Meet the fashionista DJ's creating the hottest music vibes at the runway shows and fashion week afterparties.
You expect socialites to sit front row at Chanel or land a feature in Vogue, but open for Blondie or perform with Madonna? Today, young women with great connections and great looks are forgoing traditional fashion jobs like PR or handbag design for the whirl of live soundtracking. These DJ socials-women who are as serious about their music as they are stylish while spinning-have brands flocking to them for everything from scoring Fashion Week afterparties to starring in ad campaigns. Recently, Gotham talked fashion, style, and breaking out in what has been traditionally a male-dominated business with seven of Manhattan's most in-demand DJs.
Haute Sounds: Leigh Lezark
The twenty something began DJing with two friends more than a decade ago while studying at Hunter College. They called themselves the Misshapes, named after a song by the British alt rock band Pulp. Since then, Lezark has collaborated with everyone from Madonna to Chanel, where she was appointed a brand ambassador in 2009. Along with attending runway shows and events on behalf of the fashion house, Lezark appeared as Coco Chanel in creative director Karl Lagerfeld's 2010 short, Remember Now.
Why did you want to be a DJ? All the indie clubs in New York were having retro nights or '80s Brit pop, whatever, and I didn't really care about that. I wanted to hear newer music.
You and your DJ partners, Geordon Nicol and Greg Krelenstein, started playing at Don Hill's, right? Yes. It was always a lot of fun. Madonna, Yoko Ono, and Jarvis Cocker all guest DJed there, too.
How did you transform that one night a week into a career? Don Hill's attracted a big fashion crowd, and there were people who wanted us to DJ their magazine party or runway show. Early on, we were asked to do show music for Henry Holland and Jeremy Scott. We've done Zac Posen and Rachel Zoe shows, and I recently DJed Michael Kors's Jet Set Experience event in Shanghai
What's your process when scoring a runway show? For every runway soundtrack, we meet with the designer, look at their sketches and mood boards, fabrics, and pieces in various stages of completion. From there, we put together a long list of songs that would be good for the collection, then create a rough edit of a mix. Once the show's looks come together and the run of order is determined, we do the fine tuning, timing the songs with the different looks. Ultimately the soundtrack is up to the designer-each one has a different style and taste in music-to set the tone of the collection.
You've been a brand ambassador for many labels. How would you describe your personal style in the DJ booth? I kind of do something different every time-in Shanghai, it was a Michael Kors striped sweater and giraffe-print skirt-but high heels are the only consistent thing I wear. I'm not very tall, just 5'8', so heels are a must when DJing.
Sounds of the season: Robyn and Röyksopp recently came out with a new EP, and Dev Hynes's Palo Alto soundtrack is very good. And Beyoncé.
The London native, 26, attended the famous Bedales boarding schools (Daniel Day-Lewis and Cara Delevingne are alums) in Hampshire, England, before moving to New York to study acting at the Lee Strasberg institute. While there, Leyland caught the DJ bug. She now plays gigs globally-opening for Duran Duran, Nicki Minaj, and more-and has also modeled for brands like Cole Haan.
You've traveled the world as a DJ. What have been your most memorable gigs? DJing at the Design Museum Holon in Israel. To be able to do that for a Ron Arad party in the museum that he designed was just remarkable. When you're vibing in the right way with the crowd, you feel like you're taking them on a journey. Ultimately, as a DJ, you're in the driver's seat.
Sounds of the season: Electronic. I'm interested in deep house. I pride myself on the fact that I listen to and play many genres: rock, hip-hop, R&B, dance hall, reggae, electronica, indie dance, along with deep house. I'm into Nicolas Jaar, a DJ-producer who recently started a band called Darkside. I think he's got a really unique sound. If I could claim anyone's music for my own, I would say him.
Where do you go to listen to music? The Panther Room at Output in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It's also the best place in the city now to hear some of the most incredible DJs in the world.
Aside from DJing, you've modeled and worked as a television host. What else do you have planned? The next step for me is [composing] my own music. It's going to allow me to take things to the next level and, you know, have a voice.
How do you handle competition with so many DJs vying for a set number of plum gigs? In New York, there are always a million people waiting to take your place. Just because you're hot one second doesn't mean your life is going to be like that in six months. I think staying humble and grateful for things is sort of the best way you can be.
