64 newyork| october12–25, 2020
n thefallof 1997 , thearrivalof nest dropped
a bombinthemiddleoftheshelter-magazine world. It
cost$7.50,anditscoverfeatureda room plastered floor
to ceiling with Farrah Fawcett magazine covers. If you looked
very closely, you’d see there was a discreet line running verti-
callyuptheleft sideofthecoverthat read,“RaymondDona-
hue’s bedroom.” Whowasthat?What wasthis?
Nestwasa joyrideintotheunknownat a timewhenpublish-
ingwasbigbusinessandpublishersplayedit safe.CondéNast
andHearst offeredupa visionofgoodtasteviewedthrougha
kindofposhSlimAaronssociallensfewhadaccessto.Those
corporationsspentlotsofmoney onfocusgroupstotelleditors
whatcoverimageswouldsell,whichusuallymeantsomething
familiarandcertainlynevertoorisky, muchlessperverse.For
thoseofusproducingstories,that usuallymeanta coverpho-
tographofa well-polishedwoodtablepiledwithtastefularti-
factsandfeaturesabout,by, andforaffluentwhitepeople.
I wasverymucha part ofthat world,enteringmy careerin
fashioninthemid-’80sandgoingontocoverdesignatHouse
&Garden(1997coverprice:$2.95).I hadalways been
at tractedtooutliers,wantingtotellthestoriesofpeoplewho
ra ttledthecages,forgingnewpathsofbeauty lacedwith
strangeness.Mostly,that wasfrownedupon;my editors
wantednothingtooweird,nothingthatinvolveda reconsid-
erationofsomethingoldbutinteresting.ThatfirstissueofNest
reinforcedmyinnervoices.Ihadtomeet JosephHoltzman.
I wasn’t alone:ThefashiondesignerToddOldhamsawthe
magazineandimmediatelyfiguredouthowtoentertheNest
universe.Hebecamea confidantofHoltzman’sanda contrib-
utingphotographer, withstoriesinalmost everyoneofthe 26
issuesbetween 1997 and2004.Towardtheendofthat run,
CondéNast succumbedtoHoltzman’smadworldofhighand
low,sendingoutitsthen-all-powerfultasteambassadorJames
Trumantomake a dealtobuyNest.Butthat wasbeforethey
sawtheSpring 2004 issuefeaturedanimage ofJesus(“looking
likeyourkindlynext-doorAryan,”byartistWarnerE.Sall-
mann)witha coverlinecirclinghisheadlikea halothat read,
“DecoratingfortheChristianHome.”Theissueincludedthe
“T enCommandmentsofDecorating.”Allofwhichmadethem
nervous.Sixteenyearslater,HoltzmanandOldhamarepub-
lishinga book,TheBestofNest(PhaidonPressLimited),about
themagazine,whichtodayfeelsbothlike a timecapsuleand
entirelyfresh.It tookyearsforOldhamtopersuadeHoltzman
todothebook.“IwasjusttryingtodeliveronNest,” Oldham
says.“Thehardest thingtomaintainwasthehappywhiplash.
ho e’s D ’s pa -
the ho in
I reallywantedtoprotect.I dodescribeit asa Fellinifilm;there
mightbea ten-foot-tallwomanwalkinginthebackground
whoyoumightneverseeagain.Thatis kindofNest.” I spoke
toHoltzmanaboutthebookandwhy hefinallygaveintoTodd.design huntingHow did this come about? I should just tell you I very much see
this as Todd’s book. And his take on this. Originally, I wasn’t
going to be included and then Todd wanted to interview
me—it was going to be writers from each issue—and then
I panicked. I’m just not good in a Q&A. Todd wanted—
instead of having other writers, he wanted my voice. So that’s
when I said, “Okay, Todd, I’ll do this.”
I love your text. Did you read that rambling thing? I think that’s
important because my idea there is that I tried to answer all the
questions that might be in an interview so I wouldn’t have to do
an interview—but I’m happy to talk to you, hon. Still, you see,
it’s Todd’s book. Todd is really my hero. And I met Todd after the
first issue; he called me up. I was not involved in popular culture
much. I didn’t even know who Todd was, but my assistant came
in [and said], “Todd Oldham is on the phone,” so we met, and