She’s the no-nonsense publicity powerhouse that has the clout to launch obscure brands into the stratosphere – and take down anyone that crosses her in one fell swoop. And while her trademark no-bullshit style may be a bitter pill to swallow for some of her reality-star employees, no one can deny that Kelly Cutrone is one of the best in the biz.
In Australia to help launch the flagship Sydney store of Gideon Shoes, we sat down with straight talking, slightly intimidating PR icon to talk ‘The City’ her new fashion line, and what she really thinks of those kids from ‘Jersey Shore’…
MTV: Hey Kelly, welcome to Australia! Tell us a bit about what you’re up to over here?
Kelly: We’re working with Gideon [Australian shoe designers and manufactures], so one of the things I’m working on is pulling this great history they have together, like their grandfather, opened this church to the wayward hippy folk in the 60s and 70s, and also their Street University [a retreat for marginalized kids in Western Sydney] and mixing that into their brand.
There are shoe designers that do charity, but this is like a charity that’s doing shoes so we’re going to start bringing in collaborators to work with them, and it’s going to be super cool. And then we’ll have some of the kids at Street University start to design some images which will be put into a core collection which we’ll also sell with the money going straight back to Street University – it's going to be awesome.
MTV: You worked really closely with Lauren Conrad and Whitney Port on 'The City' and 'The Hills'. Do you keep in touch with them?
Kelly: I keep in touch with Whitney a lot. I mean Lauren, when I see her we talk and stuff but we were never… like she would never call me and spend holidays at my house, Whitney does. I’m really close to Whitney.
MTV: You mentored Whitney when she was setting up her line. How is her collection going now?
Kelly: I haven’t really had a second to look and see her collection this season but I know she’s doing well, and she’s really very very serious about doing the fashion line so I’m glad for her. I like that she has something that she loves to do and believes in and it suits her. She’s doing good with it.
MTV: Would you say that’s a highlight of your job? Being able to mentor up and coming talent?
Kelly: Yeah, I love it. And now I get to do it on so many levels because I do it in my office, with the girls that I pay and also the interns. I mean, they should be paying me to intern there (laughs) its like, it’s ridiculous that you're paying $100,000 to go to college, just give me $10,000 and we’ll get this shit worked out for you. And then through the books and shows that we're doing, it’s really cool.
I like talking to the young people, because they have so many people that are against them. They have so many people that don’t really believe in them and don’t believe that their dreams can become a reality, so I think it’s good when they meet someone who’s kind of punk rock and badass who goes fuck yeah you can do this, get away from those people. They’re holding you down, you don’t need to be an electrician, like, move to the city and get your game on.
MTV: You’re heavily involved in Australian fashion…
Kelly: Well you know, I’ve been working with Australian designers probably more than any other American company. I’ve done Ksubi since day one, we did all the sass & bide shows in America, we’ve done Camilla and Marc, we did Alice McCall shows in the United States, we’ve got Gideon now, we have a lot going on. We’ve been on the Aussie tip before anybody.
MTV: Why is that? What sets Australian fashion apart for you?
Kelly: I think they have a really interesting take on bohemian and layering and cool. 'Cause Australian people are physically very beautiful and it’s hot, so you have to show your skin. I don’t know, [Australians] are very beautiful people, and they’re really nice, so there’s a real beauty and effortlessness about Australian people, and that comes through in the fashion…
MTV: We hear you’re launching your own fashion line?
Kelly: I am – I’m doing a new brand with Chris Burch we’re starting a brand called the Electric Love Army which I’m really excited about.
MTV: How has that transition been for you? Going from PR to the other side?
Kelly: Well, I’ve been doing it for 20 years… and we’re constantly styling and also working on a bunch of collections where people are spending anything from $250,000 to $1 million to make them, and we're watching what works and what doesn’t. So it’s kind of like working in an amazing horse track. After a while you kind of know how to breed the horse, how to find the right jockey and how to make it run.
I had to start making brands - I can’t just sit there and know all this and not spin it. My whole thing is, I want to strip the walls of the fashion world down and bring it to the masses. I don’t like the fact it’s an art form that people are not always welcome in. I want girls to be able to go in and feel good about themselves and feel really empowered and not have to be some granola indigo girl.
MTV: So ‘Jersey Shore’…
Kelly: Jersey Shore!!? I rode in a jeep with The Situation to the MTV awards… it was me, Whitney and The Situation and Frankie [from 'The Hills'] and it was pretty funny!
MTV: What do you think of their whole style sense? You know, rocking the whole Ed Hardy look, the bling…
Kelly: I bet they’re not now! I bet J-Woww and Snooki are rocking the Louis Vuitton and Balenciaga at this point...
MTV: So did you get in their ear about fashion?
Kelly: Oh no no no… but that show… I mean, I was in the gym the first time I saw the ad for it and I was like, this shit’s going to be out of the mother-f#%kin’ gate! 'Cause it was just like, bam! Ok there’s a new kid in town! This is taking reality to a whole new level, I kept they telling them they were the new 'Saturday Night Fever'…
MTV: Define success…
Kelly: Knowing that you’ve done your best, between 88% and 100% and that you’ve given whatever you're doing your best and you’ve brought as much of yourself as possible with what you have to work with. That’s my measure for motherhood, as a manager, and an author. You can’t do one thing the way you would do eight things; your measurements have to change but if you’ve done your best, give or take, you’re allowed a couple of bad days of bad behavior. I kind of look at it like a bank deposit, you know, you’ve got to take a few withdrawals and you can do it on a weekly basis, as long as you make more deposits. [laughs]
Kelly’s second book ‘Normal Gets You Nowhere: Trust Me They're Lying To You’ is out later this year.
