Debriefer: Gridskipper Turned Coutorturer Megan Zanke
Megan Zanke is known throughout the pages of this site, but she's moved on to work as an editor of Coutorture -- a fantastic fashion-centered website with bite. While she definitiely knows a thing or two about fashion, Megan also knows a thing or two about being young and hitting the streets of New York.
We're going to imprison you in the city of your choice for the rest of your natural life. You can do anything you want there, but you must stay in that city forever. Where would you choose?
So Gawker really is going to take over the world, eh? Okay, I choose South Beach. Only kidding! I choose New York, of course.
Why would you live in this city forever and not somewhere else?
When I graduated from NYU I went to London to study design. I was there for a year and whenever I went to a café or the market, met a friend for a drink, some part of me would register it as, like, 'This is me doing this thing in London. Here I am, living my London life.' It, of course, wasn't always like this. I guess the point is that in New York that discord doesn't exist. I reckon what makes you a "native" (of any city) is when the novelty wears off. That sounds kind of bleak but it isn't. Someone has to be the city and someone has to be on the big red bus, taking pictures.
In what part of the city would you reside?
I would live, as New Yorkers say, 'on the Bowery'. It's probably the ugliest street in Lower Manhattan but that's precisely the point. And I get that loads of posh people have lived there over the years, that isn't the draw. The draw is its geographic position. Bowery is a street that is crossed. On Bowery you are the official downtown vagabond. You can enjoy the assets of each of the four neighborhoods you border, without the liabilities. You've also completely beat the gentrification game which is, perhaps, its ultimate selling point. Nothing is more ungraceful than the "I was here first" monologue. If you can escape that greedy feeling, spare yourself (and your friends) the "Looky here, there's a ______ moving into my neighborhood" then you've just added years to your life.
Where and what would you eat?
When I'm alone, I like to eat at Café Gitane. They have a view of the last trees left standing in lower Manhattan and they don't let you make substitutions. There's a Reisling on their wine list that made me think Reisling was dry, not sweet. That restaurant is full of tricks and idiosyncrasies and I like that. When I'm with just one other person I'll go to Le French Diner. The food is outstanding and there are only about six seats so no one really ever tries to go there. People must assume that there are already six people eating there but I've realized that that there are only four people eating there and two seats left for you. When you've been corralled into a larger group, eating outside is a major, major bonus and Epistrophy is your only hope. It's the kind of place where you can sit down with one other person and coyly let six more join your table without much trouble.
What would you do for fun?
In the summer, I go to all of the Bryant Park films. It's funny that it used to be the one of the most dangerous parks in New York. Now they have wireless and petanque classes. Last summer, I'd head over around four and write from there until the rest of my friends got out of work. We'd drink wine and eat expensive things from the new Whole Foods and then maybe go out together afterward. The thing I like about New Yorkers, especially young New Yorkers, is that we're working twelve hour days and then manifest the wherewithal to hang out and drink wine and talk about things. You know, we're really tired most of the time but it doesn't stop us. We still dance, we still get dressed up, we still watch Some Like It Hot even though we secretly think it's boring, we still buy twenty five dollars worth of cheese even though it may cause our rent checks to bounce. We're the kind of people that really push things to their limit. That's always been the spirit of the city, I think.
Where would you go for a night on the town?
I suppose the night would start with some kind of event or party. The good thing about these sorts of things (and that's about as specific as I can be because the range is quite vast) is that they bridge the gap between work and play quite nicely. In fact, Coutorture's running a weekly feature of events called Coutorture Cocktails for this purpose. The thing is, first you're yammering about the medium, meeting new people, smiling at them and really letting them have it with your famous "this is the age of _____" speech, and then, you reach for a second cocktail and all of a sudden something shifts. You grab your companion's elbow, you slip out of the door, you're in a different neighborhood than usual so you dine somewhere out of the norm. That's really the best way to start the night if you ask me.
