What do people get wrong about that era?
All of the sexism and the racism. It was a terrible time. It was not a good scene for those women—there’s like all kinds of stories about model agents and models and what they were put through. And being gay and AIDS and it was just a nightmare, just as much of a nightmare as it is now, I would say.
For everyone?
Maybe if you were Linda [Evangelista]. She used to do our shows, and we’d pay her in clothes. At first, I couldn’t afford to pay her. I’d say, “Take it, just take it.” She was thrilled. Then she ended up liking the clothes, and she would actually make deals where I gave her clothes instead of paying her. One day she made a whole selection, and our public relations person said, “Oh, where should we send the clothes?” And Linda thought about it and she said, “Oh, just send them to the Air France Concorde lounge, and they’ll find me.” And she meant it. She was really serious. She was that woman.
You were great in Marty Supreme. Do you want to do more acting?
I just got finished—I don’t know how to put this—it was sort of a table read for a series for bunch of people, a bunch of backers and and and distributors, and hopefully it’ll get made. I play a caterer. I’m actively out there looking for roles. Yes, absolutely.
You had such a hand in dressing normal people via QVC.
Normal is not such a great word, but yeah, lots of people.
You had reach.
I like Paris, but I never loved it. I don’t want to cast aspersions. I love it. It’s an amazing thing to show in Paris, it motivates me. Like, Pierpaolo [Piccioli] at Balenciaga. That show made me crazy. It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Those shows that Marc [Jacobs] used to do for Louis Vuitton were beyond fabulous. But I thought New York is where I’m from. New York is where I will stay.
I think you would have had fun making couture.
Oh no, absolutely. I had a small couture collection at Bergdorf’s that I showed with tank tops, and that was really fun and really fabulous. And I remember Betty Halbreich calling me, saying, “Darling, I can’t sell this, you know, this fifteen thousand dollar coat without the two dollar tank top. So you have to get me those from Target.”
And what are your plans for Target now?
I have to put it to you this way. Because I love show business, I love doing that cabaret show and my tours. I love it. So for anything to take me away from that, it has to be right. This came up, and it was like a dream. I was like, darling, if that could happen, that would be the one thing I would do.
What’s the game plan?
