Last year, Rachel Zoe’s bow-tied assistant Brad Goreski announced that he was leaving the stylist turned designer and her Bravo reality series to go solo. After an awkward Page Six scandal—the column accused Goreski of stealing Zoe’s clients—the 34-year-old started filming his own Bravo show, It’s a Brad, Brad World, a behind-the-tulle look at starting a business (from his garage) after a very public breakup with the boss.
Even though you and Rachel don’t speak, you must run into her at fashion events.
Of course— I see her everywhere. We travel in the same pack for weeks at a time during fashion week. The first time I saw her [after I left the company] was definitely a heart-stopping kind of moment.
Like running into an ex?
Exactly.
And then you have to endure the magazine interviewers who keep pressing the issue.
I never solicited her clients. I didn’t go after their publicists and say, “Can you hook me up with so-and-so?” That’s why it’s been so hard for me to get clients.
I was actually surprised to see you struggling to get work in the first episode.
It’s taken a little bit of time to counteract the “That’s the guy from the reality TV show who used to work with Rachel.” What was really disconcerting was that on Oscar day, I had nothing to do.
What’s it like being the boss?
The stress is totally different. It’s taken, like, a year to get to the point where somebody answers the phone “Brad Goreski’s office” without us all laughing. For a long time, I didn’t even know how to invoice people or define a rate. And then I’m like, “Oh, I have overhead.”
Do you notice any bad boss habits forming?
I do this passive-aggressive thing where I say, “Maybe we should check downstairs for any other packages.” But now I’m like, “Can you go downstairs and see if there are packages?” Because, no, I don’t want to see if we can. I want to see if you can, because I spent three years looking for FedEx packages.
You had one unforgettable Oscar-day cry on The Rachel Zoe Project. Will we see more tears on your own show?
Oh my God, if you thought that cry was bad! I recently met Bethenny [Frankel], and she was like, “What’s your TPE? Tears Per Episode.” And I’m like, “I don’t even think I can average them out, there’s so many.” But I’ve always been that way. When I was in seventh grade, I went to a party at my friend’s house and took a drag off a cigarette for the first time. I still remember my mom picking me up, getting me into the car, and saying, “How was the party? Did you have fun?” My lip started shaking and I was like, “I took a drag off a cigarette!” I cried and cried, and that’s the story of my life. I can’t hold it in once it starts coming.
Have you at least tried to make your cries look a little prettier?
I wish. But I think ugly cries are good. You can’t be pretty all the time.
This, coming from a stylist!
I mean, my outfits are good when I’m crying. That’s a totally different thing.
