JEN BRILL

New York It girl Jen Brill is queen of downtown, ruling a scene that includes Terry Richardson, Ryan McGinley and Dan Colen. Derek Blasberg recently met up with her to talk fashion, friendship and feeling at home. He kindly allowed us to listen in to the conversation.

DEREK BLASBERG: “Jen, I was really impressed with your look last night. A leather skirt in the middle of a New York heat wave. That’s hard-core.”

JEN BRILL: “My thought was more ‘Fluorescent yellow, laser-cut leather lace – how summer like!’ I definitely wasn’t thinking, ‘Leather swamp tush’!”

DEREK BLASBERG: “Leather Swamp Tush sounds like a movie I’d really like to see. Who made the skirt?”

JEN BRILL: “Christopher Kane.”

DEREK BLASBERG: “You’re pals with Christopher, right? Where did you guys meet, and why do you like his stuff so much?”

JEN BRILL: “Yeah, Christopher and his sister Tammy are the best. I stalked him after his first collection. I literally asked everyone I knew if they knew him. I think I even asked you.”

DEREK BLASBERG: “You did, and I think I emailed him that he had a superfan on his hands.”

JEN BRILL: “Well, we finally spoke after my friend Ben, who was the editor of i-D at the time, introduced us. I wore one of his dresses in the magazine so Christopher had no choice but to speak to me. I pretty much bullied him to be my friend. I understand and love Christopher’s clothing in a way I don’t get other ‘fashion’. I can’t even put it into words because it’s instinctual. The clothes are obviously gorgeous, but there’s also something very smart about them, and something that’s always a bit off. Does that make sense?”

DEREK BLASBERG: “I know what you mean.”

JEN BRILL: “Girls who are too concerned with looking Audrey Hepburn ‘pretty’ wouldn’t dare wear them, which makes me want to wear them more.”

DEREK BLASBERG: “But back to last night. You’re a determined fashion girl. Is there anything that would ever prevent you from wearing something skintight and leather?”

JEN BRILL: “Apparently not! If Christopher made skintight-leather snowsuits for summer I’m pretty sure I’d end up in one.”

DEREK BLASBERG: “Oh, that’s hot – Leather Swamp Tush 2: More Juice. Who are some of your favourite designers?”

JEN BRILL: “Christopher Kane, Chanel, Proenza Schouler, Versus, Alaïa. You recently introduced me to Richard Nicoll, and I think he’s great. I love Mark Fast, but only when I’m feeling super tiny. Erdem is great for when I’m feeling a bit Upper East Side.”

DEREK BLASBERG: “You’re after all the English boys – which is an activity I endorse.”

JEN BRILL: “Yeah, I love English designers. But I also wear tons of Opening Ceremony. Oh, and Kenzo. I am so excited for Humberto and Carol’s first collection with them. What else do I love? Black Acne jeans, black T-shirts that I’ve stolen from various men, black cardigans and Supreme. I’m obsessed with my black Supreme Playboy varsity jacket.”

DEREK BLASBERG: “Me and you share a saying – ‘Leopard print is my favorite colour.’ Have you always been into leopard?”

JEN BRILL: “It’s my saying and you’ve re-appropriated it.”

DEREK BLASBERG: “If Richard Prince can re-appropriate, so can I. Don’t get it twisted, Jen.”

JEN BRILL: “Touché. I started loving leopard in my early twenties. I thought it was trashy when I was a teenager. Imagine that.”

DEREK BLASBERG: “I don’t mean this in a nasty way at all, but I consider you trashy chic. But, like, more chic than trash.”

JEN BRILL: “Derek Blasberg! Trashy? I’m never going to forget you said that.”

DEREK BLASBERG: “I meant it in a good way. The best way. Oh, never mind, I’m not crawling out of this hole, so I’ll stop digging. If you had to define your personal style, what would you call it?”

JEN BRILL: “I’m awful at answering this question. I only see my dressing style as me, and I don’t really know how else to define it. I wear what I like, what I feel comfortable in. Sometimes it’s a black Champion hoodie and sometimes it’s a fancy Chanel dress and sometimes it’s a Champion hoodie over a fancy Chanel dress.”

DEREK BLASBERG: “You grew up in New York City, and I love hearing your stories about being a kid in this town. When you grow up in New York, are you aware that it’s the centre of the universe? And that there are kids like me who grow up far away and have yards and drive cars and go to the mall and can’t go to clubs and movie premieres?”

JEN BRILL: “Yeah, I totally knew I was lucky and that my life was probably more entertaining than a surburban kid’s who hung outside of 7-Eleven all day and night.”

