Andre J. (born 1979) is an American party promoter who is a presence in the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

fashion scene. They are known for their distinctive, androgynous personal style and have been featured in photo spreads in French ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' and '' V'' magazine.

Biography

Born Andre Johnson in

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, Andre J. was raised by a single mother in a

housing project Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authorities, government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the d ...

called Academy SpiresTrebay, Guy
"A Cover Girl Who's Simply Himself."
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' (November 25, 2007). For several years in the early 2000s, they lived in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

.Larocca, Amy
"Look Book: Cheerful Muse Andre J."
''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'', ...

'' (March 4, 2007). During those years, they worked at a boutique on

Melrose Avenue Melrose Avenue is a shopping, dining and entertainment destination in Los Angeles that starts at Santa Monica Boulevard, at the border between Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. It ends at Lucile Avenue in Silver Lake. Melrose runs north of Beve ...

and made three brief appearances on

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

segments "devoted to human curiosities". They typically wore a fur hat, a hole-covered beige fishnet shirt, and jeans so low that they revealed their pubic hair, though they changed before leaving for fear of being mistaken for a transgender prostitute on their way home to the $60-a-night

Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western border with Beverly H ...

hotel in which they lived. Andre J. later moved to

"for the liberation, the freedom, the action" and worked variously as a perfume salesperson at

Lord & Taylor Lord & Taylor was the oldest brick and mortar department store in the United States, in business from 1826 to 2020. The brand was purchased during former owner Le Tote's 2020 liquidation bankruptcy and relaunched by new owner, Saadia Group, as ...

, as a publicist for

Patricia Field Patricia Field (born February 12, 1942) is an American costume designer, stylist and fashion designer. Early life Field was born in 1942 in New York City to an Armenian father and a Greek mother, who emigrated from Plomari, Lesbos, Greece. Fi ...

's boutique, and as a party host for the clubs Lotus and Hiro. While on the street one day in summer 2007, they were spotted by

stylist Stylist can refer to: Occupations * Automotive stylist or car stylist, a person involved in designing the appearance and ergonomics of automobiles * Food stylist, a person who makes food look attractive in photographs * Hair stylist, a person w ...

Joe McKenna Joe McKenna (born 10 June 1951 in Shinrone, County Offaly) is an Irish former hurler who played for his local club Shinrone in Offaly and later at senior level for the Offaly county team, before transferring to South Liberties and playing at ...

, who was then on the phone with fashion photographer Bruce Weber. With McKenna's encouragement, Weber decided to shoot Andre J. for French ''Vogue'', and

Carine Roitfeld Carine Roitfeld (; born 19 September 1954) is a French fashion editor, former fashion model, and writer. She is the former editor-in-chief of ''Vogue Paris'', a position she held from 2001 to 2011. In 2012, she became founder and editor-in-chief ...

, the magazine's editor, deemed Andre J.'s photos the freshest of all Weber's images. Roitfeld put a photo of the bearded Andre J., dressed in a women’s blue neoprene

Burberry Burberry is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry headquartered in London, England. It currently designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats (for which it is most famous), leather accessories, ...

trench coat, ankle boots, and a cocktail ring, on the cover of her magazine. Bruce Weber, photographer. "Love Me or Leave Me." French ''

'' (November 2007). "There is not a special message in the cover, I just loved it," she said later. Andre at one point had a day time job at a boutique in Melroe and is known for their intricate style that people see as creative and unique.

Personal style

Though Andre J. often wears feminine clothing, they do not consider themself a

crossdresser Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes usually worn by a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and self-express oneself. Cross-dressing has play ...

. Rather, they see themself as unconfined by gender and social conventions. "Most people are conditioned to think of a black man looking a certain way," they told ''

''. "They only think of the ethnic man in XXX jeans and

Timberlands Timberlands West Coast Limited was a New Zealand State-owned enterprise based on the West Coast. It was formed to manage the native and exotic forests on the West Coast of the defunct New Zealand Forest Service. A large quantity of internal do ...

, and here Andre J. comes along with a pair of hot shorts and a caftan or maybe flip-flops or cowboy boots or a high, high heel." Most recently, Andre J.'s style inspirations have included

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

and model

Donyale Luna Peggy Ann Freeman (August 31, 1945 – May 17, 1979), known professionally as Donyale Luna, was an American supermodel and actress who gained popularity in Western Europe during the late 1960s. Generally cited as "the first Black supermodel" ...

. They describe their aesthetic as a "60s, not

mod Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...

, but mod-ish, and

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

look" that is also influenced by the style of 1970s

blaxploitation Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president o ...

films. Called a "cheerful

muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

" by ''

'', Andre J. says their positive outlook on life has influenced their style: "I want people to look at me and feel inspired, to feel hope, to smile. I want to surge positive energy in your body, confirm that you too can be yourself." They said they have been affirmed by strangers telling them that they were glad they are alive, and believe that they were put on the earth "to be a

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

, to just glow, emanate love, respect, peace, pizzazz".

References

External links

Special feature on the French Vogue photoshoot
Click the white arrows to scroll through the photos.
Video of Andre J.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andre J. American non-binary people American entertainers 1979 births LGBT people from New Jersey Living people 21st-century American LGBT people