A STELLA GOOD TIME
QUEENS NATIVE BRINGS ROCK 'N' ROLL FANTASY TO 'RUNWAY'
By DANICA LO
Last updated: 7:24 am
July 15, 2008
Posted: 4:10 am
July 15, 2008
ON the new season of "Project Runway," girly frocks and polka dots haven't got a chance - not if contestant Stella "Barbarella" Zotis has her say.
The Greek-American Queens native - she grew up in Woodhaven and went to PS 60 and JHS 210 - is a rocker through and through. She's worked as a promoter at now-defunct legendary '80s clubs such as Danceteria and Club USA, counts Debbie Harry, Sebastian Bach and Mick Rock as clients and friends, and even cut her teeth working for the wolves on Wall Street.
Warning to the 15 other contestants: Her clothes can definitely beat up your clothes.
"My vision is to become the next Chrome Hearts," Zotis says. "I'm the queen of rock fashion - my clothing comes from the essence of punk rock. Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne - that's who I want to work with."
Zotis' signature intricate custom leatherwork and handcrafting has earned her a solid reputation in the rock community. Clients seek her out via word-of-mouth, and she can command upward of $1,500 for a pair of leather pants.
So what's a girl like her doing on a show like this?
"My friend called me up and said, 'You can do this,'" Zotis says. "My other friend said that to me, too - and then Tim Gunn really loved my stuff. So I decided to go on the show.
"I had a store before," she says.
Zotis, the boutique, was open briefly on the Lower East Side but didn't last long, the designer explains, because the building lacked heat.
"You can network from a store, but not when you work out of your apartment - you don't want people you don't know coming over," she says. "But I need to be seen."
As for her run on "Project Runway," fans will have to tune in when the season airs, beginning tomorrow night, to find out. For Zotis, the experience was priceless.
" 'Project Runway' completely evolved me as a designer," she says.
"I wound up not doing what I do - they have great dressmaking machines, but not the machines I needed - you don't really need a button store when you do what I do, you need a hardware store," she laughs.
"I couldn't really show them what I do, but it turned out very elegant and very classy. And I'm inspired to design another collection - something a little bit more mainstream - to see if I can put it in a store somewhere."
