ICYMI: Rachel's Bestie - Brian Atwood

Hi everyone, I'm Rachel Zoe and you're listening to Climbing in Heels for your weekly dose of glamor, inspiration and of course fun. Today is a monumental day in Climbing in Heels history. We have our first male guest on the show, which I normally don't allow, but he happens to be the King of heels and my best friend for over twenty years.

The King, the Prince Brian Atwood.

He is truly one of the most talented footwear designers in the fashion industry, and he's sharing his story with us, from ft and modeling to working with the icon and legend Gianni Versace himself. Brian's positivity is truly infectious and I cannot wait for you to hear more of his incredible journey.

So Brian is my favorite, Leo.

I also want to say that Brian is the first male to ever appear on Climbing in Heels.

Okay, true, I didn't know that.

Yes, you are the first, not the last, the first.

One we have let into this studio on the spot, okay.

And I thought about it well because I thought it would be great to talk about the man who has designed heels for women that I have climbed in for the last twenty years. And you know, because obviously when I say climbing in heels, it's very tongue in cheek, but all the women that I've had on here, I really like to talk about the journeys of how we get to be who we are, right because that's a question I've been asked throughout my career is how did

I just worked really fucking art and here we are.

So I want to talk a little bit about your story because it is a really good one. And you came up in a time where it's like the height of fashion, literally the height of fashion. So you did go to college. I want to start there. You grew up where, let's share with everybody.

Grew up in a southwest suburb of Chicago's Joliet, Illinois. Went to an all boy high school, so I didn't really study fashion barely.

You know, I knew I loved art, so.

That there was an art class, I was so excited that I'm like going to kind of get my creativity of course, you know, of course, always knew in my gut I wanted to do be in fact, do something with fashion.

I was always so, like.

You knew, coming up as a boy in suburb of Chicago, like fashion was clear to you.

For sure, it was clear because because I was such a young I.

Think my mother had a lot to do with it, because you know, we hear that so and so is your muse. I really believe that she was my muse. And I saw how she dressed. I loved her style. I would always watch the whole process that fascinated me of women getting ready. Yeah, and it's like the change and how they feel, you know, everything changes. You put on a lipstick, you put on a heel and earring, and I think I was captured by that magic and I wanted to be part of it. And you know,

Shoe was almost just to compliment the dress.

It wasn't something like art, you know art, and we start dressing from our shoes up, you know, and then it all changed.

But yeah, that was my.

First I remember being with you in one of my houses one summer, and you like, You're like, can I watch you put your makeup on?

You're like, I love this part. You're like, I love the transformation.

I'm like, good, because I'm about to be transformed. I need to transform right now. And I love that you loved that, because I don't know that many people that like the dress is one thing, but I thought that was super interesting that you loved seeing like the natural beauty into what they become in that moment, because that's the chameleon part of it, right right.

And I think everyone wants to pretend at some point, you know. You know with guys, that's different. What are you putting gel in your hair? I mean you can do kind of whatever, but women have It's just it's really art. And I just loved the whole, the whole transformation. It got me really excited to see.

And so then you went to f I t right, you went to Well.

First, because you know, I knew at such a young age what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to move to New York and go to fashion school because that's what you just you did the dream. And so my parents were like, okay, let's agree on something. So they both went to like SI Southern Illinois University. So they said, why don't you go there like a like a college, like just not.

Right like yet your bachelor, Like let's.

Say a normal school, like to see what else you might want to do.

So I said, okay, cool, we'll do that for two years. Two years comes around, I'm like, guess what two years did it? Got the bachelor? You know, the whole thing. I want to go to New York. I know that.

And even down in the college there were some kind of fashion courses that I could take. I mean, but it wasn't a fashion No, it was not a fashion school. So so I think and that was good and that was a great experience for.

Me to be in.

And you know, I just knew I wanted to start my fashion career.

So moved to New York whens F. I t literally you ever?

