like, just this beautiful deep blue color. And I've noticed in looking at some of the looks you've styled for Angela over the years that you often kind of, like, have one single strong color. And it's not often. I mean, at least from what I've seen. Like, I'm thinking of that beautiful green dress that she wore in the Hollywood Reporter shoot a couple years ago. Yeah, it's a really cover.
- [44:39]
Zofia Zvyglinska
Yeah.
- [44:40]
Danny Parisi
Just a single, like, strong color that just, you know, and without a lot of other distractions. Is that an intentional thing that. That you like to do? Like, you know, a monochromatic look?
- [44:50]
Zofia Zvyglinska
Oh. Oh, Danny, look. You. You get. You get the gold star because you peep something. You. You pay attention. You pay attention to me.
- [44:59]
Danny Parisi
Thank you.
- [45:00]
Zofia Zvyglinska
I love monochromatics. Monochromatic reminds me of my mother. So that's an ode to my mother. Growing up, IPS fashion was always going to be in me. My mother. My mother's a chef, but my mother used to model when she was younger, and she used to make clothes for me. And my mother has this thing about matching. My mother would dye my socks to match my outfits. Like, I literally. I was always overdressed. Like, my whole life, I'm. I'm an old. I'm an old lady. So we would wear pinafores. I would have dress. I always look like Alice from Alice in Wonderland. My mother loved that dress with the little white. Little pinafore apron on top. Oh, my God. And she would dye my shoe, my. Dye my socks to match my outfits. And then I remember growing up, my mother had this beautiful red suit, and she would wear red panty hose and red shoes. Blue. My mother had stockings and shoes to match everything. So I'm not surprised that I, you know, my. My career path is what it is. But so anytime it's monochromatics, that's always an ode to My mom. But it's always such a strong look when I dress. When I work with my clients and I dress my clients. My. My. My goal is to make sure that all eyes are on you. And always what brings that is color. A very. A strong, bold color always brings that, especially when it's done nicely. And I do. I do love a bold color. A striking moment, especially depending on what the carpet is. Because most of the time people are scared of color, you know, or they'll have their mom. They. They'll only do certain colors. So the Met was a very different color for us because Angela Little fun fact, she's not a. She's not a big fan of blue. She's not a big fan of blue at all. And. But that was such a beautiful, rich tone of blue. And normally I'm funny about navies, depending on her spending on that skin tone, but that color was just so rich and it felt so expensive and it felt so chic. And I think that's also. When it comes to color, I love because can. And just showing people, because most of the time, people are usually scared, especially like you said, the greens on the. Anything that are on the brighter tones. People shy away from them because they're. They're. They're scared of the attention or they feel that it's too loud of a color. And so. And I always love to show that, no, you can be head to toe in. In a certain color, but it all just depends on how you put it together, the tone of it all and what you present to make it acceptable. So I am. Yes, I. I am in a bold, in your face color, girl. I love a print, you know, but usually prints, you know, I usually try to tone back from that, especially when it comes on car, because not everybody understands it. But color, yes, always a striking, bold color. Angela, she's a fire. She loves jewel tones and things like that. So. And then also with her, when I first started working with her, you know, she was that typical New Yorker. And I love you guys. This is not. This is not a swing that any New Yorker workers. But you guys do. You do have. Being from. Being from California and in New York, you know, you guys do have a very. That black wardrobe, that sensational black and gray. So when I first started working her in her closet, everything was black. Everything was black. So that was one of the reasons why I was so strong, to put her in strong colors, because she is that, you know, the spirit and the energy of her. She's such a regal, strong, elegant woman as I always tell her, I was like, you have the ability. You take the. You take the air out the room when she comes in. Because soon as she comes in, people are like, oh, God, that's Angela Bassett. I said, you see that? I said, that's them taking that. You taking the air out of the room. So I just always want her wardrobe to reflect that. So, you know, introducing bold colors to her was just such an easy fix.
- [48:53]
Danny Parisi
Yeah. And I'm, as a New Yorker who is trying to expand my wardrobe color. This is good inspiration for. I want to ask you one more thing, Jennifer, and then we can wrap it up. But obviously you have been styling for a while, and you were. I think it was Hollywood Reporter that had you as one of the 25 most powerful stylists in the business, which I think is very accurate. But obviously, you don't necessarily need the Met Gala to raise your profile or anything. But I wanted to just ask, since it is your first gala, what you think of the gala itself. It's like sort of place in fashion for stylists, for designers, for the people who. For guests who attend. I mean, what's the benefit of it for you? And how does it feel, I guess, to, you know, to finally get your chance to do it?