If we were in the West Village, we might go to Delicia. It's this little Brazilian restaurant on West 11th. All the foodies know it, in fact, it's kind of old news but it's a wild little place and you can eat well for very little and sit outside. West Eleventh is quiet so you can reach some semblance of conversational depth before the night gets too messy. Around midnight or so there's usually some dancing involved. Some of my friends are making music and DJ-ing disco, so we might end up at 205 or Tribeca Grand. If not, you know, there might be a party and, dare I say it, Beatrice is always really fun.
What kind of shops are worth going to?
When I first moved to New York I would purposefully walk down 2nd street so that I could pause at the window of the John Derian shop. I still really love that shop. Anyone that builds an empire from decoupage is okay in my book. There's an amazing vintage store on Stanton called Dulcinee. The owner keeps a full-size run of vintage Ferregamo boots (surprisingly hard to find) against the back wall. There's also a book shop in the West Village that I really love. I think it might be called Bookleaves. Anyway, it's near The Corner Bistro. I only go in for voyeuristic purposes. The owner always has some neighborhood grannies telling him their problems. He also plays classical music, which is hard to find in a shop these days, you know, unless you count Dean and Deluca.
And on the flip side: What city would you never, ever visit again, if you had a choice?
Er, maybe I shouldn't be saying this. I choose Wales. Okay, yes, this is an entire country. It is also a country of which I am a citizen. You know, eff it. It's green and sprawling, yes, but so is the drive from where I grew up to the reservoir on the other side of town. I can't say much else about Wales except that...no, I can't say much else about it.
As Editor of Coutorture, you've got to know a thing or two about fashion; what is your favorite look for the summer months? What can we expect to see everyone donning?
No matter what the press tells you, everyone will not be donning the same thing (thank heavens). To narrow it down, I'll say that downtown in New York the major trends for girls will be jodhpurs, Southwestern prints (thanks to many independent brands) and leopard prints (thanks to A.P.C.), high waist garments, anything that evokes New York in the 1970's (does this ever go out of style?), boyfriend jeans (rolled at the bottom), nerd shorts (baggy, pleated khaki shorts), and Persol 714s. I don't know what the vendors on St. Marks are going to do with all of those Wayfarer rip offs. I guess they'll be hoping for Risky Business costumes come Halloween.
As a fine purveyor of fashiony-goodness, I bet you have a fantastic closet, brimming with amazing pieces -- what is the one article of clothing that you cannot live without?
There are two. High-waist shorts and riding boots.
You just worked on "The One Train", a breathtaking Coutorture original editorial shoot; it is highly cinematic and very striking -- what was the inspiration behind this shoot?
Put simply, it was about the transition between winter and spring. We thought of layers being peeled off, the emersion from underground, the beams of light that pour in, that wake us up. Julie and I had been to a press preview earlier that week in which we were shown the Steinunn collection. We just thought the details were really fabulous and would work well given that our photographer, Wayne Liu, shoots black and white film. Liu, then, is responsible for the cinema aspect. He doesn't usually shoot fashion but we liked his style and didn't think it mattered much. Steinunn saw the images and wants to work with him now so, you know, maybe we were right about it not mattering.
And finally: Karl Lagerfeld or John Galliano?
John Galliano. I'll let the end of this video speak for itself. Where Lagerfeld gives soundbites about ipods and Amy Winehouse, Galliano's stage left with one camera, completely loaded, talking (and designing) in technicolor.
Carolina Herrera or Vivienne Westwood?
Carolina Herrera if only because she's the best example of a powerful woman who's still very ladylike. I think that's really who she designs for too. She, like Oscar de la Renta, designs clothes that make women look really, really beautiful and this quality is not as common as you would think.
Victor and Rolf or Proenza Schouler?
Every girl my age would probably opt for a Proenza frock or pair of trousers if it were between that and something by Victor and Rolf. But the thing about Victor and Rolf that's very easy to forget is that the theatrics are mostly peripheral (and they are fantastic), the clothes are actually just as chic as Proenza. You know, pretty dresses, pencil skirts, little jackets and silk blouses. It's really accessible stuff. Victor and Rolf are marked proof that clothes are only part of the deal.
