Jack Austin went from making dresses in Melbourne's suburbia to styling the world's biggest celebrities in LA. Learn how he crazy-ex stalked the hirer of America's number one fashion promotions company to fulfill his creative dreams...and who the nicest celebrity in Hollywood is.
Jack Austin went from making dresses in Melbourne's suburbia to styling the world's biggest celebrities in LA. Learn how he crazy-ex stalked the hirer of America's number one fashion promotions company to fulfill his creative dreams...and who the nicest celebrity in Hollywood is.
Melanie (00:00):
Hi, I'm Melanie. And this is Dream Chasers, the podcast where I talk to inspirational Australians about their journeys across the globe to follow their dreams. They're doing big, big things in the big, big smoke. So sit back and join me as I share their trials, tribulations and their highest moments. It's an awesome ride!
Melanie (00:46):
Hi, and welcome to another episode of Dream Chasers. Today I have a very inspirational creative soul! Jack Austin grew up in Melbourne's sleepy suburbia and he went to study fashion and business in Los Angeles, straight out of high school. He stayed on in LA, blogging, influencing fashion trends and working for famous reality TV star Kelly Cutrone of the Hills and Dr. Phil fame. He's described by his peers as never giving up and he's on my show. Thanks for joining me, Jack.
Jack (01:18):
Thank you so much for having me. That was such a great info. You should definitely do my voicemail!
Melanie (01:24):
(laughs) Thank you very much! So that's a pretty amazing journey. I must say!
Jack (01:29):
Yeah. I mean, it's funny to look back. I am 28 years old and I've conquered fashion week. I've done PR I've done a whole bunch of stuff, so yeah, I'm definitely proud of myself.
Melanie (01:41):
I'm really excited to hear about this. We'll start right back at the start right back to your childhood. As I said, you grew up in Melbourne's suburbia, you grew up in Elsternwick. For people that have never been to the suburbia of Melbourne, can you describe what we would see and feel if, if we were there?
Jack (02:01):
I would say it was very, very quiet. I think that's the reason why my parents moved to the area. I love that area. I always would think if I've moved back to Australia, I'd probably move to Elsternwick.
Melanie (02:13):
So you grew up in this peaceful sort of suburban bliss. What sort of family did you come from Jack? Was it a creative family?
Jack (02:20):
My mother was a chef and really saw that creativity with food. My dad was an accountant. He just retired last year and that's been his life. It's funny. I've definitely gotten like the business savvy side for my father and then my creativity from my mother. So I'm definitely my parents' child.
Melanie (02:41):
Fantastic. And so just talking about childhood, what were your first memories that you look back and go, Oh yeah, I was into fashion, you know, right back as a kid?
Jack (02:51):
So on my mother's side, I'm like the first boy in many, many generations. I have an older sister and all my cousins are women. I was surrounded by women. So it was just me and my dad. So I would dress up my cousins if they would be babysitting me. Apparently I would also like dress up in my mom's clothes as a three year old. Yeah. It was just something that I just always really enjoyed, like putting together an outfit.
Melanie (03:18):
And were you seeing a lot of fashion back then on TV or was it the internet that was your influence then?
Jack (03:25):
I would say more fashion magazines. Magazines, and then window displays. Bourke street mall, (Department stores) Myers and David Jones. Like how to merchandise and outfit to get people to buy it was definitely really intriguing cause I loved clothes so much.
Melanie (03:40):
Okay. So it was instilled in you! So skipping a bit forward to school. So you went to St. Michael's, which is a religious school. If you look that up on the internet, you're seeing teachers in suits and boys in blazers with stiff collars and ties. Can you tell us a bit about that time for you?
Jack (04:00):
Yeah, it was pretty conservative. What was really great was there were a lot of design classes.
Melanie (04:07):
Sounds like it was really good for you. What sort of clothes were you designing?
Jack (04:12):
I was designing women's clothes. What I love about women's design was you can be so creative. You can add a bow, you can add a leather strap. With women's design, you don't have to worry about if something is too feminine and you don't have to worry about if something is too fashion forward for the regular male shopper. And that's kind of why I have stuck with women's.