Were you ever like the poor fashion student? Are you always? Prince Brian.

Ray too?

Like this, like this scene in the David Beckham documentary when she's like we were middle class. He's like, your dad was driving a role choice or whatever.

Yeah, that was hilarious And no it was not I was. I would say, I was just enjoying.

I wasn't like you were starving.

No. I had a.

Great New York experience, you know, just everything New York had to offer, whether it was club life, fashion, excitement, it was like I just took it all in the city. Was like I was a sponge. So it was so exciting to be here, be there, and you know, I fell. I'm in love with it ever since. I can't get enough of it.

Nos like it honestly. But then, okay, so how does the King Johnny Fersacchi? How how do you go from fashion student and f I T to Brian Ott? Was that now works for Giohnny BERSACEI Donna Tella? Like how does that?

So?

While I was at f T, I think towards the end this is kind of like what you hear all happens all the time, but who knows.

If it does.

So an agent saw me out, whether I was at omar saw me out. I think I was either at a restaurant or a club, and they're like, oh, you should think about modeling.

So she's the most rgeous person I've ever seen. He needs to make money doing this and so.

Exactly, and I'm like, oh, I can do this, I can make money travel and like New York is going to be there.

New York is always there and amazing.

So I said, okay, so let's do this, and I really use that as a vehicle to travel the world meet the designers I wanted to work for, because how else can I get so close? And like say, oh, by the way, you know, modeling is just something I used to get here to meet meet you or whatever. So I remember, you know, I was in Milan, and you know, my there was like, okay, how long are we going to like fly around.

The world, and you know, yeah, yeah, kind of has to have Well.

It's hard, I think as a parent, because you want your child to have this experience. It's also terrifying, I think as a parent, like are they going to get like taken advantage of or are they going to get lost in a country?

Like yeah, And then you know, and you're like, as a model, you can really kind of travel and work wherever. If you want to go to Spain, you can get an agent in Spain and you can live and whatever. So you know, I handrod out my resume. I hand wrote out my resume because I was like, okay, modeling has I forget how many years, five or something, and.

You were smart enough to know that it has an end.

Date, yes for sure, And I knew that that's not what I wanted to do. So I literally hand wrote out my resume and I delivered it to Versace Prada. I think I delivered it to Tom Gucci, who was just like the house that I could see myself in. That always meant something to me. And you know, I was like when I was a young kid, I had a paper route I was and I remember I bought my first Versace shirt, which was a black linen shirt.

It was three hundred dollars that Neman Marcus.

That could have been like fifteen hundred dollars back then, but I was like, this is like gold. And that's kind of why Versacha was kind of my first pick, like just to go there. And then I dropped the resume off to the person I was always speaking with, the age, the modeling, the casting person. So Versacea called

But it wasn't until Johnny.

Therapist would have a party with that for sure.

Yes, it wasn't until Johnny asked me to create shoes for the couture his nineties. It was at ninety six ninety six Okuatur And I'm like, you just say yes, yes, It's always the right answer, and then.

You just deal with it, and you if.

You panic after you say.

Yes, yes, just say yes and then it all kind.

Of work out, figure it out. And actually, before I moved to Milan. I went to this kind of I was like, am I doing something crazy?

And you know, in a good way.

And I went to this celebrity psychic and I still have that cassette tape.

Who knows, you know when they recorded things on cassette tapes.

And I remember she was like, You're going to be famous for something to do with feet. And I was like, okay, here's your two hundred dollars or whatever. This is not my dream, this is not what's going to happen. And she goes, I don't know, maybe you're going to do a Nike ad. Because I was a model back then.

She was like. I was like, okay.

She goes, do your feet her something about feet, right, and I was okay. And then after all this, I'm like, where's that tape? I need to listen to that tape again because.

It all like kind of revolved around feet.

Sure, it revolved her ound feet and you know, the Cinderella factor I call it.

