William Middleton
I knew about\xa0William\xa0Middleton\xa0from the biography\u2014or double biography, rather\u2014he wrote of the great French-Texan art collectors, Dominique and John de Menil. When we got to talking, I realized that we have more in common than I thought: turns out we are both from the American southwest and ended up working for publications in New York and Paris.
William\xa0first moved to Paris in 1990 as a writer for an American design magazine. Throughout his decade in France, he moved from design to fashion and from le Marais to Pigalle,\xa0throwing decadent parties for the likes of Karl Lagerfeld.\xa0William\xa0found his way back to France in May 2019,\xa0moving into an apartment in the 7th arrondissement on the same street where his muse, Dominique de Menil, grew up.
I spoke to\xa0William\xa0over Zoom about his experience of\xa0battling COVID-19 while in France; the power of\xa0connection; and aesthetics in\xa0both\xa0Paris and New York.