Simon Doonan (born 1952
Simon Doonan,

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

, 15 March 2012, accessed 16 March 2012) is the Creative Ambassador-at-Large of the New York City-based clothing store

Barneys Barneys New York Inc. is an American luxury brand founded in New York City in 1923. It has introduced major designers including Armani, Azzedine Alaïa, Comme des Garçons, Christian Louboutin, and Ermenegildo Zegna to the US market. Barneys N ...

Biography

Doonan comes from the English town of

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. His first retail job was a summer position at Heelas, a

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

in Reading, now owned by the

John Lewis Partnership The John Lewis Partnership plc (JLP) is a British company which operates John Lewis & Partners department stores, Waitrose & Partners supermarkets, its banking and financial services, and other retail-related activities. The privately-held publ ...

. After returning to work at the same store after university, he first got involved in the art of window dressing. He later left Reading for London and dressed windows at

Aquascutum Aquascutum was a British-based luxury clothing manufacturer and retailer. It is currently owned by Shandong Ruyi. History Aquascutum was established in 1851, the year of the Great Exhibition, when tailor and entrepreneur John Emary opened a hig ...

before moving to

Nutters of Savile Row Savile Row tailoring is men and women's bespoke tailoring that takes place on Savile Row and neighbouring streets in Mayfair, Central London. In 1846, Henry Poole, credited as being the "Founder of Savile Row", opened an entrance to his tai ...

. Invited to dress his windows by the proprietor of Maxfield, a department store in Los Angeles, Doonan moved to the United States in 1978. He joined the Barneys staff in 1986 as a

window dresser Window dressers are retail workers who arrange displays of goods in shop windows or within a shop itself. Such displays are themselves known as "window dressing". They may work for design companies contracted to work for clients or for department s ...

.Colin Bertram, ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

,'' 31 March 200
New York Daily News
/ref> He worked at Barneys until it closed in 2019. He writes a

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

for ''

''. In his book, ''Eccentric Glamour'', he decried

porno chic Porno may refer to: * Pornography, explicit depiction of sexual subject matter with principal intention of sexually exciting a viewer **Pornographic magazine **Pornographic film * ''Porno'' (film), a 2019 American film * ''Porno'' (novel), a 2 ...

in Western society in general. Interviewed for an article for the ''

,'' he said, "There are two horribly worrying trends! Celebrities are becoming so gun-shy that there is no diversity, no sense of fun on the red carpet. There's no experimentation – which is incredibly important to fashion." On "porno chic," (the second trend) he said, "Imagine if you said to people 20 years ago that, in 2008, a significant number of women would be going around dressing like porno stars with fake hooters and butt cracks showing? No one would have believed you." In September 2008, he married his husband, designer

Jonathan Adler Jonathan Adler (born August 11, 1966 in Bridgeton New Jersey) is an American potter, interior decorator, and author. Adler launched his first ceramic collection in 1993 at Barneys New York. Five years later he expanded into home furnishings, ...

, in California.

Appearances

Doonan has made appearances on VH1's ''

I Love the ''I Love...'' is a British television and compilation album brand by the BBC, which looks back at a specific year in each episode. The programs consist of Celebrity, celebrities and public figures discussing, reminiscing and commenting on the po ...

'' series, offering social commentary on each decade. He has also been a guest star on ''

America's Next Top Model ''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to b ...

'' seasons 2, 3, and 5 to teach the models about style. Doonan has appeared on Bravo's ''

Fashion Hunters ''Fashion Hunters'' is an American reality television series which premiered on October 4, 2011, on Bravo. The series chronicles the life of several fashion designers working at Second Time Around as they go around New York City ...

'' to authenticate an

Issey Miyake was a Japanese fashion designer. He was known for his technology-driven clothing designs, exhibitions and fragrances, such as '' L'eau d'Issey'', which became his best-known product. Life and career Miyake was born on 22 April 1938 in Hirosh ...

piece. Doonan's memoir ''Beautiful People'' has been adapted for TV and began airing on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

in the UK on 2 October 2008 as '' Beautiful People''. For

The Moth The Moth is a non-profit group based in New York City dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. Founded in 1997, the organization presents a wide range of theme-based storytelling events across the United States and abroad, often featuring ...

podcasts, he read "Fear of Squat" on 20 September 2006 and "Every Expense was Spared" on 9 February 2012 about his wedding to Adler. Doonan appeared as a judge on ''

Iron Chef America ''Iron Chef America'' is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's ''Iron Chef'', and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed ''Iron Chef USA'' that aired in 2001. The show is produced by Food Network, whi ...

'' for Battle Sparkling Wine. In ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six sea ...

s fifth season (third episode: "The Jewel of Denial"), he escorted Blair Waldorf on Jenny Packham's show. Doonan used to dress up as the UK's Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, and

impersonate An impersonator is someone who imitates or copies the behavior or actions of another. There are many reasons for impersonating someone: *Entertainment: An entertainer impersonates a celebrity, generally for entertainment, and makes fun of ...

her at public appearances, and has written about being born in the same year as Elizabeth's accession to the throne (1952) and his affinity with Elizabeth's

pet name A hypocorism ( or ; from Ancient Greek: (), from (), 'to call by pet names', sometimes also ''hypocoristic'') or pet name is a name used to show affection for a person. It may be a diminutive form of a person's name, such as ''Izzy'' for I ...

, "Brenda". In January 2013, Doonan made a cameo in an Alexander Wang advertisement. The advertisement takes place in Wang's flagship store in New York, where Doonan is falsely accused by Anjelah Johnson's character Bon Qui Qui for trying to steal a handbag.Complex.com
A$AP Rocky and Bon Qui Qui Star in a Hilarious Alexander Wang Ad (Video) He is also a judge for the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

show '' Making It'' hosted by

Amy Poehler Amy Poehler (; born September 16, 1971) is an American comedian, actress, writer, producer, and director. After studying improv at Chicago's Second City and ImprovOlympic in the early 1990s, Poehler co-founded the improvisational-comedy trou ...

and

Nick Offerman Nicholas David Offerman (born June 26, 1970) is an American actor, writer, comedian, producer, and carpenter. He is best known for his role as Ron Swanson in the NBC sitcom ''Parks and Recreation'', for which he received the Television Critics A ...

Bibliography

*''Confessions of a Window Dresser: Tales from the Life of Fashion'' (2001) (

Memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...

) *''Wacky Chicks: Life Lessons from Fearlessly Inappropriate and Fabulously Eccentric Women'' (2005) Simon & Schuster *''Beautiful People'' (also published as ''Nasty: My Family and Other Glamorous Varmints'') (2005) *''Eccentric Glamour: Creating an Insanely More Fabulous You'' (2008) Simon & Schuster *''Gay Men Don't Get Fat'' (2012) Blue Rider Press *''Soccer Style: The Magic and Madness'' (2018) Laurence King Publishing

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doonan, Simon 1952 births Living people English expatriates in the United States LGBT people from England LGBT fashion designers People from Reading, Berkshire English businesspeople English columnists English fashion designers Window dressers

Biography

Appearances

See also

Bibliography

References

External links