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unlikely obsessions: simon foxton and the local rubbish tip
In an ongoing series of interviews, i-D talks to all manner of creative and interesting folks about specific things they love which you somehow wouldn't expect them to love.
A regular contributor to i-D since the 80s, and also formerly Fashion Director, Simon Foxton is one of the most influential stylists around, whose work has consistently reflected and reimagined the ways in which men dress and present themselves. His shoots have also graced the pages of GQ Style, Fantastic Man and Vogue Hommes International, among many other publications, while his decade-spanning client list includes big brands such as Nike, adidas, Levi’s and Topman.
In tandem to always unleashing exciting editorial images, not to mention his ongoing professorship at the Royal College of Art’s MA Menswear course, Simon is one half of the creative partnership, &Son, with Nick Griffiths. Particularly notable are the advertising campaigns the twosome regularly produce for Stone Island.
Despite being up to his professional neck in fashion, Simon enjoys the simpler things in life. Here, he reveals to i-D one of his favourite pastimes, an activity that others might deem, quite literally, a load of old rubbish.
Some folks might imagine you hanging out at endless fashion parties, with a gaggle of models, sipping champagne from a designer label slipper. Does that sound like you, Simon?I never go to parties. That’s not my thing. I’ve always been useless at schmoozing. Some people come to life in that kind of environment, I just tend to get drunk and make a tit of myself. But a visit to my local rubbish tip, well, now you’re talking!
Where’s your local rubbish tip, then? And what’s it like?The tip I frequent is the Acton Re-use and Recycling Centre. I must make it clear at this point that I live in Ealing, not Acton, big difference, but this one is easier for me to drive to and they know me there now. It’s in an area with a lot of light industry units. Quite tucked away and intimate. There are about eight to ten huge metal dumpsters, each with a specific hunger: Wood & Timber, Garden Waste, Cardboard, Clothes and Textiles, Metal, Glass, Plastics, Paper and Books, Shoes, and an area for Electrical Goods and Furniture. Then there’s The Crusher! That’s where you throw the things that don’t belong in the dumpsters. The Crusher will compress anything to the point it becomes a Black Hole. The ambience at the tip is friendly, but no-nonsense. There’s a Geordie man working there who shouts at you if you are about to put something in the wrong dumpster. He runs a tight ship. And never make the mistake of trying to dispose of old tins of paint. That’s a strict no-no, as I found to my cost.
How often do you visit and what might you typically be dumping?I visit the tip probably once a week to once a fortnight. Because Ealing Council collects most of my household recycling from outside my home my expeditions to the tip are usually with the bulkier items such as old sewing machines and window frames or, more often, non-compostable garden refuse-such as the bags and bags of weeds and their roots that my allotment produces with gay abandon.
What do you particularly like about going there?I like that feeling of purging. I come away feeling lighter and friskier. Like when a dog or a cat has a poo and straight afterwards they run around like mad things. That’s how I feel when leaving the tip. The only thing I don’t like is when it is busy and you have to queue up in your car. Who are all those people? Have they got nothing better to do with their weekends?
You are known for being a regular car boot sale-frequenter and bric-a-brac collector. Do you ever buy anything at car boot sales, then change your mind and end up taking it to the tip?These days I am very strict with myself on the purchasing front. I only buy if it’s something I can’t live without. I have about ten of everything. I could literally open a decent sized restaurant with the amount of cutlery and crockery I own. Therefore I am systematically getting rid of certain things that I know I will never use. I usually assess if a friend would have use for the ‘thing’, if not is it worth giving to charity? If that’s a no, also, then it’s off to the tip with it.
Does one get the opportunity to rummage about and possibly find interesting items that have been discarded by others?NO! Anything left at the tip is not up for grabs. You will discover that pretty sharpish if you try and take something away for your own use. The Tip-Guardians are unbending in their enforcement of this rule.
Have you ever got chatting to any interesting people there? Or is it a more solitary pursuit?Loitering and chatting are not encouraged. You go, do what you have to do and get out as quickly as possible. It’s just not a chatty environment. It’s a solitary pursuit. Just you and your refuse… it’s very raw.
Is there a certain homoerotic appeal to the place? Burly builders with big bulging sacks… that kind of thing?Oh, James, classic schoolboy error: “No commercial or business waste is allowed on this site.” So no. No burly builders. It’s usually suburban middle-aged men in their scruffiest clothes. Nothing even vaguely erotic about that.
So, you have never seen any fellas there and thought, “He would be excellent as a model…”?No. Never. The tip is the antithesis of fashion, sex and work. That’s the appeal.
Has the local tip ever provided inspiration for any of your editorial or advertising work?Now you’re just being ridiculous.