Preston Konrad On His New TV Gig, ‘Style By Jury’

Preston Konrad, fashion vet and one of the most stylish blokes on the block, has taken his act to mainstream America as the co-host, with Louise Roe, of TLC’s new hit Style By Jury. This TV natural walked us through the premise of the show and how he’s still juggling his role at American Eagle.

How did the show the show come about?
A few years ago I shot a pilot with Joan Rivers for Bravo, and another pilot with Joanna Coles for a makeover show for Lifetime, but none of them ended up going on air. I was interested in the TV world, so Joanna introduced me to some people on her management team. I was in L.A. shooting a commercial for American Eagle in Palm Springs and they called and said I have to go in and meet with the people at TLC because there was a screen test the next day for a show Louise Roe is doing. I ended up running over, chatting with them and then popping over to a studio on Sunset. I screen tested with Louise and we had a blast. The next thing you know, not even a month later, they called me to say I’d gotten it!

Refresh us on your fashion background.
I’m currently style director for American Eagle. I was at Ralph for nine years, and after doing pretty much doing everything there I could do there, Belstaff called; I oversaw the creative side of their re-launch. I was director of creative and branding, kind of re-launching everything globally, working on their shows in Europe, store and window design, and packaging. American Eagle called and they were looking for a new role, a style director role to shake the brand up and move it forward. I’m at this crazy-cool place in my life: I still obviously love to work and I want to work everyday and keep busy, but then I’m also juggling this new TV world and everything that comes with it. TODAY called two weeks ago and wanted me on as a style expert, so I shot a note to my boss, went to the TODAY show and came in to [American Eagle] a little bit late. American Eagle has been so flexible; they’ve let me do my thing and run with it.

What’s the premise of Style By Jury?
It was originally a Canadian show that was on for many years, and it’s really about first impressions. It’s said that a first impression is made within seven or eight seconds of meeting somebody. There’s a lot of women out there ready looking to take the next step of their career or their life; maybe they’re recently divorced, or maybe they’re looking for a new job and they’re wondering why they’re not moving forward. These women have been nominated by a loved one or friend and want to be shown why they need to make life changes. A few women we had on the show were insecure about their teeth or their tattoos and they would cover that up by dressing outlandishly.  The woman thinks she’s being nominated for a regular makeover show, and there’s actually a panel of six everyday strangers from all walks of life who are giving their honest first impressions of this woman. They can’t hear her, based on how she’s dressing. It’s not about her body or anything like that, it’s really just about how she’s putting herself together. Then the woman finds out the jury has been watching her, and she watches their feedback, their criticism or their critiques. She realizes, whether she wants to or not, that she needs to make these changes to get what she wants in her life. Louise and I work with with them and take them on a journey for a makeover. Then they’re put back in front of a jury but the jury doesn’t know they’ve had a makeover. The reactions are crazy.

Was filming the show emotional for you?
It was! To a certain degree, you really forget you’re working on a show. There are multiple takes and all that jazz, but at the end of the day, you’re in a room with a few cameras and a real American woman and it’s emotional and sensitive. I used to be really overweight back in my late teens and early twenties, and I know how vulnerable it is to not feel confident about your body. I actually cried a couple of times off-camera when I was watching in the control room. You get really attached to these women after spending  a week with them; you’re dealing with some pretty crazy stuff.

Were you nervous  while shooting the show?
A little. I’d been behind the scenes for over 10 years now working in the business, and you know for American Eagle I’m a spokesperson for American Eagle, I’ll shoot videos that are internal, or that play on a jumbotron in Times Square, but I haven’t done TV in awhile. I made sure I was at the gym all the time beforehand, I had my coffee, I was TV-ready. But I think once the cameras turned on, it was such a low-key fun shoot.

Have you gotten recognized off-camera?
A few times; once on the subway and once at Starbucks. It was kind of bizarre. You forget how many people watch. TLC is one of the most major cable networks, and we’re on a fun timeslot where everyone’s just kind of home on a Friday night chilling watching these makeover and bridal shows. The weirdest part for me now is that I leave TLC on in my house; I’ll go out for a coffee, come back, and my dog is watching reruns of the show.

Do you know if there’s going to be a season two of the show?
We’re waiting to find that out right now! If there isn’t, I had the best time, and if there is, even better.  We’ll see what happens.

Have you ever been on jury duty?
I just got a questionnaire which means they’re on to me! I’m on their radar. They must be watching the show!

For more on Preston, visit PrestonKonrad.com. Watch Style By Jury on Friday nights on TLC.