Melanie (04:33):
And what was some of your standout fashion shows in the high school time?
Jack (04:37):
My stepmother gave me a sewing machine and I started sewing, literally sewing like two pieces of fabric together and calling it a dress. It was kind of horrendous, but I was like, this is so much fun. And that's kind of where I learned how to really use a sewing machine with a pattern and with fabric. I made, like, I think it was like 20 dresses in like two weeks. And I was like, okay, I'm ready to put on a fashion show. People came to it and it was really fun. I was like the first one in St. Michael's to ever do that. That really impressed a lot of people because they knew that this wasn't a phase and you know, this guy clearly has the chops for it. I think that's when I started taking fashion really seriously.
Melanie (05:17):
How would you describe your style?
Jack (05:19):
Sophisticated, yet fun. With my designs, I kind of want to feel like, you could play dress up in the grownup world. You can always make it fun with a crazy print on like the lining of a jacket. Like, I mean, that's kinda definitely what I did with the fashion show. And I think that's kind of translated into when I design for clients right now. Like, life is too short. Put on like a funky looking dress and enjoy life!
Melanie (05:43):
I love that. And they had some creative, successful alumni actually, including Patrick Hughes, who was a director of the Expendables Three. Did that kind of alumni push you to do more and dream bigger?
Jack (05:59):
Even in high school, I had very big dreams of coming to America, but I did have a lot of people in my life, classmates that were saying, no, this is stupid. So I'm the type of person that like to prove them wrong. So I guess that drove me to be like, no, I can do this. You don't think I can go to a different country and get into a great fashion school? Just you wait, like I'm going to do this.
Melanie (06:22):
So just reflecting on that decision to go to Los Angeles, to go to fashion school. Why LA Jack, I mean, why not you know, London or New York or other centers of fashion?
Jack (06:33):
Melbourne has got horrible weather! So it was like, I need a break. I'm sick of cold. I'm sick of rain. So I looked at a couple of schools in LA and I found FIDM, which Lauren Conrad went to. And then I also found another school in New York called Parsons, which was another great school. Here's the thing, with fashion design - there are some people that like to make the dresses stay in a room. And so a lot of the courses that Parsons were doing was a lot of that seam stressing. So me being the confident person as I am, it's like, I don't want to be in a room all day. I kind of wanted to really learn how to market it.I wanted to sit in meetings about fits and trends and silhouettes, and then present and say, you know what, like, you know, this bell bottom Jean is going to really sell because X, Y, Z. It felt like the courses in LA were a fit. What I wanted to get out of going to a fashion college.
Melanie (07:31):
Yeah. Okay. So you wanted to mix that business sort of element with fashion as well. And that was the right course for you. Also some good weather as you say! And so what were some of the things that you had to weigh up before making that huge leap all the way from Melbourne to fashion and design school in LA?
Jack (07:54):
It was so hard on my family because my dad, he's very black and white. And when you have a son that says I want to be a fashion designer and I want to go another country and another country where there are a lot of guns, he's like, Oh God, cant you stay in a place where you're like 15 minutes away? But as he saw my determination around it, he realized that this is something I really wanted it do. It wasn't just a phase. It wasn't like I just wanted to get blue hair.
Melanie (08:22):
And what was the standout moment saying goodbye after you've made that decision and you're like, yep, I'm going?
Jack (08:29):
I think it kind of hit me at the airport when I had my visa in my hands and my passport ticket. And I was like saying goodbye to my dad. I was like, Oh my God, this is actually happening. After four years of talking about it and applying and researching , like, yes, I've done it !
Melanie (08:49):
It would have been a pretty emotional moment for your dad too. Wouldn't it?
Jack (08:53):
It was. My dad likes to put up a front, but I could tell that he was emotional. His son was ready to take the next step.
Melanie (09:02):
Touching down in America. Your arrival. Can you just describe, what did you see and what did you feel this moment of your American dream?
