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Everybody knows Ryan Seacrest.
The 41-year-old's omnipresence stretches throughout the entertainment business, where he's a syndicated radio and TV host (maybe you've heard of American Idol or watched any red carpet arrivals show in the last decade?), and a producer for some of the reality TV shows that have helped shape the current cultural landscape (yes, he helped catapult the Kardashians to fame). But in 2014, Seacrest expanded his horizons to fashion, taking his penchant for on-the-red-carpet tailoring, and bringing it to the masses with his aptly titled line Ryan Seacrest Distinction, sold exclusively at Macy's.
We have to admit Seacrest has managed consistently hit it out of the park with his own style over the years. The man wears a suit well and seems to be the rare boldface name who never shows up to anything wearing something less than event-appropriate. Now he's gone from looking good to helping others look good, too. We hopped on the phone with the very busy multi-hyphenate (just as he was leaving DC where he and Michelle Obama read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to children in the hospital) to talk about how to dress for a holiday party, who he thinks is stylish, and how he celebrates his December Eve birthday.
Lets dive right in and talk about your new Evening collection for your clothing line Ryan Seacrest Distinction. What made you want to design clothes, rather than just wear them for your job?
Initially it started with the suits and the ties and things because I wore them so many years on American Idol — I love putting on a great suit. When a guy puts on a great suit, it gives him a sense of confidence and there’s an attitude that comes with it, too. I’ve always been a fan of dressing and one of the perks of being on a television show is that I have access to a lot of great clothes. Instead of trying to go out and do it myself, I’m surrounded by smart experts who know how to do it. That was the impetus to it.
Yeah, you’ve been around all those wardrobe people. Did they help teach you about clothing?
They did, they did. It was learned. The fit was something I learned over the course of years. And knowing how something should feel, I learned that over the course of 15 years. By virtue of my job, part of my job is wearing different clothes all the time, so you become a student.
People dress really casually these days, what is it about suits that you like?
That's why we're doing sportswear, and we're doing more next year. But I do believe that everyone needs that one great suit for special occasions. I'm also an advocate of versatility. I think having a great sport coat, you can wear it with a pair of jeans or take it off for a more casual vibe. I live in Los Angeles and oftentimes you leave in the morning and you don't come home until after your entire day is done, because of the sprawl. You need to have some flexibility in your wardrobe and that's what we're doing with Distinction.
So do you have three outfits in your car at all times?
Yeah, I have a bag on me in case you get stuck somewhere like the gym.
You launched Rio this summer around the time of the Olympics, and now you're launching this right around the time you head into awards season. Are these collections inspired by your real life?
The inspiration has to be who you are and what you are. The through line is that, yes, there are moments in my life that inspire us to go in a certain direction, that serve as a spark of creativity. Where it fits, where it works, where it's the most natural, is when it's the best. Last month we put together my looks for the red carpet, and we're going to evolve my look even more with some different patterns and velvet. So yeah, it is inspired by me and what I like to wear.
How do you go about designing a collection? Does it start with a mood board?
That's exactly how it starts. We start with something visual. I have a great team of designers, and specifically, Matteo, who we just brought on in the last couple of months. He's taking the line to a completely new level. I'm a visual person so it starts, to me, with some image or color. Then it goes to mood board, to drawing, to sample, to product. It's a fun process and I'm surrounded by people who know what they're doing and do it well.
As someone who wasn't trained as a designer, is there anything particularly challenging or rewarding from launching your own collection?
As a live host, immediacy is something that I'm used to, and in the fashion world, that doesn't apply. In the fashion world you're working so far ahead. It was a little bit of a culture shock because I'm used to everything being done by the second. It's hard to wait.
I've read that making sure the collection is affordable has been important to you, and I love that. Why is that?
Well I wanted it to have a level of detail and a level of fit that you would normally find at a higher-end brand. I remember when I was first saving up my first few hundred dollars to buy a suit and I'd see things online and I could never find that fit in that price point. I remember thinking to myself, if we do this, I'd like to be able to provide the detail and the stitching and the cut so that you feel like you get some high-end traits in this accessibly-priced suit. That was the goal for me: Quality, accessibility, and detail.
So it's what you wanted when you were coming up.
I worked for every dollar that I have. So I know that value is important, value and quality is important. Anything that I launch, it doesn't have to be the most expensive thing. That's not who I am.
It's holiday party season. What advice do you have for guys who want to step up their game?
More and more guys are enjoying caring about what they put on. It's a fun sport. Everyone wants to look good, and feel good. My advice is is that you want to make sure your clothes fit you well, you don't want a boxy cut. I'm a shorter guy and you want the right cut. It makes you look like you have long legs when you're walking. But we're using some velvet and some pattern, and I'm even thinking about wearing something that's brown, I'd never done that before.
Oh wow. Well, we think of the brown suit as the new khaki suit here.
Is that right? Well, if you guys say it, it must be true.
You live in LA, and everyone is kind of becoming obsessed with Los Angeles. Do you think the city's style has changed?
Tech-wise, fashion-wise, there's definitely been an evolution, a growth. You can feel it when you're here. I think there's a lot of global interest. You know, other cities like New York, there's only so much space. And the weather is great. There's a lot of excitement here.
Who is your style icon?
All of the Bonds, every James Bond. Every single last one of them. Classically speaking, Frank Sinatra, but I'm really a Bond guy.
Your birthday is the 24th. Do you like being a Christmas baby?
I do the same thing every year on the 24th. Friends and family, we have a fondu dinner. It's something that I chose when I was a kid. I remember when I was a kid my parents saying something about a fondu dinner party and I thought, when I get older I want to do that. Now we've done that for, oh, like the last 30 years or so. We do the fondu dinner, I open presents, and then I get to open presents the next day.
You have to make it clear that there are no two-for-one presents.
Right.
Do you feel like a Capricorn? Do you keep up with astrology?
I do feel like I am one, I don't really keep up with that stuff. The Capricorns that I meet are very like-minded. I feel like there's a similar tempo to them.
You seem like a guy who has it all, a lot of balls up in the air simultaneously. How do you do it and make it look easy?
Well, thank you, first of all. You know, the only thing I know how to do is what I do for a living. I wouldn't be good at anything else. Fortunately I found the path that I'm comfortable with, and I have the opportunity to work a lot. It is fun, and it is exciting. There's a velocity to the life and the fact that I like to move. I like to be in motion, I'm a motion creates emotion kind of person. But I don't have it all yet. You've got to keep working. I mean, I'm sitting in the back of a car right now and in my lap is a piece of cold salmon and I'm heading to an airport.
