ZAK SECRET BELL IS CEO, FOUNDER, AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF JON MARC
ZaK Secret Bell is CEO, Founder, and Creative Director of Jon Marc. She prides herself on being a devoted and loving wife to John and Super Mom to her daughters, Brianna and Sydney and Son King
KSecret's passion for fashion began at the very young age of two when she insisted on dressing herself. She developed curves early on and but was but it oversized clothes to hide them. When she thought no one was looking she altered them to fit. As a young woman, she quickly discovered the lack of options for women who looked like her and other curvy/plus size women. KSecret discovered the "women's" section was boring, the junior’s section was too small, and the proportions in other places just didn't fit her curves. This eventually inspired her to open a brick and mortar in Temple Hills, MD and an online boutique.
Although successful, she wanted more. She soon attended school and obtained a degree in Fashion Design and Marketing. It was there she rebranded from Totally Secret! to Jon Marc. Addicted to learning, she immediately pursued a dual Mater's, which is where she obtained an MBA to develop her businesses. As she grew in knowledge, she grew in creativity which led her to be label as the avant-garde of Curvy and Plus Size Fashion. Since she's been in the curvy community, she's had the privilege to show at Plitz NYFW, DOC, PNO NY, London, Pulp Paris Fashion Week, Walk, and a host of other amazing shows. Her first year in rebranding she landed the cover of Curvysta 2014. Her work has also been published in Queen Size Magazine, Smooches, and BTFL to name a few.
With all this, believe it or not, she still struggled with her body shape. For 120 weeks, she posted things on Jon Marc's social media to inspire her and ended up encouraging other women. This led to the birth of National Curves Day. It's now National Curves Day, Inc COED, a nonprofit organization, founded with her business partner and SVP, Aubrey.
Her Jon Marc Collection initially was designed for women size 6 to 18. Now her custom pieces are for all sizes as her motto has always been, "Because Every Curve Is Beautiful!"
QSM: Who is Zak Bell?
ZaK: lol,...This is so funny because I know it’s like, “who is she?” Really, from Secret to K to KSecret to ZaK. But I am them and they are me. To be clear, I never cared for K or KSecret but Kelly Cutrone gave me the nickname. Now to answer your question ZaK is short for a name given at birth that I did not like because it was such a big name for a little person. I could not quite get the entire name on my green piece of paper in Kindergarten, which meant no recess. I also thought it was a bit cultured and I could not find it on keychains like my friends could with their names. I did not like it until recently because it gave me something to hide behind to a degree. I mean if you knew then you knew. If not, you thought of a guy, which to me was mission accomplished.
QSM: Which leads me to my next question. You named your brand Jon Marc; you do realize that people who didn’t know you thought that Jon Marc was a man right? Lol. Where did that name derive from and why Jon Marc? Better question: Who is Jon Marc? Lol
Zak: Ok so Jon Marc is me.. and at times it could be a collaborative effort. However, my business name was Totally Secret! All things me, right. Simple, I loved it. My professor, not so much! In a Branding class [that I needed to pass] our final project was creating a brand book. I had mine but she would not accept it. And said, “Well, Honey, IF, you do not create a new book just for this class you won’t pass, which means you won’t graduate! How about that!” I had to think fast, I remember telling my brother [Aubrey] a year or so before, “tell your friend John-Mark his name is dope and I’m going to use it one day. That day came when this project was required and just in case, I loved it I changed the spelling to Jon Marc so it would be my own. As well, Marc spelling is intentional, my favorite living designer is Marc Jacobs. My favorite of all time though is Ann Lowe. Other than that, the name sounds strong, confident, and it fits well with the other big designers.
QSM: CLEVER!!!! Why did you decide to choose fashion designing as a career?
Zak: I chose a career in fashion because I could not find what I needed in the market and I knew I was not alone. I wanted something edgy, different, and would speak to my personality. I discovered a problem and wanted to be a part of the solution.
QSM: How would you relate past and present fashion trends?
Zak: Present fashion trends are more than likely refinements of the past. It's like a recycling system. Keep almost everything in your closet, it'll be back and if you have style you'll know how to keep them all fresh by.
QSM: Do you scope out the competition, or are you so tailored in your aesthetic that it isn’t necessary?
Zak: I'm always watching the customer and listening to what's needed. They tell me what's going on as far as "the competitor". Aside from that I only compete with what I did last, you’re only as good as your last hit!
QSM: FACTS!!!!! Let’s talk Project Runway what do you think about the show and do you think you will ever want to be on the show?
Zak: I love to watch Project Runway! It's an amazing show, me on it, I don't think so! Those people are so brave! It's one of my favorite shows though.
QSM: Where do you see yourself in the next ten years?
ZaK: I see my brand on the red carpet and in stores. I see myself continuing to do what I love, which is to empower people, especially women by helping them embrace who they are. If it’s a garment I create or a story I share about my journey, I just want my footprints/legacy to be remembered as one of service to the people. I love to encourage others as it helps me be my best self and push through adversity. In addition to that, hopefully, I will continue to share my gift in a school teaching business and/or fashion. I mean we can’t take it with us so why not pass the baton.
QSM: Tell us about National Curves Day! When is that and what is it all about?
ZaK: National Curves Day is my other baby. I always struggle(d) with my shape, most days I hate(d) it. The d’s are with purpose because it depends on the day you ask, it’s still a battle. Finding something to wear was the worst and making my clothes everyday was not exactly realistic as a Mom and student. But anyways, I started encouraging myself by posting on Jon Marc’s social media because that’s where most of my time was spent and I wanted to see body positive images. I was battling society views of curvy/plus, I did not know where I fit in (not quite juniors or woman’s), some people in the curvy and plus community still don’t see how I relate or connect. Yet it’s bigger than them and me. I wanted to use what was a burden to be a blessing because I knew it wasn’t just me and it was proven when I missed my weekly Wednesday post. Women were in my DM asking what happened and shared how much they counted on and looked forward to the post. Wednesdays became Curves Day and one Wednesday in particular became National Curves Day. The inaugural year it fell on my birthday, October 14th 2015 and the rest is CoED! *wink*
QSM: You are the Creator and Executive Producer of NCD and NCD Honors! But you love to stay behind the scenes. Why?
Zak: I’m the Founder and a few other things they call me but who’s checking for it. It’s The People’s Organization. I’m not big on titles, especially when it's a bigger picture. The bigger picture here is Embrace. Encourage. Empower. I just want people to love who they are, where they are on their individual journeys to their ideal self. So, who I am in the brand really isn’t always important; It is our mission, vision and purpose for me!
QSM: Well SNAP SNAP and SNAP!!!! On that note, please tell us how we can support Jon Marc and NCD please.
Zak: As for Jon Marc, experience the brand. Share, Shop, Post. @JonMarc_Collection on IG. Embrace. Encourage. Empower. The curvy/plus size community NationalCurvesDay on IG and attend this year’s event. We are turning Seven this year!
photo credits left to right - all images shot by Photographer | James R. Johnson III IG: @JamesJohnsonIII, Designer for all images @JonMarc_Collection
Models | (1st pic, left to right) Tazah Richardson IG: @TazahtheModelVixen, ZaK (Designer) IG: @JonMarc_Collection, Karrnett Danielle IG: @KarrnettDanielle, Amina Jennifer
2nd pic - Tazah Richardson IG: @TazahtheModelVixen
3rd pic - (left) Karrnett Danielle IG: @KarrnettDanielle (right) Amina Jennifer
4th pic - Amina Jennifer
