Kyle Anderson; Interview for Homme Style Magazine Issue 6 Fantasy

Where are you from Kyle, can you tell me a bit about your background and your family? I grew up near chicago in a small suburb. And I have lived in NY for 10 years. You are the Accessories Director of Marie Claire US. Tell us about your role and what is involved? At Marie Claire I oversee all of the accessories coverage to in the magazine. I go to fashion week in NY, Milan and Paris, I go to all of the appointments with the designers and I come up with concepts each month on the best way to cover accessories for the magazine. I do a few pages in the front of the magazine of only accessories and then almost every month we do an accessories well story in the well of the magazine. We see a lot, its fun to decide what goes in to the magazine and what doesn’t. What do you enjoy the most? I enjoy always seeing new things and working with beautiful accessories. I get bored very easily so its fun to be able to see new bags, shoes, and jewelry on a daily basis. Every minute of every day there is always something new to see and to do and concepts to come up with. I love that. How did it all begin for you? I was gay. I was trapped in a small town with a bunch of close minded people. It made me want to create things and see the world and for me that was fashion. I used to read fashion magazines to sort of escape my surroundings. I dreamed of NY, Paris, fashion ,runways, models, designers. Also my best friends mom was addicted to shopping. Our whole life revolved around shopping and fashion. Always waiting for the next shopping trip. Was it something you always pursued or did it happen organically? I was obsessed with clothes, buying clothes, dressing up, wearing cool clothes since before elementary school. I asked my mom once why did my little brother have so many toys. She said you didn’t want toys u only wanted racks of clothes. Its all I cared about. What I wore. What was your first gig? My first gig in fashion? My first ever fashion moment was the day I moved to NY 10 years ago was my first day ever at my internship at Esquire. I interned esquire. Cosmogirl, marie claire, vogue, Elle and then did some freelance work, assisting stylist and also in the fashion closet at Vanity fair, then cosmopolitan and then ELLE. I was obsessed with elle. I really wanted to work there and my dream came true. I worked at elle after that for 6.5 years. And now its been just over a year ive been at marie claire. How was it to see your first work in print? Exciting. I can still remember the first page I ever did. It was a sunglass page at elle. I was the eyewear editor when I was the accessories assistant. I remember calling in like 300 pairs of sunglasses to look at and choose, maybe, 10. How would you describe your style? I like black. Im usually wearing almost head-to-toe black. For me, I like silver accessories, I usually just wear my silver and blk rolex everyday. Maybe a funky shoe and funky bag. Overall I like rock n’ roll style. Black leather, im usually wearing givenchy. I love it. Has your opinion of the industry changed much in the time you’ve been working in it? Im not as impressed now. I see the recycling of ideas. I used to think every designer was a genius. I was so in awe. Now most im not. There are a few that Im amazed by. But im saddened a lot but people copying each other. After working for over 7 years now I recognize instantly oh, that shoe is a copy of that other designers or I we say I saw that bag last year at so-and-so’s showroom. Etc. In previous recessions, fashion and style were acting out with nothing to lose attitude, the work became really bold and expressive. What do you think of the dynamic of the current times, do you think fashion has become more commercial of point of sale, then breaking new territory? I think overall designers are SUPER safe these days. Im rarely shocked sitting at show. Things are very commerical I think. People want to sell and survive. But I can also respect people doing things that last and in super luxe materials. A simple black croc handbag with minimal details can work with a ton of different looks. Not everything always has to have all of the bells and whistles attached. Has the economic crisis in America affected the content you run in magazines? No. I always shoot what I love. I love things from many different kinds of designers at many different pricepoints. I splurge when I really want something and I steal when I can to get a look when I don’t necessarily need to buy it at a high price. My two favorite designers I recommend to girls are Givenchy and zara. What’s next? Any exciting prospects or projects you would like to mention? Everything. Check out all of my stories coming up! Follow me on twitter! Check out my blog! Lots to see and more to come. Are there any mediums you would still like to explore? Yes I want to do more styling. And I want to do tv. I want to connect with more people than just sitting at desk. I love interacting with readers and fans and followers and showing them my world and what I love and what I see on a hour-by-hour basis. Who are some of your icons and why? I don’t have people how affect the way I dress, per se, but of my edit for the magazine I draw inspiration from all of the icons from movies, music, etc. My favorite is Madonna. Forever. Oh and Regina George. Shes the queen bee. PHOTOGRAPHY BY LEANDRO JUSTEN TEXT BY AKMAL SHAUKAT