I mean, but like, actually, I mean I think that's the thing. And I think, like when I met you probably around that time. Yeah, I just remember, like you made the most gorgeous shoes, and I think you I think you launched your own brand shortly after that, right.

In two thousand and one, right after God, yeah, right right. I launched it March two thousand and one. Then the whole world collect, you know, you know, and I thought of it. I said, well, it can only get better because we've been through hell, so I said, you just got to stick with it.

Every thing eventually will come back.

So it's never a great time to do something, just do it, and you know, it worked out.

I mean, it's it's interesting because I think, you know, I think a lot of the people that have been on this pod, myself included, you know, we talk a lot about sometimes not being supported on our journeys. Sometimes there's a lot of petty jealousy with women, and I'm wondering, like, did you ever experience that coming up?

Were there people that like tried to take you down? Were they jealous of you?

Or was it so small at that point that there wasn't really that stuff happening.

You mean, like in the industry like Double War's.

Product kind of stuff, like, you know, just a lot of petty girl shit like no, I mean, you.

Know, no really, because we're also like young and new, especially in the office because versat your office was I was the only one who spoke English, so it was a great way for me to learn Italian. You're just forced with it because I said, I'm not going to be that American sitting at a table just saying and not knowing what's going on.

I am going to learn it very basically, you know.

And you know, we were all in the same boat and cut and more excited than backstabbing each other.

Of course, you more had the experience of like it was almost like this young like incubator of a group that just all loved each other.

And you're still friends with a lot.

Of them now, rightsolutely absolutely. And you know fashion always has drama, of course, we always and you know, and and that being the small, the small family business that it was. It was Johnny's Donatella en Santo, So it was just that that was your school and all the you know, team that was around them, but it was it's really smallest. Yeah, it was great at the same time, the same time.

Of course, and then when Giohnny died and DNA Tella came in, you were still there.

You stayed there for a while after.

Yeah, that was I was with Donatella when the whole thing happened, we were and that was the weirdest thing because you know, it being such a small, like a family company, felt you felt really part of that. It was kind of like your Italian family. And and when that happened, we were in Rome and I remember sitting on the floor with Donatella.

We had all the models cards.

Because we were doing Done, which was a fashion show they did on the Spanish Steps in Rome, and Giohnny had already flown because it was after the show, the couture show.

He flew to Miami, which she always did, like okay.

I'm done, I need because so we did the room show and then I remember we were just chatting and picking out models.

They were also like cute boys and girls. We're all just that one, that one, that one.

And then all of a sudden, Santo comes in the room and screams her name to like get you know, they're urgently and I've never heard.

That tone, and I was like, Okay, something's up.

And then I think someone minutes after that, they turned down the news.

And you know, it was shocking to see.

It was like it was like, yeah, it was like this is like a fever.

Dream that is, it wasn't real.

And then all of a sudden when I saw like the stretcher and I saw the arm of Johnny, like it came off the stretcher or something, and that's the arm I remember seeing every morning in the office. Like he would always he called me Brianino, which means little Brian, like like a child like. He always said, you're here to leave, Brianino, You're here to learn, take it all in. And I would always go in the office early because I just loved being.

Around the energy.

I was like, yeah, of course, obsessed with just being in that element, okay, and in that moment it all felt real and you could hear pin drop. Every No one knew how to deal with it or what happened. It was just bizarren and the office was like a morgue for probably three weeks, and I remember when someone turned on music and then it was.

Just like, you know, this is yeah happening.

You know we have to and actually, if Donna tell us first show, I remember everyone was very emotional and then before the show started there was this butterfly flying around and to this day, even Sante Dorazzio Dona Tella, we all know that was Johnny coming in.

To UH to make no to tech on things.

And it still get chills and emotional because I know it for a fact and it's still like magic.

It was great.

And I think that's right around the time that I met you, because it was Donna Telly's show when I met you. I think it was I had worked with Johnny right before he died on I don't remember which client.

