Just as Charlotte was going to snap a shot with me and the zoe&zac summer collection, Margaret from the Lazy E and the gal from (Wendy is her name?) Women’s Health walked in. They fit so nicely between my arms, I just had to let them in to the shot!

A little sneak peak at the Spring/Summer ‘09 collection. I’m there sporting my Aoi jacket; organic cotton Katherine Hamnett tee; Ombre Claire necklace; sunglasses from American Apparel; organic cotton pants by Linda Loudermilk; and Lotus oxford from the first zoe&zac collection (still in time for Mom’s Day this coming May 10th - don’t forget!!!)

And drum roll please…A few shots from the upcoming summer collection, including a basic black Snapdragon ballet flat; a vintage floral wedge; and a pretty pink Tigerlily wedge (back by popular demand) from the first season. Zoe&Zac launched this April 13th, 2009 in 1,000 Payless stores and on payless.com. I’m pretty psyched that we’ll also be launching the summer collection this June through September in many Latin American countries…In fact, that reminds me: I gotta pen an article for En Sociedad tomorrow, (with a little translation help of course)…

Stella McCartney. A month or so ago I got a message from Annabelle over at Stella’s to say that the inimitable animal-loving designer was in town and I should swing by. After throwing a host of Style, Naturally book launch parties at her chic shops in both The Big Apple and La-La Land, I still hadn’t been able to link up with her thanks to both of our ridiculously erratic schedules. Every time I’d come, she had just left, and when she came around, I would have already slipped out the door. No worries: This past month we clocked in on our time cards right at the same time (thanks Amy, Daniel, and Annabelle!). Just as I was signing my book to leave for her, she popped in, already mobbed by some selfishly hip socialites who enjoy chit-chatting about conscious face care (despite the horrendous Botox they have shoved in their Grouper-like lips). Ahhhhh life can be so entertaining at times.

Much to my delight, however, conscious face care dovetailed into animal-friendly speak, which gave way to a discussion on environmentally-friendly fashion. “I never expected to talk about my values that I grew up with so much in my design, but journalists are now asking me specifically about it,” she said turning to me. “And I don’t know if I’m using the best materials,” she said softly. “I mean, I’m not using leather products but I am using plastics.” (I think she mentioned something along the lines of 50 billion animals are slaughtered every year worldwide for food + fashion, which is a staggeringly high number when you think about it in totality.) I gave my book to Stella at that point and began chatting about best practices in the industry, our upbringing, and some of the latest innovations on the fiber-front. I had to run to my next meeting, so I couldn’t hang, but we agreed to stay in touch… so off I went. 

Patricia Field. A few days ago we had our second Payless shoot for zoe&zac. The styling on the first shoot was a little too Boho for my liking, so we brought in the outrageously creative eye of Pat Field, whom will forever go down in fashion history for her styling of Sex and The City, The Devil Wears Prada, and now Ugly Betty. She’s the type of gal you’d want to throw back a few beers with at the bar (and maybe a fistful of whiskey, a bottle of rum, and a couple shots of vodka) while talking about all of what is wrong with the world. I seriously admire that woman - because she just does her thing - the same damn thing that she’s been doing - and has just stuck with it and does it super well (i.e. pairing a sequin top that has no business rubbing up against some Safari-shorts and a studded belt named Roger (yes that famous belt you’ve seen at least twenty times in the Sex and the City movie here and here and here), yet when paired together they all seem to fit nicely together (like the whole Angelina Jolie-Brad Pitt family). Granted PETA would have a hair-raising experience with Pat’s once-four-legged-animal-turned-purse, but we kept it in line for zoe&zac….and who knows, perhaps after Pat picked up Style, Naturally, we’ll be seeing some eco-conscious wear on America Ferrera’s lovely brace face…or maybe a studded belt named Roger.  :o) - SRO

We’ve launched the first season’s line of zoe&zac and next week I’ll be back in the design room working on upcoming season’s lines. If you have gotten a chance to head over to a Payless store and check them out like I did the other day, then check out the website here and let us know what you think (web shots below). It’s definitely a work-in-progress…and we got a lot more to tackle. Some of the boys out there were wondering whether they’ll get some kicks - and the short answer is “Yes.” This will eventually be a family brand - but we’re still developing styles and materials, so the men’s versions will launch a few seasons down the road. Stay tuned. Check out the video below for a bit more behind-the-scenes + tips from the last shoot/work session.

overview of the brand

a little bit more on my role

Julia and I headed to the nearest Payless store to check out the zoe&zac displays. I bought a pair of the brown organic cotton wedges, which I wore all day yesterday. Charlotte called on Friday to inform me that all the girl’s shoes (three different styles) sold out - and those brown wedges I bought are the best-selling ones. Not only that, but our “Plant A Billion” bags - those recycled $1.99 ones in which $1.00 is given to plan 1 tree in the Atlantic Forest of the Amazon, are all sold out too! Thanks everyone for your support. Check out zoe&zac at a local Payless (we launched this April 13, 2009 in 1,000 locations) and on Payless.com. 

Check out zoe&zac + Plant A Billion at payless.com 

A couple weeks ago Payless and I opened up the showroom doors to over 100 magazine editors (and a few lucky bloggers) to grab a sneak peak at the sustainable footwear  and accessories line we’ve been developing under the label, Zoe & Zac. Around 2PM we had a bit of a lull in traffic, so I snuck back into the design area with Nancy to work out some accessory ideas. It’s safe to say that the editors liked what they saw, which is always a good lithmus test.

chatting it up with editors at the Payless showroom. Clothing shout-outs: Dress - Beau Soleil; Sweater - Lara Miller; Ring - Dandi Maestre; Necklaces  - Ombre Claire, and the shoes “coming soon” compliments of Payless.

We’ll be starting off with women’s casual footwear, jewelry and bags; release some children’s looks; build up to women’s dress shoes; and then launch a men’s collection. We’ve begun to incorporate organic cotton,  linens, hemps, water-based glues, reduced-metal dyes, PET, recycled rubber (minimum 20%), eco-foam beds (a super cool alternative to conventional PVC foams and similar in chemical composition to Kevlar). The name Zoe & Zac came to be after some quant/qual studies on names Payless customers loved and that one quickly rose to the top. We all loved it too because it’s so young, fun and fresh and sure as hell doesn’t scream “GREEN!”  It also indirectly states that any girl or guy can do the green thing when it comes down to it, (especially when it’s so damn affordable).

A sneak peak at one of our cute ballet flats due out in April 2009.

It’s been awesome working with the Payless team to develop the brand. We’ll be updating the looks a few times every year and we’ve got some on-trend, fresh looks that will totally be on point for the coming season.

Keep an eye out for the Zoe & Zac launch this April 2009 and your eyes here for some of the latest developments–both on the style and sustainability front. We’re already looking ahead to the summer line and other environmental efforts, so stay tuned. Things are moving forward quickly!