FEAR DRIVES FASHION ICON
From print to digital to television, Joe Zee says projects have to be scary to be worthwhile
When Joe Zee left his post at the fashion magazine Elle in 2014 for a position at then-startup platform Yahoo Style, the move left many fashion insiders scratching their heads. “Everyone was like, ‘Oh my God, why are you doing that?’” he recalls with a laugh.
His move away from the print world, where he’d held the title of creative director at Elle for seven years, in hindsight seems pretty well thought out, given the industry’s turn toward digital publishing. “Now, years later, everyone else wishes they had done that, too, because now it’s all about a digital life,” Zee says.
Speaking over the phone during a brief visit to his “hometown” of Toronto, the Hong Kong-born, Canada-raised and now Los Angeles-based creative spoke openly about the fortuitous — and fun — turns his career has taken over the years, admitting that, while he’d like to say differently, his one-step-ahead industry movements haven’t always been precisely planned.
“I did leave Toronto with a very specific goal. I really, really wanted to work in magazines. I loved the way magazine publishing — and this was in the 1990s — could reach a big group of people who were all centred around one passion, whatever that is,” Zee says. “As my career took hold and I did more and more things, I started to have a lot of interest in things that were new. And I was always so curious about the next thing and different things.
“But it was never strategically like, ‘OK, now I have to work in digital’ and, ‘Now I have to go do this.’ I just did what, instinctually, I felt was right, for me.”
The main motivator for his movements throughout the industry, he says, was a lifelong desire to learn something new.
“Curiosity,” Zee said when prompted for the inspiration for his savvy career moves. “A long, long time ago, when I was a kid, someone said to me, ‘When you stop being curious is when you stop caring.’ And that’s so true. I’m literally curious about everything.”
Zee’s digital magazine role segued into TV and broadcast roles. He also executive-produced a docuseries on Netflix called Seven Days Out, where he chronicled the flurry of activity in the seven days before a major event, including a Chanel Haute Couture show, the Westminster Dog Show, the Kentucky Derby and more. Most recently, Zee was named global artistic director for the Tatler magazine brand in Asia.
So, what’s the common thread between the moves? According to Zee, it’s a healthy dose of fear.
“A lot of times, it’s totally scary,” he admits of the leaps. But, for Zee, it’s that very emotion, unsettling as it may be, that makes each move right. “If it’s not scary, don’t do it,” Zee says. “If you’re just going to go do something that isn’t terrifying, you shouldn’t be going to do it, at all. That’s my biggest thing. If I can’t learn from it, then it’s really not advancing for me as a person.”
While not at all terrifying, Zee’s latest endeavour as a judge of the first global Etsy Design Awards was no less enjoyable for the 28-year fashion veteran.
“I’m a huge fan of Etsy. My husband and I, we comb the site all the time, just finding new things, and then we shop from there all the time, for ourselves and for friends. So, when they approached me, it was a very easy yes. It was a no-brainer,” Zee says.
The competition showcased the design talents of international creators who sell their wares in the ecommerce marketplace.
“I went through every single one,” he says of the international entries. “To see all this global talent, that’s the most interesting part for me. To see what people come up with from around the world is the best thing.”
While several Canadian makers, including Foe & Dear of Vancouver, Heirloom Hats of Montreal, Illo Leather of Calgary and Kroft of Toronto were also among the award finalists, U.k.-based designer Sian Zeng took the top honours with interactive magnetic wallpaper, winning the $15,000 prize.
In addition to being a proponent of perusing and purchasing from the site, Zee says he’s a big fan of what the makers’ marketplace represents for homegrown artisans and small businesses.
“I think Etsy has democratized the idea of fashion. Designers aren’t just these rarefied creatures sitting in Milan, London and Paris ... they really are everyone with a passion for creativity, a passion for making, a passion for doing,” Zee says. “Some of these towns and cities that they come from, I’ve never even heard of. And that makes me even more excited. The fact that someone can live anywhere.”
The bypassing of “big brands,” Zee says, is refreshing, for both sellers and buyers.
“It really shakes up the industry,” he says. “A big corporation isn’t going to want to take a risk and do something a little out of the ordinary. Whereas, a single small business or a single eccentric designer, they can do that. And when you do that, that’s when you find the real gems. There’s no marketplace, anywhere in the world, where you can find that.”
A disruption of the fashion and retail norms has been much discussed lately, specifically as representation — from size and gender, to ethnicity and age — have been top-of-mind in the fashion and beauty realms.
“I think what excites me about the fashion world right now, is that it is really at a pivotal moment. It’s completely changing all the time. People are trying things and doing things differently. People are being innovative about things,” Zee says.
“I love that, more than anything, to see diversity and inclusivity represented in the world of fashion.” But, while Zee is happy to call out the long-overdue changes, he’s quick to say that the industry still has a long way to go.
“We are so far from there,” Zee says. “The fact that it has started and that it exists, I applaud that. But we’re so far from saying that we’re in it. We are just starting it and there is so much more to go.”
The popularity of films and TV shows featuring diverse casts — including the blockbuster hit Crazy Rich Asians and Black Panther — have helped to push the conversation in Hollywood and pop culture, Zee says, but the fashion world, and magazines in particular, remain woefully far behind.
“There are some great Asian models, but not a lot of them grace the covers of magazines,” he said. “We don’t see Asian celebrities on the covers of magazines, ever. And I say that because I’m Asian. So, I feel like there is so much more to be done and so much more to go.”
Now, though, people are starting to look around. And the digital world is largely to thank for that.
“A long time ago, if you had never been to Tokyo or Stockholm, you might never think about it or know where it is. But today ... you can never leave your house and still know what the rest of the world looks like. So, that has made the world a lot smaller,” Zee says.
“And I think, to ignore the fact that everywhere we live is really a melting pot of race, sexuality, gender, is something that we should address. I think people are starting to realize that there’s a lot to be said for individuality.
“And that’s the part that is the most exciting for me: To see fashion make it about you instead of making it about the industry.”
If it’s not scary, don’t do it. If you’re just going to go do something that isn’t terrifying, you shouldn’t be going to do it, at all.
JOE ZEE