the world according to . . .
ANDREW BOLTON AVENUE’s back-page column asks New York notables our version of the questionnaire made famous by Marcel Proust
S
COURTESY OF THE METR OPOLITAN
MUSEUM OF ART
chiaparelli and Prada (2012), Savage Beauty (2011), Chanel (2005) and AngloMania (2004) are just a few of the historic fashion exhibitions Andrew Bolton has helped produce at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Appointed curator of the museum’s Costume Institute in 2006, the British academic and fashion aficionado has been taking Manhattan’s art scene by storm. He was the sole curator for Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, which drew over 650,000 visitors, making it the most visited Costume Institute special exhibition ever, and one of the Met’s top ten most visited shows. Up next is PUNK: Chaos to Couture, on view May 9—August 14. Here, Bolton opens up about whom he admires most and why he wouldn’t change a thing about New York. Central Park
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF NEW YORK CITY? Central Park.
WHO IS THE FUNNIEST NEW YORKER YOU KNOW? Peter McGough [contemporary artist]. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE/LEAST FAVORITE NEW YORK CLICHÉ? I think it’s the same for both . . . “rude New Yorkers.”
WHEN DID YOU FIRST FEEL LIKE A NEW YORKER? I still feel like an Englishman in New York.
WHAT PART OF THE NEW YORK LIFESTYLE CAN’T YOU LIVE WITHOUT? Cocktails at The Carlyle.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE WATERING HOLE FOR LUNCH? My desk. FOR DINNER? Waverly Inn. WHAT NEWSPAPER COLUMN DO YOU READ FIRST THING IN THE MORNING? I’m afraid I don’t, but I should. WHAT WAS/IS YOUR FAVORITE NEW YORK ART EXHIBITION, PAST OR PRESENT? Matthew Barney: The Cremaster Cycle at the Guggenheim.
Andy Warhol
112 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • MAY 2013
WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE NEW YORKER, PAST OR PRESENT? Andy Warhol.
WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE DINNER PARTNER? My partner [fashion designer Thom Browne].
Jennifer Co
nnelly
WHAT’S YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING NEW YORK MOMENT? Being mistaken for a waiter by Jennifer Connelly at the first Costume Institute Gala I attended.
WHAT’S THE ONE THING YOU WOULD CHANGE ABOUT NEW YORK? Nothing. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NEW YORK LOGO? New York Yankees.
The Carlyle Hotel
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE WAY TO GET AROUND NEW YORK, AND WHY? Bicycle, because you feel so connected to the city. WHAT’S THE HARDEST PART ABOUT LIVING IN NEW YORK? The size of the apartments. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE NEW YORK SOUND? The Ramones. WHOM DO YOU MOST ADMIRE? Harold Koda [curator in charge of The Costume Institute].
WHO IS THE SMARTEST NEW YORKER YOU KNOW? Andrew Solomon [NYT writer and author of Far From the Tree]. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? An old man with happy memories. ✦