Last monday the Campus Events Commission held an event for celebrity stylist and reality TV star Brad Goreski, to discuss his career in fashion and his new book Born to be Brad. I got to go behind the scenes and ask him a few questions, and needless to say, he was just as charming and fabulous as we all have previously seen. His answers were never boring and always had a twinge of some sassy insight.
What was your day to day dress like in college? Did you always dress well or did you dress like a lazy college student?
“In the art history department at USC there was a lot of polished girls and I followed suit. I usually wore jeans, button downs, and polos – but I always had a nice shoe and school bag.”
Are their any stereotypes or images that you think are pushed upon you from the media or public for being a gay male in fashion with your own show? And do you accept or reject these stereotypes?
“ I am somebody who has fully embraced these stereotypes. I feel with the way I dress I do try to be as gay as possible, whatever that means… I love the drama of clothes and I think pushing the boundaries in any way I can, however small that may be. I know that sometimes when I step out the door I may look like Liberacci or I might look like Bozo, but that’s kind of the point.
And in terms of being out and having my own TV show, one of the reasons I wanted a TV show was because I’ve been with my boyfriend Gary for over 10 years and I really thought it was important to show a positive representation of a gay couple and also show someone that was young and in a long term relationship and also was starting there own business. Also just showing how a gay relationship is just like any relationship. We sought to give people a window into a world they might not normally see. With going on the book tour I saw that they were much more people than just gay people watching the show and seeing our lives. I thought it was important that if I had a show, to use it as a platform for something like that. Gary and I are both very proud of the show and how it authentically represented us.
Do you feel limited by this stereotype?
I do embrace it, but what concerns me is that there is all of a sudden this fasination with being butch, straight acting, straight sounding and all of these things that our culture has taken on. I find this disconcerting, (unless that’s who you are, good for you) because I find theres something beautiful about being a flamboyant gay and I feel like we’re missing a little bit of that fairy dust and magic that used to exist before. I’ve always been a tap dancing, showtune singing, feather boa wearing gay guy and will be a until the day I die.
What advice would you give a young person trying to get into the fashion industry?
My biggest piece of advice would be to intern. Intern anywhere you can. Just get out there and learn whatever you can and get to know who ever you can.
