Style Insiders: 5 questions with luxury-resale buyer Nicolette Zoric

By Flannery Bloom

In this series, The Georgia Straight goes behind the scenes with fashion professionals to explore the workings of the local fashion industry.

Nicolette Zoric has an extensive background in fashion, having studied design in Europe and fashion marketing at the Chip and Shannon Wilson School of Design at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. After finishing her schooling with Kwantlen, Nicolette quickly found herself in her current position as a luxury buyer for Turnabout Luxury Resale.

1. How did you get to where you are today?

“I still ask myself that everyday! I studied fashion design in Europe and fashion marketing at the Chip and Shannon Wilson School of Design...so I think that a working knowledge of fashion and business really helped me get to where I want to be at this age! Fashion buying seemed like a career that [only] retail veterans could get ahold of by working a ladder. I would have never thought that I could be at this level already, fresh out of schooling.”

2. What is a typical workday like for you?

“This isn't your regular run-of-the-mill buying job; I don't have to go to market but the market comes to me, so I usually look at my appointment book each morning and see how my day will look like from there. With a cup of fresh black coffee in my hand, I look at emails and deal with any phone messages of people wanting to book appointments.”

3. What is your favourite thing about your job?

“Clothing has been such huge a runner in my life--I have dreamt of clothing and design since a very young age and I think just the fact that I get to even look at the brands that I grew up fantasizing about really makes my day. It's so rewarding knowing that you're also doing your part for the environment. By doing resale you are eliminating a carbon footprint because you're not buying into fast fashion. You get to do your part for the environment without having to sacrifice good style.”

4. What is the most challenging thing about your work?

“The thing I find the most challenging, especially since I'm still new at this, is trying to find a price point for certain items that will make the consumer happy, that will make the client happy, and that will also make the store happy. However I am confident that as time goes by I will get better at it.”

5. Who or what is your biggest inspiration, fashion or otherwise?

“I like to draw inspiration from different things in day-to-day life. The other day sitting on the SkyTrain, I saw an old lady simply sitting there, wearing this unique color combination and I loved it so much that I had to go home and try it. Lately, however I have been so inspired by men's wear and men's street style. It's an industry [that sometimes goes] unnoticed that's becoming heard and seen with brands like Public School and even Calvin Klein, who are perfectly establishing this edgy aesthetic that looks so good on men [and] that sometimes I even wish I could wear!”