'60s Savy: Tennessee Thomas
The British-born Thomas, whose father, Pete, is best known as Elvis Costello's longtime drummer, started an all-girl band, The Like, in high school, and toured for 10 years before breaking up in 2011. Thomas, now 29, moved to New York shortly afterward. Along with opening her own boutique, the Deep End Club, in the East Village, the musician has booked gigs for Madewell, Luxottica, and Zac Posen, and DJs regularly at the Soho Grand and Tribeca Grand hotels.
You started DJing when The Like was still together. When we were on tour, people would ask us to DJ the afterparty. We all loved music so much, and the band was inspired specifically by Motown and the British Invasion. The 1960s girl groups were also a huge inspiration.
Why did you move to New York after the band parted ways? I did it without having a plan. I helped a couple of friends with projects, and the DJing thing came along as this crazy gift from the heavens. I got a couple of regular gigs, and it became my job. I mostly play stuff from the '60s; that's where my passion lies. Picking a genre has worked in my favor.
Sounds of the season: Les Surfs-they did 'Be My Baby' in Spanish, which is really good. I just got this compilation of Asian girl groups doing classic songs, like 'My Boy Lollipop' in Cantonese.
What about new music? Wild Belle is amazing. The singer is very soulful. Then there's Connan Mockasin from New Zealand, who is kind of a psychedelic Brian Jones alien. I also like Tame Impala from Australia and Ariel Pink from LA.
You run your own boutique? I sell records and young designers like Samantha Pleet, for whom I've DJed events, a line called Family Affairs, and my friend [British stylist and editor] Leith Clark's collection for Wren.
Do you feel women have more of an influence on DJing than when you started a decade ago? I feel the fashion industry has helped that along. Toward the end of The Like, we were pretty much surviving by playing fashion parties and working with fashion brands. They came to us appreciating the vibe and the look that we'd cultivated. There are some guys who are into the fashion thing, too, but the girls have done an interesting job with it.
The LA transplant, 29, began DJing when she was a student at the University of California, Los Angeles. Six years ago, after establishing herself on the Hollywood club scene, Moretti moved to New York and quickly formed close ties to the fashion industry. She DJed afterparties for designers like Prabal Gurung and even booked Chelsea Clinton's wedding with DJ partner Caitlin Moe, aka Margot.
Are women a bigger force in the industry than they were a decade ago? Definitely. When I started in LA, there were a lot of girls who were DJs-like Daisy O'Dell and Lady Sinclair-and we did many girl nights at clubs. In New York, that shift happened later, simultaneous with the fashion world becoming interested in DJs. I wasn't in New York 10 years ago, but I don't think there were as many brand events then. Now, anytime a designer gets nominated for something or has a reason to get press, they'll hire a DJ and have a party. Brands can really identify themselves with whom they book as the DJ-they're looking for a very specific mood and feel, a visual definition that's totally different from a club.
What was your first big gig in the city? Blondie. I think I ran out of the room as soon as Debbie Harry walked into the green room, because I was scared to be in her space.
Sounds of the season: I really like some of the remixes of Sam Smith's stuff. His song 'Stay With Me' was released earlier this year, but the remixes that came out more recently give it a new feel. The new RAC [Remix Artists Collective] and Chromeo albums are great as well.
In the past year, you and Margot-your sometime DJ partner-started The Dolls. What are your plans for that project? We began writing original music, so we formed a band. Our first single, 'Summer of '93', was released last year. We're releasing another single, 'Southern Swing,' this summer. But for now, DJing pays the bills.
The 22-year-old daughter of Duran Duran bassist John Taylor and photographer Amanda de Cadenet moved to New York from Los Angeles to model, but she DJs plenty, too.
How did you get into DJing? I had a lot of friends who were club DJs and thought that it looked really fun. One day I thought, Screw it, I'm going to buy myself a turntable, and I taught myself how to do it. My agents got me a job DJing for a Topshop party about three years ago, and the rest is history.
What is your on-the-job look? I'm still figuring out my personal style. It's experimental, but I wear a lot of dresses. Really high heels are a no-no. I try to wear things that look good and feel comfortable.
