In his current show at Victoria Miro, Grayson Perry targets art collectors, gently ribbing the privileged one per cent over their art-buying habits. So, we know what he thinks of their taste in art, but what does he make of their fashion choices? We wanted to find out, so we asked Perry to pick his top looks at the opening of Frieze London yesterday.
“It’s like the Olympic final of collecting: the runners are doing up their laces, getting ready to go and acquire that hot thing they hope will complete their collection,” he said as the doors opened and anxious collectors came streaming in. “The serious collectors are in running gear—so they get what they want.”
Perry was sporting a defiant “dad look” but with a “Frieze twist”, he said, which meant bright yellow Crocs, corduroys and a bespoke floral fleece. “You see women walking around in stilettos here and you think: you don’t collect art, do you? Or you collect very little.” But heels are getting rarer these days, he observed. “I think that’s great. For me, I’m a 59-year-old transvestite. I’m of an age when I can’t wear high heels anymore. If fashion goes in the direction where you can wear it with flats, I’m all for it.”
A few years ago, he decided to stop coming to Frieze as his alter-ego Claire because “he couldn’t move” for selfie hunters. Still, he is always “pro-effort”, he said. “I like ugly people who make loads of effort, I don’t want effortlessly beautiful people; I like to see artifice and craft.”
Bold colours are key and black is out of the question. Colour is a political matter for him, too: a way for the patriarchy to reinforce itself. “You look at a normal group of men and they’re all in black. It’s all about being invisible: they are the watchers, not the watched.”
The “hot trainer” is definitely the way to go these days, he noted, but “art-world black” is still holding out. Here’s his pick of those who brought some extra flair to the fair this year.
• Grayson Perry: Super Rich Interior Decoration, Victoria Miro, London, until 20 December