Photo: Matt Weinberger
Picture the scene: London’s hallowed Central Saint Martins, circa 23 years ago, and the fateful moment that then-aspiring designer Jonathan Anderson locks eyes with already-iconic performer Justin Vivian Bond. A hopeful Anderson asks Bond whether he can make her some hats and pieces for her upcoming shows. “Sure, kid,” breezes Bond. And a formative artist-muse synergy that has lasted for more than two decades is crystallized.
Bond regaled the audience with this very tale while on stage at The Cherry Lane Theatre on Thursday evening, adding that she even performed at the designer’s graduate show. This after-dark show was a little different, but indicative of a passion that the duo still share all these years later: uplifting independent storytelling and those who make it.
As Bond’s personality and dress glinted under the lights, she elaborated on Dior and A24’s new two-year partnership (already teased on social media) that will allow the historic West Village playhouse—the longest-running off-Broadway theatre in the nation—to thrive.
To nod to the venue’s century-plus in operation, Bond stepped out in a 100-year-old gown; a purple Jazz Age beauty by Paul Poiret plucked from Anderson’s own archives. As guests filed into their seats with popcorn and pick-and-mix sweets, waiters ensured they had something a little stronger for the 40-minute set, passing out dirty martinis and Champagne flutes too.
Bond began by reading a passage by bohemian poet and playwright Edna St. Vincent Millay, one of The Cherry Lane’s founders. “That’s why this show is called Both Ends,” quipped Bond, pausing knowingly for comic effect in front of her audience at the euphemism. “It’s about the past and the future, because Dior and A24 are doing this beautiful thing for the arts and the future.”
“This came together pretty quickly—but we all know each other very well,” director Zack Winokur had told Vogue before call time. (Winokur had previously co-created and directed Bond’s Only an Octave Apart, which Anderson costumed.) Yet with Bond’s natural command of a room and comedic chops, one would never have known it wasn’t months in the making. Flicking the frock’s chiffon scarf behind her for dramatic effect, she mixed emotive songs—many attributed to late Trans singers and musicians—with the backing of a five-piece band, and no shortage of impeccably-timed jokes.
When the lights came on at 10:30 p.m. and the show was over, the crowd convened outside to smoke skinny Capris, debrief, and ask whether anyone else wanted to indulge in a little more history…by hitting up Julius, the city’s oldest gay bar.
