ZARA MIRKIN X UO

Where do you live?

I live in a place called 224 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It's filled with some of the coolest people I have met here.

What do you do?

I am the Fashion Editor of NO Magazine and I freelance style/consult to a bunch of labels and magazines like Stolen Girlfriends Club, Oyster Magazine and heaps more. I also take a lot of photos, all the time.

How did you first get interested in fashion?

My poppie was a fashion illustrator in NYC back in the day. He used to draw for Pierre Cardin and Bloomingdale's. I used to look at his pictures when I was a kid and I suppose they influenced me from a very young age.

How did you become a stylist?

I always wanted to be a designer and "never really" knew what a stylist was. When I was working for Stolen Girlfriends Club as an 18-year-old, Russh Magazine came to New Zealand to shoot with Catherine McNeil. My friend was friends with the fashion editor at the time and suggested I assist them while they were here. So I went away with them around New Zealand for the week shooting and fell in love. A year and a half later NO Magazine was started and they offered me the job as fashion editor, with no experience. I guess my boss saw something in me that no one else had yet.

What do you like most about styling?

My favorite thing about it is having a vision in your head and making it come to life with your dream team of photographer, model, hair and makeup, location and clothes. If you get it right and your shoot inspires others around the world, it's a really beautiful feeling.

What influences your work?

Subcultures, particularly cowboys and westerns. Metalers, I'm obsessed with the metal scene and all the boys with their long greasy hair, piercings and metal T-shirts. Locations are very important in my work, sometimes I will find an incredible weird location and the whole shoot will come from that.
And then all my friends... I have some really special people in my life around me. They are all inspiring and talented in their own way, whether it be the way they make you feel, the way they dress, the photos they take or the songs they sing, they are all a big part of who I am and what my work represents.

Can you describe some of your favorite looks you've ever put together?

It would probably be my Mexican-themed shoot that I did for NO Magazine, shot by Karen Inderbitzen-Waller. I love all things Mexican and I dressed these two young girls in costume like they were Day of the Dead dolls.
Dressing Alice Dellal in a whole bunch of crazy Jeremy Scott was fun too. As for myself, I wear a variety of the same thing everyday, so not super exciting!

Who have you worked for or with?

I work with a bunch of NZ/Australian labels like Stolen Girlfriends Club, Lonely Hearts, Something Else, Adrian Hailwood, Huffer and then some more high-end London based labels like jewelery designer Jessica McCormack and sportswear brand Lucas Hugh. Apart from NO Magazine, I have contributed to Oyster, Surface, Yen, Russh Japan and Foam. I also dress a very talented musician called Ruby Frost.
I have a few photographers that I really make beautiful work with and love collaborating with: Karen Inderbitzen-Waller, Derek Henderson, Rene Vaile, Ben Sullivan, Maya Villager, Sam Montgomery, Natasha Cantwell and Sam Crawford. They are all so talented and have their own style going on, you should check out their work!

Who are some of your favorite models that you have worked with, and why?

Zippora and Jasper Seven, Alice Dellal, Tallulah Morton, Julia Nobis, Emily Baker, Rachel Rutt, Vinnie Woolston and Bambi Northwood-Blythe. They are all just kind beautiful people, inside and out. There is a lot more to some of these people than just a pretty face, they have there own things going on like Julia's guitar playing, Zippy and Jasper's crazy adventures, Vinnie's tattooing, Rachel's knitting, Tallulah's just all together wildness. They all have their own incredible sense of style that emulates my styling and together I feel like we make magic when we work together.

How did your work with Stolen Girlfriends Club come about?

I started working for Stolen Girlfriends Club six years ago when I was 18. I met Marc and Luke at a party and they had just started the label one season ago and were only making T-shirts and jeans at that stage. I was working for them one day a week helping them with production. After a while, as the business grew, I came on full-time doing everything from designing the womenswear to sales, production and packing orders. It was just Marc and I for a few years so between us we did everything and anything. I left designing for them in September 2009 to focus on a freelance career in styling.
Since then I have continued to work very closely with them, styling all their look books, campaigns and Fashion Week shows in New Zealand and Sydney, as well as some consulting. Stolen Girlfriends Club are like family to me, we have grown so much together and completely understand and get each other. And I hope we will still be working together in 20 years time...

