Elegant Celebrities Blog

I had the pleasure and opportunity to interview Rachael Broussard of www.supastarworld.com, last month when she was auditioning models for her upcoming fashion runway show. It was so much fun meeting her and I enjoyed talking to her about her career as a stylist and designer. This being my first time interviewing a fashion designer, I will describe my interview experience as well as our conversation.

What does one wear to an interview with a fashion designer? I figured I would wear something similar to my work clothes, but with a little more flair. So I decided to go with a sleeveless black top (something my job doesn’t allow) and a brown skirt with matching earth tone jewelry. We were supposed to meet at three in the afternoon, but I was late because I couldn’t find the studio where auditions were supposed to take place. The address was correct but the building had no sign on it. Finally, at my husband’s urging I gingerly stepped through the doors of a corner studio and heard the runway music blaring. I had found it!

As soon as I walked in, I saw models sitting on white couches, waiting for their chance to audition. All eyes suddenly turned to me and it was obvious that they were checking out the “competition.” The stares were a bit unnerving. I almost wanted to yell out that I was not there to audition, and that they had nothing to worry about. Rachael’s sister was first to greet me and asked if I was a model. After I mistakenly called her Rachael and said that I was there to interview her, she glanced at a table in the middle of the room, where two women sat, evaluating the girls. One of them was Rachael. She was very warm and welcoming, as well as tall, willowy and beautiful, and she models for several L.A. fashion shows, including the Mercedes-Benz shows. She was wearing a leopard print blouse she had designed with black leggings and boots.

Everyone in the room (except for the photographer and me) wore sky high heels, as was expected. Rachael asked me to sit for a little while until she finished all of the auditions. So I watched and took notes. One part of the studio (in front of Rachael’s table) was a mock runway, and another section was set up for photography. Models of all shapes, sizes and ethnicities tried out for one of the 20 positions available in Rachael’s show. Everyone seemed like a giant compared to me, and I’m not a short person. Rachael had 100 models RSVP to audition, and so far half of them had shown up. All of them were given one or two of her designs to try on. I really liked a certain white and brown geometric pattern coat that the plus-sized models wore for their auditions. Rachael was expanding her business with a plus-sized line. I told her that I thought it was a good idea, with the big market for plus-sized clothing, and she agreed.

An extremely thin Eastern European model (probably a size 0) was a favorite with the photographer, and ended up posing for multiple photos, including some with a scarf as a prop. When asked, she told another girl’s grandmother that she used to work as a model in her home country. I noted that extremely thin women need to wear pushup bras, unless they get plastic surgery.

Rachael complimented all of the models, and informed them that they would receive an emailed response to their audition. She asked her sister to demonstrate to a pretty biracial teen how to properly strut down a runway. Later, the photographer told the same girl to relax and move without thinking about what she was doing. She got the idea and pivoted with ease for him.

Auditions were supposed to end at four o’clock, but some stragglers came in and prolonged the process until five. I tried to start conversations with some of the women waiting next to me on the couch. Some of them had never modeled before, and this was their first audition, while others had previous experience. One of the most experienced models I met was a 13 year-old teen with super-long, straight hair named Kayla, who had worked as a child model and was now looking to get into adult modeling. Kayla was in a hurry to audition because she had to be at another fashion show in 45 minutes. She wore glasses but took them off for her photos. From her I learned that posing for photos means relaxing all facial expressions and going with the flow, and she was a pro at doing exactly that. Not only did her photo session go quickly, I could tell that her poses were magazine perfect.

Finally, the auditions were over and Rachael and I sat down and chatted for awhile. I told her about the stares I received when I first walked into the room, and she laughed. I asked if she was going to model for her own show, and indeed she was, just once, and she would emcee the rest of the program. When asked if she was tempted to use all of the models who auditioned, she agreed that she would use everyone if she could.

She started making clothes when she was a child. She made doll clothes out of almost anything she could find around the house, and her aunt taught her how to sew. Rachael’s a self-made designer who didn’t attend fashion design school, but learned by doing. She admitted that her first designs were not so good, but as a model, she never had to wear anything ugly on the runway. I asked her what types of styles were trendy right now for young women. “Florals, short proportions, skinny high waists, and tall boots,” she said. To make a wardrobe a bit more glamorous, belts, accessories and purses were a must. Her favorite outfit for a night out consisted of a sleeveless, short dress in silk or satin.

She is inspired by retro fashion designs, such as those from the 70s and 80s. Her firm opinion was that in order to become a fashion designer, one must have a sense of taste that came from deep within and know how to put fashion elements together. Her favorite colors are yellow and brown, and she loves animal prints, swirls and florals. Some of her favorite designers are Michael Kors and BCBG Max Azria. One trend that she was ready to see go away was tights.

I asked her which celebrities she thought had good fashion sense, and she named Eva Longoria, Beyoncé, and Jessica Simpson. Celebrities she thought had poor fashion sense were Katie Holmes, Vanessa Minnillo and Ashanti. And yes, several celebrities, including Shar Jackson and Omarosa had hired her as a stylist. For Rachael, each celebrity job entailed a hectic schedule leading up to the styling event, with her time consumed with designing and sewing clothing for her clients. She admitted that it was a challenge to style clients with clothing that looked good on them, instead of clothing styles she preferred. So far none of her celebrity clients have been “difficult” to work with.

Rachael was proud of the fact that her designs had been featured on MTV and in television commercials. Her future plans include owning her own boutique in five years, and she hopes that some day her designs will be featured in InStyle or Star Magazine. Her advice for any aspiring fashion designer is to take some design courses and to “go for it.”And this is truly someone who would rather design and make clothes than do anything else in the world. She has held fashion runway shows throughout Southern California, Las Vegas and Arizona.

I told Rachael that I was impressed by the auditions, and by all of the high heels I had seen, since I don’t wear them. She didn’t think it was any great feat, and said it just took practice. She’s a proud Texan who thinks that L.A. is a great city to work in and get noticed, but she would prefer her home state any day. I wished her the best on her unenviable job of having to sort through all of the beautiful girls she had auditioned. I was inspired by her can-do attitude and her passion for her work. Being only in her early 20s, I’m sure that nothing will stop her from becoming an even greater success as she continues to work hard on her dreams.

And so I look forward to going back to the same studio, this time with a standing-room only crowd, to see how things turn out. Please read my next report on Rachael’s fashion show on October 14. This time, there will be  more pictures, I promise!

Rachael Broussard:

One of Rachael’s designs: