Who

The founding editor of the ill-fated men's shopping title Vitals and a popular stylist, Zee is now the creative director at Elle.

Backstory

Toronto native Zee paid his dues at Allure before moving on to W, where he was fashion director for nine years. In 2003, he was tapped by Fairchild's Patrick McCarthy to launch a high-end shopping title for men called Vitals. Unfortunately, while the magalog formula had been a resounding success with Kim France's Lucky, Vitals—and the similarly-themed Cargo, edited by Ariel Foxman—ended up disappointing. Zee's baby was shuttered in September 2005. (Condé Nast was supposedly betting on Cargo—go figure.) He went on to contribute to Details, Vanity Fair (he worked with Tom Ford on the 2006 Hollywood issue), and House & Garden as a fashion fix-it man until his Condé contract expired in December 2006. He then decamped to Hachette's Elle as creative director where he reports to editor-in-chief Robbie Myers.

Of note

One of the most talented stylists around, Zee has dressed everyone from Madonna to Julia Roberts. He gave Britney Spears a memorable S&M dominatrix look for a 2003 issue of W, which became the biggest selling issue in the mag's history, and he was responsible for Justin Timberlake's conversion from gold chains and hip-hop streetwear to retro suits, skinny ties, and fedoras.

The decision to bring in Zee as Elle's creative director was a clear indication that founding international creative director Gilles Bensimon had finally, and officially, been supplanted. After his arrival in February 2007, Zee got busy revamping the mag. He's also managed to stir up a bit of drama: A number of staffers were shown the door (or left on their own accord), and after months of strain between Zee and fashion director/reality TV star Nina Garcia, she was ousted in April 2007. (She's now at Marie Claire). Despite the behind-the-scenes ugliness, Elle itself seems to be benefiting from Zee's presence: The new look he unveiled with the September '07 issue earned raves.

On the side

Nina's no longer the only Elle editor known to teenagers in the Midwest: Zee and fashion news director Anne Slowey became reality TV stars in fall '08 with the debut of the CW's Stylista. The series featured would-be fashion journalists engaging in demeaning public tussles with one another to win a junior position at Elle. Tyra Banks and her America's Next Top Model partner Ken Mok produced the show.

Person

Zee lives in a rental on West 23rd Street. He has very fashionable neighbors: Narciso Rodriguez lives upstairs.