Episode 17: Rick Gillette
Originally recorded and released as Lady’s After Hours podcast, for Lady.
Rick with Rosie Vela on a shoot in 1976.
When I sit down to do these interviews, I try to create a space that is intimate and allows vulnerability—I always like to think of them less as interviews and more as totally personal conversations. That’s why the sound often isn’t perfect as I’ve found that big microphones in front of the face or small ones attached to the shirt create a barrier to intimacy—the interviewee falls back on PR sound bites, rehearsed stories they’ve told a million times, the appearance of personality packaged for marketing purposes. By removing them the space is clear for an intimate encounter captured on a barely visible recorder. If the conversation scampers off into diverse directions, I allow it—just as I allow it to go on for however long feels necessary. This conversation with Rick Gillette actually went on for over four hours—sprawling across multiple locations, through a meal, and covering all aspects of his life.
A makeup artist, hairstylist, interior decorator and now the owner/curator of a gallery, Francis Rick Gillette’s life has always revolved around the pursuit and creation of beauty—he’s followed this muse through immense career highs and lows. Originally from Rome, a small city in upstate New York, Gillette became interested in makeup and hair as a teenager. After beauty school he developed a following at salons upstate before heading to New York City in the late 1960s. In great detail, Rick vividly brings to life the many worlds of New York at that time—from downtown hip salons to luxury fashion magazines to the gay scene. Within a few years he was doing hair and makeup for advertising shoots and magazine editorials, pushing toward the goal of working for Vogue magazine. Many of the editors and photographers at Vogue disagreed with having one person do both the hair and makeup on a shoot, but Rick recounts how he won them over (mostly) to his beauty vision through sheer hard work.
For anyone interested in fashion, this is the interview to listen to. Rick relays his memories of all the greats—Avedon, Mellon, Penn, Newton, Hutton, Scavullo. Always honest, he talks openly of the joys and problems that came with working with such famed fashion geniuses—as well as the issues his own ego sometimes created during this period. The 1970s were a time of great success for him—flying all over the world, making great money, his work on the cover of the most important magazines.
A love affair in the late 1970s changed the course of his life—Rick’s relationship with a photography student led him to start taking his own photographs and put his makeup/hair career mostly on hold while dealt with the ups and downs of their intense and painful relationship. Away from the fashion industry for almost two years due to the affair, traumatic breakup and illness, when he returned to work in the early 1980s Gillette was able to hit an even higher level of success. From 1981 to 1987 he had a second heyday, while living in a gorgeous floor-through loft he designed in the Financial District (shown in the slideshow above). By 1987 he began to wind-down his hair and makeup career to focus on photography. Starting a new career within the fashion world in his early 40s proved to be less smooth than he had hoped, primarily due to being pigeonholed by editors and art directors. While it was a struggle to get work with Conde Nast and other magazines, advertising work proved more fruitful.
In 2000 Gillette turned his attention to interior design—his very first love—and then in 2013 he opened a gallery in the town of Hudson in upstate New York. The gallery combines fine art, lighting, and furniture in a light-filled 3000 sq. foot space, all perfectly curated by Rick. Composition, lighting, color—these were all key aspects of each of his careers, and all clearly united by an interest in transformation and beauty. If you are every in Hudson, please visit FRG Objects & Design as he has new shows of artwork up every few months that are effortlessly paired in the space with the mid-century furniture he restores and sells. Inspiring and beautiful, the gallery is a gorgeous evocation of Rick’s talent for beauty.
Longer than most my interviews, I hope you’ll still find the time to listen to this conversation—split it up over a few days, hear a story or two about Avedon and Hutton, tune back in the next day for a story of Scavullo. This conversation perfectly encapsulates the goal behind this podcast, as he so openly discusses the ups, downs and zigzags of life, as well as the total magic and inspiration that comes from doing what he loves to do.
FRG Objects & Design, Hudson, NY
On Facebook Rick often shares wonderful photographs and memories - here are a few:
Just some of the magazine covers featuring Rick’s makeup and hair:
Some of Rick Gillette’s work as a photographer:
