For stylish New
York gays, the annual "Fashion Cares" benefit at
Jeffrey is the social event of the season. In its fifth
year, the runway show, auction, and cocktail soiree
Wednesday, April 9, benefits Lambda Legal, Gay
Men’s Health Crisis, and the Hetrick-Martin
Institute, home of the Harvey Milk High School. It’s
also a notorious opportunity for gay “husband
hunting,” though host Jeffrey Kalinsky, a
former buyer for Barneys who now runs eponymous high-end
boutiques in New York City and Atlanta, cares only about
charity. Brandon Voss tried his hardest to split the
seams and reveal the fashion maven's softer, fuzzier
side, but Kalinsky -- not surprisingly -- was all
business. Hey, that’s the kind of stone-faced
focus it takes to stay on top in the brutal fashion
industry, right?
What makes Fashion Cares one of the hottest parties
of the year?
I don’t
see it that way, I guess. For me, it’s a charity
event trying to raise money for some really great
causes but, hopefully, at the same time giving people
an enjoyable evening.
But some vapid queens go only to see and be seen.
I hope not!
I’m really passionate about the benefit and raising
money. It’s a labor of love because the only
personal reward in it is knowing that you’ve
done something good.
Why are the causes that Fashion Cares benefits so
close to your heart?
Well, HIV causes
have always been close to my heart. For 16 years I’ve
been doing a charity event in Atlanta also called Fashion
Cares, raising money for people with HIV and AIDS, so
there’s a long history of that. And then, as
long as there are kids who aren’t safe in their
schools to the point that they’re getting
murdered, and as long as I and the entire LGBT
community don’t have the same human rights as other
citizens in this country, I’m going to be
fighting the fight my way. And this is what I can do.
Who are you expecting to see sitting in those
$1,000 front-row VIP seats?
People who do
care to give some of their money to charity. You know, a
$1,000 donation for this kind of cause, if you can afford
it, is really not a big deal. We’ve definitely
sold them, and we’ve raised a ton of money
already in sponsorships, so there will be a lot of our
sponsors sitting in those front-row seats.
Speaking of exclusivity, there are some who might
feel hesitant to patronize your store in New York due to
its reputation for having a snooty staff. Is that
reputation unfair?
Completely. I was
born and raised in Charleston, S.C., and my family’s
been in retail for 57 years, and the one thing that
we’ve worked hardest at, more than anything, is
making everybody who walks through any of our doors
feel welcome. There are people who grew up not feeling
comfortable to walk into a lot of stores, so it might
be an individual thing.
How did you feel about those classic Saturday Night
Live “Jeffrey’s" sketches that
spoofed your store?
It was a long
time ago, but at the time I was upset. I worked so hard for
so long to create an environment where people were nice,
where people were treated nice, and where people
realized how important it was to be nice. And then
there was a skit, and it needed a name, and somehow
because we were new in town and doing something different
and cool, it got associated with not acknowledging
people. It was polar opposite to everything I’m
about.
Did you take any action?
There was no
action to take. And it was that great thing: All publicity
is great publicity. All my friends, anybody that I knew,
thought it was the most incredible, wonderful thing in
the whole world and that I should be thrilled.
What qualities do you look for when hiring a sales associate?
I’ve
interviewed hundreds of people in my life, and people can
talk, but you need to see what their actions are going
to be.
You seem to have a good number of gay people on
staff. Is that intentional or a happy accident?
I don’t
hire like that. I have a large amount of straight people on
staff too. In my men’s area, for instance,
there are six full-time salespeople -- two are gay and
four are straight.
Do you recognize a particularly large gay clientele?
I don’t
know. I don’t approach life like that.
You’re so politically correct!
No, I’m
being honest with you. Just because I’m gay, I
can’t make my answers gay if they’re not
gay.
OK, fair enough. But what about this gossip item I
read that said you freaked out when your Tibetan maid
folded your underwear incorrectly. Any truth there?
You know, I
don’t really want to comment on that. Has anybody
ever said that you did something you didn’t do?
I guess I won’t ask if you’ve ever thrown a
cell phone at an assistant!
I don’t
know how to comment on what people may or may not think of
me. I’m sorry, you’re taking me off
guard -- I thought you were calling to talk about my
benefit.
I am! What’s the most covetable item up for
auction at Fashion Cares this year?
I don’t
know. That might be a question that one of the chairs needs
to answer.
Jeffrey Fashion Cares, Wednesday, April 9. For more
info and tickets go to www.lambdalegal.org/take-action/events/jeffrey-fashion-cares-2008.html.
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