Don't Let It End!

Bravotv.com: How does it feel now that the season is coming to a close?

Rachel Zoe: It's so sad. I'm getting so many emails today saying, "I'm so sad, don't let it end!" And before I forget, there was one person who commented on my blog last week - a girl who had survived Hurricane Katrina. She wanted a career in fashion and then she lost everything during Katrina. She said she lost her passion, but that watching the show made her want to follow her dream again. Her name was Maggie Greenbaum. She says, "I just wanted to say thank you. I was a fashion major in college and was completely in love with it and had such high goals for myself. I am from New Orleans and during Katrina I lost my home and my life in 10 feet of water. I completely lost myself and what I was passionate about. Watching your show reminded me of what I loved so much and who I was. So thank you for reminding me of what I love so much and that you have to push yourself to get where you want to be." I just wanted to tell her that her comment brought tears to my eyes. If this show is helping her to realize her dream after experiencing unfathomable tragedy, then the show was worth doing for that reason alone. Maggie, thank you so much for watching and thank you for your support. Everyone should have a dream and the biggest challenge is making that dream come true. I wish love and luck to you and your family. My eyes are literally filled right now. When I read that, I was just blown away.

You dressed several clients for the Oscars, including Jennifer Garner. How would you describe your relationship with her?

Jen Garner is so funny. I think the little known secret about Jen Garner, and it's for those people that really know her, is her amazing sense of humor. Jen is by far one of the funniest people I have ever known in my life. She makes me laugh harder than anyone. She is so witty and so sarcastic without even trying. She doesn't try to be funny, it's not like she sits around cracking jokes. She just is funny. She's so quick and so intelligent. We have such a fun rapport because we are such polar opposites. She almost makes fun of me, but not in a mean, malicious way. I would to mention that Paul Starr, a very, very dear friend of mine and of Jen's, who did her makeup for the Oscars and has done her makeup for many years, passed away about two months ago. I would be very sad if I didn't mention him. I believe that I did reference him on the show. His death was a tragedy. It was incredibly sad. No one did Jen's makeup better than he did. Her look that night at the Oscars was due in large part to him as well. He will be missed.

Things came to a head with Brad in this episode when he forgets to leave you with a kit. What's in a stylist's kit?

The kit is something that every stylist has. You can't ever, ever, EVER go anywhere without one, even if you're just going to help someone into a dress. The kit has all of the essentials. It's similar to a doctor's bag that they'd travel with to visit a patient's house. It's everything from double-sided tape, foot pads, heel pads, and toe pads to scissors, safety pins, stick pins, lint rollers, sewing kits, baby wipes, and undergarments. Everything imaginable and everything you could ever need goes in the kit. Everything. Brad's mistake was a big internal disaster. Brad had to go to Kate Beckinsale's to get her dress and I was with Cameron, and he took his kit. His kit is my kit. Well, we all have our own kits, but we were short handed that day. He should have left me some essentials. But in Brad's defense, I think he was quite overwhelmed. It was his first Oscar season. As you can probably tell from the way it plays out on television, it was definitely one of the hardest weeks of his life. As much as I wanted to go off on him, that's not how I'm programmed. At the end of the day, a person's punishment on themselves is much worse than any punishment I could ever give. As you see, I pulled Brad in to talk to him, and he completely fell apart. I think the pressure and everything else just really mounted to the point where it was unbearable. Brad hasn't cried since that day. I think it's unfair because when girls cry, no one bats an eyelash. But when men cry, the response is, "Oh, he's such a baby." He's not a baby. He's very emotional. There was a huge amount of pressure on him. He felt he disappointed me and Taylor was very hard on him. He was exhausted and he was trying so hard and he was beating himself up because he knew he left me down. It's hard to work with someone who has high expectations but who doesn't really tell you what to do. I don't boss him around - I don't boss anyone around. I think with someone in that situation, there's a tremendous amount of pressure. There is no margin for error. He knew he really let me down that day, and I think when that happened, he just completely fell apart.

