fashion NEWS

GEORGE KOTSIOPOULOS TAKES JOZI

4 Sep 2012
Comments: 4
3491 Views

10

ELLE’s online editor Jenna McArthur recently interviewed (and lunched with) the one and only George Kotsiopoulos from E! Entertainment’s Fashion Police. Says Jenna of her overly long report-back ‘It’s lonnng. I love him so I went onnnnn.’ So here goes.

You had to be there, really you did. (You also have to do the George voice when reading this otherwise it won’t be the same.) It didn’t take long for George to win me over. Even before we met, he had me at the mere retweet we got the night before: ‘It’s early to bed for us! We have a big day tomorrow with #ellelovessolange plus we’re off to Jo’burg to meet the one and only @GeorgeKotsi’. As if this wasn’t enough, he replied with ‘@ELLEmagazineSA, Can’t wait’. For a Hollywood star who is considered one of the most powerful stylists in Hollywood, he certainly still finds time for his fans.

As I walked into the room to interview George, his first question was where my printed pants were from. ‘Kat Van what?’ ‘Kat Van Duinen’ I replied and before I knew it he was identifying my JW Anderson heels from the Aldo Rise collection. This guy isn’t just a pretty face, he can smell fashion a mile away – and he knows his stuff.

I had 15 minutes to ask six questions and then play MBFWCT Hit or Miss. George is a softie and wasn’t all that keen to diss our local designers but with some persuading he did just fine.

How did you get into the industry and land a seat on E! Entertainment’s Fashion Police?
It’s a long story (to which I respond, ‘Don’t worry I have time.’ And it appears that although the publicist and crew don’t, George is willing to give all the time he has.) Well, I started as a publicist in LA in the entertainment division at Bragman Nyman Cafarelli. I then spent eight years in the style department at T Magazine, The New York Times magazine. This industry is small and through networking I met people at E! The more I worked in the industry the more I loved it. There are so many people who crit fashion but who don’t have the credentials. My thing is that I worked hard in this industry. I have a background in fashion, so when I remark on fashion it comes from somewhere. Before joining Fashion Police I thought, ‘I’m a gay guy. I can do this!’ Did I ever think I’d be sitting next to Joan Rivers? No.

Talking of Joan, what’s she really like? Is she the same on and off screen?
Joan couldn’t care less about Emma Stone or celebs. She’s here to make people laugh. Joan is incredibly inspiring. She is a hard worker. She is classy, elegant and educated. Yes, she is funny but that comes from saying what she needs to say and it’s her delivery that makes it so hysterical.

Highlight of your career so far?
Gosh, there have been two things that stand out for me. The first is dressing Freida Pinto, Dev Patel and the young stars from Slumdog Millionaire for the Academy Awards. The second is Fashion Police. I am a stylist and that’s what I love to do. How can I not love my job? I am sitting here with ELLE Magazine getting to comment on SA fashion. I love my work. I just want people to dress well and look pretty (laughs). I didn’t aspire to be famous, it just happened.

When you aren’t styling and presenting, what takes up your time?
I do a lot of partying. I’m a very social person. In LA I’m always surrounded by friends, which is great. I also gym and take time out and go to the Hamptons every summer. A week is enough for me, then I want to get back to my work!

Which trend would you say is huge right now?
Fashion is becoming less and less trend-driven. Fashion goes full circle; we’ve seen it all before. Having said that, I would say invest in seasonless pieces, in elegant and lasting fashion. Gold baroque is big; crimson and burgundy is great and then there’s leather, leather, leather – not your biker head-to-toe leather – but a feminine leather dress, which is a must.

Twitter is abuzz with your and Solange’s arrival in SA. What do you think of Solange’s style?
I love Solange! I don’t know her well but you can see she really loves fashion. She looks like she puts her looks together herself and I like that. I also like that she takes risks. Some of those risks don’t go down too well with Joan but, hey, she seems to be finding her own identity and it is not easy being Beyoncé’s sister. Joan loves talking about her but if people aren’t talking about you, I say there’s a problem!

With zero time left I was getting the evil eye from his crew but I powered on and showed George a few local designers’ MBFWCT collections. Here’s what he had to say:

Gavin Rajah
The collection is pretty but I don’t feel these looks are complete in the sense that they don’t come from the same collection. Looks one and three are very Dolce & Gabbana, no? Look four is beautiful but what is going on with those bits of fabric coming out on the sides? It looks like it’s coming out of her butt.

Thula Sindi

This collection is very now, very on trend. I really love the use of prints and splashes of colour. The jumpsuit gets my thumbs-up but that skirt… (look five) no, who can work that?

Hip Hop
Look two looks too Prada but I like look three. But the name? Hip Hop? No, it doesn’t have that ring. Look six, what’s going on here? Too many tuffs. Now look four I like. In fact, I love the pyjama trend but overall the styling is just wrong and incomplete.

Stefania Morland
This range is really, really cute. Very feminine and I love that the collection is consistent and that there is something for everyone. Look six is not for every woman but I do love it;, it’s beautiful and I love the length. The collection is girly and fresh.

Fabiani
I wish I could wear shorts with blazers but come on, who does? Certainly not me. I’d look like a midget. It’s great for runway and editorial but doesn’t translate into everyday wear. I see where they are going with look six but menswear is all about the tailoring and either they got this wrong in this look or the model lost weight overnight. Oversized pieces are big for menswear but I can’t do it.

David Tlale
So David is a diva? Marc Jacobs makes us wait for shows and I hear David does too. From what I can see, it’s worth the wait. I absolutely love the dip-dye and pop of colour on almost head-to-toe white. The curlers I like. In fact, I love anything gimmicky unless it is done completely wrong. I think this is done well.

KLûK CGDT
I love the looks individually but as a collection I don’t see consistency. The clothes are beautiful but thematically I don’t see what’s going on when I look at the collection.

I had the pleasure of joining George for sushi on the Southern Sun Hotel rooftop. We chatted LA, London his upcoming safari in SA and his trip to New York Fashion Week. Lunch came with the juicy news that E!’s Giuliana had become a mom, All in all, I’d say it was another great day as an ELLE belle.