RLT Interview #8: Young Kim, Writer
On public libraries, PBS and Malcolm McLaren
The RLT Interview explores all the things, people, and places that have informed a person's taste and, more importantly, sense of self.
This week, I chat with writer Young Kim, who released her debut memoir A Year on Earth With Mr. Hell last year, about her relationship with Richard Hell.
Get to know Young as she muses about public libraries, PBS, and Malcolm McLaren.
On Taste
First is probably my parents, who both really care about the way people look and how they present themselves. My mother was raised very strictly. She was born just after Korea was liberated from Japanese occupation in 1945. My grandmother lived through the Japanese occupation, and she absorbed a lot of strict, rule-based child raising, or general behavior. Koreans are quite chaotic, actually. That meant my mother was raised in a very strict way with a lot of rules on how to do things. So, she [my mother] raised us in that sort of way. It was very important to her the way we presented ourselves. She also felt that because we were immigrants, it was even more important because we were an example of our race to everybody else, and you wouldn't want to be prejudged in a negative way because you were sloppy. I do think my mother and my father both had very good taste in clothes.
They didn't indulge for themselves because they came to the United States with very little money, and it was very difficult for us financially. But whatever they had, they would spend on us children, and they both loved clothes. My father never cared about cars; he never even cared about furniture, but he and my mother both really cared about clothes. That was one thing my parents would spend money on for us, and for themselves. Also, my mother grew up in a generation where people still learned how to make things, so she made things too; she knew how to alter things. I grew up in Long Island. When I was a teenager, my father drove me into the city to go shopping because there was more choice. He took me to Bloomingdale’s, and he bought me clothes for the new school year—back to school.
Then, afterwards, I suppose the next major thing that made a real big difference, besides stepping into the fashion world, was that I left law school after one year because I met someone while shopping at Barney’s. This man turned out to be quite an important figure in fashion. He was at a low point in his career, and then a year later he became the head of what became Conde Nast Asia. I think he was the creative director or artistic director of all of Conde Nast Asia. Through him, I had my first experience with fashion people. So, I became more interested in that. Then, I moved to Paris, and I was surrounded by fashion people instead of more academic people.
Then, I met Malcolm. That was my next major style influence because he was really the most incredible stylist and also an incredible designer. He came from a family of fashion. His grandfather was a tailor on Savile Row, and his mother had a dress factory. He even worked at his mother's dress factory, and he saw his grandfather making all the clothes on the kitchen table for private clients. He knew everything about clothes, and had remarkable technical knowledge. He had an incredible and very unusual way of styling, putting things together that were unexpected in an exciting way. He was much older than me, and he really knew a lot. He always did very serious research for all his projects too.
He started working in fashion when he had to leave art school and make a living, basically because Vivienne Westwood had entrapped him. He had met her when he was a virgin, a young student in art school. She had run away from her husband with her young son. For whatever reason, a friend of his from the time told me, she fell in love with him, chased him around, and in no time became pregnant. He had to leave art school and figure out what to do. Since he collected clothes, records, and this and that, he found a space on the King's Road and opened a shop to sell these. When he ran out of things to sell, he fell back on his fashion background and got things made at small factories and workshops. He also got Vivienne to help him realize his fashion designs. She was very good at making things. All the fashion ideas—all the creative ideas-- during their time together came from Malcolm—all the styling and everything. He really knew fashion, and worked in an unusual, original way because he was an artist who worked in fashion.
That would be my third person who really changed the way I think about clothes and style. He knew about everything—architecture, graphic design, anything visual—and certainly, he had unbelievable general knowledge and taste. I think until him, I never really thought about architecture except from an academic point of view. He was a real aesthete.
I think it all adds up together. Each part, each different person, didn't erase what was before. I suppose they only made it bigger, only opened up the world rather than limited it. It just opened up more and more.
On Discovery
I'd say the library was a very important place for me. I think the public library is so important, and for me, it was a vital resource. Not only did I read an enormous number of books, but it also offered other things. For example, when I was about eight or nine—I didn't go to a very good school, I went to a really crappy school in a blue-collar community—there was one girl at my school who went to see Annie on Broadway. Obviously, I'd seen the commercial on TV, and I wanted to go, but how would I go? I saw a sign in the library about a field trip to see Annie, and I think it was on a Saturday. So, I asked my mother if I could go, and unbelievably, my mother said yes—I was only eight or nine, remember. So, I went on this field trip on a bus with a group of mostly retired old women to the city. When we got off the bus, I just attached myself to one of them. I remember we all went to Sardi's, I had a Coke, and then I went to Annie, and I was really happy. That was a very special opportunity for me to do something that otherwise I wouldn't have been able to do. Even now, they have things to get tickets to go see museum exhibitions and stuff like that. My first ski trip was through the library. You could just sign up to go, and those trips were affordable. I had always wanted to learn to ski, and then I saw a notice at the library. It was probably a trip to Hunter Mountain.
The other really important thing for me growing up, in terms of culture, was PBS. That's where I saw all the old movies, which I love, and also, I could watch ballets. I love Mikhail Baryshnikov. There's a Nutcracker with him that I must've watched, I don't know how many times—at least every year. I got a lot of culture through PBS. As a child growing up without that in my life, I was able to get that from those two resources.
