DON'T be fooled by those skinny runway models at the centre of the fashion industry's "size zero" storm. Fashion heavyweight Rachel Zoe says they are "not the norm".

The 39-year-old celebrity stylist, who has been in the fashion business for nearly 20 years, told The New Paper in an e-mail interview: "I think that looking at models and thinking that's what you're supposed to look like is a very dangerous mind game to play.

"You can't look at other people and wish you look like (them). It's not healthy and it's going to mess with your mind forever."

Ironically, the Los Angeles Times once described Zoe as the woman who single-handedly brought anorexia back.

In 2004, the US media blamed Zoe for allegedly instigating ex-client Nicole Richie's drastic weight loss.

With matching toothpick arms, orange tans and sunken faces, famous clients like Lindsay Lohan and Mischa Barton had become "Zoebots", a nickname coined by the New York Post.

Zoe, however, has denied she has anything to do with her clients' waif-like looks.

Weight war

Yet, till today, the weight war rages on.

When photos showing an emaciated Zoe appeared in early January, a US doctor estimated Zoe's weight to be 38kg, Us magazine reported.

She is said to be about 1.52m tall.

A frustrated Zoe wants to decimate this discussion and thinks that "it shouldn't even be an issue".

She said: "I would have hoped that it would have been put to rest years ago. I don't address it when I'm having a rough time about (the) false things that the media is saying and the frustrations that come with that."

"You don't want to let (the media's fixation on her weight) get the best of you and control your thoughts."

But she knows it will never be.

Perhaps that's why the fourth episode of the second season of her reality TV series The Rachel Zoe Project is tellingly entitled Pin Thin And Pissed Off, which she declined to comment about when asked.

The show – which follows Zoe's attempts to balance her professional life with her personal life – premieres on Sony Entertainment Television (SingTel mio TV Ch 20) tomorrow at 10pm.

In another episode, Zoe's assistant Brad Goreski even tells her not to wear a shapeless dress because it would emphasise her thinness and the media would pounce on it.

But if Zoe can persuade her hero, legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld, to modify a pink Chanel dress for actress Cameron Diaz on the show, maybe anything is possible.

With the Oscars coming up on Sunday night in the US, Zoe will be busy working her magic, though she declined to reveal who she will be dressing or which designers she'll be turning to for the big night.

Last year, she dressed Anne Hathaway for the Golden Globes and Oscars. Actresses Demi Moore, Jennifer Garner and Eva Mendes are also among her famous clients.

She said: "The Oscars is the pinnacle moment of the year for designers, stylists, and most importantly, for actors..."

"It really is the ultimate Cinderella moment. I think to be a part of it is an honour. But it also is a ridiculous amount of pressure and it's very scary. No matter how many times you do it, it doesn't get any easier."

Times Online reported that Zoe – who's known to be obsessed with her job – charges US$6,000 ($8,400) a day to choose her clients' outfits.

She reportedly once said that her husband of 14 years, Rodger Berman, refuses to speak to her during Oscars.

Assistant Goreski said in one episode of The Rachel Zoe Project that Zoe turns "neurotic" when awards season comes around.

The woman behind so many successful Hollywood stars is also sharing her knowledge.

In 2007, she released Style A to Zoe: The Art Of Fashion, Beauty, And Everything Glamour, a guide filled with insider fashion tips.

Last September, she launched an accessories collection which is sold in Europe and Japan.
The Rachel Zoe Project has also been renewed for a third season.

gerlim@sph.com.sg

This article was first published in The New Paper.