Coo Coo for CocoPerez.com: Perez Hilton Talks About His New Web Site

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FIRST THERE WAS Coco Chanel. There there was Coco Moore, a most fashionable Sonic Youth offspring. And now there's Coco Perez. That's right, gossip biddies — to quote Sir Elton John, "the bitch is back," but in a whole new wardrobe.

Infamous celebrity blogger Perez Hilton expands his media empire with the launch of sister site Cocoperez.com, focusing on all things fashion and fashionable.

While he's usually the one asking the questions, we put on our most haute coutre press hats and turned the tables on the 31-year-old self-proclaimed "Queen of All Media" to get the scoop on his vogue new endeavor.

» EXPRESS: Word is that the site is more for your female, twentysomething audience?
» HILTON: Yeah. Well, that is my primary demographic. I knew I wanted to start a new Web site and this was something that I am interested in myself, but also something that I thought would be of interest to my readers. I've been making a lot of vertical moves this past year — everything from my radio show to my book to my new record label and concert tour, which is making a stop in D.C.

» EXPRESS: When is that?
» HILTON: That is September 12 [at 9:30 Club; lineup below].

I wanted to make a horozontal move as well. Up until now I haven't launched any site other than Perezhilton.com. So it made sense, a natural evolution and progression. I'm doing it for fun more than anything else. To keep growing and engaging my readers and making them happy.

» EXPRESS: Can you give a taste of what it will be like?
» HILTON: Well, I'm definitely hoping to include a lot of exclusives. My dream scenario would be breaking a lot of fashion and celebrity-related stories there. I have a lot to offer people. If I have a juicy scoop on Cocoperez, I can also talk about it on Perezhilton.com and get the news out to many more people than just some fashion Web site.

» EXPRESS: Something along the lines if a celebrity was starting her own fashion line?
» HILTON: Exactly.

» EXPRESS: Considering your brand of snark, will there be something along the lines of "Oh my god, did she really wear that?"
» HILTON: Absolutely. It's still going to be opinionated. It wouldn't have Perez in the title if it weren't.

» EXPRESS: Should the Hollywood starlets be scared?
» HILTON: They should definitely be scared. So should the designers and so should the fashion editors.

» EXPRESS: Start sucking up immediately?
» HILTON: No, they should just grow a thick skin.

» EXPRESS: When did this idea come about?
» HILTON: It's actually been a long time coming. I've been planning it for over the past six months now. It's finally coming into fruition and I'm very excited about it and hope it does well.. ... I'm excited to go to some Fashion Week shows in September. I'm excited for it all.

» EXPRESS: Any nay-sayers? Are you afraid you won't be let in some events?
» HILTON: I don't worry about any of that. I'm looking to have fun with the new site.

» EXPRESS: Could you give an example of a story we'd expect to see on Cocoperez.com?
» HILTON: Sure, I can tell you some. Oh, fudge, hold on. For example, today something I'm talking about on Cocoperez, which I may have talked about in the past on Perezhilton. — but makes more sense on the new site — is Nicole Richie expanding her fashion line to include clothing and shoes. Right now she's been doing jewelry and is launching a maternity-wear [line], and it's just been announced that she's expanding that.

Also, I've got a sneak preview of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition photo shoot. Things like that. I've got one of my favorite models in a fashion tribute to Michael Jackson by Sherida Augustin. A variety of things: Photoshop [air brushing] in magazines. It's a lot of things, but they fit well together.

» EXPRESS: Is it completely tailored to women?
» HILTON: No. Women and gays, maybe straight men. But it should definitely keep the ladies happy.

» EXPRESS: Is the Perez trademark style going to carry over to this site? Will there be drawings on photos?
» HILTON: There's going to be no drawings at all. That's a conscious decision because I don't want to distract from the clothes and from the images, which will be more important on this new site.

» EXPRESS: Even if you think you can draw an improvement?
» HILTON: Yeah. I'll still draw that on Perezhilton.com. I'll differentiate that. It'll have a similar vibe, but I want Coco Perez to have its own identity and personality.

» EXPRESS: How are you able to add this to your schedule? It would seem time is tight for you already.
» HILTON: I don't sleep much. I am a hermit during the week. I don't leave my apartment Monday through Thursday night. All I do is work, work, work.

» EXPRESS: Now that you're going to run a styles site, is this something you'll be paying more attention to in terms of yourself?
» HILTON: I've always paid attention to style and had fun with fashion myself.

» EXPRESS: Any new looks you're thinking of trying?
» HILTON: I can only think of Japan because I was just there. The new look and trend there is big metal '80s hair, but I don't think I can pull that off.

» EXPRESS: So, the music imprint is launched.
» HILTON: Yeah, I've got my first artist. His name is Sliimy. He's going to be taking part in my tour, which I'm very excited about. Music is my passion. It's so great to have the opportunity to share music with the world.

» EXPRESS: Tell us more about the tour.
» HILTON: It starts September 10 in Atlanta. D.C. is the second day of the tour, Saturday, September 12. It's going to be a lineup of some of my favorite musical acts and some of the hottest musicians on the planet right now. Some of the people at the D.C. date will be Ladyhawk, Ida Maria, Semi Precious Weapons and Frankmusik. It's going to be at the 9:30 Club.

» EXPRESS: Will you be hosting?
» HILTON: I will be there.

» EXPRESS: Since you're coming to Washington, any advice on how Washingtonians can advance their style?
» HILTON: I don't really know much about Washington style. There's lots of different styles in each city.

» EXPRESS: You can check us out when you get here.
» HILTON: Looking forward to it.

» EXPRESS: You'll be able to keep this going from the road?
» HILTON: Yeah when I was in Japan I barely got any sleep. I was on three different time zones — Japan, New York and L.A. It was pretty killer, but I'm a hustler. I've always got to get my grind on.

» EXPRESS: What other ventures would you like to pursue going forward?
» HILTON: I'd love to do something on television, so just trying to find the right fit and make that happen.

» EXPRESS: What would be the ideal scenario?
» HILTON: Anything that would get on the air really. [laughs]

» EXPRESS: Maybe be the white, gay Oprah?
» HILTON: Sure, I'd love that.

» EXPRESS: Will you be going to more fashion events?
» HILTON: Not necessarily. I don't need to be going to the fashion events to be talking about the world of celebrity and fashion. I'll be talking about the events, shows, premieres and who wore what. New products, news, trends. Things that are of interest to women and some men.

» EXPRESS: Anything you're excited about?
» HILTON: I'm excited about everything I write. I'm not just saying that. If I wasn't excited about it, I wouldn't post it on the site.

» EXPRESS: What's not-worthy?
» HILTON: My gosh, I don't know. Christian Audigier. He needs to go away. I don't think he contributes much to the world of fashion. I think he makes it disastorous.

» RELATED: "Putting on the Perez: How the 'Queen of All Media' Can Expand His Empire" [Express, Aug. 2009]

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Photos courtesy Hannah Ross, Michael Tucker Photography.com