Tell us about NO Magazine. What is it and what do you do for them?

NO Magazine is a quarterly publication from New Zealand. It's a pop culture magazine that focuses on fashion, music and film. It's different to most magazines as there are no product pages. It's one story about a person, brand, etc., after another, linked together by six degrees of seperation. We also have really incredible fashion editorials that we shoot around the world with our talented contributors. I am the fashion editor there, which means I concept all the fashion editorial ideas and commission the right team to work on the shoots with me. I then cast models, find locations, source and style all the clothes for it and then we shoot and make magic hopefully. I also have to do things like go see all the new ranges of designers and go see shows at Fashion Week in NZ and Australia, as those countries are our main market.

What "fashion moments" are most memorable to you?

The one that stands out the most would be Stolen Girlfriends Club's first ever fashion week show. It was surreal. Looking back it was a fashion disaster, some models went out barefoot. We all came out at the finale to TV on the Radio's "Wolf Like Me" playing; I will always think of that when I hear that song. It was the start of something really incredible.
Every show I do is real important and memorable to me. It's so much work of months and months of little sleep and crazy ideas put into 10 fast minutes. It's a very strange thing, and stuff can go wrong so easily.
The other most memorable moment was coming to NY three years ago at 21 and getting to shoot a 22-page spread, plus two covers, of my muse at the time, supermodel Alice Dellal for NO Magazine. That was really fucking cool.

What is New Zealand like?

New Zealand really is as beautiful as everyone thinks it is. It's something I have only realized and appreciated these last few years of growing up and constantly leaving NZ. It's very small not just in size, but in comparison to the rest of the world and what's going on out there. You can drive 20 minutes out of the city and be at the most breathtaking beaches, waterfalls, kitsch small towns, delicious fish 'n' chip shops....

What does being a 'Kiwi' mean to you? Is it offensive if we ask that?

Not at all offensive, I am proud to be a Kiwi. I think Kiwis are really down to earth and hard workers. Our hearts will always belong in New Zealand even though our heads are somewhere else!

What prompted you to move to NY?

I felt like I couldn't grow my career any further there. I already worked for my favorite magazine and labels and was getting bored and needed to get re-inspired and work with people I dreamt about working with. Also my family and some of my best friends in the world all live in New York, so it made sense.

What have been your impressions of NY thus far?

I feel like it's hard, and everyone comes here to succeed in life therefore you gotta really want it, more than anyone else and be cut throat. But on the other hand, I think it is the most magical city in the world, literally anything you want can happen here. It's the city of dreams.

What do you think you'll miss about New Zealand?

I miss the easiness of the lifestyle there. I miss the BBQs in the backyards in summer, I miss driving around town, I miss the laidback attitudes and walking down the road and seeing everyone you know. But you can always come back and visit and nothing would of have changed, which is nice.

What are your five favorite articles of clothing you own?

• 1. My homemade studded Levi's denim jacket with its Dead Moon and Hole patches.
• 2. My Wu-Tang T-shirt I stole from my ex.
• 3. My knitted Harley Davidson sweater my friend Charlotte found me.
• 4. My Harley Davidson buckle boots, I wear them every day.
• 5. All my beautiful rings and jewelry made by my friend Zora at Wunderkammer, I feel naked without them!

What are five things we should know about New Zealand?

• 1. You should try Pineapple Lumps, they are yum and native to us.
• 2. Boy is the best film ever made and was made in NZ, it will pretty much sum it up for you...
• 3. Burt Munro was from here, the World's Fastest Indian.
• 4. We have heaps of sheep!
• 5. We have good bands, The Mint Chicks and The Checks!

via Urban Outfitters Blog