Closet Capers
Three stylish lads share the secrets of their hip haberdashery.
By Kate Novack; Jay-Z; Frederic Fekkai; Hedi Slimane

Fall 2004 Style & Design

JAY-Z, HIP-HOP ARTIST

TIME: What's your philosophy when it comes to personal style?

	PHOTO ESSAYS The New Androgyny The A List Bring on the Bling Feast Your Eyes Everything is Illuminated

JAY-Z: My thing is just to keep it plain and simple. That's how the [Rocawear] line developed—relaxed, clean lines, crispy.

TIME: Whose style do you most admire?

JAY-Z: J.F.K. He was classic.

TIME: You've gone from wearing athletic jerseys to donning suits and button-down shirts. Why the shift?

JAY-Z: You can't be running around in jerseys when you're 30 years old.

TIME: Whose suits do you wear?

JAY-Z: I wear a lot of Ralph Lauren Purple Label, but the best suit for me as far as fit is Armani.

TIME: What's the most prized possession in your closet?

JAY-Z: I have the jacket from the [Madison Square] Garden [show] in my closet right now. I look at it often.

TIME: Fans scrutinize your wardrobe. Do you think about that when you're getting dressed?

JAY-Z: Naw. I just do what I do. It's amazing to me how sometimes I'll do something and then I'll see it. A long time ago, when I was wearing Iceberg T shirts, I would go to concerts, and everyone would have on Iceberg T shirts, and I'm like, What's going on here?

TIME: What's the trend now?

JAY-Z: Now I'll go to a concert, and everyone will have on button-up shirts. It's crazy. It's a phenomenon. It's funny how that happened.

FREDERIC FEKKAI, CELEBRITY HAIR STYLIST

TIME: When do you wake up?

FREDERIC FEKKAI Today I got up at 5:30 and went to a Gyrotonic class. I do that three times a week. Then I go home, get ready, have breakfast. It takes me about 40 minutes to get ready.

TIME: What's in your medicine cabinet?

FREDERIC FEKKAI I have Band-Aids, shaving cream with an old-fashioned brush, homeopathic toothpaste from France, Pour Monsieur by Chanel cologne, a little crystal stone that's made to be used as deodorant or for razor burn. I use Frederic Fekkai gel and glossing cream and a wide-tooth detangler comb.

TIME: Are there products you can't live without?

FREDERIC FEKKAI Cologne, because it lifts my spirit, and shaving cream and a razor, because I can't stand my beard.

TIME: What makes you cringe?

FREDERIC FEKKAI I dislike profusely when men's pants are really low waisted. I can't stand shirts with so many designs and stripes and colors. I hate hair spray on men, and I don't like ponytails on men with long hair.

TIME: What do you wear to work?

FREDERIC FEKKAI A lilac blue shirt, usually from Thomas Pink or Turnbull & Asser, with navy blue pants. For shoes I love Tod's and Berluti in Paris.

TIME: Where do you shop?

FREDERIC FEKKAI Bergdorf [Goodman] is one of my favorites, and also Barneys. After that, I love little boutiques like Seize sur Vingt [on Elizabeth Street].

TIME: Whose personal style do you most admire?

FREDERIC FEKKAI Cary Grant's and Tom Ford's—and I love Puff Daddy. I think he actually dresses quite well.

HEDI SLIMANE, DIOR HOMME DESIGNER

TIME: Do you have a "uniform"?

HEDI SLIMANE: I tend to naturally wear a black jacket, a white shirt and a pair of jeans. I have five dozen black jackets, mostly tuxedo jackets, and twice that number of shirts, but I'm afraid it always looks the same.

TIME:What is it about that look that appeals to you so much?

HEDI SLIMANE: II like tailoring a lot, and I am so used to wearing a jacket. It is like a protection or a second skin. I suppose the white shirt helps me focus. It doesn't say much but structure and clean lines.

TIME:Do those same principles drive your collections?

HEDI SLIMANE: II work with a set of rules, a system, that sometimes I try to subvert. But then it naturally all comes back to that sense of structure and lines, to a more minimal approach.

TIME:Will you ever move to New York City?

HEDI SLIMANE: II am thinking more and more about moving to New York and working in Paris. In a way, I feel more at ease in New York with my way of designing and working on concept.

TIME:Whose personal style do you most admire?

HEDI SLIMANE: It is hard for me to say because it is also a [person's] way of thinking that has elegance to it. I liked Samuel Beckett. [He had] a true elegance. I am really fond of music, and rock music in particular—Paul Weller [in] the Jam period, Bowie [in] the Thin White Duke period. But this is already somehow a "fashion" idea of style. Style has to do with lifestyle. It is a total idea, an almost religious idea.

BACK TO TOP

Premium Content