hilkat

It’s a simple fact that there are two types of jobs in this world: jobs you want and jobs you get. From the Bridget Jones types who have fantasies of becoming successful high-flyers, or those who long to trade in their filing for fashion shows, many of us would like to spend our days doing something radically different.But there are the lucky few who leap out of bed every morning and skip off to the types of jobs us mere mortals would swap our vintage Chanel for. In ‘I want that job’ I hunt down the designers, the fashionistas, the writers and the jet-setters and grill them about what make their job so darn great.

Famed for the trademark check fabric and traditional British element, an ad-campaign with Kate Moss under their belt and Christopher Bailey at the helm, who else could it be but Burberry? This week we get exceedingly jealous and grind our teeth with envy as Daniel Peters gives us the lowdown on spending his days as Burberry Prorsums Showroom and Events Assistant.

HILKAT: When did you develop your love of fashion and styling?

DANIEL PETERS: My love for fashion has been something I’ve harboured for a number of years – recently I’ve found myself more and more involved with the styling element, which is a great aspect of the fashion industry.

H: Which celebrity styles do you admire?

DP: It’s increasingly hard to find unique style icons these days, and simply because of that I’d have to say Chloe Sevigny. She’s cool, quirky and does her own thing!

H: What is your current job title?

DP: Showroom and Events Assistant.

H: What does your job entail and how did you get it?

DP: No two days are ever the same. One day I’ll be running around like a crazy person finding samples to send away for a show, then I’ll have to attend a meeting to discuss the coming market showroom setup. The same evening I could be dressing at a fashion show and mingling with a few celebs – it varies so much!

Today for instance I started off working through the current season budgets, and then had to file a showroom report. After that I had to co-ordinate all the deliveries and attend a design specification meeting for the European showrooms. And I had to attempt to fit lunch in somehow as well!

I was actually recommended for the position – and the rest, as they say, is history!

H: What first attracted you to Burberry garments and accessories?

DP: The use of great tailoring, luxe fabrics and a subtle yet striking playfulness with the product. I love the collections that we turn out, each piece is inspiring in its own right - you can take a single piece and build an amazing outfit around it.

Burberry offers timeless style, something which not many brands give to the customer these days!

H: What is it about Burberry that makes you such a lover of the brand? The ethos behind the name? The way the garments are constructed?

DP: It’s a very British brand, which focuses on that. An item such as the trench coat, which is so unique and well known to Burberry is redeveloped season after season offering our customers a great shopping experience!

H: What was your first Burberry item you bought?

DP: Wow, there’s literally been so many that I’ve lost track of the first… I believe it was a Burberry Prorsum chocolate brown blazer, with grey cotton lining.

H: What is your favourite Burberry piece?

DP: Either my trench coat or my Burberry leather bomber jacket - both items are great pieces which will last me a lifetime.

H: If money were no object what designer items (Burberry or otherwise) would be on your list?

DP: My three all time favourite brands are without a doubt Burberry Prorsum, Lanvin and Balenciaga. Right now I’m hankering after a pair of AW07 men’s Lanvin High Top sneakers in pink - but alas everywhere is sold out.

I know, I know. Online diaries are supposed to be updated regularly, if not daily. What can I say? I’m a slacker!

The wedding I mentioned last time came and went; I vaguely remember confetti, I sort of remember vodka, and I definitely remember an empty wallet at the end of the night. In terms of present, me and my friend decided to go for a Debenhams voucher, the simplest option which involved no standing in the homeware section of a department store - he ordered it online. As we handed over the envelope with it in I hissed out of the corner of my mouth, “haaarr mmcchhh wssss it frrr?” He looked at me sideways and said, “I caaaatt remmmbbber.” We fled before they opened it, so we didn’t have to pretend to look modest or ashamed, whether it was £100.00 or £10.00 respectively. This is why I don’t do weddings. I may not have forked out a load of cash for the present, but the money I spent at the bar certainly made up for it.

I decided to take a few days off from my day job (something to do with an architect…), and spent many a happy hour engrossed in cinematic viewing with The Boy. Well, I was happy at least. We saw Stephen King adaptation 1408 (”A bit slow”). the new remake of Halloween (”I was bored halfway through”) by Rob ‘House of 1,000 Corpses’ Zombie, and rented The Amityville Horror (”Not as good the second time round”). There really is no pleasing some people. I should have just got The Devil Wears Prada and had done with it.

Friday was spent undertaking extensive research for articles. Ok, ok….I went shopping. The Boy was supposed to be looking for a new winter coat, and to get him in the mood I decided to break him in gently (he’s not exactly a retail guru) by assisting me first. I ploughed through Topshop (the only pants I can ever find to fit my non-existant arse), passed through H&M (brown ankle boots, V.V.V.V. lush - Winters must have shoe) and then we arrived at the entrance at The Assault Course AKA Primark. I love it there simply because it’s good disposable fashion, and it’s so cheap that I can shop without conscience, amassing piles of clothes, shoes and accessories as I go. Obviously I’d prefer it to be Prada to Primark, but beggars can’t be choosers. Despite dancing around in front of him in an attempt to hide the retail horror that lay within, the doorway’s width overcame me, and I saw a look of horror flash across his face. And was that fear I saw in his eyes?

“In there?” he said, gesturing to the heaving mass of people and piles of discarded clothes that lay on the floor inside.

“It’s fine,” I said, nodding, “just…stay close to me. And try not to get in the way of women who look like this.” I pulled what I hoped looked like a determined face, as if I was going to get that £5.00 faux snakeskin bag, even if it killed me.

