CHRISTOPHER TEKENDE EEN FOTO UIT VICE NA EN MOCHT TOEN EEN MAAND IN NEW YORK LOGEREN BIJ DE MAN DIE DE TRUIEN VAN BILL COSBY MAAKTE (ZONDER ZIJN ANALE MAAGDELIJKHEID TE VERLIEZEN)

We spraken Rietveld-student Christopher Holloran laatst in een bar in Amsterdam en vroegen wat hij de laatste tijd had gedaan. "I flew to New York to work for Koos van den Akker for a month because I drew his portrait based on a photo that was published in Vice last year", zei hij. "Do tell us more!", zeiden we. Hier is het hele verhaal:

In the 1980's, Koos van den Akker made a ream of resplendent patchwork sweaters for Bill Cosby that cemented his style in the fashion world. Last year, Vice ran an article on Koos in the fashion issue and alongside it was a photo of the man himself. I've always liked his style, so to pay homage I drew his face complete with daggers of creativity entering his skull and just released it haphazardly into the ether that is the internet. A couple of months later I get a message on my YouTube from the actual Koos asking if he can use the image,. "Of course," I say, "I did it in your honour, do what you will with it, fine sir." The reply was something I wasn't expecting: "That's so sweet of you, you didn't ask for a penny, hey, in return, do you want to come to New York for a month and work with me in my studio? You can even stay in my spare 5th Ave apartment."

Fuckadoodledoo, a toss up between staying in Amsterdam aka greysville amidst a broken relationship and an apartment that smells of faecal matter or jet off to new horizons full of pastrami sandwiches and scantily clad fashion models. I left pretty hastily.

When I met Koos for the first time he showed me the apartment that had the Rockefeller right outside the window and he turned to me and said, "Now, no fucking around, 'cause we don't fucking know each other". Fair enough, I thought, confused but congenial. I went to his studio most days and at first it was like a grandpa/grandson situation. But after all the filthy comments he made about fucking guys and his no-bullshit attitude to social conduct you realise he's the coolest 70 year old that mother nature's ever plopped out.

I ended up organising a rooftop fashion shoot with Koos' clothing for his new site and even designing my own clothes that he'd make bespoke, no matter how weird. And all this time he'd take me out to meals and give me cool books or take me to Fire (the gay) Island? Hold on a second, gay island? Was he trying to turn me? This was too good to be true, where's the catch? Was he pruning me for something sordid? Had I unwittingly flown to the other side of the earth to be his patsy? Well it turned out that it was actually all fine and I really did just get massively fucking lucky with no hint of a sexual favour as reciprocation. Nice one.

So what should you take from this? Just simply arbitrarily draw any celeb from a magazine and wait for a serendipitous email asking if you'd like to be lavished in a foreign land, easy fucking peasy.

CHRISTOPHER HOLLORAN