Comme de nombreux accessoires des scènes de la mode et de la vie nocturne de New York, Mickey Boardman, le directeur éditorial irrépressible dumagazineundefinedPaper, est un succès auto-réalisé. La personnalité péripatétique, et, garçon, quelle personnalité, vient d’une banlieue de Chicago, a enseigné l’anglais en Espagne et a travaillé une fois sur la ligne de production dans une usine de lotions solaires en Floride. Malgré un tel contexte mondial, Boardman, mieux connu sous le nom de M. Mickey, a toujours été attiré par New York. Après avoir travaillé chez Parsons il y a deux décennies, où il a conçu des collections de vêtements qu’il a baptisées « The Supremes Go to Shanghai » et « Jackie Ho » (inspiré des visions de Jacqueline Onassis en hip-hop), il a commencé un stage chezPaper . Il a gravi les échelons du magazine et a créé sa colonne emblématique, « Ask Mr. Mickey », qui présente un mélange fictif de conseils de mode, de leçons de vie inspirantes et de non-séquences humoristiques (mais élégantes !). Nous nous sommes entretenus avec lui pour lui expliquer pourquoi il aime Fashion’s Night Out, sa_colonne_Paper et comment New York City n’a jamais été aussi bien qu’aujourd’hui.
How do you feel about Fashion's Night Out? What are some of your favorite FNO moments from previous years?
Mickey Boardman:
I love the concept of Fashion's Night Out. I wish it wasn't all on one night, because there are so many fun things to do.
always does something so great.
has done great things. I remember seeing Karen Elson perform at
, and that was fabulous. We did a thing with
and Sienna Miller that was super fun. Last Fashion's Night Out, I hung out with Wendy Williams for a story. I asked her to interview [the Gossip's] Beth Ditto, who was performing at
., which is two doors down from Dash, where Pauly D from
Jersey Shoremayhem
.
Sounds like a typically magical New York City evening.
MB:
The magic of New York usually happens when it's not planned. One of my favorite nights ever was a night when I had no money. I was working super-late at Paper's old office on Broadway and Spring with my favorite intern, Hugo. I had been invited to see Nancy Boy—at the time that was the hot band. The members all went out with models, so anytime you went to their shows it was all models and Sofia Coppola and the cool people I wanted to hang out with. But when Hugo and I got there, I didn't know if I was on the list. We walked past to scope it out, and the doorman yelled, “Hey, Mickey!” and let us in. Someone gave me drink tickets. I was waiting at the bar—I'm sober now, but at the time I drank—and the person sitting next to me was John Kennedy Jr. Hottest man ever. I ended up meeting Ann Dexter Jones, whom I idolized. Nancy Boys started playing and Ethan Hawke was dancing. Meanwhile, I didn't spend a nickel the whole night. I came home thinking, “I love New York City.” You couldn't plan that.
I've read that you're the type who hates when people say that New York used to be better.
MB:
I do dislike when people say things used to be better. Michael Musto, the fabulous writer for the
Village Voice
, said it best. [He tells a story about how] at Studio 54, which everyone regards as the pinnacle of nightlife, there were people saying, “This is nothing compared to Max's Kansas City.” When you're young and in your prime of going out in New York, whatever place you're at seems like the best place. Of course, there are places that are great and places that are not, and times that are better than others, but as long as there are fabulous, cute people coming to New York, there's going to be fabulous, cute nightlife happening.
You grew up in Hanover Park, Illinois. Did you know you would wind up in NYC?
MB:
I love Hanover Park, and I love going to the strip mall. But I was just meant to go other places. Everybody should be super-excited to be who they are, to be doing what they're doing, be wearing what they're wearing. If you're not super-excited a lot of the time in your life, there's a big problem and you need to rethink.
Where else did you work before you came to New York? You had a job at a suntan lotion factory, right?
