Out magazine has a marvelous profile on 21st century glamourpuss Kyle Farmery and her transformative style journey. As someone who has gasped over her social media pics for years now, I can assure you, she is the real deal.
Except, whoops. I’m misgendering him.
“I prefer ‘he,’” Farmery says. “I’m a dude. I’m someone with a boy’s personality who happens to like makeup and pretty things. But I still think like a dude.”
Of course. A million apologies. He’s just so beyooooooooooooootiful.
Virtually everything about Farmery, a staple in the New York nightlife scene and a blossoming figure in the fashion world, defies traditional expectations.
In person, Farmery—with his striking facial bones, classic sense of style, and highly precocious poise—presents as a kind of latter-day Marlene Dietrich, that timeless icon of androgyny and Old Hollywood glamour, and the inspiration behind the exclusive shoot that accompanies this story. As Farmery gracefully moves through a space, his natural black hair pulled back tight to accentuate his face, and his arms draped in fur to go with his laced-up heeled boots, he schmoozes with almost everyone, in the eloquent voice of a veteran New Yorker. It’s a shock to the system when he tells you he’s 21 years old.
Twenty-one?! That’s insane! Look at that already-iconic face!
And at just 21, he’s already benefited from the tutelage of two rather magnificent mentors: Amanda LePore and club king Kayvon Zand, who both took the young Farmery under their arms.
Farmery attended one of Lepore’s calendar signings at 13, making an impression that, thanks in part to his mother’s open-minded support, led to a lasting and influential friendship. “He was so knowledgeable for someone so young,” Lepore says of Farmery, whose interest in fashion was so intense that, after school, he’d often leave the train at the 59th Street station and walk all the way home down 5th Avenue or Broadway, passing his favorite stores and absorbing trends he saw in windows. Soon, as Farmery’s mother gained trust in her, Lepore took Farmery under her wing as a kindred-spirit-cum-protegé, taking him to parties and events and exposing him to a world of vibrant, like-minded personalities. “It was fascinating to see how he could get into clubs without a problem,” says Lepore. “People that age just don’t do their makeup that well or carry themselves like that. By 15, he fit right in with people who were more experienced, and he was so grown up. It was incredible to watch.”
Another nightlife mentor Farmery found early on was Kayvon Zand, a local legend who’s been a promoter and club regular for nearly a decade. Entirely unaware that Farmery was only 15 when they met, Zand also saw the potential and uniqueness of a fiery teenager unafraid to, say, wear heels on the subway, at school, and at the club. “For the times, it was monumental to see someone that young so comfortable in his skin, and so brave in his social life,” says Zand (who, like Lepore, was a trusted guide in the eyes of Farmery’s mom because he doesn’t partake in drugs). “And he was so observant. Kyle isn’t necessarily impressive to me by the way he is now—he’s impressive to me by the way he’s always been.”
I’d say you can’t get luckier than THAT, but of course luck had very little to do with Kyle’s rise to the top of the New York club scene and fashion community.
Continue reading his story here, and check out some gorge Insta pics below.