It turned out that he was quite handy in Primark, managed not to get in the way, and was a very willing coat-rack, bless him. There was a worrying moment when he came between a woman and the very last £4.00 poloneck jumper (sooooooo on trend this season), but he managed to dodge out of the way at the loast second. The winter coat? Errr… no. He didn’t…find one he liked. Me? I found a few bits…

Breathe a wistful sigh as you feast your eyes upon this week’s Luxe List - the very best of everything money can buy. If only I’d started a savings plan all those years ago…

* Co-ordinate your work and play commitments with this achingly desirable Bijou Organizer from luxury stationary company Smythson.

* Team a black jersey dress by Cacharel with some coloured tights and ankle boots for the perfect Winter look. Either belt up and cinch your waist, or float free - this is a seriously versatile dress.

* You can’t go wrong with a leather jacket this season, and this one from 3.1 Phillip Lim gets my vote every time.

* For the most radiant looking skin with protection from Winter sun, opt for Perfect by Diorskin. The silkiest, most sumptuous foundation I have ever worn.

* The perfect party-girl outerwear, this sequinned jacket by Freda can either be worn with jeans, boots and a vintage t-shirt by day or a full-skirted dress by night. Sequins are hot for Winter, so this is right on trend - what other excuses do you need?

* Marni have come up trumps again with the most luscious pair of platform shoes - the shoe design of the moment mixed with a flash of the colour of the moment - purple. Perfect.

* The new fragrance Daisy by legend-in-the-making Marc Jacobs is the one fragrance you have to buy - I had a sample and nearly cried when it ran out.

* The new patent leather B-Bag from Fendi is not only made from the accessory fabric of the season, but also satisfies the winter trend of supersized bags with its vast depths.

* The new Prada Mobile from LG is on every fashionistas wish list. Shop around for the best tariff deal.

Its a simple fact that there are two types of jobs in this world: jobs you want and jobs you get. From the Bridget Jones types who have fantasies of becoming successful high-flyers, or those who long to trade in their filing for fashion shows, many of us would like to spend our days doing something radically different.

But there are the lucky few who leap out of bed every morning and skip off to the types of jobs us mere mortals would swap our vintage Chanel for. In ‘I want that job’ I hunt down the designers, the fashionistas, the writers and the jet-setters and grill them about what make their job so darn great.

Famed for grunge and graffiti, creator of two eponymous fashion lines and artistic director of Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs is a very busy man. No wonder he and his business partner, Robert Duffy, employ only the very best bright young things to work for them. London boy turned New York hipster Zack Tate gives us an insight into what life is like working at the top of the fashion food chain.

Hilkat: When did you develop your love of fashion and styling?

Zack Tate: I moved to London at a very young age and had to pay all my own bills for the first time, so I started working part time for Urban Outfitters in the Covent Garden store. Being so young, I hadn’t really thought about what I wanted to do for a career, so when they showed a lot of encouragement and helped me up the ladder I decided not to resist! I developed my passion over time, and eventually went to work as a Visual Merchandiser in Selfridges. From there I went on to work for Marc and the rest is history!

H:Which celebrity style do you admire?

ZT: I like pop-trash such as Christina Aguilera and Fergie; I love the colour and imagination, and the way they pull a look together. Christina has looked amazing in her forties inspired outfits lately, she’s just so hot! And you’ve just got to have a bit of Victoria Beckham haven’t you? The woman looks perfect in every picture!

H:What is your current job title?

ZT: I’m a Visual and Concept Operator for Marc Jacobs.

H: Sounds flash! What does that entail?

ZT: I’m based in the corporate office in New York, but look after visuals and concepts of all Marc Jacob stores worldwide. I design and create concepts for the window displays and internal fittings and then travel to the stores and install them along with a creative team. I also spend a lot of time travelling with Marc’s business partner Robert Duffy, who is the co-founder and president of the company.

H: (Unable to hide how impressed we are) You’ve met Robert Duffy? Have you met Marc as well? Any other famous people?

ZT: Err, yeah… I work with Robert a lot, and I had a breakfast meeting with Marc just before I started working there. I had lunch with Katie Grand once as well. (Katie is Fashion Editor of ultra-hip Pop magazine.)

H: (Even more impressed) Wow. And you get to travel a lot as well don’t you?

ZT: Well there are stores all over the world - the newest one has just opened in London - so I’m always at an airport ready to nip off somewhere else. Life on the go!

H: Lots of time in flash hotel rooms then?

ZT: (Laughs) Yeah. They’re all lovely, big beds and lots of space - whenever I’ve read celebrity interviews they always say they hate how frequently they have to stay in hotel rooms as they’re too impersonal, but I couldn’t disagree more - its luxury not having to worry about cleaning up!

H: Very nice! What first attracted you to Marc Jacobs garments?

ZT: I love the way his clothes are sexy but in a non-obvious way, you know - they have a sort of ‘girl-next-door’ quality. But a very chic girl next door! And everything is so wearable, really easy to dress in on a daily basis. I’ve always had a slight addiction to his accessories!

H: What was the first Marc Jacobs item you bought?

ZT: It was a special item wallet from the store on Bleeker Street.

H: What is your favourite Marc Jacobs piece?

ZT: I absolutely adore my silver material and metal rope chains I got as a gift from Robert.

H: If money were no object, what designer items (other than Marc Jacobs) would be on your list?

ZT: Anything by Lanvin, Marni or McQueen. I have broad tastes!

And with that he’s off. After the politest of apologies, Zack leaves for an appointment at one of the stores. Still a London boy at heart, Mr. Tate really is an Englishman in New York.