L'Officiel · 2004
Amanda Hearst: words as a legacy
Translated from the French. Original: L'Officiel, November 1, 2004 · French version
November 2004
Amanda Hearst: Words as a
Legacy
By David Benaym
Photo Roger Moenks/Laurent Alfieri
“Everything I find in magazines inspires me.” Amanda Hearst has been steeped in glossy paper all her life. Her family heads one of the largest publishing houses in America. The Hearst group publishes everything that is most fashionable, trendy and in vogue, with an unequivocal traditionalism. At 20, Amanda now finds herself the subject of these “à la mode” pages, as they say in French. In a huge SoHo loft, among canvases by Piet Mondrian and sculptures by Arman lent by New York’s Museum of Modern Art, Miss Hearst stops between two trips and poses for L’Officiel.
After a gap year travelling around Europe, what are your plans for this new year?
I’m nervous about going back to classes in Boston. I’m studying communications with a view to becoming a journalist. I’ve always wanted to be a reporter. One of the reasons I took a gap year is that I didn’t feel I fitted in at university, in terms of mentality, with the other students. I will probably try to finish my studies at the American University of Paris.
How do you see your life in ten years or so?
I would like to marry young so I can have children close to my mentality. To be close to my children as I am with my mother. Having seen the backstage of fashion as a model, I suppose I should be able to pass on my point of view differently. Because of my family background, when I think of journalism I necessarily think of magazines.
Do you see yourself on air like your friends Paris or Nicky Hilton?
Even though I have no problem posing in front of a camera for fashion shoots, I don’t really feel comfortable in front of a television camera. I can’t really see myself doing a TV show; for now I’m not considering it. Writing about fashion excites me more.
I am currently working on the production of documentaries about fashion, more in the organisation than in the spotlight.
On the fashion side, who are your favourite designers?
I don’t have one designer. I don’t dress head to toe in the same brand. I like Chanel for bags and accessories, I adore Yves Saint Laurent, he is still the idol of girls of all ages, Miu Miu and
Manolo Blahnik for shoes… In any case, I prefer multi-brand stores to designer boutiques. Jeffrey in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District or Scoop are always at the cutting edge of trendy and classic designers.
If you had to identify with one of the girls in Sex and the City, which one would you be?
Carrie
Bradshaw, I suppose: she’s a journalist, blonde, always elegant; she suits me rather well. With a little touch of Charlotte too, the one who absolutely wants to find the man of her life, no matter what.
Which places matter most to you in New York or elsewhere?
I love living on the Upper East Side, but for going out, I feel more at ease in the Village and SoHo. The little restaurants that don’t look like much but in the end serve incredible meals. One of my favourites is Bond Street for its extraordinary sushi. Otherwise, Schiller’s, which has just opened on the Lower East Side, one of the most popular neighbourhoods, offers a very French brasserie setting, with an excellent selection of wines. It’s a sort of Irish alternative to the classic Parisian-style brasseries Pastis and Balthazar. But the ultimate place for me is Tortola. Every year for my birthday, I go to this island in the Caribbean with my family and friends. My paradise on earth, just ahead of Manhattan.
D.B.