Jack (09:13):
Coming in July that was leaving Melbourne weather, which was five degrees, raining, wet, depressing. The thing that kind of struck me, it was like, Oh my God, it's 35 degree weather every single day with not a cloud in sight. Then the unlimited refills that you can get at like a restaurant. So if you order like food and you order like a Coca Cola, you could have as many coca colas as you want. So that also was kind of, Oh my God, I can have like 10 fizzy drinks and no-one would judge me. This is the best day ever!
Melanie (09:45):
What were the feelings and emotions in this huge city? You know, when you were seeing things like the Hollywood sign and it really hit you that this is where I am, this is what I am ?
Jack (09:58):
Gratitude. You know, this was a very, very long dream of mine. So I think it was just like, yes, I have proven all those people wrong and look where I am. Like I can hike and see the Hollywood sign! You know, a lot of happy tears.
Melanie (10:16):
And achieving dreams, you certainly did. Because like I said, in my intro, you were a fashion influencer for an important magazine. You worked for a famous company with a celebrity, basically Kelly Cutrone. Can you give us a picture of that time?
Jack (10:31):
It was funny. Like I watched (American fashion reality TV show) the Hills in Australia, back in like 2009. I was like, you know what? I'm going to work for that company. I'm going to be her (Kelly Cutrone's) assistant and it's going to be great! People's Revolution is the number one fashion and PR branding company in America. They produce fashion shows at fashion week. They really know their stuff. They have done PR for Valentino, Sass and Bide, that Australian brand. So even if People's Revolution wasn't on the Hills, they're a great company to work for, and put that on your resume.
New Speaker (11:05):
So in early days in LA, I printed off my resume and I literally went to the People's Revolution offices. And I was like, hi, my name's Jack. I'm in fashion school. I've read a lot about your company. I'm happy to get you coffee. I'm happy to steam the clothes. I think it'd be a great intern for you. Are you hiring? And Mike who was in charge of the office in LA was like, we're not really hiring, but okay. Give me a resume. And I'll touch base with you in a couple of days. A week goes by, he calls me up. He's like, Hey, do you wanna come in for an interview? So basically I had the interview. Great. Cause I'm charismatic. And he's like, Oh, I'll give you a call in a couple of days. A couple of days goes by, don't hear anything. I call them up again. And I was like, Hey, Mike, it's Jack, I just wanted to touch base. He's like, ''Hey, you know, I'm still interviewing a couple of candidates right now. I'll touch base with you a couple of days''. So a couple of days go by. I don't hear anything. And I was like, you know what? I'm getting this internship. I called way too many times. I have crazy ex stalked him.This is going to be my internship. So after 10, I would say 12 times of calling him over a span of like two weeks. I got the internship! I was like, yes! Yeah. So I basically, yeah, I wouldn't say I harassed him, but I was very eager about it because, you know, it's like, I don't care if I'm having to get coffee all day long. I want to work. And I guess my eagerness and my, and my forwardness kind of saw something in him. And that's why he hired me as an intern.
New Speaker (12:38):
And I worked there for, I think like nine months. I babysat celebrities. I had to make sure I get them ready for interviews. So People's Revolutions client was Nylon magazine. So like whenever they would release a cover star, young celebrities would come and support it. And there'd be red carpet. And you'd have to like check in people and like Nylon would interview a whole bunch of people. And that's where I would try and get those talent to get ready, to get interviewed for which means to make sure that they don't drink. I get them comfortable. I run through dialogue. And since, uh, my Mike knew that I was very personable, he made me be in charge of looking after the talent that would come in to parties. It was great. I, I got some celebrities who were really horrible and it was like, wow. And other people that were just so down to earth and after a couple of parties, it's like, Jack, how are you? Like what's going on? Like, yes, like this job is kind of fun!
Melanie (13:31):
Who was a celebrity that stands out?
