Joe Zee of Elle's Tips For New Designers

 New designer co-signed by Andre Leon Talley - Laquan Smith

Joe Zee the Creative Director at Elle may be hungry for publicity to put up with Olivia on the popular MTV reality program The Hills. But on Elle.com he has some sound advice for new designers:

The #1 point I always stress to young designers is POINT OF VIEW. I’ve seen so many young designers come and go because they were busy trying to chase the trends of the moment versus doing something that was innately their strength. If you are true to yourself, others will take note. Otherwise, everyone can smell a fake a mile away. I have to believe the clothes I see. Take for example, someone like Marc Jacobs. (Yes even he was considered a young designer at one point.) When Marc showed his infamous grunge collection for Perry Ellis, it was a turning point in his career. He may have lost his job over it, but by sticking to his point of view, he gained a legion of loyal fashion followers instead, and that collection remains one of the most talked about today, even 20 years later---and that collection was ultimately very Marc. Then you have someone more recent like Jason Wu, who has taken his refinement and elegance to a new level, doing important, history-making dresses for the First Lady. You can always tell when Mrs. Obama is wearing a chic Wu. Again, point of view.