What did your family think when you started playing gigs? Well, my dad was thrilled. Once when he was in my apartment, I was showing him the setup, and his mind was blown that I could put songs on my iTunes and manipulate them like vinyl. He loved it, and since then he's been super supportive. We're always sending music back and forth.
Do you ever play Duran Duran while you're DJing? When he's not in the room, yes. If he is there, he would not be into it.
Sounds of the season: I'm super into Banks, and I really like the new Black Keys album-those have been on repeat for the last month. But there are times I go out of my comfort zone. I DJed in Miami, and I played a lot of '70s-mixed, '90s rap, some weird French music, and the current Little Dragon.
You've modeled in quite a few fashion campaigns, including Forever 21 and Tezenis [an Italian lingerie and beachwear brand]. What else do you want to do? I had a small part in my friend Gia Coppola's movie, Palo Alto. I'd never acted before, and now I'm open to that. I'm told I have a set of pipes on me. I will not be the one to say that's entirely true.
Fashion Favorite: DJ Kiss
Thirty something JaKissa Taylor-Semple started DJing in 2007 after her boyfriend convinced her that she had good taste in music. To amp up her skills, Taylor-Semple trained at New York DJ school Scratch Academy and began landing gigs-from Prada store openings to Chanel parties-at a seriously fast clip. Designer Alexander Wang and the Today show's Hoda Kotb are fans.
You were working in pharmaceutical PR before you switched gears and became a DJ. How did you manage such a drastic shift? In my head, I've always been a DJ. After graduating from Louisiana State University, I moved to New York and got a job in PR. The only department where they had openings was pharmaceuticals. Then I met my husband, who was a DJ and is a fellow music nerd. We would talk about music and what songs we thought went together, and he showed me the ropes. Beyond that, I went to Scratch Academy, because I wanted to take it seriously.
How did your family react to your new life as a DJ? I come from a very traditional Southern family, so their idea of success is to go to school, get a good job, get married, etc. Shortly after I started DJing, I invited them to a nightclub where I was spinning. They were in the booth with me while I was playing all this good old-school stuff, songs they had played for me when I was a child. And I felt a lightbulb went off in their heads.
There are more female DJs than ever. What do women specifically bring to the booth? We're very intuitive. If there's a direction you're going in and it's not exactly right, you feel it right away. A guy will plod along for 20 minutes and then switch it up.
Sounds of the season: Because my clients are so varied-from Urban Decay to the CFDA-I have to play different genres all the time. I'm personally into the groovy indie stuff: Phantogram, Tiny Heart, Chromeo's new album, Pharrell's new album.
This socialite entrepreneur, 45, found her calling behind the turntable later than most. Gubelmann, whose great-grandfather was the famous inventor William S. Gubelmann (he created adding and accounting machines, among other business devices), has spent the last decade running Vie Luxe International, a home fragrance company that also makes private label products for designers like Oscar de la Renta and Calvin Klein. In between Vie Luxe and her numerous charity projects-she has worked with amfAR, the New York Botanical Garden, Memorial Sloan Kettering, and more-Gubelmann managed to rekindle her college-era love of DJing.
What inspired you to become a DJ? I was a radio disc jockey in college, going by the name of Mad Marj. It somehow came up at Sunday lunch with [ Paper editorial director] Mickey Boardman about three years ago. He asked me to DJ his birthday party, and I said I'd only do it for 15 minutes. It turned into three hours. I wouldn't leave. So I attended a DJ school, Scratch Academy. And it just went from zero to 60 in 20 seconds. I'm having the best time.
What did your family and friends say? I have the coolest family in the world. The Gubelmanns have always been the biggest cheerleaders for anything my brother and I do. My son is proud. And my friends are big supporters. They made it so easy.
What has become your music signature? I was raised in England in the '70s, and my father and mother were both into disco, so that was my first music memory. I play songs that most people have been dancing to in their underpants for the past 30 years while getting ready to go out. I always play Donna Summer, Grace Jones, Rihanna, Ne-Yo, Pitbull. Madonna always. Duran Duran. New Order. Erasure. I go all over the spectrum.
Describe your DJ look. I am definitely a little overdressed. I like to wear a fancy frock-Oscar de la Renta, Vera Wang-and lots of jewelry, but that's how I would dress whether I was DJing or not.
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