- [49:44]
Zofia Zvyglinska
Oh, well, there's so many things, of course, it cross off the bucket list off of, you know, of what it is to be a stylist. You know, the. The. The first one was being in. Named in the Hollywood Reporter. So that was. That was crazy. And then to be on the COVID was even more wild. But I think what the Met does, first of all, you know, it. It is a fundraiser to preserve the. The. The museum itself, where you get to come and see fashion, you get to see those moments. But the Met, as far as it. For. To me, as a stylist and being my first one, the Met is a global, globally. Who don't necessarily even watch fashion shows or have a real interest, you know, of course, a semi interest, but everybody watches the Met. Like I said, you might have never seen a fashion show in your life, but you watch to see what the Met Gala brings, because you're watching to see if there's costumes, who's going. Your favorite celebrities. So, you know, getting eyes on my work in that. That respect. I mean, it is still. I. I still feel like I'm walking in a dream of it all still. And so. And it is such an important moment as to a stylist, because especially with this one and with the themes, it gives you an opportunity to really create the narrative for your fashion and your story. Just like the story, you know. And like I said, thank you so much for having me on here, for the people to understand, you know, know, we're not out here or. And I can just say for me that I'm just not out here just throwing looks on without having a purpose and a thought behind it. So it lets the world, you know, know the thought and the attention that you put behind it, the journey that you create, the stories that you curate that comes from it. Because this is. You're doing this for the museum that has curated looks, this exhibit that's going to be coming based off Monique's books, like Monica's book, like, this was so special. And it's really a time for you to really honor and then also push your own. For as for me, I'll speak strictly for me, just pushing your own boundaries when it comes to what your previous. The previous things that you did, and then pushing yourselves to a new level and a new height because you really have time to actually curate a look. And it's something different where you. You get an opportunity to really show something different than what you've done. Because especially depending on what clients you have, you know, we go through the regular award seasons, you know, where we see gowns, you know, we see the status quo fashion, you know, you're going to see a tux, you're going to see a gown, but where the Met gives us an opportunity to really be creatives and to be a designer and. And to push the envelopes of fashion for that night and to be globally seen. Because like I said, people have met parties and they're out on the street and, you know, and it brings a. A, that brings the eyes of people that I said, not necessarily even, you know, that care about fashion to this point, but they come to see it and you want to give them an experience and something different and a show to see. So that's what was so wonderful about this Met for me, because it really gave me something different to do, you know, with the color. We've not worn a tie before. She's not worn a hat. The hat designer I had, John Narcisco, like, he's a wonderful black hat designer that's in la and that it also gives us an opportunity to showcase different designers to the world. You know, someone that, like John, you know, I love his hats, his work is impeccable, and now the world gets to see. So, you know, it's just. It's a platform of creativity. And growth.
- [53:37]
Danny Parisi
Yeah. And especially because a stylist job is often a little bit behind the scenes there. I mean, there's any big event like the Oscars or whatever, everyone there has a stylist and a stylist was involved. But I think the Met Gala is the time when probably most people who are maybe not super in tune with the fashion industry are aware not just of the celebrity and of the look, but that there's a person whose job it was to create this look. And this person's name is Jennifer Austin or whoever. So it's a big moment, like I said, said the look was amazing. I thought you did a fantastic job.
- [54:11]
Zofia Zvyglinska
Thank you.
- [54:12]
Danny Parisi
And I think that's all the time we have for this conversation. But this was so fun. Thank you for joining us, Jennifer. It was great talking to you.
- [54:18]
Zofia Zvyglinska
Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. Anytime, anytime. I love to come back and talk fashion with you.
- [54:24]
Danny Parisi
Well, we'll have to have you on again.
- [54:26]
Zofia Zvyglinska
Absolutely.
- [54:28]
Danny Parisi
And thank you for listening to the Glossy Podcast. Don't forget to give us a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, wherever you listen to this, because that helps us out so much. And don't forget to subscribe to the Glossy Podcast to hear interviews with industry insiders and week in review segments where we break down the news. The new episodes come out every Friday. Till the next time. Thanks for listening.