Jack (13:34):
Okay. So this was 2013. So this was when I was looking after Lucy Hale, Shane Mitchell, Ashley Benson, like all those girls. And then like a lot of the Glee people and a lot of the Teen Wolf people, it was kinda funny. Cause I was like, Oh my God, I've watched you on TV. And now I'm making sure that you don't drink and make an arse of yourself. How good is my life right now?
Speaker 4 (13:52):
And who was the nicest?
Jack (13:55):
Uh, I would say Lucy Hale, Lucy Hale is such a doll and she was so sweet. And another actress called Holland Roden from (tv show) Teen Wolf. Those two people, like I would like to meet them at parties. And I wouldn't have to introduce myself. Cause like, after a couple of times of like getting them ready, they would like recognize me. And they're like, Oh my God, Jack, I'm ready, I'm set, let's do this. And they would like, they would ask me about my life. And I'm like, Oh my God. Like these people are really nice. Those talent was also comfortable around me cause I wasn't kissing up to them. I was just treating them as regular people. And I think that's why we kind of, I wouldn't say bonded, but I think that's, there was a mutual friendship involved.
Melanie (14:38):
Lovely! Great!. And so you also became a blogger and a fashion influencer for Regard Magazine?
Jack (14:46):
Yeah. So, okay. So what was really funny? So I worked for People's Revolution for nine months. And so in those nine months I would be meeting a lot of stylists and I was like, Oh my God, this is so much fun. You get to play dress ups the whole day. And so when my internship was coming to an end and so I wanted to do more stuff. So I wanted to see what the stylist aspect was. So I got an internship with a celebrity stylist, Joey Tierney. And then I was also able to become a fashion blogger because I was learning so many little tidbits from working in a PR showroom. Like I was able to see trends before the public would. Let me tell you, what's very, very cool because you're basically what looking into a crystal ball. You're like, Ooh, like, like these types of colors are going to be in and you know, this type of fit it's going to be in. So like, I was able to create a little blog post to see like what stuff was trending, what stuff was coming in, what stuff was going out and like how to apply these trends to everyday wardrobe, which was great. So I was doing that for three months. I was still working for Joey Tierney which was a lot, I will say that was probably my hardest internship to date because it was a lot of groundwork and athlete, publisher evolution had a lot of ground groundwork, but this was a lot of driving. This is a lot of picking up samples. This was, this was a lot of getting ready, things to shoot with, which a lot of organizing, um, like I thought people, I thought picking a PR showroom. It was a little organizing, but this was like, like getting like 10, 10 racks for photo shoots and getting like pieces from like all over LA and then like documenting them.
Jack (16:26):
I kind of felt like, okay, I want to be a stylist now because I like dress up. And I think, I, I think I was a little bit too ambitious. Because being a stylist, especially in LA, it's not about how good, great you style. It's about the connections you make and how many asses to kiss. I was a little bit over my head. And so I went back into school to get my bachelor of science because, uh, my father, no matter what passion I really wanted, he really wanted me to get a four year degree, no matter if it was in fashion or a doctorate or any of that stuff. In that time of me going back to school that People's Revolution LA office had closed. I believe it wasn't making enough money. And she just wanted the New York office to be the main office and mind you, so I've, I've, I've worked at people's revolution for nine months. I have not met Kelly yet, so, okay. So I went back to school and then I got a phone call from People's Revolution in New York saying, Hey, we don't have an office (in LA). Can you please work with us? Because we were desperate. And we remember that you're really great at parties. Um, yeah. So I came back to People's Revolution. I was there LA intern, and that's when I kind of finally met Kelly from all the parties. Cause of course now, like I was the only one that was checking people in and making the lists and you know, and making sure everyone was happy. And I guess that's when she kind of took notice of me. That's when they were like, Hey, what you doin' in February? Do you want to come to New York and work with us during fashion week? And I was like, uh, yes. I mean, am I drunk? Like I'm definitely going to go to New York fashion week. Like of course the main thing. So that's what I did. I went to New York and it was a lot of work, but it was also so much fun that this is something that you see in Sex in the City and you see, you know, you're like, Oh my God, like these are celebrities that are sitting in front row. Like I have to make the seating chart and you know, learning, all that stuff. I was able to do my job well and impress the bosses above me. And that was when Kelly took notice of me. Cause I was working 18 hours a day, seven days a week. Mind you, I'm still, I'm still not getting paid. This was basically my time, my effort. But at the same time, I'm impressing people that people would pay to impress. This is the benefits of interning, because your able to call on them, or you're able to ask for letters of recommendation for when you do get a good paying job. And I would say working for Kelly has really opened up a lot of doors for me in the long run, because people are like you've worked for Kelly? You've assisted her? You can come work for us. So that's why interning so beneficial. You know, it was great. Um, I loved it. I wouldn't change it for the world.