Know, make yourself indispensable if if that's possible, as much be the you know, just be the best that you can be. You know, who cares it's an hour later or something, or you have to do something, but they can never say you didn't try or didn't do what was required.

You went more, You did more, always more.

Always more. And you know something I want you to share.

I think that I think is important for entrepreneurs that listen is you know, having your own business, having your own brand. It's it's a lot, it's a lot, and you know there's highs, there's lows. There's the lowest, the lowest lows, the highest hides, even.

When it's not your own business.

Right.

But the thing about you that.

I always say, and I said it in my Instagram post for your birthday, is like I have never once seen you discouraged. I've never seen you look or feel defeated, and I've never seen you bring a negativity to anything you do literally anything, but like even if it's like I.

Mean any time, maybe.

The closest thing is like when you're over like an event and you don't want to be out anymore, you're like, I'm done, like basta, I'm going.

Out like but typically you.

Bring your energy and like your love and your positivity first and foremost to everything. I feel like you have a gratitude, Like I'm the opposite in terms of like I'll look at the forecast, I'll be like, oh my god, I have to cancel my gott I have to do this.

Oh my god, it's training. Oh my god, nobody's gonna come. Oh my got it.

And you always go out it like it's going to be fine, It's going to be fine. And I want to I want to talk about that because I want to understand where that came from. I like to take that from you when I'm with you, and it doesn't even matter if it's like a bad restaurant, if it's like your food sauce, You're like fine, Like everything is fine all the time, but you mean it genuinely. It's not disingenuous. And so I think even when the sky is in fact falling, you continue to power through with

Yeah, I mean I think that it definitely came from childhood and with my upbringing with my mother.

I think that is magic. She is magic.

She's a matriarch as you all can imagine and we love her so much. I think that, you know, I remember a poster I had on my wall, this beautiful lion must have been a lion or something, and that I loved and it said, it's hard to be as humble when you're as good as I am or something.

And it was just funny because.

I don't know what that kind of just said, just just.

Kind of and just kind of be humble. And nothing is that horrible.

There's even though there's so many, so many horrible things, at some point there has to be some light and whether it's dismal, whether it's a speck of light, just you know, look to that to find your energy, because it's so easy to get in our head and get deep and dark and not be able to come out of it. And you know, and that's when you have to step away, go to a quiet place. And you know, I'm not going to be like all, go be quiet

Know, really take you to you know it dark.

It can be quickly, if, if, if every If you're feeling punched, you know, feeling beaten up, or things aren't working out, and you're like why why, I think it's very important to step away and take a minute, take as long as you need, but definite it helps tremendously and then it always changes your outlook on it.

It is in neat to you. I feel like, because you've had this since I met you. But I also feel like, you know, I think we've all been through our shit, right, We've all been on our downs in our and our ups, and I feel like you always come up smiling. Does it become like a conscious effort that you make to do that, like, do you if you find yourself going I can go dark here, but I'm not going to because I think that's important for entrepreneurs honestly, right.

And I know when you can easily do that and focus on the crap of a situation and turn it into you know, a lot more, it's like, all right, do I want to focus on that and feel like that It's just it's kind of a choice sometimes.

Of course, and you know, not easy. But I think I think.

I've noticed it enough so that I can stop it, change it.

Yeah, I can change it.

And I think that if you can notice it, you you definitely get you know, how to change it then, because.

I would I would like to share that with everyone, and I'd like to take that from you, because every time I'm with you, I'm reminded that you could turn this into a happy moment. You don't have to be so intense about something, you know, And I think, like that's something I'm working on this year.

You know.

It's sort of like find the light, right.

I know that sounds so corny, but I think it's really important, and I think it's really important in business and it's really important in life.

And it's completely true. They don't just make this stuff up from you know. This isn't something that.

Like cliche exists for a reason.

