INTERPRETERS OF FASHION LAUREN MCPHILLIPS
ROGER MOOKING
Starting her career at Style at Home magazine and working her way up through the masthead, McPhillips decided on a lateral move to a job in PR and digital media. Earlier this year she launched her own company, Bespoke PR, offering a fresh take on PR and social media for small businesses and independent retailers. When she’s not working, writing, or redecorating her apartment, McPhillips can be found out-and-about in the city on any given night. A self-confessed poutine connoisseur and “sucker for Canadian comfort-food joint, Bannock, and their pickerel tacos,” she turns to weighttraining to keep fit, describing cardio as a necessary evil but offering “I also really want to try out the Jukari classes some places in Toronto offer. It’s a Cirque du Soleil type class where you use a trapeze!”
A multitalented interpreter, this Food Network celebrity chef and recording artist is the host and co-creator of the television cooking series, “Everyday Exotic.” In his standard uniform of jeans, sneakers, patterned button-up shirts, and a selfdescribed “crispy haircut,” Mooking admits, “My goal in life is to never have to wear a suit outside of a wedding, a funeral, or the odd awards dinner.” He adds, “I’m in entertainment essentially so I can get away with anything that expresses my personality…and when I want to just blend in and be a fly on the wall, it’s perfect, because no one is paying attention to the guy who is underdressed anyway. It allows me to be a chameleon in any situation.” As for how he relaxes after hours, Mooking replies, “What is ‘after work?’ I’m not really familiar with that. I’ve turned every one of my hobbies into my work, so my outlets for unwinding are also what I do for a living. I risk everything always, both emotionally and creatively every single day. I think it works because I’m constantly unwinding and winding simultaneously, it’s the perfect dynamic tension.”
WHAT INSPIRES YOU? I draw inspiration from everywhere, both traditional and obscure. I obviously look at what other PR firms are doing to be innovative, but I am also inspired visually by graphic design, advertising, and editorial work. In terms of fueling my drive for the work that I do, I read Cathie Black’s book “Basic Black” once a year—it’s an incredible source of advice for working women who want to excel in their career and make a statement.
WHEN DOES INSPIRATION HIT? I’m inspired by everything around me. I particularly like to draw inspiration from outside of the context of the project I'm working on. If it’s a food related project, for instance, I will pay particular attention to architecture, fashion, lifestyle, and music.
HOW DO YOU APPROACH TRENDS?
HOW DO YOU APPROACH TRENDS?
I always keep on top of trends in the PR world and social media community. It’s tough to keep up…so I generally check-in on a few blogs (On the Fourth Floor and NYC PR Girls are great reads) and subscribe to daily e-newsletters, like Mashable and Social Media Today, to glance at in the morning. I’m a tech gal at heart, so social media and the online sphere is integrated into all of the work that I do.
My work allows me a great amount of travel so I’m constantly immersed in global trends. Being in a new situation often forces you to take notice of so many things that you would take for granted if you were living in that place every single day. Then, when I return to Toronto, my own city seems brand new and the perspective I have on it is with fresh eyes.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE TORONTO RESTAURANT?
WHAT DO YOU WEAR TO WORK?
This is not a fair question, but my favourite new restaurant is Actinolite [at Ossington and Dupont]. The chef has a great pedigree, is more genuinely concerned about food than anyone I know…and it’s a young family business of people that I know well and love. Plus the food is spectacular.
I subscribe to the ‘PR uniform’ stereotype—head-to-toe black, all day, every day. I’m big into accessories though, so my typical work outfit is black skinny pants, a silk tank top, and a great black blazer. Add some jewelry, maybe a scarf, and some fun shoes, and I’m out the door. Oh, and sunglasses. Always sunglasses. 87