Speaker 5 (19:15):
Fantastic. And so what was your 'I've made it' moment?
Jack (19:22):
So I really obsessed with Ash Tisdale from High School Musical. And there were a lot of people that were like, you're never going to meet her. You never going to see her. Like this is stupid, just give up. And so I knew people who worked at a magazine called TV guide magazine. And I had a friend who was a photographer. He was like, Hey, can you come work with us? It's going to be a two day that we just need help with styling. We, we're going to be shooting them. We just want to make sure their outfits are fine, tucked in. You know, shoelaces tied up correctly, was I available? I was like, yes, this is going to be great. So I go there on the day of, I get the call sheet, I'm like, Oh yeah, Ashley Tisdale is going to be here. I was like, Oh my God, this is my moment!. And I was actually able to style her and talk to her. And I was like, Oh my God, all the people that said I was never going to meet her and here I am styling her for an outfit! And so that was kind of like, Oh my God, I've made it. I think working can fashion week too, with such a boss lady. Kelly Cutrone, because, you know, I had people in college that wanted to work for her. And yet here I am assisting her in fashion week. This doesn't happen to everyone.
Speaker 5 (20:38):
And it doesn't happen every day! What are you doing now? Or have you acheived everything that you want to achieve?
Jack (20:50):
I think at the end of the day, I would love my own fashion line and I'm doing some things in the works right now to achieve that. You know, I've worked with a lot of people and I've helped them achieve their dreams. And I think I would kind of like to do that myself. Um, am I ready for it? I don't know, but that doesn't stop me. I mean, I've had a lot of nos in my life, but if I can figure out a way and then I'm going to do it. You know, athleisure wear, it's the big ticket in town. There are a lot of yoga wear and a lot of gym wear, but I think I haven't seen a proper athleisure wear. I think that's kind of where I would design. Then Kelly doing the PR behind it being a client of hers, that would also be kind of great. Um,
Melanie (21:38):
So that sounds like a plan. When you're looking back in 50 years time, what do you want people to have said about you?
Jack (21:48):
Editorial work or makeup or whatever? You know, I want people to remember that despite all odds, you know, I still stuck with it
Melanie (21:59):
For everyone that wants to achieve their dreams or whatever, what are you parting words?
Jack (22:07):
Just be happy. At the end of the day, you are going to have to be happy with yourself. If you want to be fashion designer, If you want to put toppings on cakes even, life is too short. You need to really figure out what you want to do, but also trust your intuition. In most situations, you have that one in a million chance - but what if you're that one?
Melanie (22:34):
Put extremely poignantly Thank you very much for joining me today.
Jack (22:38):
Yes, of course. Thank you so much for having me. This was so much fun. I love talking about myself (laughs).
Melanie (22:47):
That was my Dream Chaser today, Jack Austin, who went from high school in Melbourne suburbia, making dresses to Los Angeles, studying fashion and design and working for the number one fashion promotion company in America for the Hills star Kelly Cutrone. You can check out Jack's ID on the internet. He's got a blog with his resume and all these things he's done on it. It was an honor to talk to him today. And if you'd like to hear more of inspirational people from this podcast, Dream Chasers, please click on the link on the left. You can hear musicians, ambulance offices, business owners, or people that have moved from Australia overseas to chase their dreams. I hope you have a great day and you're chasing your dream.