MB:
I did. Hawaiian Tropic. I had gone to Purdue, had a BA in Spanish, lived in Spain my senior year, and, afterward, had been accepted to this German-intensive summer program at Middlebury College where you speak nothing but German for nine weeks. I had time to kill before that started because I had ended school a semester early. My parents were in Daytona Beach, Florida, and my mom was like, “I hope you don't think you'll just be watching
Oprah
and eating bonbons. You're gonna get a job.” I did random things, like climbing into giant tubs of aloe vera that were almost empty and hosing them out. They saw leadership qualities in me and after three days offered me a full-time job working on the night shift. My only other real job before that was at an aluminum-siding factory. I try to act fancy with my Stella McCartney handbags, but I've worked the line in the factory.
Did you always want to be a fashion journalist?
MB:
I never had any writing aspirations, although I was always a fabulous storyteller. But when Rupert Everett, whom I loved, had a book coming out, the editors at
Paper
asked me to write about it. I said, “I'd love to, but I don't know how to be a writer.” They had me pretend to write it before the interview to see how I did and they liked it. Kim Hastreiter, who cofounded Paper, always said that if you can talk, you can write. So I went to meet Rupert Everett on the roof of the Peninsula Hotel. He was in a swimsuit and mesh tank top. We talked about jock straps. It was a dream. I wrote the story, got it published and was paid like 40 bucks for it. Then someone quit
Paper
, and they asked me to answer the phones until they figured it out. That was 20 years ago. And here I am.
Tell us about the start of “Ask Mr. Mickey.”
MB:
About 18 or 19 years ago, there was an online community called
. They asked
Paper
to host a forum, so we would all log in a few times a day. I would write about doing spontaneous makeovers on people like Pope John Paul II. I'm horrible about deadlines, but with this, I would just sit down and do it. Kim said that we should run a column where [the community members] asked me questions. That was the original concept. Kim thought of the name “Ask Mr. Mickey” and it caught on.
Do you have any advice for aspiring fashion types?
MB:
Be yourself and do your thing. Fly your freak flag high, and if you're not a freak, fly your normal flag high. I hate any kind of exclusionary or judgmental thing about what people are into. I say be yourself, and be happy to be yourself.
Pour plus de conseils de M. Mickey, rendez-vous sur papermag.com. Pour en savoir plus sur certains de ses endroits préférés de New York, voir ci-dessous :
A.P.C.
J’adore leur jean.
Bali Nusa
Un excellent restaurant indonésien sur la neuvième Avenue. J’adore ça après le théâtre.
Évêques et barons
J’y organise des soirées le mardi . Cela me rappelle celui de Nell, que j’adorais autrefois. Il se trouve dans un emplacement de cafamamie sur 14th Street, à deux portes de l’IHOP. C’est droit, gay, lesbienne, noire, blanche... J’adore les endroits où on a une section de personnes.
Diane von Furstenberg
J’adore son magasin. Aimez-la.
Quatre saisons
J’adore manger au bar. C’est tellement grandi et professionnel.
La Société hispanique d’Amérique
C’est mon musée préféré à New York. Ils ont des Velázquezes, des Goyas et des El Grecos fous. De plus, cela n’a pas été refait depuis des décennies. J’adore les choses à l’ancienne qui ne semblent pas restaurées.Le Frickest aussi magique.
Indochine
C’est le restaurant le plus glamour de New York. Je fais mon anniversaire ici chaque année. La nourriture est délicieuse et la foule est toujours la plus fabuleuse.
Studios de lait
J’adore faire des prises de vue là-bas parce que vous voyez toujours les plus belles personnes.
Rick Owens
Je cultive son magasin même si je ne porte pas de cuir. C’est si chic et si chic.
Crier à Mimi
Mon magasin vintage préféré. Ils ont une section de scintillement entière.
Le 18e étage au Standard
C’est la plus belle chambre de la ville. Vous avez vraiment l’impression d’être un VIP.