If Andy met denim maven Paige Adams-Geller, he’d probably be a fan of her ability to elevate an all-American status symbol. Her company, Paige, makes some of the most coveted jeans in the world, so it’s no surprise Adams-Geller is a commercial success. But what you might not know is that this Johnny Depp fan with a sweet tooth has a lot to say about Andy’s style in the interview below.

What was your first Warholian moment, and when did you first encounter him?

The Sigourney Weaver self-portraits in the movie Working Girl.

What or who would be Andy’s muse if he were alive today?

Cara Delevingne and Lady GaGa.

What are your latest cultural obsessions?

Pinterest, kale, Chia seeds, Brussels sprouts, and salted caramel everything.

What would you consider Warhol’s most memorable quote or anthem?

“I never fall apart, because I never fall together.”

If you could collaborate with Andy on a project, what would it be?

Filming my biopic Scattered Paiges — if you only knew the truth.

Dream dinner-party: you, Warhol, and…?

David Bowie, Johnny Depp and Annie Leibovitz.

Imagine Warhol had a Twitter account. What kind of thing might he say in 140 characters or less?

“I created reality TV 40 years ago…so what?”

Whose portrait would Andy most want to do now?

Pink.

Soup can or coke bottle?

Coke bottle…sexier shape.

Drag every day or only on special occasions?

Special occasions! More fun for shoe shopping!

As editor-in-chief of Out, America’s largest gay men’s magazine, Aaron Hicklin knows a thing or two about gay culture. And while Andy Warhol wasn’t the first openly-gay celebrity in American history, he was certainly one of the first to gain such mainstream acceptance: Indeed, it’s hard to imagine popular culture today without him. In conjunction with an upcoming gay pride-themed sale of Warhol’s drawing and photographs, most focused on the male nude, Christie’s wanted to hear Hicklin’s take on Andy’s art and persona — their effect on him personally and on the culture at large. Here, he talks antiques, Ru Paul and why we’re all really drag artists deep down. 

What was your first Warholian moment, and when did you first encounter him?

I don’t recall — at a certain point you just become aware of Warhol. And then he’s everywhere.

What or who would be Andy’s muse if he were alive today?

Instagram, Apple, and (for better or worse) Kim Kardashian

What are your latest cultural obsessions?

Books. Real ones, made of paper, and with binding. They’re amazing!

What would you consider Warhol’s most memorable quote or anthem?

“I don’t believe in death, because I always think that when somebody dies they actually just go uptown… They go to Bloomingdales’s and they just take a little longer to get back”

If you could collaborate with Andy on a project, what would it be?

A magazine.

Dream dinner-party: You, Warhol, and…?

Oscar Wilde. Just the two of them.

Imagine Warhol had a Twitter account. What kind of thing might he say in 140 characters or less?

I wouldn’t presume to say.

Whose portrait would Andy most want to do now?

A toss up between Lindsay Lohan and Michelle Obama

Soup can or coke bottle?

Soup all the way.

Drag every day or only on special occasions?

To quote Ru Paul (at his most Warholian), “We are born naked, the rest is drag.”

See and bid on Christie’s gay pride-themed collection of Warhol’s drawings and photographs, “For Members Only: Eyes on the Guise,” on sale in an exclusive online auction, June 13-27.

Andy Warhol had a thing for jewels. He famously said he thought “it would be very glamorous to be reincarnated as a big ring on Pauline de Rothschild’s finger.” And as fashion designer Carolina Herrera recounted to Christie’s recently, she once scored a portrait from Andy in exchange for her gold-mesh-and-diamond-encrusted Van Cleef & Arpels clutch. Jewelry designer Wendy Brandes barely missed her one chance to meet Andy in person; but, like Andy, the designer has a knack for marrying the chic and ironic in profoundly beautiful ways (look no further than her silver and ruby “Mudflap Jill” necklace). Ahead of Christie’s gay pride-themed online sale of Andy’s drawings and photos, Brandes dishes here about queens, bling and Diet Coke. Because, really, what else is there?

What was your first Warholian moment, and when did you first encounter him?

I can’t remember my first, but I remember my worst. On Feb. 17, 1987, when I was a student at Columbia University, a friend invited me to see a fashion show for designer Kohshin Satoh at a club called the Tunnel. Warhol was one of the celebrity models. I don’t know why I said no. Maybe it was too cold to go all the way downtown? Andy toughed it out even though he was sick. A couple of days later, he went to the hospital for gallbladder surgery and he died after the surgery on Feb. 22, 1987. I missed my one and only chance to see him in the flesh.

What or who would be Andy’s muse if he were alive today?

Snooki from Jersey Shore.

What are your latest cultural obsessions?

