The Rachel Zoe Project's Brad Goreski Talks About Rachel, Taylor, and the NJ Housewife Who Reached Out to Him

The Rachel Zoe Project is the best reality series on Bravo, supplanting longtime champ Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List. While the flighty mega-stylist Rachel Zoe fronts the proceedings with Starbucks in one hand and a fistful of accessories in the other, her assistant Brag Goreski is his own kind of harried spectacle: an articulate, knowledgeable gent who keeps his appointments as straight as his suspenders. We caught up with Brad to discuss the new season (which premieres tonight), his communication with Rachel's departed assistant Taylor, and the reasons the show rules.

Is it bizarre to realize a good chunk of your job performance is on camera?

The whole thing becomes weird at this point. The cameras don't bother me because it's just them filming what we do, but then when it actually becomes the thing people witness, and people come up and are like, "Oh my God, I can't believe that on the Demi Moore shoot, the Marc Jacobs thing didn't show up. I was freaking out for you." And I'm like, "Oh my God, that's right. People watched that." You know what I mean? It's weird that people have a window into our world, but our beat just kind of goes on. We don't stop and go, like, "Oh, the episode's on tonight." It just kind of happens. Does that make sense?

Reality series about stylists tend to be really watchable because the cast is so comfortable in front of the camera. What makes you -- and stylists in general -- seemingly so at ease on screen?

I'm a Leo! I think that kind of says it all. My main focus is the job and Rachel and the clients. I'm just being myself. It's just who I am, and the cameras capture it. I don't really put on tap shoes and show any showy side of myself. But I think part of being a stylist is being a bit of a showman. We're salespeople in some respects because we have to sell a look, we have to sell an idea sometimes that people don't necessarily see. It's our job to make people see things a little differently. In some cases you have to be a little bit of a salesmen, a showman. It's all part of the job.

Rachel Zoe is one of the few people I can think of whose reputation only improved after she did a reality show, unlike, say, Paula Abdul...

Which was amazing.

Oh, it should be taught in schools. But how do you think this show helped Rachel's reputation?

I think actually what happened is people saw the real Rachel. The spell was kind of lifted on all the bad stories out there about her. People actually got to see that, yes, she's serious about fashion and serious about her job. She can be a ball-buster if she wants to be, which has been like, twice in the almost three years I've worked for her that she's been like that. They get to see the authentic person. That's who she is. What you see on camera is what I deal with every single day. She can be crazy and insane and obsessive about things. but she's a kind-hearted person. She's gorgeous to look at every single day, she's an absolute vision, and we just have fun. It's about having fun, especially when you work so intimately with people, you have to have fun and be able to laugh. Because what we do in a sense is kind of silly.

You, Rachel, and her previous assistant Taylor all have well-maintained Twitter accounts with plenty of followers. Since Taylor's acrimonious departure, have you still had to interact with her on Twitter thanks to the clamoring of fans?

I haven't had any communication with her since November. I'm not really sure what she's up to. I'm sure she's doing well. As far as Twitter [goes], I love how strange and fun it can be. Tonight I sent out a tweet asking whether or not I should wear a gray three-piece or a navy suit. And it went crazy. People were like, "Navy!" "Three-piece!" I'm like, "Whoa! OK! All right!" But it's just fun to interact with people. People get really, really excited when -- and I don't know if people don't normally respond -- but I try to respond to questions and when people say nice things. If somebody that I admired sent me a Tweet back, I'd be really excited. Like Caroline Manzo did! From The Real Housewives of New Jersey!

On that note, the advertisements make the Bravo network seem like a big family. What other Bravo stars have you met? Any that surprised you?

I wish I actually knew more. I don't know any of the New York housewives, I haven't met any New Jersey housewives in person. I love Jenni from Flipping Out, and Jeff Lewis is really sweet. I'd love to meet Teresa from the Real Housewives of New Jersey. Dina I was obsessed with, I have to meet [her cat] Grandma Wrinkles one day. And I met NeNe who I love. And Kim.