Simon On Display

After 60 years of fab, Barney’s Creative Ambassador-at-Large Simon Doonan shows no signs of slowing down.

When you see fashion guru Simon Doonan out on the town, he’s all dolled up in what he calls his uniform—a print shirt, a Thom Browne velvet jacket, a ’60s mod tie and Naked & Famous jeans. It’s hard to imagine that this pillar of style, who made a name for himself as the premier window dresser for Barneys 26 years ago, once had a job demolishing public toilets. Not that it lasted long—he was fired. However, he knew he had to start being fabulous somewhere.

Born in Reading, England, which Doonan lovingly refers to as a “crap town,” Doonan had to struggle to become as successful as he is today. He was raised in a two-room flat with no kitchen and bathroom with his parents, his sister, a lobotomized grandmother, a blind aunt, and a schizophrenic uncle who kept a three-inch toenail underneath the bed. In his new book, Gay Men Don’t Get Fat, based off the best seller, French Women Don’t Get Fat, Doonan wants to educate others on how to rise above, no matter life’s circumstances.

“I wanted to take all of my gay wisdom and hurl it out into the universe for the delectation and amusement of gay people, straight people, trans people, dogs—anyone who may be capable of listening,” Doonan, who appears frequently as a guest star on America’s Next Top Model, says.

According to Doonan, that wisdom is discovering that gay men are the “chosen people” and are the only ones who can “enhance your tawdry and lackluster lives.” He isn’t concerned that some critics may look at his opinions in the book as stereotypical. He welcomes them. “Oh, I love stereotypes! I don’t think people use them enough!” he says with his trademark pizzazz. “There’s always truth in stereotypes.”

For the past year Doonan has been working at Barneys as the Creative Ambassador-at-Large. In the role, which he was promoted to after spending over two decades as the Creative Director, he coordinates events and handles publicity. In a sense he is a brand ambassador and loves every minute of it. His fascination with fashion began at the circus when he was six years old. He saw a woman on an elephant wearing a lemon chiffon outfit with a feathered headdress and turned to his mother and asked, “Why can’t you dress like that?”

Still, he admired his mother’s fashion sense. Even though she worked in a factory making corks that go inside bottle tops, she transcended her tedious daily role in life through fashion. Doonan loves to quote designer Vivienne Westward who once said, “People who wear impressive clothes have better lives.” He elaborated and says he does not believe this has anything to do with money. It’s about how one regards him or herself and presents an image to the world. Yet for all the style he possesses, don’t call him a fashion icon.  “I think fashion icon is thrown around a little too liberally these days.”

What he won’t deny is that he has stood the test of time, and in a culture where some men run from aging, Doonan celebrates it.

He can recall the time when homosexuality was characterized as a mental illness. When he came to the United States in 1978 and applied for a green card, he had to deny his sexuality when asked. At the time he never would’ve imagined he’d marry the man of his dreams, fellow designer Jonathan Adler. The couple met in 1994 and married three years ago in San Francisco. For Doonan, however, that was just a formality. “In my mind we’ve been married 17 years, but I’m such an old, cankerous bag that I’m not about to wait around until the government tells me I’m married or not,” Doonan says.

Despite their 14-year age difference, Doonan says the key to their relationship is that both of them are creatively fulfilled and share the same wicked sense of humor. It’s one of the reasons they rarely have arguments. Doonan has no problem sharing that Adler often refers to him as a toxic dwarf, which at 5’4” he finds quite accurate, even charming. “I can’t keep my paws off of him,” Doonan says. “My little Johnny is so cute. You should see him in a tight t-shirt throwing pottery on the pottery wheel. I just rush over and try to have a Ghost moment with him!”

As Doonan is getting ready to embark on a book tour, he shows no signs of slowing down and is already making plans for the future. Being a self-professed showoff, he would love to do more speaking engagements. If that doesn’t keep him busy enough, he has a Plan B. “Maybe I will open my very own Carvel stand and dish out ice cream. That way I can just be on display all day.”

Gay Men Don’t Get Fat (Blue Rider Press) is available now. Visit SimonDoonan.net for more info.