On TV, Spartacus and Game of Thrones. Andy would have loved Spartacus. All those well-built, naked men.

What would you consider Warhol’s most memorable quote or anthem?

We all know the most memorable one: “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” I’m bored with that. Andy was too. He said: “I’m bored with that line. I never use it anymore. My new line is, ‘In 15 minutes, everybody will be famous.'” I like that he recognized the original 15-minutes line had had its 15 minutes.

And if you want something that is actually useful for your life, remember: “They always say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”

If you could collaborate with Andy on a project, what would it be?

We’d cover one of his paintings in diamonds. We’d do it on the cheap, just stick ’em on with Elmer’s Glue. Then, after showing the work, we’d pick all the diamonds off and keep them for ourselves. Why waste all those diamonds on a painting permanently?

Dream dinner-party: You, Warhol, and…?

Queen Elizabeth II. He once said, “I want to be as famous as the Queen of England.” He did screenprints of her for a series called “Reigning Queens” in 1985; her portrait was based on a 1975 photograph. The “Royal Edition” of the series was sprinkled with “diamond dust,” but that was just sparkly crushed glass. See? He wouldn’t waste real diamonds on screenprints even for the queen.

Imagine Warhol had a Twitter account. What kind of thing might he say in 140 characters or less?

Now that everyone thinks he is famous, no one is famous.

Whose portrait would Andy most want to do now?

Michelle Obama.

Soup can or coke bottle?

Diet Coke can!

Drag every day or only on special occasions?

Anytime I have to socialize with people, I feel like I’m in costume. So every day, of course.

See and bid on Christie’s gay pride-themed collection of Warhol’s drawings and photographs, “For Members Only: Eyes on the Guise,” on sale in an exclusive online auction, June 13-27.

Roseanne Barr called her “the greatest drag queen on earth.” The New York Times warned that “small children may be frightened” of her ribald live performances. Both were probably right. Jackie Beat’s rowdy, flamboyant, celebrity-skewering musical parodies take no prisoners, twisting and playfully perverting the songs of Britney Spears, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and anyone else who dares to be a diva. Naturally, she was a perfect fit to answer one of our questionnaires: Andy was known to parody a few celebrities in his day — however slyly. And as we see from Christie’s gay-pride-themed Warhol collection, he had his own penchant for occasionally donning lipstick and a dress. Here, Beat talks about her idea for an Extreme Makeover project with Andy, and why people would be dying to get involved. (Go here to see her favorites from the upcoming sale.)

What was your first Warholian moment, and when did you first encounter him?

As a young homosexual, I remember being downright entranced by the album cover for The Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers, looking at it over and over and over again. When I got a little older, I became obsessed with the movie Andy Warhol’s BAD. As Susan Tyrrell says at the end, “Looks aren’t everything.”

What or who would be Andy’s muse if he were alive today?

I think he would embrace today’s train-wreck reality stars. Untalented-but-famous folks like Honey Boo Boo and all those horrific Real Housewives.

What are your latest cultural obsessions?

I will always be obsessed with “The Golden Girls,” but some of my latest obsessions include artist Felix d’Eon, dancing fool Connie Slocum, the song “I Wanna Go To Marz” by John Grant, and the music video for “African Mayonnaise” by Christeene.

What would you consider Warhol’s most memorable quote or anthem?

Obviously, his prophetic “15 Minutes” statement is his most infamous legacy, but my favorite quote of his has to be “I like boring things.” Whether he actually meant it or not, to openly embrace boredom when everyone else was running around like chickens with their heads cut off was pretty genius and kind of scene-stealing.

If you could collaborate with Andy on a project, what would it be?

Maybe a series of autopsy / makeover photos in which we give corpses exciting new looks?

Dream dinner-party: you, Warhol, and…?

The best-looking, most attention-starved, behind-on-their-rent young men in town.

Imagine Warhol had a Twitter account. What kind of thing might he say in 140 characters or less?

I just adore cellular telephones. #JudyJetson

Whose portrait would Andy most want to do now?

Who is trashy and flashy and famous, but also rich enough to pay a ridiculous amount of money for a silk-screened portrait? Kim Kardashian, of course.

Soup can or Coke bottle?

Nothing beats that Coke bottle green. The red and white soup cans are the certainly the most iconic, but all that red and white is a little too Christmas-y for me. Besides, Coca Cola is practically Satan himself, while Campbell’s soup is merely a mischievous imp.

Drag every day or only on special occasions?

Unless I’m getting handed a paycheck or a wad of cash afterward, go fuck yourself. I have a beard right now, which, of course, is merely another form of drag, really. So go figure.

