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

zoe&zac, our collection of on-trend sustainable shoes at Payless will be launching in 1,000 Payless stores and on Payless.com this coming Monday, April 13th, 2009 – but I was super psyched to see our campaigns come out in the latest issue of Elle Magazine. We got a line of totally wearable looks sporting organic cotton canvas, hemp, linen, EVA (non-PVC) foam beds, recycled rubber, water-based glues – as well as a limited collection of bags and jewelry. If you buy any zoe&zac item, Payless will contribute $1 to The Nature Conservancy’s Plant a Billion Campaign, which is enough to plant 1 tree for each item sold. With that we hope to restore a large chunk of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil, which is critical habitat and a prominent carbon sink.  

The Elle issue was chock full of great information. There were more “organic” and “natural” ads to shake a stick at – from Loomstate for Target to Burt’s Bees. But they also had some cool finds – from Bodkin, to the beautiful Elephant Art-Prophetik dress I rocked out in NY and LA (and bought) later, as well as the 16-year old gal behind Akawelle. Phenomenal. Bravo Elle. Check it out if you haven’t seen it yet.