OLT ❤️ NYC
How did Paris’ favorite designer-muse-DJ, Olympia Le-Tan become a New Yorker? It might have began in 1990, while listening to Public Enemy’s “Fear of a Black Planet”, when she was 13. Or maybe, she started thinking about it after one of those wild nights at Beatrice Inn, the West Village nightclub where she was a regular DJ in the mid-2000’s. And what if her father, the illustrator Pierre Le-Tan, had cast some kind of spell on her, when he drew his first cover for The New Yorker magazine in 1970? Whatever the sparkle, Olympia has been enjoying a slower and quieter life here in the city, while the pandemic has put the fun on hold.
All photos by Olympia Le-Tan
Deejaying for a Purple party at The Beatrice
NOUVEAU YORK: A recurrent opening question in these hard times: how have you been?
OLYMPIA LE-TAN: It was very tough at the beginning, I feel like I had the whole covid experience, without actually getting covid. My work situation changed, so I had to move apartments while everything was still closed. My cat died, then my grandma died and I couldn't go back to Paris... But enough of the sad stuff. I'm fine. Getting used to this slower pace... I do miss traveling a lot. And I miss my Paris family and friends, other than that, I'm ok! Oh, and I also learned how to bake my own bread. Very covid experience!
NY: How did the pandemic affect your daily routine?
OLT: When I first moved to New York I was busy all the time, always working, eating out. I hardly spent any time at home. Now, like most people I suppose, I very rarely leave the house. I cook my breakfast, I ride my bike to the farmer’s market in Union Square, I cook again, do a few zooms, some work, occasionally go to pilates, cook again, sometimes meet my sister and her kids at Tompkins or Washington Square Park, watch a lot of shitty shows on TV, some good ones too... This has been the routine for almost a year now. Not the most exciting.
NY: You once said: “I love going to New York. But I can really only live in Paris. It’s my home.” You’ve actually been living here in NYC for almost three years now. What did convince you to move here?
OLT: I laughed reading this question. In French, we say: “Only idiots don’t change their minds!” I had honestly never considered leaving Paris. I like what I know, I have my habits, I like my comfort zone, and that was Paris. But! About 3 years ago, I hit a wall with my business partner (now ex-business partner), and decided to leave my own brand. At the same moment, I was asked to design a new line for Marc Jacobs, called The Marc Jacobs, and it was a full time job here in New York. So I moved for Marc Jacobs. My sister had already been living here for a while, so it didn’t seem too foreign... I did 4 collections, then the pandemic hit and they decided to restructure, so I no longer work there. But I didn’t feel ready to go back to Paris, and I still don’t... I love being here.
NY: How does your love for NYC compare to your love for Paris?
OLT: I think I tend to love where I am or at least where I live, so at the moment, I love New York, and I don't really care about Paris anymore... apart from the people. Most of the people I love are in Paris.
With Chleo Le-Tan
“In my mind New York was this really cool place with tall buildings, Keith Haring graffitis everywhere, guys listening to hip hop on their ghetto blasters, and people dressed in fabulous outfits.”
NY: Before you settled here, you said “in NYC, I like partying, the little restaurants, the hot guys! I can go crazier in New York.” Those are all the things we cannot do anymore! Did you find new ways to enjoy the city?
OLT: That was a long time ago... Even pre-pandemic, I wasn't really doing any of that when I moved here. Now, I enjoy riding around on my bike, I enjoy all the different characters I see in the street, I enjoy the fact that you can get anything at anytime, which is not at all possible in Paris. Most of all, I really enjoy looking at the sunrise and the sunset from my apartment. On some days, it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I love the reflection of the sun on the skyscrapers, the colors in the sky. I know this is a bit of a cliché but I don’t care.
NY: You’ve picked Public Enemy’s “Fear of A Black Nation”, as one of your favorite NY records. I hadn’t listened to it for years. It was one of my favorites too, but I remembered it as being too complex, too dense. But it’s not! I’m glad you picked it! Let’s go back in 1990, the year it was released. You had never travelled to NYC at the time, but started dreaming about it. Can you describe what was your fantasy of New York?
OLT: I was 13 in 1990, and at the time everything cool came from New York, or at least America. Music, movies and fashion! I remember things like a simple pair of Converses or Levis 501s weren’t super easy to find in Paris at the time, someone had to bring them back from New York for you. In my mind New York was this really cool place with tall buildings, Keith Haring graffitis everywhere, guys listening to hip hop on their ghetto blasters in the street, and people dressed in fabulous outfits. I wasn’t completely wrong...
NY: Your father, the illustrator Pierre Le-Tan, drew his first cover of The New Yorker magazine in 1970. He was 19. Was he regularly travelling to NYC? Did he tell you stories about the city?