Taylor gave you an ultimatum- you had to choose between her and Brad. What do you think prompted Taylor's ultimatum?

If you read the commentary on the blogs, a lot of people ask how I can let Taylor speak to me the way she does. After three years of working with Taylor, I know her very well. You have to take what she's saying with a grain of salt. It's not personal. There have been many, many times over the past three years when Taylor has wanted to quit. And there are so many times when Taylor will say "Can I talk to you?" and I'll ask "Are you quitting?" I would say that every awards season, Taylor wants to quit. We are always short-handed, the pressure is so high, she takes on a lot of work, and there is no room for mistakes. No matter what mistake is made and no matter who makes it, the mistake falls on my head. I can't say to my client, I'm so sorry I don't have heel pads because my assistant didn't leave them for me. That's not my assistant's fault, that's ultimately my fault. That's unfortunately the way it works, and I think it works like that in any environment. I'm going to take the fall. During an awards season, everyone is about to explode. I take on so much work. When we have that Oscar week, technically we shouldn't be doing anything else, but that's not how it works. I had a photo shoot the day before the Oscars, and I had an unbelievable amount of stuff going on. When Taylor apologizes to Brad, it was a turning point in Brad and Taylor's relationship. I didn't tell her to apologize, that was her response. When she surrendered, I think she looked at it like, "Okay, maybe I was too hard on him." I pointed out to her that her expectations were unrealistic. I told her that I hired Brad to help her and that if she didn't take advantage of that situation, she was only hurting herself. I gave her the ultimatum that if he didn't work with us anymore, then she's a one man show again and doing all the work. I think she finally began to process that and I think that prompted her apology.

Were you surprised when you received the gift from Rodger?

I wanted to give a little bit of a background story to the Porsche my husband gave me. Throughout my high school years, from fifteen to seventeen years old, a girl drove me to school. Her father collected vintage cars, and she drove me to school in that car, a hunter green Porsche with tan interior. I was so, so in love with that car and every inch of my soul was saying, "I have to own that car in my lifetime." And then came 90210, and Dylan McKay drove that car, and I'd say, "Oh my God, Dylan McKay is driving my car." Poor Rodger had to listen to me for the last fifteen years ask, "Can we get Dylan McKay's car?" Basically, Rodger is Mr. Practical. I am completely impractical. I do things based on reaction. I believe you do things now and you deal with what comes after later. We've lived in DC and we've lived in New York and now we live in LA, and he's come up with every reason under the sun why we can't have that car. It doesn't have air-conditioning, it's going to break down, you can't fit anything in it...he had a million reasons. I never in a million years thought I'd have it. It was almost something I put on the back burner - I thought, "When I'm eighty years old, maybe I'll own that car." I think that was the whole irony of situation - I thought the car was the one thing I'd never have. I would never have Rodger's blessing. After being together for sixteen years, it's pretty hard to surprise me. But when he gave me the car, I was completely floored. It's not even about the car - my husband truly is the most amazing man, and the most amazing husband. He's put up with me during awards season year after year, and I refuse to let him leave because I need him so badly for moral support. He's incredible. I think a lot of the viewers noticed what a saint my husband really is. Whenever we tell people how long we've been together, a lot of people say, "Oh that must be hard." I'll tell you the truth - it really is no effort. It's not hard at all. It is probably the easiest thing in my life. He is my best friend. He means everything to me.

Any final thoughts on the season?

I'm sad to see the season end. I want to thank all the viewers for just being so unbelievably kind. I'd also like to address all the people that are unhappy about me wearing fur. I want them to know that almost 100% of the fur I've worn in the show is vintage fur, not that vintage fur is necessarily any better. But I am addressing the situation, and I will be more respectful, because I think people are very hurt by it, and I understand and respect the opinions of viewers. I'm going to make a tremendous effort not to wear fur. If we have a second season, viewers will not see me in fur. I'll wear faux-fur. I truly respect everyone's opinions and I'm reevaluating the situation. I also want to thank everyone for being so supportive and so kind and for all the kind words. I love everyone for watching.