DEREK BLASBERG: “Don’t make fun of 7-Eleven. That’s where I spent half of my childhood. How dare you! I’m not going to forget you said that.”

JEN BRILL: “But I’m definitely jealous that I didn’t experience teenage car culture. But then again I probably would’ve been in a billion car accidents. The thought of listening to an album over and over again while driving around is really romantic to me.”

DEREK BLASBERG: “It gets old pretty fast. And gas isn’t cheap, girlfriend. Would you ever raise your kid in a town like New York?”

JEN BRILL: “Definitely. I want my kids to have choices and to not feel like they have to fit in with a high-school clique like the jocks or the nerds or the goths. I mean, if they want to be in there, that’s awesome. But there is one of every kind in this city and you can be whoever you want to be. People generally think that if you raise your kids on a beach that they’re less likely to get into trouble, but kids can access anything bad from wherever they are. It’s true that everything is accelerated in New York, but I also got it together at a young age because I experienced the insanity of this city early on… ”

DEREK BLASBERG: “This town is good because it’s got fashion and it’s got art and it’s got fun stuff to do. That’s basically my job in a nutshell. Talk to me about your work.”

JEN BRILL: “This incredible psychic said it best. She told me, ‘You’re surrounded by images, gorgeous images, they’re everywhere, all around you.’ She was a bit confused, but I loved her description because it’s how I see what I do. I’ve represented photographers and stylists for the past couple of years, and before that I represented fine art photographers commercially – but I’ve never stopped working on projects outside of this day-job scenario. I want to be in a constant state of collaborating on things I find interesting with people whom I respect and who inspire me. I’m so proud of the work I’ve done in the past and I’m having this crazy, creative energy right now. I’m excited to start a new phase in my professional life this fall. I’m changing gears a bit – new projects with new people. Is that insightful yet vague enough?”

DEREK BLASBERG: “Yep. A little of both. Try this question – where do you want to be in a five years?”

JEN BRILL: “That’s a tough one, Derek. The pressure! I want to do it all – I want to have the freedom to do whatever my heart desires. Susan Miller, who’s an amazing astrologer and our friend’s mother, says I’ll write a self-help book in my forties. Release date, TBD.”

DEREK BLASBERG: “But I want to read that now.”

JEN BRILL: “Listen, the universe has never, ever let me down and I’ve always been where I was meant to be. I’m sure that my life will carry on that way. What do you think I’ll be doing? On a farm in upstate New York milking cows?”

DEREK BLASBERG: “We got cows in Missouri, darling.”

JEN BRILL: “Fine, I’ll go there.”

DEREK BLASBERG: “Have you ever wanted to be an artist? Did you ever make art?”

JEN BRILL: “Yeah, I used to paint and I always thought that that’s what I would do, but I took another road. There are so many great artists in this world and I had to realise I’m not one of them. I am okay with that and, for now, I don’t have a secret itch to paint or draw. I’m just psyched to be one of the cheerleaders who is inspired by the stuff that other people make. I’m on a constant quest, looking and listening for new things that excite me. I get the biggest fire in my belly when I find something truly incredible and unique that isn’t yet a part of our collective consciousness, and then get to give it a little push to the surface.”

DEREK BLASBERG: “Will you live in New York forever?”

JEN BRILL: “I sound like such a narrow-minded New Yorker, but I’d like to think so, yes. Although I know that things happen that are beyond our control – maybe I’ll fall in love with a man who works on the Queen Elizabeth and I’ll live on a boat.”

DEREK BLASBERG: “Why did you hate LA when you moved there? I can remember you moving, and I can remember you coming back, like, three months later.”

JEN BRILL: “It was literally three months later. I came back home for a doctor’s appointment and kept changing my ticket. I did that for about eight weeks. I would sit on a stoop on 3rd Street, night after night, and all I could think was how everything in LA was in black and white, while everything in New York was in colour. I watched face after face walk by, and I couldn’t imagine going back to LA. There is nothing wrong with black and white, but I want to live in colour. Now, Derek, same question – where will you be in five years?”

DEREK BLASBERG: “I have no idea. I’d like to say in a big fat house in New York with a few more books under my belt, but you can’t count on anything in this town. Except friends. Jen, do you promise to be my friend forever?”

JEN BRILL: “Forever is a long time. Do you promise to never call me trashy again, even if you throw in the word ‘chic’ to make it sound nice?”

DEREK BLASBERG: “No promises.”

JEN BRILL: “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Derek Blasberg, I am eternally and forever yours.”

Photographer Tierney Gearon

Fashion Editor Sophia Neophitou