See and bid on Christie’s gay pride-themed collection of Warhol’s drawings and photographs, “For Members Only: Eyes on the Guise,” on sale in an exclusive online auction, June 13-27.

If nationwide marriage equality ever becomes law, one could argue there’s been no more normalizing force for reshaping American attitudes than the TV sitcom. Jesse Tyler Ferguson, star of ABC’s Modern Family, is the latest in a growing line of convention-shattering, uncloseted actors to play openly-gay TV characters, and one of the first to play a gay father — earning three consecutive Emmy nominations along the way. Andy Warhol, of course, was something of a forebear: He was a prophet on the power of mass media, and one of the first American celebrities to challenge mainstream audiences with his brazen portrayals of gay and gender-bending culture. Here, Ferguson talks bow ties, soup cans, and what he imagine’s Andy’s TV diet might be like today.

What was your first Warholian moment, and when did you first encounter him?
I am sure my first Warholian encounter was the Campbell Soup Can. I feel like that soup can was the introduction to Warhol for about 95% of the human race. For the other 5% it was probably Studio 54. I wish I were part of THAT 5%.

What or who would be Andy’s muse if he were alive today?
I would like to think that Warhol would have had a passing interest in me. I know thats selfish, but you asked. As for a muse, I am sure he would have loved Lady Gaga.

What are your latest cultural obsessions?
I am a bit of an Instagram fanatic. I love that social media is encouraging people to use an artistic eye. Vine is also fun.

What would you consider Warhol’s most memorable quote or anthem?
“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself”. SO SO true. It’s my mission statement.

If you could collaborate with Andy on a project, what would it be?
I would TOTALLY get him to be a guest designer for my bow tie line: Tie The Knot.

Dream dinner-party: you, Warhol, and…?
Me, Warhol, Abraham Lincoln, Michelle Obama and Joan Rivers. Julia Child would cook.

Imagine Warhol had a Twitter account. What kind of thing might he say in 140 characters or less?
What did everyone think of Season 4 of Arrested Development? Totally binge watched that shit! #TweetingNotEating!

Whose portrait would Andy most want to do now?
I assume he would want to paint Obama. You know, stay current.

Soup can or coke bottle?
Soup Can. 95%

Drag every day or only on special occasions?
I am an actor. I basically get paid to do low impact drag every day.

See and bid on Christie’s gay pride-themed collection of Warhol’s drawings and photographs, “For Members Only: Eyes on the Guise,” on sale in an exclusive online auction, June 13-27.

For nearly 30 years, Michael Musto’s column in The Village Voice was a must-read for New Yorkers.  Critical, catty and always contemporary, it was finger on the pulse of culture high and low, and a finger in the eye of any celebrity who took himself too seriously. Musto first made a name for himself in the 80s, when the downtown New York scene was at its peak of flamboyance and grit. It was also a battleground for gay rights, and Musto, an openly gay man, was a fierce voice for equality. Through it all, his scathing, celeb-skewering wit abides. Little surprise that a writer whose award-winning columns include “Fame Is Better Than Drugs And I Want To Mainline That Sh*t” got along famously with Andy when they met in the 80s.

Today Musto writes a weekly column called “Musto! The Musical!” on Out.com as well as a regular interview feature called “Next Question with Michael Musto” on Gawker. Here, he talks about his friendship with Andy, and the time they devised an unorthodox way to stuff a bra. 

What was your first Warholian moment, and when did you first encounter him?

He was everywhere I went in the late 70s. I was way too shy to approach him. I was so awestruck I didn’t even know that was a wig. Once we finally spoke, in the ‘80s, he was delightful.

What or who would be Andy’s muse if he were alive today?

His iPhone

What are your latest cultural obsessions?

Debbie Reynolds’ memoir, Alvin Ailey, gay rights

What would you consider Warhol’s most memorable quote or anthem?

“Wow.”

If you could collaborate with Andy on a project, what would it be?

A disaster movie we once discussed doing! One of the characters was a crazed actress who carried her two Oscars around in her bra. This never got beyond the early stages, but I feel the time is right for ’13.

Dream dinner-party: You, Warhol, and…?

No one else! I’d want to be alone with his wit and wisdom. No way would I share it with some loser.

Imagine Warhol had a Twitter account. What kind of thing might he say in 140 characters or less?

“Wow.”

Whose portrait would Andy most want to do now?

Kim Kardashian

Soup can or coke bottle?

Soup can.

Drag every day or only on special occasions?

Every day is a special occasion, so I’d say drag every day.

See and bid on Christie’s gay pride-themed collection of Warhol’s drawings and photographs, “For Members Only: Eyes on the Guise,” on sale in an exclusive online auction, June 13-27.

