Dining with the Fabbest Bitches: Luar

Paul is the former fashion director and designer of Hood By Air, and current cohost of the Not Really podcast with fashion editor Patrik Sandberg. Raul is the creative director and brains behind subversive NYC fashion label Luar. To say they are fabulous is grossly understating the genius of their work. If ever you got the idea to combine their resumes, you’d have an A-list longer than the A train. “Our story is very buzzworthy,” Paul texts me. And he’s right. From Anna Wintour to Rihanna, these two have created aesthetics that have influenced more moodboards than most could fathom—and others would dare to even admit.

In essence, they’re your favorite trendsetter’s favorite trendsetters.

For their conversation, Paul chose the setting of Peter Luger—a steakhouse as classic New York as his longtime friend. Below is their lunchtime kiki in all its glory. 

PAUL CUPO—Okay, cheers. It’s two o’clock in the afternoon at Peter Luger, and we are having a glass of wine waiting for our table. I was stupid enough not to call in a reservation because I assumed we could walk right in at two in the afternoon.

RAUL LOPEZ—I told you!

PC—Well, I was assuming I was with a Williamsburg legend and we would have floated right in.

RL—Well, that’s why I asked you if we had a reservation! PC—Well, do something! RL—It’s too late now.

PC—Fine… Okay. You just pointed out those chocolate gold coins at the bar and said what?

RL—They used to give them to us when we walked by, going to school in the morning, before they were open. Like, when we were in kindergarten. A lot of them are Dominicans that work here in the kitchen. It’s predominantly Dominicans in the back and downstairs.

PC—Italians in the front and Dominicans in the back—so, the opposite of this interview.

RL—Right! I used to die every morning to get these chocolate coins.

PC—That’s so cute. So, you grew up here?

RL—A block away from here—I’m on Broadway between Berry and Bedford Aves.

PC—You don’t need to tell everyone your home address.

RL—That’s fine, they can come through and see where granny lives.

PC—I know you’re a granny, you know I’m a granny, but what should people know about what it is to be a granny?

RL—I think it’s because I’ve been around so long in downtown. I’m an old New Yorker. I’ve been around, I’ve seen it all.

PC—Do you think we’ve actually seen it all?

RL—Yeah. We come from an era of unfiltered, uncensored…

PC—No cell phones.

RL—…everything was IRL. So, you were really seeing it. Everything was about bumping into your girls in the streets.

PC—That’s where I first met you. I have a vision in my head of me and Shayne [Oliver] walking on Broadway in SoHo and we bumped into you in Duane Reade. I kind of knew who you were through Shayne, but I was thinking, ‘Who is this freak?’ I mean, I knew who you were, but I was still scared.

RL—Everyone is.

PC—You were giving color contacts, hair, and you got right in my face. I grabbed my bag and clutched my pearls. But you were actually really sweet.

RL—I’m screaming. I AM sweet! I’m an old lady! I think people think I’m a bitch just because of the way I look, but I’m not. I could be, but I’m not.

PC—The look has certainly changed…

RL—It’s age appropriate. I had to settle into my skin. [The host yells, “PAUL!” The duo sits.]

PC—So, office asked me to come meet up with you because we are sisters for many years.

RL—Actually, my first recollection of meeting you was at Pat Field’s back, like way back in the day.

PC—My best friend used to be the manager, so I would be in there every single day.

RL—Everybody would—it was the look.

PC—Has anything since come in and replaced that energy?

RL—Nope.

PC—We are in Peter Luger having lunch, so we obviously have to get the steak for two. So, first question: How do you take your steak?

RL—Medium rare. Are you a well-done girl?

PC—I actually am.

RL—O. M. G. You are so ratchet. Can they do half-and-half?

PC—No, let’s do medium, this is your day.

RL—We also have to get the bacon, it’s iconic. Another recommendation is the creamed spinach for two. It’s fab. The tomatoes are good, but whatever. The bread is fab—they are known for this bread.

PC—When I was on my way here I was texting you and sent you my location, and your immediate response was, “I don’t share locations.” Why?

RL—People don’t need to know where I am at. For what?

PC—Are you hiding something?

RL—No, I’m just very personal with my life. I mean, who has really even been to my house? Nobody. I don’t even like to congregate in my apartment.

PC—How long have you lived there?

RL—My whole life.

PC—In that apartment?

RL—In another apartment in the building. I was born in Brooklyn Hospital, which is also where Michael Jordan was born, and Whitney Houston, thank you. Put that on the record. Look at the onions in this bread.

