The morning after Derek's book signing, July 8, 2026 in Paris.
On what felt like the millionth hot day in Paris, during Haute Couture week last month, Librairie 7L and Just An Idea by Sarah Andelman hosted a lovely salon in celebration of New York based writer, editor and curator Derek Blasberg's new book Fast + Louche.
I adore these salons at 7L namely because they invite consistently interesting personalities, the topics are varied, and the opportunity to share your thoughts with whomever is on the panel is accessible. This is a unique detail considering the type of people who are featured on the program for the year.
Tim Blanks in the front row of Derek's interview at Librairie 7L, from my personal archive, July 2026.
On this particular evening, the room was filled with a Who's Who in the fashion world — from the inimitable fashion journalist Tim Blanks to NYT's Chief Fashion Critic Vanessa Friedman, Harper's Bazaar's Samira Nasr, and other fashion luminaries like Carine Roitfeld and Daphne Guinness. What stood out to me though was the general hum of admiration. An assembly of colleagues and friends who got together to celebrate Derek's artistic work is more than a launch.
It's a communion of spirits.
It reminded me that patronage comes in many forms.
Sometimes it looks like buying the book. Ordering their latest design. Or attending a concert they're performing in. Or simply listening.
As a multi-creative person myself, having a group of people who understand the courage it takes to birth something and offer it into the world is key for moving ahead in your art. And the smiles and buzz of genuine adoration for Derek made me admire Derek even more.
Fashion, especially luxury fashion, is its own special microcosm, and to see how consistently Derek expands his love for fashion into various iterations over the last couple of decades — be it a curated international exhibition of Avedon 100 for Gagosian, an article for Vogue, or his YouTube channel where he invites the world to join him on his various fashion shenanigans — it's clear that at the heart of everything Derek does is joy: joy of his love of fashion and community.
And that community celebrating his creation as one of their own is a beautiful form of collegiality.
When one creates a life where every work is witnessed, every milestone is celebrated, and every act of creation becomes a shared celebration — that is a beautiful form of culture.
Living a collegial life means understanding that another person's success doesn't diminish our own. If anything, it expands the culture we all share.
A lovely missive from Derek on the flyleaf of my copy of Fast + Louche, from my personal archive, July 2026.
It's recognition as an act of cultural stewardship, and that is the most beautiful gift we can give to each other, as artists, creatives, and just as human beings.
xxx LPK