MothBall

At the recent Moth Ball this week the fabulous men-about-town Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan were on hand to present the annual $5000 MothShop scholarship. The recipient, New York City high school student Terrence Buckner, told a wise beyond his years story on his struggles with coming out in his rough Brooklyn neighborhood. Doonan shared his own story of pretending to be straight in front of an immigration officer in the 70s, for the purposes of obtaining a work visa.

The master designer and Barneys Creative Director have been longtime supporters of the Moth, a nonprofit dedicated to the art of storytelling. We caught up with the couple at the event to find out why they love the organization so much. Read on in our exclusive interview to find out their advice for having an unforgettable holiday, just how recession-proof is Barneys, and just what they'll never be caught dead leaving home without.

Ariston Anderson: Why are you such big supporters of the Moth?

Jonathan Adler: I love, love the organization. It is so creative and fun and interesting. I go to fancy-schmancy events and sort of like they all are just boring. And the Moth is quite the opposite. It's fascinating and fun. I love them. It's the only thing on my calendar that I'm not dreading. It's the one sort of shining star on my Blackberry.

Simon Doonan: I love the Moth because I guess I'm just a Chatty Cathy and I love the idea of telling stories. It's just so well organized. It's always entertaining. Like when you go out in New York to a lot of events there's no content. But when you come to a Moth event you actually come away with a lot of thought provoking ideas and stories. And of course a lot of humor as well as serious stuff. So yeah, it puts some content into the New York scene, so I love that.

AA: How important is storytelling in design work?

JA: That's actually a great question. I am really focused on narrative in my work. Definitely in decorating I always try to start a creative narrative. The narrative usually involves trying to make my clients seem a little more eccentric, and a little more glamorous than they might actually be.

AA: Simon, have you had to alter any of window displays at Barneys because of the recession?

SD: At Barneys, I always made stuff out of found objects and I always recycle things. The windows at Barneys are always very crafty, and they were always about paper-mâché and finding things in the street. At Barneys, paradoxically, we have a very recession-proof point-of-view because it was never about sort of opulence or bling. It was always kind of subtle and sort of crafty.

AA: Last year, you were advocating the cape here. Are capes still in?

SD: Capes? Everything is in. That's the thing, nothing ever goes out of style anymore. All trends concurrently exist. In this room somebody is probably rocking every trend known to mankind.

AA: What tips do you have for having a fabulous holiday party this season?

SD: For an amazing holiday party, I think there's no such thing as being overdressed. You know, if you feel like wearing a full-length ballgown, just wear it. People worry too much about being event-appropriate. It's much better to be overdressed. As Andy Warhol said, it's much better to be the right thing in the wrong place. You always have fun if you do the right thing in the wrong place.

JA: I think that everyone should have Lee Press On Nails for every guest. It could turn a business meeting into a party.

AA: Have you ever worn them yourself?

JA: I have. (Laughs) But only in the context of a party. It's not an everyday thing.

SD: I think if you want to have a fabulous holiday this season, buy a feather boa. Nothing makes you feel bubbly and vivacious like a feather boa. It's very glam rock.

AA: What are some luxuries you can't live without?

SD: Well Johnny and I have a condo, down in Palm Beach. So we love to go down there and run on the beach and frolic during cold winter weekends. So that's a real self-indulgent luxury. Other than that, no drugs. You know, I'm on a natural high. I don't have an expensive drug habit. And I'm so small I would love to buy clothes all the time, but I can't find things that fit me because I'm a midget.

JA: You know what I can't live without is my pill keychain. My enamel pill keychain. It's in the shape of a pill, and it also functions as a little pillbox. So it holds three pills, just an emergency supply, so that's my most essential item.

AA: What's in your pillbox?

JA: Xanax, xanax, and xanax.

The annual Moth Gala is one of our favorite events in New York. In a world drawn impersonal by tweets and newsfeeds, it's refreshing to know that there are still people out there promoting the art of storytelling. There's nothing quite like having your five minutes on stage, connecting with a live audience with an original yarn. Garrison Keillor and Jonathan Ames co-hosted the 2009 Moth ball held Tuesday night at Capitale, and awarded Actor Anna Deavere Smith for her groundbreaking reinvention of theater. The theme of the night was the Black and White Ball, and indeed several Truman Capotes floated throughout the massive Beaux Arts ballroom, formerly home to the Bowery Savings Bank.

Keillor joked to the audience that the Moth was started by people not from here. New Yorkers never give each other the opportunity to talk, unlike the rest of the country where "people were brought up to yield." The Moth is an incredible privilege for writers everywhere who can claim those five uninterrupted minutes on stage. The "Prairie Home Companion" host told his own story of having recently suffered a mild stroke in Minnesota, prompted by a Jesus-preaching masseuse. He drove to the ER to where patients complained of neck moles, while the polite Midwesterner waited in line until his turn came, and calmly told the nurse, "I'm having a stroke." Keillor knew his audience well, and acknowledged that during this story, New Yorkers, unable to appreciate a dramatic pause, would have thought of three stories on their own: a major stroke, a NYC ER room trumping a St. Paul one, or even just reading a story in the NYT Magazine about strokes. So true.

Fortunately the Moth has found a way to make storytelling vivid and alive, even for impatient New Yorkers. The highlight of the night was the finale, a round of one minute stories from ten winners of recent Moth Grandslams contests.

We asked Mr. Keillor why he has supported the Moth for so many years. "It really appeals to me. It's a grassroots organization that sprang up." he told us. "Now I think it's on the verge of tremendous success. It makes me very, very happy."

And Keillor has a new reason to love the Moth, as they've recently ventured into his radio medium. "It's a grassroots show, operating under very, very simple rules," he said, "so it has a beautiful democratic ethos about it which I think is very, very appealing." Audiences nationwide have caught the Moth fever, as the show is now broadcast on a record-breaking 205 stations after only three months. Today the Moth reaches millions of people across the country.

Click here for more information on how you can support the Moth.