Travel. I was able to do that when I was a child through homestays, or when I was in college, you could get a work permit and go. I went to London for a month with a student work permit and worked at O12, the children’s department, at the Benetton on Oxford Circus before traveling around Europe with a Eurail pass. You could do that or get a grant. I got one from the DAAD the summer after my junior year at Yale to study in Regensburg, Germany. I think meeting different people from different places is where you learn a lot of things. I think the best geography lesson is travel.
On Beauty
These things are inherent in people. I mean, it can be influenced by exterior factors too, but it's something in your character. People are generally attracted to beauty, but specifically seeking out beauty and really looking for it—rather than just seeing someone who's a beautiful woman, man, child, or even a dog—where it becomes necessary to your life and you can't bear to be around something that's not attractive, I think that's something deep within you. You're just born that way, and you seek it out, look for it, and you're interested in it.
A funny story is that when I was four, I asked my mother to get my ears pierced. My mother never had pierced ears, but I noticed it on people, and I wanted it. She took me to the jeweler and got my ears pierced. No one taught me that—I just liked it. I think beauty can be cultivated, and you can be influenced by your family or whoever's around you. But, I think deep down inside, it's something that's just a part of your character. It's an important part of who you are, and you need it rather than it just being something that you appreciate, which is a little different.
In one respect, beauty is a subjective idea. It does change all the time, but I suppose it's some sort of harmony. But also, I think what's important is that there is some sort of soul—like the object has a soul. It's something that seems to have been made with a reason to exist.
On Desire
A longing for something you want, for me, it's inherent. It's like I always wanted these things: I wanted to go to a good school, I wanted to be around things that were beautiful, I wanted to travel. These things are within you, and you pick up the information obviously through wherever. Even in the limited real world—today it's different with the internet—but, say, you see things on TV, through books, or just walking around. Maybe you see pictures in a travel agency or something, I don't know. So, you pick up somehow that there's a world you don't know about, that you haven't seen, but you're attracted to it. It's about discovering it and then wanting to be a part of it, have it, or experience it. It's almost instinctual—it's not a learned thing.
I had a friend from Yale who surprised me with an anecdote shortly after college. It was his birthday, and his parents asked him what he wanted for his birthday. He said that there really wasn't anything he wanted at all. And he told me, “Yeah, there's not really anything that I want.” I said, “Wow, I could just go on forever about all the things I want. I've never not wanted anything.” I think everybody's different—some people just don't really want very much.
On Pleasure
Pleasure is really important because I truly believe you only live once, and you can't live it again the way you wanted to. Life is about taking pleasure because what else is there? Whatever you do to survive, you do, hopefully something you enjoy, but you have to take time for pleasure. I think it's a conscious thing for me because my parents, unfortunately, weren't able to have much pleasure in their lives. Malcolm, on the other hand, was someone who didn't really worry about things, so he took pleasure in life. I think, often in Europe, it's a more common concept, especially in countries like France, where people take the time to sit around, have a drink or coffee, and just enjoy the moment.
Pleasure could be taking a hot bath, a long walk in a park on a beautiful day, or driving around singing to yourself. It's all of these different things—simple ways to find pleasure. Then, of course, there are more expensive pleasures, like a special trip, buying something, or going to an expensive restaurant. But I think pleasure is something you can have on many levels. Anyone can indulge if they want, but you have to take the time. It could be reading a book or watching a movie. It's an important part of life, and I think it's easy to forget.
If an opportunity presents itself, I take the time if I can. For example, today I'm in London, and it was a really beautiful day. I didn't have time during the day to take a long walk, but later in the day, I knew I would have time to walk through one of the big parks. I was really happy just to walk through the park on such a beautiful day. I didn't have to get anywhere quickly, so it was really pleasurable.
What's the last thing you did for pleasure?
I don't drive often because I live in cities—New York, Paris, and London—where I don't need to drive. But I spent two weeks in L.A., and I realized, because I'm driving three and a half hours a day and I can't do anything during that time, the one thing I could do, which was a pleasure to me, was sing to myself. I used to sing when I was in college—I was in the Glee Club—and I do miss that sometimes. Living in a city, I can't sing in my apartment, it would disturb the neighbors, but in my car, I can, so that's a simple pleasure that I have.
What's the last thing you bought?
An orange lace bodysuit from Paloma Casile.
What's the last thing you discovered?
A cab driver here told me where the phrase “One for the road” comes from. There's a main road that stretches across London heading to Marble Arch, and it goes from a very famous prison all the way to Marble Arch, which is where they used to hang people. To manage the prisoners—because, obviously, these people were going to be hanged and were freaking out—they would stop at a pub to give them drinks so they'd be easier to control. That was the “One for the road.”
What's the last thing you've read?
I picked up an old Agatha Christie. My friend had it in French at his apartment where I was staying, and he had nothing else to read because he's a photographer—he only had illustrated books. I hadn't brought a book with me, but I was in the mood for fiction, and he had old copies of Agatha Christie in French, which I think he got from his mother. I started reading Appointment with Death, and I thought, "I'd like to read this in English." I got that today.