PC—Wait, those onions are in the bread?

RL—Yeah, so fab. You know I’m a fake white woman now, right?

PC—We are being white women right now—sipping white wine, buttering our bread…

RL—Conversations.

PC—Eye contact. How has this neighborhood changed around you?

RL—Well, now I’m a white woman.

PC—You went from a young Dominican boy to a white woman.

RL—Yeah, it was my transition. You know what’s crazy? I feel like I gentrified this neighborhood.

PC—Well, you are one of the only fashion designers able to say you were born in Williamsburg. Do you own that apartment?

RL—I don’t even have rent control! We lived in three different apartments in Williamsburg over my lifetime.

PC—Are you at least paying substantially lower than you should be paying?

RL—No. Too much. I know this is going to sound corny, but I do mind the fact that a lot of families and people of color were pushed out by rent increasing and developments. At the same time, the neighborhood is a reflection of myself—I do love good eating, I love a quiet neighborhood, I love an expensive coffee, I love a latte. It’s at my doorstep now.

PC—You love safety and to be able to pump around in your looks without getting bothered.

RL—Yeah, but I already did that when it wasn’t safe. I paved the way around here, honey. Bitch I’ve been punched in my face too many times, so these boys can wear glitter on their faces and miniskirts. [A waiter brings water to the table.]

WAITER—Wow, what is this set up we have here? Are you guys making a movie?

PC—No, I’m interviewing him. He’s a fashion designer.

AITER—Who for? Vogue Brooklyn?

PC—No, but Vogue Brooklyn should definitely be a thing.

RL—I know! Anna, if you are reading this… Did you know Anna Wintour came to my house right down the block? I have a picture right here, it’s my screensaver. This is her right here, ringing the buzzer…PISSED. But yeah, this neighborhood, it’s kinda like me—you go around the corner, it’s still Spanish, Black, Hasidic. The old me. Then, I turn this way and it’s like the new me—I love fine dining, I love to drink wine, I love a natural wine, I love an orange wine. I love an organic grass-fed moment.

PC—You want a Whole Foods and a Sephora at your doorstep.

RL—Yeah and an Apple store—that’s at my doorstep too.

PC—God, what did we do before a Sephora?

RL—Macy’s counters. I was a Macy’s counter girl, remember? I worked at M.A.C in Macy’s Herald Square.

PC—Iconic location.

RL—For an iconic girl.

PC—Full-on tour makeup at noon!

RL—Yeah, they used to go IN.

PC—Do you work with M.A.C now?

RL—Yeah, but now they work for me. But for real, they are still so cool—so shout out to M.A.C, I’m waiting for a makeup collaboration.

PC—What does a Luar makeup collaboration look like?

RL—Men’s. I wouldn’t do women’s makeup. I want to come for Gaultier, because remember when he had the men’s makeup line?

PC—Bitch! You know I had that in high school—that lip gloss! And the eyeliner that looked like a flair pen!

RL—I was that girl! Men’s makeup, white liner and nude liner.

PC—You used to wear a lot of white liner.

RL—Yeah, so it’s literally just my makeup looks—white liner and indigo pencil because that’s what I used to draw the tattoos on my face. So, I’ll just design the line with all the things I used to use that are now discontinued, just to get them all back.

PC—You used to do full tattoo face.

RL—Yeah I was the original ‘trap trade.’

PC—Everyone used to think they were real.

RL—Yeah, last week someone asked where my tattoos went.

PC—What do you think about face tattoos now?

RL—I mean…they’re dumb. That’s why I used to use pencil. I mean yeah, they’re ‘sexy,’ and they’re ‘hot,’ but it’s like, honey, in 40 years…

PC—You’re so old school! RL—I’m really traditional in a lot of ways, which is really crazy.

PC—What is a Dominican family upbringing like?

RL—Loud. They can talk, listen to the radio and watch TV at the same time. And you can understand everything at the same time symbiotically. It’s a talent to be able to do it—I can do it. I’ve mastered it. I can listen to them talking, watching TV and in the background bachata is playing.

PC—Does your family all live here in New York?

RL—Yeah, I don’t have family in the Dominican Republic. My family came here in the ‘50s when the Great Migration happened.

PC—Then why do you go back so often?

RL—I love it. There’s this thing that Dominicans do where they want to embed Spanish culture in you at a young age. [Food arrives. The duo takes pictures of the bacon.]

