Brad embraces the world of plaid
Fashion’s chattering classes abuzz over news that style maven Brad Goreski is the face of Mark’s
Fashion often makes strange bedfellows. Such was the first thought among style hawks with the announcement of Port Perry-born, Los Angeles-based peacock Brad Goreski taking on spokesmanship duties on behalf of Mark’s at the rebranding launch in Toronto last week.
After all, Goreski, now 35, made his name as the assistant to divabee Hollywood stylist Rachel Zoe on the Bravo reality show The Rachel Zoe Project. Their on-air feuding made ratings magic and he landed on his feet following his ejection from Zoe-world. He got his own show, It’s a Brad, Brad World (now filming the second season, it airs on Cosmo in Canada), and the publication of his tell-all memoir Born to be Brad: My Life and Style earlier this year. Brad, or as his Twitter followers know him, @mrbradgoreski, is now a brand, with consulting contracts with designers and retailers as diverse as Kate Spade and J. Brand jeans.
That is lot of gloss for Mark’s, known until recently as Mark’s Work Wearhouse, which launched in Calgary as a workwear company and now has more than 380 stores across the country. But the company, which holds the No. 1 spot in men’s casual wear in Canada, saw it could be much more than workwear — that is, the place you pick up a plaid flannel shirt every time grunge comes back into fashion. But are the bells and whistles they go for — no-iron, fade-resistant, sub-zero insulation, water-resistant fabric, no-pill yoga pants, durability over fashion frill — a good fit with Goreski?
This is after all, the age of international cross-pollination among fashion brands: Just this month, we have design collaborations by mad Italian clotheshorse Anna Della Russo for Sweden’s H&M and fabulous French editrix Carine Roitfeld doing make-up for M.A.C.
And with so many new couples pairing off, some unions look better on paper than others.
Goreski says the call from the Mark’s team was a no-brainer for him. “It is important for me, being born and raised in Canada, there is heritage to the brand. I grew up with my dad shopping at Mark’s. I can still hear the jingle in my head.”
Besides, he says, “fashion is about change, and it makes sense for me to be allied with brands focused on change. Brand extension and partnerships only work if I feel positively about the brand, if it resonates well, and if I can speak about the product with enthusiasm.”
Mark has hired Goreski to compose three outfits from the new fall stock, which just hit the floor. “I was brought in to do the launch, to use my expertise, the way I do with celebrities and for runway shows, to pull together looks different than what they would have expected.” Goreski, a preppy at heart, immediately gravitated to an argyle sweater, “a perennial statement in my own wardrobe,” to build a fashion forward look with “already worn in” sheepskin. He also did a day-to-evening look for women, with a lace cardigan, an on-season oxblood blouse and a black pencil skirt. And finally he did a walk-inthe-country look with tweeds and plaid pants for men. Aside from “the most fabulous denim shirt ever, the Canadian tuxedo,” Goreski says he loves Mark’s focus on durability and innovative technologies in everyday garments. “Sweat-free, non-iron, that speaks to me as someone who is travelling constantly.” The assortment has changed quite dramatically with the new name, says PJ Czank, general merchandise manager for Mark’s. Along with female-shopper-friendly touches like bigger, better-lit change rooms and fun interactive features at a few key stores, including the Toronto Eaton Centre, such as games for kids and a walk-in freezer where you can test out coldweather gear in simulated 40-degree wind chill conditions. “In the women’s collection, you will see an equestrian influence,” says Czank, with key pieces like a cowl-neck sweater dress. In men’s, he says, alongside the argyles and tweeds Goreski was drawn to, there is a vintage feel to many of the items. There is even a skinny Japanese raw denim jean (at the top end of the price range for jeans, which run $29 to $129). “But we are not going to be on the avant-garde leading edge of style. We are about quality and durability, and our price point reflects that.”
That means $49 for the lace cardigan, $39 to $49 for pencil skirts; $49.99 for that dreamy denim shirt, and $29 to $69 for sweaters.
What else does Mark’s get by hiring Brad Goreski to trumpet their new look?
Why, a turn on cameras, of course. Half the point of hiring reality stars is that there are cameras following them everywhere. So Mark’s will get a splash of that stardust when Season 2 hits the airwaves with Brad among plaid world.