SATURDAY JUNE 22, 2024 6:31 PM PARIS
If anyone knows how to assemble a crowd of hotties for a fashion show, it’s Jonathan Anderson. At his Spring-Summer 2025 presentation for Loewe this past weekend, sitting in the front row was a veritable motley crew of it boys and girls, from Omar Apollo and Leo Woodall to Kit Connor, Evan Peters, Sabrina Carpenter, and Drew Starkey, the latter of whom was kind enough to hop on a call with us after the show to digest it all. “We were squished in like sardines,” Starkey said, “but that makes it fun.” Below, the Outer Banks star talks about his special relationship with the brand and the Bret Easton Ellis novel that lulls him into a good night’s sleep.
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JAKE NEVINS: Hey there, Drew.
DREW STARKEY: Hello.
NEVINS: How’s it going?
STARKEY: Can you hear me?
NEVINS: Yeah, I can hear you all right.
STARKEY: Okay, good. How are you?
NEVINS: I’m doing well. How’s Paris?
STARKEY: Absolutely lovely, as always. I feel like I’m never here long enough to really know the city, but the view from my window is incredible.
NEVINS: Well, sorry that you have to spend part of your short trip on the phone with me.
STARKEY: No worries at all.
NEVINS: Is this your first Paris Fashion Week?
STARKEY: I went to the Loewe Show in January. I think I was in Milan at that point in time as well. But yeah, I love Paris Fashion Week.
NEVINS: No better time in Paris than June, I’ve found.
STARKEY: I know. Last time I was here, it was snowing. I was like, “Oh, it’s snowing in Paris.” Everyone was like, “It doesn’t snow in Paris. This is so weird.” The weather is perfect. It’s beautiful.
NEVINS: Tell me about the Loewe Show today. I really liked your blue and white cardigan and kind of need it.
STARKEY: Isn’t it great? It’s so comfortable. That’s what I would wear in my daily life: like, a cardigan with jeans and some boots if I felt like myself.
NEVINS: There you go. How’d you pick it out?
STARKEY: What’s good about Loewe is I’m good friends with Jonathan Anderson, so the process of finding out what to wear is always pretty streamlined. I feel like he’s able to pick out some things that he knows I like and it’s usually pretty quick. It’s always very streamlined, collaborative, and open. I think it’s mostly about comfort. It’s very easygoing. It doesn’t feel like the pressure’s on. It feels like I’m picking out what to wear for the weekend or something.
NEVINS: That’s good. Before we get into the show itself, it looked like all the boys came out for Jonathan, as per usual. Who’d you get a chance to talk to today? Anyone that you were really excited to see?
STARKEY: I had some great conversations with my friend Omar Apollo, who I get to see just a couple times a year. It was a nice surprise seeing him. Yeah, that was a good highlight, seeing Omar. And I always love seeing the space.
NEVINS: You were like, one seat over from Pedro Almodovar.
STARKEY: I know. I didn’t get a chance to say hello to him. I’m a huge fan. It’s amazing, but it’s always such a weird event. You go and you sit in these seats with all these people. They’re like, “Oh, there’s so and so. Oh, that’s Jeff Goldblum. Okay.” It feels like I’m dreaming or something. But it’s always nice, it’s a pleasant shock. Omar was sitting across from me and he said that he was looking over at me, copying the way I was sitting. I was doing the same with him. I was like, “How is Omar sitting? Oh, I’m the only one leaned over. Oh, crap. I need to sit up straight. Is there an etiquette?” We were squished in like sardines, but that makes it fun.
NEVINS: How do we sit at a fashion show? Are we crossing our legs? Are we sitting up straight?
STARKEY: Yeah, I like to cross my legs, just so I don’t feel like I’m taking up too much space. Then I try my best to just feel comfortable. I definitely go with a leg cross. That’s my go-to.
NEVINS: That’s classy. What’d you think of the show? I saw some like, gold feathers coming off the model’s faces…
STARKEY: It was a great kind of companion to the last show I went to in January. They complemented each other, because the show in January was all based around the art of Richard Hawkins. Everything was colorful and psychedelic and a bit more extravagant and loud, in a way. This was so much more restrained, minimalist, and clean-cut. I thought it was very poignant and strong in its approach. I got to see some of the looks yesterday in my fitting, a little behind the scenes stuff with Jonathan, which is always fun. But still, I was surprised by some of the looks. I know I can trust Loewe with a very entertaining show.
NEVINS: Did any particular pieces stick out to you?
STARKEY: There was this one piece that was almost like a vest. I guess it was shaped like a military vest or something, but it had reflective material on it. It was almost like fish scale material. There was one that was this kind of sky blue, and then there was another that was in this eggshell, off-white. Also, the way the sunlight catches everything in that space was so beautiful. It caught your eye in a really subtle way, but it also made you want to look deeper into it. Then there was this blue sweater and these green, overflowing pants that looked like the same material as the sweater.
NEVINS: I think I’m looking at it right now.
STARKEY: Oh, are you?
NEVINS: Yeah, yeah. I want it.
STARKEY: It was also gorgeous.
NEVINS: I’m curious, where’s Drew Starkey wearing that?
STARKEY: Honestly, I would run out and get a coffee in it. Or sit at home and read a book.
NEVINS: What are you reading these days?
STARKEY: I’m reading American Psycho right now.
NEVINS: Light summer read.
STARKEY: Yeah, I’ve never read it. I think it’s brilliant. It’s quite violent, but it’s brilliant. Then I’m reading Sapiens very slowly because it’s like an anthropology lesson every day. It’s great.
NEVINS: Two classics. I just read The Shards, which is also quite violent. I could kind of see you in a movie version.
STARKEY: Oh, yeah. I’m reading that one slowly, too. I have to read that at night when the day is over. It’s hard to read that at a coffee shop or something.
NEVINS: And you can sleep well at night after reading that?
STARKEY: Shockingly well. I don’t know what that says about me, but shockingly well. Yeah, I’m fine.
NEVINS: You’re fine. What’s on tap for the rest of your time in Paris?
STARKEY: Take a nap, and then some dinner with some friends. I think I’ll go on a little walk, a little stroll, and then hopefully see everyone at the after party tonight.
