Zooey Deschanel on Her New Dress Collection

Julie Miller


Zooey Deschanel
Zooey Deschanel

On Wednesday night, Zooey Deschanel and Tommy Hilfiger celebrated their capsule collection-To Tommy, From Zooey-with a rooftop party at the London in West Hollywood. Cigarette girls wearing mod dresses from the spirited line greeted guests with party favors-friendship bracelets, color-coordinated M&Ms, and wax lips-that reflected the actress's playful sensibility and the line's red, white, and navy-blue palette.


SEE MORE: Who Are the Best-Dressed People in the World?

Inside the event, which was co-hosted by Vanity Fair West Coast senior editor Krista Smith, the New Girl star reflected on her partnership with Hilfiger. "We met about two years ago at an Easter brunch," Deschanel said, adding that she had been a fan of the designer's work. For Hilfiger, though, it was not Deschanel's acting or singing that initially impressed him, but her fashion sense. "We had a look at what she was wearing," he told us, "and we thought, this girl really knows what she is doing. She's got a great sense of style. She's preppy, quirky, and has a sense of humor without taking herself too seriously."

Shortly after meeting, they agreed to collaborate on a collection that was very much "inspired by the 60s and 70s vibe, but adapted for a modern consumer," Deschanel said. We have much better fabrics that are more breathable and wearable and look better [than clothes at the time]. It was exciting to bring some of that look to people today. We've been working on [the collection] for a little more than 18 months, so it's been a long process. It's been great, though, because we've really been able to perfect every single detail."


SEE MORE: Scarlett Johansson, Cover Girl

After working together, Hilfiger told us that there was one quality of the multi-hyphenate's that especially impressed him. "She's very decisive. She knows what she wants and what she doesn't want. I like people that can make decisions. I don't like to ponder. Do you like the blue or the green? Some people need eight weeks to make that decision."

One person also very familiar with Deschanel's decisiveness, especially when it comes to fashion, is her mom, Mary Jo. "She always knew exactly what she wanted to wear, so I always let both of my daughters pick out their clothes." Mary Jo told us. "She always liked wearing skirts and dresses, even when she was little. And they had a lot of clothes, because it was always so much fun to pick out little girls' clothes. My other daughter liked pants. So it was funny, they were very small, but they were very specific about what they wanted to wear."

To this day, the actress is still partial to skirts and dresses, so much so that the capsule collection contains 16 dresses and not a single separate. "I think whenever she would just wear a dress, it just felt like her," Mary Jo said about her daughter's lifelong pull toward more feminine styles. "I think that's what dressing is-feeling as much like yourself as possible."


See more from Vanity Fair:
Kate's Hair Is Under Attack!
Inside theVanity Fair Oscar Party
15 Men's Essentials for Spring
The Most Adorable Pictures of Prince George on the Australia/New Zealand Royal Tour