Text Azamat Tseboev

The first time I saw him was on the catwalk that bisected the Milan club Alcatraz, where the soundtrack had just gone silent from the show of the women’s D’Squared line. In the crowd, among the fashion editors, buyers of various languages, famous actors, not-quite famous celebrities, acting models, their friends, ex-models, their friends, influential lovers and simply those who love to inhale the sweet dust of the fashion world from time to time, he looked rather exotic.
At 60 plus, he has grey hair to his shoulders, a Stetson hat, a coat of aged ostrich skin, a debonair kerchief round his neck, carefully worn jeans, and sturdy leather cowboy boots made of python skin. He looked like an Australian crocodile hunter or an aging rock star, Keith Richards' contemporary. I looked at him for about five minutes and he did not once find himself alone. Reporters and fame-seekers asked him to pose with them or say something into the microphone; someone came by to say hello and exchange a few words; about ten people simply stood around and looked him over, literally expecting him to perform some kind of trick. You got the feeling that if he wasn't used to the attention from the people around him, then it certainly wasn't new either ----- he smiled in a friendly way at all the camera lenses, shook hands and responded to greetings. People in the know said that his name was Jim Goldstein; that he was a millionaire - at least; and that no one knew how he got his money; moreover, his father was the owner of a supermarket in Milwaukee in the state of Wisconsin; that he was American and lived in Los Angeles; that he unbelievable home which has graced the pages of architectural magazines the world over and was featured in " The Big Lebowski”, "Charlie's Angels” and something else; that he doesn't miss one significant Paris or Milan show; that he is friends with fashion designers and, it seems, with the models themselves; that he sits on the first row; that he spends completely absurd sums of money on clothes; that on his giant business card is written: James F Goldstein. Fashion, Architecture, Basketball; and that he dedicates all of his time to those passions ... After that, I met Jim at practically all of the Fashion Weeks, but only now was I able to talk to him.

Over the course of the past three years, we have crossed paths in different points in Europe, and bow at last; you've been brought to Moscow. How did that happen?
One of my great passions is fashion. I go to Europe twice a year -- to Paris and to Milan, when the show season is going, beyond that, I am not indifferent to Moscow. So when I found out that the Moscow Fashion Week begins nine days after the Paris one, I decided it was still a bit early to fly back to the states. And so I am in Moscow.
What is fashion for you?
Fashion is always something new. It is definitely quality and of course, creative. Fashion for me is a kind of art. That's why I take pleasure in fashion, not only when I wear fashionable things, but when I see them demonstrated on the catwalk.

Are you more a fan of fashion or a consumer of it?
I am a little bit of one and of the other. There is no man on the planet who would buy as much clothing as I do. In Milan, in Paris, everywhere...
One would not call your style Ordinary. At least In Europe, few dress like that...
I'll put it this way: some styles are, without a doubt, closer to me than others. But the main thing is that I have never liked to look like everybody else. And what's more - every season I change all of my wardrobe...
How do you mean all?
That's how I mean it -- all it’s no matter how much I like one thing or another.
If it is from last season, I do not wear it anymore…
That's cool ... And do you know any of the designers personally?
Yes: Roberto Cavalli, Jean Paul Gaultier, John Galliano. In general over the years, I have gotten to know most of the designers whose clothes I wear.
What and where did you study?
I studied in school and got good marks in math. Then I studied some of the exact sciences and then decided that none of that was for me and moved to Hollywood.
Where you built yourself a fantastic home that many of us have had the pleasure of seeing in the movies...
And not in only one. "The Big Lebowski” was perhaps the best in the cinema career of my home. My house also often acts in music videos. That latest one was in the spring: Snoop Dog shot the video for his song "Let's Get Blown” It was very funny, and I even made an appearance in it...
Did you build the home especially to attract attention?
No, of course not. I didn't think about that at all just like with my clothing, which sets me apart from others, and can increase my popularity. I have simply always worn things very unlike the daily attire of the ordinary American.
By the way, why is it that you suddenly became popular? What, in your opinion, so interests other people, and the press of course, in you?
I myself am trying to find out why it happened. And why it happened only in the last few years and not earlier. Maybe it's because I got older and a person of my age in clothing like this who goes to all the fashion shows and all the NBA matches arouses interest? I truly don't know ... It doesn't seem that I behave extravagantly in any way…
What gets you excited other than fashion and basketball?
Architecture. I have been working on my home for over 25 years. I devote a great deal of attention to each detail, each corner, and plan to continue for another 10 years. I have so many interesting plans ... If I am interested in something, then I carry my interest to the limit. Not to become famous, but because I am a true and nitpicking perfectionist.

Do you travel a lot?
A lot. Both in America and in Europe. But I think the best time to visit a City is when Fashion Week is taking place there. Then you can catch the shows and the parties and the masses of interesting personalities. But aside from fashion, partying and beauty, I can see perfectly the horrors that are occurring in the world, especially in politics. I see what a negative role the United States often plays and how attitudes toward America have changed under Bush. And often
I am very ashamed at what my country is doing.
Do you say that when you're in America?
Yes, of course. In Los Angeles, where I live, the vast majority think the same way as I do. But if you go into the rural areas, it's a completely different picture. And I can't reconcile myself to that. The ideology that is driving George Bush is penetrated with a putrid religious spirit, a worn-out Protestant fantasy ... Basically; there are two countries, two Americas. My America is New York, Los Angeles, and other separate places on the West Coast and the East. .. The other America, and it is much larger, is the central part where people know practically nothing and, most importantly, don't want to know about the surrounding world. It simply doesn't interest them at all. When I come to Europe, it is so much easier for me to interact with people. So much easier that when I return to the US, I ask myself each time. "What am I doing here?”