RL—I have a food blog, it’s called ‘Rags to Riches, Dining with the Fabbest Bitches.’

PC—Do you really?

RL—Yeah, look out for that.

PC—You should start with a food Twitter.

RL—No. This is why I’m a granny! I’ve never been on Tumblr, I’ve never been on Twitter—I don’t even know what they even look like. I heard the porn is amazing on Twitter.

PC—It’s really inappropriate because you will be on the subway scrolling and then someone will look over and it looks like you’re watching porn. Let me eat this bacon, and then I’ll ask another question.

RL—How good is it? Listen to your sis.

PC—God this is so good, it’s like a pork chop. Okay. So, you’ve been going to the DR since you were super young?

RL—Yeah, every summer since kindergarten, your parents ship you out—deported—for just a couple of months.

PC—You were doing a lot of work trips there recently too, right?

RL—Eh, back in the day. There used to be a lot of factories there. Timberland, Gap, American Apparel—yes you heard me, American Apparel was not made in America—they are made in the DR. But I’m still really obsessed with the culture there. It’s so hyper femme and hyper masc at the same time. I’m really obsessed with the boys in the hood, because they will go to the flea and thrifts and buy actual women’s pieces because they think it looks good. Being gay there is like a hierarchy. They love it, they live it, the more flamboyant the better. They look at gay people like we’re creatives. It goes back to this old school mentality, like, ‘Look at his hands, they are so manicured!’

PC—For the record, you do have a beautifully manicured hand. R

L—Yeah, thank you Naomi [Yasuda]! She always comes through.

PC—So, you were born in Brooklyn, you grew up here and partially in the Dominican Republic, and now you’ve replaced the DR with Paris.

RL—Which is kind of similar, because they are so banjee! Do you know why I live for Paris? Because Paris gives you New York in the earlier 2000s. They are culturally so behind, but so ahead with fashion. Like Paris ballroom culture is way cuter than here. It’s so raw. Same with the clubs—we don’t even have gay clubs here in New York anymore. The fab gay clubs, saunas, gay neighborhoods.

PC—We barely even have gay neighborhoods anymore.

RL—I used to get buckets of water thrown on me on Christopher Street from the apartments. I would stand on the corner and the lady would open her window and throw a bucket of water on me. So fab, so old school.

PC—Wait, so you think Paris is fashion forward?

RL—To the masses it is.

PC—If Paris isn’t fashion forward, then where is?

RL—The DR.

PC—Why? Because it comes so natural?

RL—Exactly. It’s what they think is cool, which probably doesn’t look cool to everyone else at first.

PC—But it’s how trends start.

RL—Exactly, which is why I used to go down there to take their look. But another thing I love about Paris, is that here [in New York], everyone is so afraid to say anything anymore, but in Paris people will literally take out their phones and start filming and laughing at me. No, I’m serious. I think that energy juices me up. I’m not being juiced up in New York. I’m not being read anymore.

PC—We grew up being read every subway ride for looking like freaks.

RL—Exactly. When I came out of my house in Brooklyn, if I wasn’t yelled at and made fun of, then the look wasn’t right. I would turn around and go home and change because I knew I looked too normal. Now I’m the opposite, I’m age appropriate, and me being so age appropriate is shocking to people. Me wearing a Columbia sweater? Jeans and a blazer? CRAZY.

PC—I guess we should talk about fashion now, right?

RL—Ewwwww.

PC—Why are you a fashion designer?

RL—Because I’d go crazy. I don’t know how to do anything else. When I started Luar, I was going so crazy—it was all that cuckoo cunt technical wear. Now everybody is doing it. They were telling me it was wrong from a buyer’s point of view. “This is not going to sell, it’s too crazy,” et cetera. I feel like right now I need a change.

PC—How are you changing?

RL—Changing area codes, honey. I feel like I’m getting juiced up again going all over and people being scared of me and the way I look again—this Spanish flamboyant boy.

PC—Where do you go?

RL—Paris, London, the Cayman Islands. The Caymans are Christian islands, so they look at me like I’m nuts. Paris is white conservative, so they look at me like I’m nuts. London is white conservative, so they look at me like I’m nuts.

PC—Are you showing this fall?

RL—No, I’m taking a mental break.

PC—Why do you need a mental break?

RL—Where do I start? It’s becoming redundant. Everybody speaks about sustainability, inclusiveness, all this nonsense. What does that even mean? They are trying to push designers to keep cranking out clothing and logos to go on sales racks and it’s all going into landfills. Do you understand I came from Hood By Air, who paved the way of stamping everything with a logo? No one wants to see that many logos anymore. People want the same shit over and over and over. I don’t need 100 million brands doing the same thing.