What's the last thing you watched or saw?
Just before you called, I was watching a wonderful documentary on Hedy Lamarr, it's called Bombshell. I knew about it because a friend of mine told me—I think he was involved in the production—but she's a movie star from the '40s, and she was also an inventor. It's quite incredible.
What's something that you're coveting right now?
I've wanted it for a long time… I have kind of an ugly problem, which involves money. If this works out positively—well, I think it will—but when it does, I'm going to buy (I have to find it though. I don't know where you can find it because there aren't many left, because it's old) a watch. I haven't had a watch in a long time. I would like a watch by Marc Newson, a Solaris watch I really love.
What's the last thing you disliked?
I thought it was beautiful—the movie was beautifully made aesthetically—but I really didn't like the message in Poor Things. I thought it was offensive. The female character is offensive because it really reduced her to an attractive hole, and then people say, "Oh yeah, but she progressed so much." Oh yeah, so now she can walk properly, sort of, and speak in complete sentences, but would you have her give you a haircut? The only way she progressed was through her interactions with men, mostly sex, and she's made into a Frankenstein monster, basically. No one says, "Frankenstein became a great man and now he's achieved great things. He's a liberated man." No one says that about Frankenstein. Even at the end, when they tried to make it seem like she had risen to power, but does she? That's such a cop-out. Feminine power? I don't think so.
What are five things you are really into at the moment?
I discovered the horse paintings of [Giorgio] de Chirico, originally at a beautiful show at Vito Schnabel’s gallery in New York a few years ago. Since then, I’ve seen them in other places, including a recent show at Tornabuoni gallery in Paris and a surrealism show at Christie’s Paris. I love the ones where they have huge, tumbling manes, like hair on '40s movie stars like Veronica Lake.
Because I’ve been asked to review Virginie Despentes’ latest book, Dear Dickhead, I’ve been reading the Vernon Subutex books which I really love. It’s a wonderful story and cast of characters and for me, as I know Paris so well, the local references are fun.
I love the clothes of La Fetiche, designed by a duo: April Crichton in Glasgow and Orely Forestier in Paris. They are close friends. Most of my everyday clothes are by them. They are especially great with knitwear and rainwear. All beautifully made and fresh and original.
A relatively new chocolate and candy brand from Lyon called Palomas. They make a confection called palet de fourviere which is unbelievable and unlike anything else I’ve ever had. But everything is great. You can only get them directly from them in Lyon.
I recently rewatched René Clement’s Plein Soleil (Purple Noon) starring Alain Delon by chance just before Delon died. It’s truly a perfect film. He’s so amazing in it. He was so gorgeous and wonderfully wild. I know his politics were terrible but he was a great star. It puts the other Ripley movies to shame.
What beauty product do you use the most?
The nonessential beauty products I use regularly are a tinted lip gloss from H is For Love (terrible name! So difficult to remember) and Sam McKnight’s “Cool Girl” hair texturizer.
What’s the last place you had a great meal?
I just had the most delicious meal in Nice at Chez Davia. Everything was exquisite, even the green salad. The clafoutis was the best I ever had in my life, as was the “farci”— tiny peppers stuffed with spiced ground lamb. Beautifully presented and absolutely delicious. One of my favorite New York restaurants is Commerce Inn. The food is consistently excellent and I love the decor which a friend called “Moby Dick”.
What do you smell like?
I always wear Melograno/Pomegranate by Santa Maria Novella.
What's one thing in your closet that you'll never get rid of?
It's a necklace—a tiny pearl necklace, real antique pearls that Malcolm gave me. See, he wasn’t into jewelry like he was into clothes, and I'm into clothes more than jewelry too, so the only real piece of jewelry he ever got me was this string of pearls. He bought them at an antique shop here in London called Hancocks on Burlington Arcade. When he gave them to me, he said, “I thought you were the only person who could wear them.” It was because it’s such a tiny necklace—probably made for a child.
What's something you spent a lot of money on that was worth It?
My Yale education, or rather, my parents spent their money on it.
What’s something you spent a lot of money on that wasn't worth it?
It wasn't a lot, a lot, but it was real money. I went on a trip with my friend to the Maldives, and I didn't like the Maldives at all. I would never spend my own money to go back.
What's something that you always gift or recommend to people?
One thing I always do is recommend my acupuncturist. I have an acupuncturist in each city and a great osteopath. Sometimes, when I have a special gift to give someone, I give them a travel wallet because I think a lot of people don't have one, and it’s very, very useful. It has a pocket for your passport, a pocket for your flight ticket, a pocket for other documents, and slits in the back for different credit cards. It's a special, unusual, and very useful gift.
What do you think it means to have taste?
I suppose there's several levels of taste. There's to have taste, then to not have an opinion, which is no taste, so you're just generic, and then there's bad taste. It's to have a certain kind of eye, and I think it's mostly instinctual, but it can be improved through exposure and the desire to learn more.
All photos courtesy of Young Kim.