The ephemerality of digital magazine covers and the fleeting popularity of social media have us searching for real-life icons of our time, and Paul Cavaco (the former fashion director of Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue and the longtime creative director of Allure magazine) and his daughter Kayli Cavaco-Leck (founder of Knockout Beauty) are hoping to ride that wave of nostalgia with a new podcast, set to premiere Thursday.
Produced by Rococo Punch (The Turning, Welcome to Provincetown), “Under the Cover” features the Kavakos in conversation with friends and industry heavyweights, including Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, Anna Sui, Molly Sims, legendary hairstylist Galen and Allure founder Linda Wells.
Tune in for insider info on why Michael Kors chose Fifth Avenue and 57th Street as his ATM PIN, when 17-year-old Tone Goodman eloped with a Dutch sailor, the true origins of Cher Horowitz’s yellow plaid skirt suit in Clueless, and when Cindy Crawford refused to let Kevin Aucoin tape her face during a Harper’s Bazaar shoot. Stay tuned for aspirational stories of agency and empowerment.
In the first episode, Paul and Kaylee talk to Crawford. The conversation moves from Crawford’s “supermodel” persona (she was valedictorian of her high school and won a scholarship to study chemical engineering at Northwestern University) to her controversial decision to pose nude for Playboy (a topic she covered in Apple’s documentary series, “The Supermodels”). There’s also a bit about Crawford’s skincare line, “Meaningful Beauty.” But the story that’s likely to resonate with listeners is when Crawford refused to alter her face with tape at the urging of the late pioneering makeup artist Aucoin. The story was circa 1990, and the sweater editorial, shot by Patrick Demarchelier, also featured Claudia Schiffer and Karen Muldaur. Aucoin decided to use tape to alter the models’ faces. “So everyone looked like a stern version of themselves, with their faces turned back and cat eyes,” Paul recalls in the podcast. “When I look at the pictures now, I think, Oh my God, what was I thinking?” he says.
Crawford told Aucoin that he would not do such a thing. [in my 20s]”I think it’s weird that it looks like you’ve had a facelift. I don’t think it’s a good message to send to young women,” she said.
Paul told her that the editor in him was frustrated with her — “You have to do what I say and what the team wants,” he said — but as a father to a girl, he respected her ability to voice her opinion.
“The only times as a model that I’ve ever regretted something I’ve done are when I didn’t ask for it and I was persuaded into doing it,” Crawford says. “And that happened a few times early on in my career. You slowly learn to say no, and I think that’s what I did that day. And luckily, Paul didn’t excommunicate me, and Kevin didn’t excommunicate me.”
“It was the first time I really had to think about things and consider the humanity of the person in front of me,” Paul added. “Something changed for me. In a good way.”
These behind-the-scenes anecdotes serve as cautionary tales, and that’s part of what the Cavacos aim to do. Paul’s tenure in the fashion industry, and Kaley’s front-row seat, which began when she was literally in diapers, spans a period of great change, when social channels have undermined the traditional magazine’s status as arbiter and premier platform. Today, influencers can sell more product than magazine editors and stylists who are as famous as their clients.
When asked what he thought about Law Roach’s claim that he’s not just a stylist but an “image architect,” Paul smiled: “When I first read that, I thought it was an interesting way of putting it. I think people are trying to find their identity in this marketplace,” he told WWD in a recent joint interview with Kaley.
“We come from a different time. Everyone wanted to be an editor or a stylist. It was a simpler time. Now it’s more complicated and people have to wear more hats. I love what he does, so for me it’s great.”
Paul Cavaco with fashion designer and friend Anna Sui. Courtesy of Paul Cavaco
The idea for “Under the Cover” has been brewing in one form or another in the Cavaco family for years: “It was actually the title of my dad’s book, but he said he’d never write it,” Kayli says, “because he didn’t want a tribute to Paul Cavaco.”
And that’s not what the Kavakos are aiming for with their podcast.
“This isn’t about vanity. I’m not doing this because my dad’s career needs a resurgence. We weren’t looking for a project. I definitely convinced him to do it.”
Paul Cavaco’s career spans almost half a century, since he founded his eponymous PR firm with his wife, Kezia Keeble, in 1976. (The firm became Keeble, Cavaco & Duca in 1983, when former New York Times fashion reporter John Duca joined. Paul and Kezia divorced in 1985 and she married Duca, who died in 1989; Kezia died of breast cancer in 1990, at age 48.) His work as a freelancer and later stylist for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Allure includes a plethora of iconic covers, including Annie Leibovitz’s 1981 Rolling Stone cover featuring a white-faced Meryl Streep, and Steven Meisel’s 1998 US Vogue cover of Oprah Winfrey (for which Oprah lost 20 pounds). Demarchelier shot Kate Moss’ career-changing editorial for Harper’s Bazaar in 1992. He has also worked on campaigns for Dior, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors and Versace, and collaborated with Madonna on her famous book, “Sex.” Kaley grew up attending shoots and runway shows with her parents. “Galen remembers the first fashion show we went to together, and Kaley was attached to my back,” Paul says. In 2016, Kaley founded Knockout Beauty.
Knockout Beauty founder Kaylee Cavaco-Leck with Marc Jacobs. Courtesy of Paul Cavaco
“Fashion people can be a bit intimidating,” Paul points out, “and they think they’re critical, superficial and only care about what they have. But when you talk to them, you get to know them and they’re so lovable. We had an amazing community, so going to work was always fun, even though there was a lot of pressure. Galen and I did Oprah’s cover of Vogue together, which was a lot of pressure, but it was so exhilarating and so much fun.”
The podcast will also introduce a video element later. As Kaley says, “When you’re talking about photography, you want to see the photography.” They’re lining up interviews with Christy Turlington, Anna Sui, Galen, Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, Molly Sims, Tone Goodman, Linda Wells, Linda Evangelista and Kate Moss, to name a few. They’re also in touch with Naomi Campbell. “We’re very close with the supermen,” Kaley says, “so I think it’ll feel even better if they all make an appearance.”
Many of the people Paul worked with early in his career are now deceased (photographers Demarchelier and Peter Lindbergh, hairstylist Oribe Canales), so the Cavaco brothers aren’t self-aware of the healthy dose of nostalgia they’re dealing with.
“These people have traveled the world together and worked together for years, and you can really sense the depth of their relationships in their conversations,” says Kaylee. “I think it’s interesting to hear about people’s connections, people who really connect with each other analogue, through shared experiences. People don’t even talk on the phone anymore, they just text. It’s really cool to hear someone’s voice, see them, and feel like you’re meeting them through us. That’s why I think now is the right time to do something like this.”
Paul Cavaco with former Vogue fashion director Tone Goodman. Courtesy of Paul Cavaco
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