Zoe Van Zanten

Featured Image:

Chanel Caldwell at Chadwicks Photographer Jeremy Choh HMUA Alana Santos

 

Zoe Van Zanten

Zoe Van Zanten is a Perth stylist. She believes as we do that Perth is a fashion hot spot. Zoe says “there is a wealth of creative talent in Perth, from designers through to photographers and models. What makes Perth a fashion hot spot is that it doesn’t have a ‘style’ like corporate Melbourne, or hipster Sydney, there are all types here of all different fashion styles”.

“…growing older doesn’t have to mean losing your style and getting the same haircut as your husband.”

LM

I love your website and blog. What inspired you to create it?

ZVZ

Thank you! I needed to create the website for my business as a place to showcase my work, and I wanted to make a beautiful place to do so. I have been following bloggers for years, before they became the ‘it girls’ and I loved seeing into their lives within the fashion world. It was suggested to me that I share what I do everyday and hence my blogging started.

LM

You live in Perth don’t you? What a beautiful city. Have you always lived there?

ZVZ

Yes, it’s a gorgeous place to live! I have lived here all my life aside from a brief month trip to France on exchange when I was in high school.

LM

I believe you are also a stylist? How did you get in to that work?

ZVZ

Yes I am. I am lucky enough to come from a fashion-orientated family so I grew up around amazingly dressed, eccentric people, and I always watched how they dressed. Being around such people within the fashion industry provided me with an opportunity to assist on photo shoots from a young age. Working in retail helped a lot, learning how to build outfits for people of all shapes and sizes, and learning about garments and how to accessorise.  In the end it just became a part of my life, taking friends shopping and showing them how to dress, until the point when I realised I could do this as a job!

LM

How important do you feel is the role of a stylist?

ZVZ

Stylists are seriously underestimated. The stylist creates a story using clothing, accessories and props to be captured by the photographer. A stylist has the ability to transform a beautiful model into a character, and can help people learn how to exude confidence in how they dress.

LM

What designers do you mostly work with?

ZVZ

I’m all about keeping it local so I love working with Perth labels including Jomay Cao, Natalie Rolt, Rosie & Broken, Ange Lang, PALM swimwear, Ethel & Leo, Friends of Fancy, & TPAL clothing.

LM

Who are the people from whom you take inspiration, and whom do you most admire within the Australian fashion industry?

ZVZ

I worship Olivia Palermo, in my eyes she can do no wrong. Within the Australian fashion industry I admire Australian Vogue’s senior fashion editor Christine Centenera, I love her look and follow her work religiously. I also love Nicole Warne of Gary Pepper Vintage, she has stayed true to her classic style from humble beginnings to where she is now, and it’s so inspiring.

LM

What do you think of today’s street fashion?

ZVZ

Absolutely love it. If you’re stuck for ideas walk around beautiful places and see how people dress. I would die to be in Paris, New York or Milan during fashion weeks just to sit and watch all of the beautiful people in their amazing outfits.

LM

What advice would you give to aspiring fashion bloggers?

ZVZ

I’m torn on fashion bloggers, there are the amazing ones and then there are thousands of bloggers who all look the same and just do it for free products and event invitations. Taking photos in your backyard of what you’re wearing just doesn’t cut it anymore. To be a relevant blogger in today’s saturated blogger world you need to have a point of difference.

LM

What is your advice to young women and the way they dress?

ZVZ

My advice is to stop following trends. It’s ridiculous. Make your own style, and wear clothes that suit your body shape. Not everyone was meant to wear crop tops and platforms.

LM

Do you like the current collections on offer to Australian women?

ZVZ

I do like the range of women’s clothing within Australia, but mostly at a higher price point. I think there is an amazing standard of dress on offer but it is important to spend that little bit more on fewer quality pieces than to have a wardrobe full of cheaper seasonal clothing.

LM

What influence do you think social media has had on our current fashion industry and do you think it is positive or negative?

ZVZ

I think social media has a positive influence on the fashion industry. As a stylist I am always drawing inspiration from people on social media, and I myself can put my own work within the industry out there for a global audience. I have national and international contacts within the fashion industry that were established through social media, never before have people been able to work together without travelling to do so. Social media also allows fashion labels to expand nationally and internationally.

LM

What is your favourite social media platform? Why?

ZVZ

My favourite social media platform would have to be Instagram, probably because I’m such a visual person so I can see everything I want instantly in a picture or a short video. 

LM

What do you think of the phenomenon of fast fashion?

ZVZ

Fast fashion is a huge business. Cheap production means cheap prices for the masses, but it also means people spend more money on seasonal clothing that doesn’t last, rather than embracing a personal style and investing in timeless pieces.

LM

When your designs are photographed how do you like to see them represented and on whom?

ZVZ

I like my designs to be represented by beautiful happy girls, who have their own style and aren’t afraid to show it.

LM

Do you think fashion bloggers are here to stay? What advice would you give to aspiring fashion bloggers?

ZVZ

I think the world has too many fashion bloggers. It would be great if everyone was unique and different, but most of them are the same, so I believe it is just a phase where everyone thinks they can be ‘instafamous’.

LM

Do you sometimes think fashion bloggers often look the same at events? Why?

ZVZ

Yes, absolutely! It’s because these dime-a-dozen bloggers don’t often have style, they simply have good PR skills and pay for followers. The bloggers who have style are the ones who stand out, and they don’t look the same at events.