PC—You founded Hood By Air with Shayne, so I guess I met you right after you left. I had heard all these crazy rumors about this huge blowup fight with you and Shayne, but when I first met you at that time, you guys seemed really cool with each other.

RL—Everybody wants Foxy and Lil’ Kim battles, but it’s not [like that]. He’s the little sister—I can’t be without her and she can’t be without me. I’m in my world and she’s in hers. But we also portray that thing where we don’t want everyone knowing we love each other. I don’t think people understand why I left HBA. I think people think I left because me and Shayne had crazy problems.

PC—I mean, I don’t know the story at all. And maybe there is something good about people not kno wing.

RL—It was more that I didn’t want to lose my friendship with Shayne over a brand. I value friendships too much. I’m ride-or-die. And I feel like we were getting more distant, because it was becoming more work than friendship. I mean, I should’ve just rode it out. Everyone thinks I’m crazy for leaving when it was taking off, but I always felt like for me, I already had the monetary benefits, I had nice clothes and nice cars. So, for me, it was about saving the friendship. And we are still really close—not as close as we used to be, obviously. But yeah, that’s it. I’ve never said this to an yone, which is crazy.

PC—Fashion is silly. I’m just realizing how silly this all is. Why do we even do it?

PC—How are you changing?

RL—Changing area codes, honey. I feel like I’m getting juiced up again going all over and people being scared of me and the way I look again—this Spanish flamboyant boy.

PC—Where do you go?

RL—Paris, London, the Cayman Islands. The Caymans are Christian islands, so they look at me like I’m nuts. Paris is white conservative, so they look at me like I’m nuts. London is white conservative, so they look at me like I’m nuts.

PC—Are you showing this fall?

RL—No, I’m taking a mental break.

PC—Why do you need a mental break?

RL—Where do I start? It’s becoming redundant. Everybody speaks about sustainability, inclusiveness, all this nonsense. What does that even mean? They are trying to push designers to keep cranking out clothing and logos to go on sales racks and it’s all going into landfills. Do you understand I came from Hood By Air, who paved the way of stamping everything with a logo? No one wants to see that many logos anymore. People want the same shit over and over and over. I don’t need 100 million brands doing the same thing

. PC—You founded Hood By Air with Shayne, so I guess I met you right after you left. I had heard all these crazy rumors about this huge blowup fight with you and Shayne, but when I first met you at that time, you guys seemed really cool with each other.

RL—Everybody wants Foxy and Lil’ Kim battles, but it’s not [like that]. He’s the little sister—I can’t be without her and she can’t be without me. I’m in my world and she’s in hers. But we also portray that thing where we don’t want everyone knowing we love each other. I don’t think people understand why I left HBA. I think people think I left because me and Shayne had crazy problems.

PC—I mean, I don’t know the story at all. And maybe there is something good about people not kno wing.

RL—It was more that I didn’t want to lose my friendship with Shayne over a brand. I value friendships too much. I’m ride-or-die. And I feel like we were getting more distant, because it was becoming more work than friendship. I mean, I should’ve just rode it out. Everyone thinks I’m crazy for leaving when it was taking off, but I always felt like for me, I already had the monetary benefits, I had nice clothes and nice cars. So, for me, it was about saving the friendship. And we are still really close—not as close as we used to be, obviously. But yeah, that’s it. I’ve never said this to an yone, which is crazy.

PC—Fashion is silly. I’m just realizing how silly this all is. Why do we even do it?

RL—I’m gonna tell you something Analisa [Teachworth] told me. She told me, “Nobody puts a gun to our head every morning and tells us to get up and create. It’s in our nature. You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. You just don’t know how not to do it.” Nobody forces us to do this. It’s just the only way I know how to tell my story.

PC—If you weren’t doing fashion, what would you be doing?

RL—Like, no artistry? Well, I’ve been dabbling in the hotel world now. I’m actually creative directing a hotel in the Cayman Islands, it’s called Palm Heights, and it’s the first boutique hotel on the island. I’ve been working on it for the past year, and it’s been very therapeutic in a way. It’s amazing. The day after my show last season I was on a plane to the Caymans to have IVs put into me. I lost forty pounds from stress. So, I shipped myself to the Caymans to get this. [Raul lifts his shirt and slaps his stomach.]

