hilkat

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.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 17th, 2007 at 10:19 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.