Actually, right, they do exist, and it is inside you. You can you know, be your own you can be your own magic, create you know, it's all in tility. You just have to get gets muted down it. It gets clouded a lot, so we kind of ignore it. We forget that the ability is inside of us. Just have to listen to it and know one time is to step away for a second.

So what is next for mister Brian out with Prince Brian, Like, what are you most excited about right now in your life?

And go forward? Besides living in Halston's former house.

In Higher Island, which is so we love that in New York City of course, just.

Really focusing on, you know, relaunching the brand and all of this, you know, making beautiful shoes.

I think.

There are different different things that I'd like to do as far as you know, fashion has changed, you know, fashion has changed so quickly and exciting as well. But just need to really focus on what I love doing, and that's creating beauty and.

That I will continue doing.

And we need your magic. We need your magic for as many people as possible.

Absolutely put them back on a pedestal.

And we all have to climb in Brian outwood heels forever. So by the way I.

Do as illustrated on my Fire Island excursion, I know I kept those babies on. I love you so much We're going to do quick rapid fire before I let you go.

You ready? Oh my god?

Okay? Coffee or tea coffee? Who's your hero?

My mother?

Make me weep right now? I already know this answer. Southern Italy or Southern France Italy. And you're going to say that favorite dessert.

I mean, I love it all. I mean termasu is like right up there.

Okay. I also know this platforms or knee high boots.

Oh, platforms for sure.

Yeah, what's your biggest pet peeve?

But I do it also procrastination, So I mean that is and like being late, but but.

You're both of those.

Yes, I.

Mean, okay, okay, what advice would you give your twenty year old self?

What would I give my twenty year old self?

I think really just continue to never compromise your integrity, never compromise what you believe in. And I think that's also what Johnny told me to, and that's part of the whole school of being in the versace. You know, Todd, the realm is he always said you're here to learn, never compromise. I learned it from him because people loved and hated his stuff, so it was.

True, you know.

But he kept doing exactly that.

And he didn't care. He kept doing it.

And I think that war designer or someone who is in the creative field is something very important because you can always be persuaded or tend to be like, oh well, it's not fitting into this box. Sure, but if you fit into that box, you're competing with everyone who's already in that box. Do something different that is very you and have a voice, have you know, say what you want to stick to.

It always always, and it is hard.

It is hard, and it takes a lot of guts because you might not People might not appreciate it instantly, but I think they always come around to it. Yeah they do, Okay, sided Sorry, that's.

Perfect Martini or Margarita.

Margarita, you could be on the Newlyweds.

By the way, might out what's another career you would want to try us too?

Architect or rock star. I don't know which one comes first, but I think.

I couldn't be more different, by the way.

I know.

I always think I'm a good singer, but probably not, probably architect first. I also wanted to be a plastic surgeon because I love creating beauty, so I thought i'd be really good with the face, so all right, sorry, Okay, I love that.

Okay, ask permission or ask forgiveness.

Forgiveness probably.

Rule still apply to Prince Brian. Okay, who is your Hollywood crush?

Oh my Hollywood crush. Let's see who's your free past with Jake Henry Cavill? Probably okay.

And what about a woman.

I mean, Angelina stunning or past icon?

I think probably Marilyn still fascinates me for some yeah, I think, uh yeah.

Instagram TikTok Instagram.

Okay, I love.

You, Oh my god, I love you. You're my icon, baby, you are my icon. Baby, you are right there.

You are my icon, and I love you so much. I love that I got to do with you this year.

Me too. It was so fun.

Love having you. I love that you're the first honorary guy to ever be on Climbing and Heels.

It's only appropriate.

It's only appropriate, it really is. I love you.

Thank you so much to my friend Brian for being the first male guest on Climbing and Heels. Tell me if you want more, because I think I have to add more boys to this because there are so many men in my life that I love and respect and would be so incredibly inspirational.

For all of our listeners.

I really love Brian's advice about saying yes and figuring it out later. I'm actually going to take his advice. I will see you all next week on the pod.

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