A conversation between Hollywood's most elegant men, don't miss out!
The day after the Golden Globes 2012, Empire Magazine asked Logan Yuzna to go to E! and talk to George Kotsiopoulos about fashion, the stars, and the feared red carpet... Here's their full conversation transcripted by Logan himself.
L: How are you doing?
G: How's it going? (laughing) Good to see you.
L: Good to see you.
G: Wait, I met you last night, right?
L: Yeah.
G: Yeyeyeah- you just look different in your casual wear.
L: Exactly… It's actually not as casual as I normally wear, but..
G: (laughs) we were all on our best behavior last night.
L: oh yeah! (laughs) So, um- why do you look so young and handsome at 43?
G: (Laughs out loud)
L: (laughs)
G: I know where you got that question from!
L: Oh yeah!
G: I have really good genes, I wear sunblock, I wear hats when I'm in the sun, and i have really good genes (jeans?). (laughs) And I'm greek, you know?
L: That helps.
G: There's a saying- you know that saying "black don't crack"? i say "greek don't crack."
L: (laughs) It doesn't rhyme though...
G: Yeah, it doesn't rhyme but it kinda works… (Laughs out loud)
L: So what were you wearing last night at the Golden Globes?
G: Oh, so last night at the Golden Globes I was wearing a bordeaux velvet, Dolce and Gabana tuxedo.
L: Very nice.
G: Thank you.
L: So when I got the invitation to the Golden Globes, you know, it said it was a "black tie" event, and i was like, "oh, man- i gotta run around and find a bow tie, get some appropriate gear, you know- the tuxedo shirt and whatnot," and then i get there, and i see a lot of fashion forward people like you that aren't even wearing black, and sometimes they don't wear a bow tie- the men, I mean.
G: Yeah, it's tough in LA with "black tie". I think if you're in New York, it depends on the event you're going to a black tie event that you know involves a lot of creative people, there's leeway. I mean it doesn't really mean that you have to do a real conservative black tie. I think that if you're going to a sheik charity event in New York, or in Italy, you need to dress appropriately, but i think for creative events you could wear a velvet blazer with a black satin tie and skinny black jeans and nice shoes. I think as long as you look nice and you look like you've made an effort to get dressed, you can pretty much pass muster for sure. But again, you really just have to gauge the event that you're going to and know the crowd that you're with. I mean, last night was a very creative crowd, so if you're there with doctors and lawyers and stuff, you want to dress a little bit more conservatively.
L: And do you think that your position matters, like, if you're an actor than you have more leeway than if you're a journalist, for example?
G: Um, I think it's really paying respect to your host. I mean, if your host invites you to a black tie affair and you're dressed in jeans and a t shirt, it's not really respectful, so i think no one has leeway there. We make exceptions for musicians a lot, I think musicians can kind of get away with anything, because they're like, "oh, he's a rockstar! That's the way rockstars dress…" But, um, actors in particular, I think, and especially for last night, it was the Golden Globes Awards, you're there to honor each other and everyone in your field; you should look presentable and pay respect.
L: Alright… And so we know your opinion on the best dressed female based on the show (Fashion Police), but you guys don't really cover men's fashion on the show, right?
G: No, you know, we don't cover men's fashion unless they're wearing something very flamboyant, and for the most part, guys at the awards events pretty much stick to black tie. They stick to just well tailored tuxedos, you know, when you keep looking at them, you think, "oh he looks great, he looks great, he looks great," and there's such subtle nuances in men's fashion wether it's a shawl collar, a peak lapel, or a notch collar, there's really not that much to go by, unless they're wearing a navy blue tuxedo or a bordeaux velvet tuxedo (laughs). You know, there's not that much to talk about, so we tend to stick with the gals, cuz they're more fun.
L: So did you have a best dressed male for last night?
G: Um, you know, Brad Pitt always looks great. George Clooney looked great. Um, I think Channing Tadem was in Prada- he looked pretty good. Seriously, there weren't many missteps, I think, with the guys- not that i noticed.
I think when you're doing fashion with men, a lot of these guys should think, "what would Kerry Grant wear?" you know? Like, "what would one of those guys wear?" and then dress accordingly. If you're not going to dress like that, then you probably shouldn't. (laughs)
L: Do you think that every celebrity that attended the Golden Globes cares about fashion?
G: Uh, I think all of the celebrities that attended the awards care about how they look. Some care about fashion, but if you don't, then you absolutely care about how you look. For a lot of women, it's just not their thing. They don't care about fashion. They wanna look good, but they don't care who the designers are. They're just not into it. Like, Emma Stone, for example, loves fashion, she loves the designers, you know. There's others, they just don't really care; they just wanna look pretty, you know, which is fine. Not everyone needs to be passionate about it, but i think everyone should try and look good. (laughs)
L: And some just want to avoid the Fashion Police brutality. (laughs)
G: Yeah, yeah, yeah, i mean, but some can be just clueless and have no idea that they're dressed the way they are, but, you know what? Ultimately if they feel great that evening, you know, that's really all that matters. I mean, if you see a girl in a ridiculous dress on the red carpet, but she's got a big smile on her face, and she's standing up tall, that's a pretty good accessory to have as well. Confidence and a smile is good.
L: Do you think that the fact that they're actors helps their posing and their posture for photos? Do you think that helps their fashion?
G: No, I think a lot of actors and actresses are kind of uncomfortable being models, I mean, it is a skill. Posing on the red carpet is a skill that is learned, and the more that you do it, the better you get at it. I mean, some of these girls are pros, they know what angles to do, they know how to stand, and they even know the subtle angles of where to turn their heads, and they've learned it because they've been looking at all the photos of themselves on other red carpets. So, it's just like modeling, i mean, you kind of learn what works and what doesn't.
L: So, sometimes they're just missing their directors, huh? You don't exactly have a director there holding your hand and tell you what to do.
G: Yeah, but you learn as you go along. If you look at photos of even Julia Roberts, Kate Blanchet, Kate Winslet, from when they were first on the red carpet, I would doubt that they were all as eloquent as they are now. And some kind of never learn- they just don't care. (laughs out loud)
L: So, Empire Magazine is very interest in the connection between style, cinema, and stars. What are some of the main ways in which style and cinema are connected?
G: Oh… Oh, my god, there's so many ways! Throughout history, designers have been hooked up with films, like Georgio Armani doing the costumes for American Gigolo, Ralph Loren doing the costumes for The Great Gatsby, Givenchy collaborating with Audrey Hapvern for so many of her films… There's always been a synergy there. I think that it's become commercial and marketable and people have been cashing in on it in the last like 15 years where they're just realizing the connection. Before it was more organic. It was like, this designer was fond of this girl, and so he would want to dress her, and now there's more deals being put in place, so it's a little bit less organic, but it's there. I mean, you look at all of these designers have movie stars in their ad campaigns, and Scarlett Johansson is doing Dulce and Gabana, Dior has Marianne Cortiare(?), and Charlize Theron, i mean, they're all looking for that girl to be the face of their brand, so.
L: So, it kind of works both ways.
G: Yeah.
L: The actresses go into the fashion world, and the fashion goes into the movie scene…
G: Absolutely. Because i think sometimes the supermodels were replaced with actresses, and i think that the designers are looking for a real woman, like, "who is this character? who is this woman that speaks to our brand?" and they choose the appropriate girl to sell that. So it really works for everyone.
L: Alright, thank you very much!
G: You're welcome! It was good to see you again!
L: It was good to see you too!
G: Take care!
L: You too!
G: Bye.
L: Bye.