Mother Muse got the chance to interview the mastermind behind Majorelle the popular brand made for dreamers. Rachel Zeilic is also the VP of influencer marketing at Clique for Who What Wear.

We are excited to dive into this beauty’s brain and talk about her new journey into Motherhood, how she started her brand, her relationship with Revolve, and more.

Could you describe yourself in one sentence?

I love FUN!

What is your favourite part about working with Clique,
Revolve and growing influencer marketing?

My favourite thing is that the industry has come so far so quickly. There is still SO much room for growth and things are changing all the time. I literally need to learn something new in my job every week. I laugh when people tell me that influencer marketing is going to crash or that I won’t have a job in a few years, in my opinion, it’s just the beginning!

How has pregnancy changed your career?

I want to be truthful and admit that pregnancy has been tough career wise. I’m used to being able to put in 120% when I need to work late nights, travel and do whatever it takes to get a project done. But there’s no way I can physically do that right now. During my first trimester I had horrible morning sickness and you just cannot operate at your usual level with your head stuck in a toilet bowl half the day.

I think it’s tricky because there’s a lot of (well-meaning) positive messages out there of women telling other women:

“you can do and achieve anything career-wise, during pregnancy and motherhood”

But I think that also puts a lot of pressure on us. A generation ago I feel like it was OK socially to be a stay at home mom OR to be a career woman and choose not to have kids. Now I feel like we’re being told you have to have it ALL…. oh AND be physically beautiful on top of it!

Women at 35 now look 25 and there’s a lot
of pressure to snap back into shape quickly.

How are you feeling?

Right now – great. Second trimester is so much better than the
first. The first trimester was hell for me. I was so sick from weeks 8-15. Since it stops for most people at week 12, I thought it would never end. I believe that was the worst part mentally.

It was just unrelenting.

I remember pleading “dear god, please just give me a day or two off and then we can go back to this”. Thank the heavens, I’ve been a relatively healthy person my whole life, never sick for more than a couple of days. Feeling sick for an extended period of time really knocks you down mentally and I just have a whole new level of respect for anyone who’s gone through a prolonged illness. I couldn’t distract myself because I didn’t have the energy to socialize. I was super sad and lonely, maybe depressed. There needs to be more mental health support for pregnant women. You’re just told that it should be the happiest, greatest time of your life. It is at times, but at other times it can feel dark.

Weeks 15-27 have been great, I feel like I have a second lease
on life, I’m able to eat everything again (and oh boy have I been making up for lost time) and have energy to be social. Though at week 27 I’m already starting to get a preview into the third trimester with everything starting to feel very crowded and heartburn.

What is your favourite part of being pregnant?

I love feeling like a have a friend with me wherever I go. For me it didn’t feel real until I saw the bump, and now I love watching it grow and feeling the kicks as proof he’s really in there.

Have you found any maternity brands that work for you?

I got lucky and found the best maternity jeans at Zara. Other than that I haven’t bought anything maternity specific just a few knitted dresses, which are so easy to throw on and stretch easily over the bump, and some longer line knit sweaters (so that I can wear my regular pants unbuttoned with the hair tie trick haha). I’ve kind of exhausted my options now though so time to go shopping! I haven’t gotten anything maternity specific, and I haven’t wanted to spend a ton on dresses that I will only wear for a few months so I went for some fast fashion brands – Zara, ASOS and even Forever 21 (lol the shame) and got a few pieces I’ll wear forever from Shopbop and Majorelle (my brand).

What do you find the most inspiring in today’s social media marketing?

I find it inspiring when you can connect with people on a deeper level, when people share things they’ve learnt or have experienced it’s so powerful. You can connect with people who have similar interests or are maybe going through the same thing as you, that you never would have met in real life. When things are a bit more “real” is when it gets super inspiring for me!

Describe the word Women in your own words:

Women are strength, that is the #1 thing that pregnancy has taught me. I now look at every mother in awe and with a whole new level of respect! My fiance could never do this! If men had to do this I think humans would become extinct in a generation!

Did you struggle with accepting the body changes that came with pregnancy?

At first yes. I had just come off a very indulgent summer, where I had gained quite a few pounds, had too much wine, and wasn’t feeling my healthiest. I had just begun to exercise and eat healthily to try to get myself back on track when I discovered I was pregnant. At first I was frustrated that I couldn’t have that control, and I worried that I would never loose the weight. Then I got over it and started to LOVE my body. Once the bump started to show properly.

I think it’s the best I’ve ever felt about my body in my whole life. I have stretch marks already on my boobs – they exploded overnight, it upset me for like a day and then I got over it.

Now I have a whole new level of respect for my body because I think about it for what it can DO not just for how it looks. I think the bump is so cute and I’ve been so inspired dressing a new silhouette – I think I’m really going to miss this bod.

How do you think motherhood will impact your career?

Definitely. For instance, my job is very social, and I truly love that, but I know once the baby comes I’ll want to spend more time with him. I truly believe that life is filled with tradeoffs, you can’t have EVERYTHING all at once. I’m trying to remind myself that life works in phases and there might be some phases where I’m a bit more focussed on my career, others where I’m a bit more focussed on my family etc, and that’s OK.

Hopefully it will impact my career in a good way too. I’m really interested in investing/developing businesses in the motherhood space – so hopefully it will get some insights and inspiration to do something cool.

Who are your three favourite Instagram muses to follow?

Stormi Bree I mean mom goals to the extreme, I think she’s the face of a generation,

Amy Schumer I love how she’s so REAL about pregnancy and Eva Chen again I love how she shows the realistic side of motherhood, it’s messy and chaotic.

What are your favourite skincare products to use during your pregnancy?

I love Cosmedix, Osea (natural product out of Malibu) and Burt’s bees mama bee oil for stretch marks.

Can you give a quote about Mother Muse coffee books?

The first thing I did when I discovered I was pregnant was make a moodboard of chic mamas (typical Creative Director coping/processing mechanism) to feel like I could still feel like myself throughout this process, and Mother Muse is one of the first places I looked.

It’s so chic and inspiring and such a beautiful celebration of women.

Mother Muse Rachel Zeilic
Photographed by Briana Hicks