OLT: He would go to New York several times a year. His agent was here and he had a lot of work in New York. He loved it. He sometimes stayed with a friend of his who lived in The Dakota and I always wanted to hear about that, because I was a huge Beatles fan. And he always came back with gifts... When I was a kid, it would be something from FAO Schwartz and later he would go to Canal Jeans Co to get me those 501s, and pink Converses.
NY: That first 1970 New Yorker cover shows an empty blue room and an open window with a red heart floating in the sky. It reminds me of some of the pics you’ve posted on your Instagram, shot from the window of your apartment in NYC. Am I making this up?
OLT: I never thought of it, but you are not wrong...
At Lucy's with Sara Nataf and Jennifer Eymere
Halloween at the Bowery Hotel with Donald Cumming
“There was no need for a secret room at Beatrice Inn, the secret room was the whole club.”
NY: Your first trip to NYC was in the early 1990’s with your family. Can you describe some of your strongest first impressions of the city?
OLT: It was really hot! It was August, and all I wanted to do was go to the movies for the AC.
NY: After 2005, you started coming more often in NYC. 2006 to 2009 are the times of the Beatrice Inn nightclub, run by your friends André Saraiva and Paul Sevigny. During that period, nightlife in NYC was boring and the Beatrice brought some fresh air. Chloë Sevigny said about the Beatrice Inn: “There was always a kind of air that something dangerous could happen. It just felt like you could really let loose in a way you couldn’t in any other places that I remember. It was a reckless kind of place. There was freedom inside once you passed through the door.” Do you agree?
OLT: Chloë’s description is really spot on. I think it was way more wild than any Paris club, but maybe the people here were just more wild, more interesting, different. There was no need for a secret room, the secret room was the whole club. I loved how low the ceilings were, and the decor. This kind of coziness made it feel safe.
NY: In what way was the “experience” of Beatrice a New York thing, and different from the very Parisian Le Baron’s nights?
OLT: It's hard to describe. They were similar but different. Maybe Le Baron was more decadent and The Beatrice was more wild...
NY: Do you remember one favorite night at Beatrice?
OLT: There were so many... And it is all very blurry.
Walking to the Beatrice
DJing with Paul
“That’s my vibe. Grumpy and direct, but with a sense of humor. Very New York.”
NY: What kind of records would you play at Beatrice Inn?
OLT: I almost always played the same records: 60’s girl bands, The Smiths, some New Wave stuff, some Italian stuff, some Brit pop, a bit of late 90’s R&B, maybe a slow dance like “Careless Whisper”. Sounds quite unoriginal, but it was a while ago and at the time it wasn’t that common…
NY: Do you miss deejaying?
OLT: I miss it a lot. I was in Tokyo last January and DJed for my friend Kunichi Nomura’s New Year party. I hadn’t done it for years, and was a bit nervous because it was in quite a packed club, just before Peggy Gou and I only had my usual records. I was sure I would clear the dance floor, but it was so packed that they had nowhere to go, and they ended up loving it. It was super fun.
NY: A few years ago, you told Purple Magazine: “I have a good sense of humor — maybe too much of one. I’m a bit cynical. But as to my public character, people might think I’m annoying — or frank. I talk too much, and I can be offensive to people.” It sounds pretty New Yorker or is it a cliché?
OLT: That’s exactly what I thought when I watched the Fran Lebowitz documentary series the other day! That’s my vibe. Grumpy and direct but with a sense of humor. Very New York.
NY: Did New York change you in any way?
OLT: I think I'm still the same
NY: About your love for books you said: “The title is a very important part of a book. It has to look good, it has to be catchy, and it has to make you want to read the book.” What would be the title of the life of Olympia in New York?
OLT: Well, at the moment it may have to be “Read... at your own risk... of dying of boredom!” Hopefully there will be a more exciting sequel!
Olympia Picks Five New York Classics
Miroslav Sasek, “This is New York”
“A great series of children's books. Before living in New York, I used to bring back this book after a trip, as a gift to my nieces, nephews or god children. I love Sasek’s illustrations.”
Gay Talese, “New York, a Serendipiter’s Journey”
“Lots of fascinating stories about the many characters of New York. Great descriptions of all sorts of places. This book is a gem.”
Keizo Kitajima, “New York”
“Photos of a New York I would have liked to live in... Particularly the nightlife part.”
Public Enemy, “Fear of a Black Planet”
“I had stolen this CD from my brother Alexis after seeing ‘Do The Right Thing’. We both desperately wanted to see New York.”
The Virgins, “The Virgins”
”When I started coming here quite regularly around 2005, the beginning of Beatrice Inn days, they were the talk of the town, me and my sidekick Jennifer Eymere became good friends with Donald, Wade and Nick. I remember going to Lit Lounge during the day time to watch them filming the ‘Rich Girls’ video.”