In the meantime, check out Kelly off-loading her no-nonsense advice to Whit in the video below…
In Australia to help launch the flagship Sydney store of Gideon Shoes, we sat down with straight talking, slightly intimidating PR icon to talk ‘The City’ her new fashion line, and what she really thinks of those kids from ‘Jersey Shore’…
MTV: Hey Kelly, welcome to Australia! Tell us a bit about what you’re up to over here?
Kelly: We’re working with Gideon [Australian shoe designers and manufactures], so one of the things I’m working on is pulling this great history they have together, like their grandfather, opened this church to the wayward hippy folk in the 60s and 70s, and also their Street University [a retreat for marginalized kids in Western Sydney] and mixing that into their brand.
There are shoe designers that do charity, but this is like a charity that’s doing shoes so we’re going to start bringing in collaborators to work with them, and it’s going to be super cool. And then we’ll have some of the kids at Street University start to design some images which will be put into a core collection which we’ll also sell with the money going straight back to Street University – it's going to be awesome.
MTV: You worked really closely with Lauren Conrad and Whitney Port on 'The City' and 'The Hills'. Do you keep in touch with them?
Kelly: I keep in touch with Whitney a lot. I mean Lauren, when I see her we talk and stuff but we were never… like she would never call me and spend holidays at my house, Whitney does. I’m really close to Whitney.
MTV: You mentored Whitney when she was setting up her line. How is her collection going now?
Kelly: I haven’t really had a second to look and see her collection this season but I know she’s doing well, and she’s really very very serious about doing the fashion line so I’m glad for her. I like that she has something that she loves to do and believes in and it suits her. She’s doing good with it.
MTV: Would you say that’s a highlight of your job? Being able to mentor up and coming talent?
Kelly: Yeah, I love it. And now I get to do it on so many levels because I do it in my office, with the girls that I pay and also the interns. I mean, they should be paying me to intern there (laughs) its like, it’s ridiculous that you're paying $100,000 to go to college, just give me $10,000 and we’ll get this shit worked out for you. And then through the books and shows that we're doing, it’s really cool.
I like talking to the young people, because they have so many people that are against them. They have so many people that don’t really believe in them and don’t believe that their dreams can become a reality, so I think it’s good when they meet someone who’s kind of punk rock and badass who goes fuck yeah you can do this, get away from those people. They’re holding you down, you don’t need to be an electrician, like, move to the city and get your game on.
MTV: You’re heavily involved in Australian fashion…
Kelly: Well you know, I’ve been working with Australian designers probably more than any other American company. I’ve done Ksubi since day one, we did all the sass & bide shows in America, we’ve done Camilla and Marc, we did Alice McCall shows in the United States, we’ve got Gideon now, we have a lot going on. We’ve been on the Aussie tip before anybody.
MTV: Why is that? What sets Australian fashion apart for you?
Kelly: I think they have a really interesting take on bohemian and layering and cool. 'Cause Australian people are physically very beautiful and it’s hot, so you have to show your skin. I don’t know, [Australians] are very beautiful people, and they’re really nice, so there’s a real beauty and effortlessness about Australian people, and that comes through in the fashion…
MTV: We hear you’re launching your own fashion line?
Kelly: I am – I’m doing a new brand with Chris Burch we’re starting a brand called the Electric Love Army which I’m really excited about.
MTV: How has that transition been for you? Going from PR to the other side?
Kelly: Well, I’ve been doing it for 20 years… and we’re constantly styling and also working on a bunch of collections where people are spending anything from $250,000 to $1 million to make them, and we're watching what works and what doesn’t. So it’s kind of like working in an amazing horse track. After a while you kind of know how to breed the horse, how to find the right jockey and how to make it run.
I had to start making brands - I can’t just sit there and know all this and not spin it. My whole thing is, I want to strip the walls of the fashion world down and bring it to the masses. I don’t like the fact it’s an art form that people are not always welcome in. I want girls to be able to go in and feel good about themselves and feel really empowered and not have to be some granola indigo girl.
MTV: So ‘Jersey Shore’…
Kelly: Jersey Shore!!? I rode in a jeep with The Situation to the MTV awards… it was me, Whitney and The Situation and Frankie [from 'The Hills'] and it was pretty funny!
MTV: What do you think of their whole style sense? You know, rocking the whole Ed Hardy look, the bling…
Kelly: I bet they’re not now! I bet J-Woww and Snooki are rocking the Louis Vuitton and Balenciaga at this point...
MTV: So did you get in their ear about fashion?
Kelly: Oh no no no… but that show… I mean, I was in the gym the first time I saw the ad for it and I was like, this shit’s going to be out of the mother-f#%kin’ gate! 'Cause it was just like, bam! Ok there’s a new kid in town! This is taking reality to a whole new level, I kept they telling them they were the new 'Saturday Night Fever'…
MTV: Define success…
Kelly: Knowing that you’ve done your best, between 88% and 100% and that you’ve given whatever you're doing your best and you’ve brought as much of yourself as possible with what you have to work with. That’s my measure for motherhood, as a manager, and an author. You can’t do one thing the way you would do eight things; your measurements have to change but if you’ve done your best, give or take, you’re allowed a couple of bad days of bad behavior. I kind of look at it like a bank deposit, you know, you’ve got to take a few withdrawals and you can do it on a weekly basis, as long as you make more deposits. [laughs]
Kelly’s second book ‘Normal Gets You Nowhere: Trust Me They're Lying To You’ is out later this year.
In the meantime, check out Kelly off-loading her no-nonsense advice to Whit in the video below…
Copyright : MTV Australia