LM

Do you feel the industry needs to have a set of slightly older fashion bloggers to create a wider and broader space for representation of labels?

ZVZ

Yes definitely. I think as the slightly older generations become more and more technologically savvy, they should have people their own age showing them that growing older doesn’t have to mean losing your style and getting the same haircut as your husband.

LM

Do you think our obsession with youth and only directing fashion to the very young has created a restricted playground for designers at large?

ZVZ

There is such a distinction between young and older clothing, it seems older generations are generally uninterested in new designers or unwilling to try new styles. Combine this with the ability for designers to connect with younger generations via social media, and it would seem that new fashion is aimed at younger people.

LM

What do you feel we as a population can do in order to change this?

ZVZ

I feel that older generations need to feel more confident in ageing with style. We need to have role models to guide people to do so. We also need to get more and more of the older generations onto social media, because this is how you become a part of the target market.

LM

How do you feel about the levels of support for the fashion industry in this country?

ZVZ

I believe there is an immense amount of support for the fashion industry within Australia. If you work hard, and get to know the right people then you have endless opportunities to have the career of your dreams in fashion.

LM

What is your view of the “it” bag?

ZVZ

I’m not a bag person; I’m a shoe person. I often go out without a bag! But I do love everything about Alexander Wang and 3.1 Philip Lim’s collection of bags.

LM

What is the most you would pay for a handbag?

ZVZ

If I had all the money in the world then who knows how much I would spend!

LM

What designers do you love in Australia? Overseas?

ZVZ

In Australia I love Toni Maticevski, Sass & Bide, Camillia & Marc, Ginger & Smart, Nicholas, Scanlan & Theodore, Tony Bianco, J’Aton Couture, Manning Cartell, Saba, Thurley, & White Suede. Internationally I love Valentino, Issey Miyake, Chanel, Zuhair Murad, Givenchy, Ellie Saab, Alexander Wang, Zac Posen… I could go on!

LM

If you were gifted $5000 for a fabulous handbag, which current model would you buy?

ZVZ

I would probably treat myself to a Prada Saffiano Cuir Double Bag.

LM

What is your opinion about cosmetic surgery on young women?

ZVZ

I think cosmetic surgery on young women is horrible. If you are having plastic surgery when you’re young, what on earth will you be having done when you’re much older? 

LM

Do you think that as a population we dress well?

ZVZ

Absolutely not. I can’t even go to the shopping centre without wondering how people leave the house so under dressed. Growing up I was always told by people that I was ‘too dressed up’. It’s very much the Australian way of dressing to be casual. If I had my way I would be wearing heels doing the groceries like they do in Europe.

LM

Who do you think are the best dressed?  Men or women? 

ZVZ

Men. I love menswear, and I think in Australia men’s style is amazing. Men seem to have more of an understanding of what looks good on them than women do. Australian women are much more likely to follow trends that don’t suit them.

LM

If you could change anything about what’s trending right now, what would that be?

ZVZ

Do I have to pick one? There are so many. I would say right now, the midriff. Unless you’re as toned as a Victoria’s Secret model, please don’t have your stomach hanging out.

LM

What do you believe will be trending in the next 12 months?

ZVZ

In the next 12 months progressing into AW15 collections, it will be a fusion of the 70’s and 80’s. I’m talking fringed clothing and flared pants, alongside power suits.

LM

What do you think about the prevalence of tattoos? Piercings? Do you think they have had their day?

ZVZ

I think tattoos and piercings are self-expression, and I think we will only see more of this going into the future.

LM

Do you think tattoos are here to stay as a kind of individual stamp of authenticity?

ZVZ

Definitely. I have two tattoos myself, and I treat them as accessories; a way to convey something about myself to the world. It is important to make sure that there is meaning to your tattoo and that you’re proud to wear it throughout your whole life.  People shouldn’t get ink for the sake of it. Try to be individual, because we don’t need any more southern cross or ‘carpe diem’ tattoos going around.

LM

If we were speaking about fashion today, do you think we are becoming more modest or less so in our self expression?

ZVZ

That’s a hard one. I think the majority of people are self-conscious and don’t think well of themselves so they are modest in what they wear, choosing the safe option. Within the fashion industry though good luck finding someone who doesn’t try to express themselves through what they wear!

LM

Why do you think some designers have gone broke in recent times?

ZVZ

Because people are choosing fast fashion over quality designer investments. They aren’t thinking about how much money they’re wasting replacing the cheap clothing, and designers are suffering. Team this up with the crazy overheads that designers face and it’s enough to close many designers down.

LM

Who are your favourite bloggers in this country? Overseas?

ZVZ

In this country, Nicole Warne, Jessica Stein, Margaret Zhang, and Zanita Whittington. Internationally I love following Chiara Ferragni.

LM

Do you follow other bloggers?

ZVZ

I follow other bloggers on Instagram and Facebook when they pop up on my feed but sadly, I rarely have time to read the articles they write on their websites.

LM

How important do you believe is Runway exposure?

ZVZ

I believe that the original fashion business model has changed. Instead of runway exposure it’s all about having a good social media following. Runways are expensive to produce so not ideal for a designer just starting out, but definitely something to work towards once you’re established.

LM

What do you feel the fashion industry fails to offer the fashion designers, creatives, and bloggers in this country?

ZVZ

Possibly to make it more difficult for those operating in fast fashion to directly copy the designs they see on the runway.

Until next time.

Jade x