PC—What jeans are those?

RL—You’ll never guess. It’s H&M $10 rack. I bought four pairs. Iconic.

PC—So, you shop fast fashion?

RL—Of course! I’m the original fast fashion girl.

PC—You should do an H&M collab!

RL—I’d rather do Zara. New items everyday. I hear Zara has an entire team that just handles their lawsuits everyday to deal with knockoffs.

PC—Have you ever been knocked off?

RL—Yeah, I have a whole archive of pictures documenting it. Just in case anyone wants to make it hot. ‘Cause if they wanna make it hot, I can make it HOT.

PC—How has your brand evolved? Have you been telling one story that always evolves, or do you tell a new story each season? RL—New stories each collection. I mean, I’m not a writer, so the only way for me to tap into periods of my life is through fashion. Traumatic, fun, happy, annoyed.

PC—What changed after the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund?

RL—I think people think the money was a huge thing. Let’s say I would have gotten the 400 grand—that’s nothing! That blows so quick with fashion. I think the biggest thing about doing the Fashion Fund for me was proving to my family that fashion is something. I didn’t have a diploma from a fashion school, they’re immigrants from the Dominican Republic. I mean, they get it now after years, but they wanted to see the actual paper that says “YOU ARE FASHION.”

PC—I totally get that. My family didn’t think I even had a job until they saw me in the New York Times as the “Fashion Director of Hood by Air.” They were like, “Wow.”

RL—You have a job! PC—Exactly. I guess Italian and Dominicans families are—

RL—The same!

PC—I guess I’m asking about the Fashion Fund because as a—what’s the term— ‘queer Latinx’ designer…

RL—I’m not ‘queer LatinX.’ I’m a Latino gay boy. I’m Latino Fan Club—Google that.

PC—Oh god, I still have dues I owe the video store from my youth for my Latino Fan Club collection.

RL—It’s not like I don’t identify as Latinx as much and I don’t identify as queer. Growing up, being called a queer was worse than being called a faggot. In London, to be called a queer is the most derogatory thing to call a gay man. It’s crazy that the word has evolved so much, which I understand and respect, but you are not gonna call me that.

PC—Growing up, queer was what we referred to as weird.

RL—Growing up, if you called me a queer I probably would have cried. If you called me a faggot, I would’ve gotten mad. To me, it was the most derogatory thing to call a gay man. This is for me—for my story.

PC—We are set in our ways.

RL—Oh, you feel like that too?

PC—Yeah. I’m fine with younger people referring to themselves however they want to identify, but I can’t change how I identify this late in the game.

RL—I mean, I guess we are referred to as queer culture now. It’s not gay culture anymore, it’s ‘queer culture’, which is fine. I go with the times and I’m not too bothered.

PC—Well you are a ‘POC queer in the fashion world.’

RL—Which is so shady and so racist, but it’s okay, I let the kids get their life. I think it’s so shady when peoplecall me a “POC gay designer.” When I walk out of my house, I know I’m a faggot, I know I’m Latino, I know I’m a designer, I know I’m colored. You don’t need to reassure me every time. It’s like when dudes used to be like, “Oh you fucking faggot.” Yeah, I put on this skirt, you idiot. It’s like a built-in segregation within the fashion industry.

PC—Do you think they open up slots for each demographic?

RL—Obviously. They definitely categorize us all. “The Trans Designer” they recently tried to call me.

PC—What designers inspire you from the past?

RL—I love Lacroix, obviously Gaultier, obviously Galliano, Chalayan.

PC—So you clearly like theatrics.

RL—Of course. I’m a showgirl. I appreciate the effort of breaking your back for eight minutes just to make everybody feel great. It’s like a mom, when they know they are having a houseguest. They make the food, they host, everybody’s there. Then everybody leaves and is like, “Wow that was so good. Raul’s mom was so nice.”

PC—Speaking of mothers… You’re a Mother.

RL—I’m an ‘Overall Mother.’

PC—How many children do you have? How many kids are in the House of Luar? RL—Like 30 across the world. I’ve crossed water. PC—Let’s say I wanted to join the legendary House of Luar—how would I do that?

RL—You just have to be extra—you need to be a Carrie!

PC—Last question—when we were walking into Peter Luger you refused to walk under the scaffolding. Why? Are you scared its gonna fall on you?

RL—I don’t like to block my fruits. That covers the fruit that comes from the sky, my blessings. I’m really old school with stuff like that. —END

All clothes LUAR FW19