Comedienne, author, actress, activist, singer-songwriter, fashion designer: Perhaps the only thing Margaret Cho doesn’t do is mince her words. As a female, Korean-American artist and activist, the tattooed, tough-talking Cho has won fans and honors by defying gender, racial and sexual stereotypes at every step, always irreverently, always happy to make the establishment squirm. We figured that made her just right for one of our Warholian questionnaires: No doubt Andy would have admired Cho’s uncanny ability to work both inside and outside the Hollywood celebrity mill — and to wield an unflattering mirror when things get garish. Andy famously painted celebrities and car wrecks. Cho explains why today’s best Warholian subjects are a little bit of both.     

What was your first Warholian moment, and when did you first encounter him?

Seeing the book Edie in my father’s bookstore, and wanting to read it but being scared of it, too  like it was going to be too sad or too adult. It was actually very moving, and strangely familiar. Also, I got very into the Velvet Underground then, and into photos of The Factory, so I came to Warhol through other artists and mediums.

What or who would be Andy’s muse if he were alive today?
He would have plenty, like JWOWW, or Charles Ramsay, or even Antoine Dodson. All the stars of [RuPaul’s] Drag Race, Courtney Love, me (hopefully), Winona Ryder, Amanda Bynes, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber even. Perhaps Johnny Weir, Kathy Griffin — those manifestations of fame that exude glamour, excess, chance, brilliance, pathos and youth.

What are your latest cultural obsessions?
I love podcasting and do one weekly with Jim Short. We call it “Monsters of Talk” and it feels Warholian to me, as we get deep into the culture of the people we interview: comedians, actors, rockstars, poets, everyone.

What would you consider Warhol’s most memorable quote or anthem?
That we would all be famous for 15 minutes, which i think is very literal. Or that fame has a way of touching everyone in the world, which is quite true — and wonderful.

If you could collaborate with Andy on a project, what would it be?
Films. I love his movies, and the Factory stars. Also, I would have loved to be in the bands he loved, or a muse like Nico.

Dream dinner-party: you, Warhol, and…?
Me, Warhol and DURAN DURAN!

Imagine Warhol had a Twitter account. What kind of thing might he say in 140 characters or less?
“who wants tomato soup? #printsavailable” or @elizabethtaylor can i paint you 4 times? #howaboutonetimeandichangethecolors

Whose portrait would Andy most want to do now?
Whitney Houston? or Amanda Bynes. Or possibly Britney

Soup can or Coke bottle?
I am forever about the soup can

Drag every day or only on special occasions?
Drag every day unless it becomes a drag

See and bid on Christie’s gay pride-themed collection of Warhol’s drawings and photographs, “For Members Only: Eyes on the Guise,” on sale in an exclusive online auction, June 13-27.

In the late 1970s, crowds gathered nightly beneath a black laminate marquee in midtown Manhattan in hopes of being ushered through the throngs of Diana Ross enthusiasts and Hollywood hangers-on as some of the lucky, glossy, hard-partying few admitted into Studio 54, Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager’s beacon of disco and debauchery. And even though its heyday was remarkably brief (and the club closed officially by the mid-1980s), the aura, the glamour, and the reckless abandon of Studio 54 manage to live on, even among those who never set foot on its glitter-dusted dance-floor.

@ The Andy Warhol Foundation Bianca Jagger.

There was Liza Minelli with her wide eyes and flapper “do”; Halston with his turtlenecks and tux; Truman Capote with his wide-brimmed hat; Mick Jagger, Bianca Jagger, Grace Jones, Diane von Furstenberg, Carolina Herrera, Warren Beatty, Paloma Picasso, Martha Graham, Ryan O’Neal, and Debbie Harry with her unique brand of sexpot-punk. There were drag queens with mile-long lashes and bouffant hair; pasties; fringe; mirrored globes; shirtless go-go dancers with cash tips peeping out of low-slung boxers; Campbell’s-soup-cans-cum-boas; and endless bottles of Moët & Chandon.

Then, of course, there was Andy. Part conspirator, part fly-on-the-wall, the white-wigged artist’s penchant for all things beautiful, wild, famous, and weird coalesced magically at Studio 54. He sketched and snapped fellow denizens and rubbed shoulders with the superstars that populated his paintings. He was a fixture, an icon, and an institution as essential to the club as Gloria Gaynor, Donna Summer, and its famously impenetrable door policy. Now, 36 years after Studio 54’s opening night festivities, Christie’s is honoring its legacy with a selection of sketches, prints, and archival photographs—moments frozen in time that vividly capture the late great hotspot and its impossibly glamorous habituées. As Warhol himself once said, “The best thing about a picture is that it never changes, even when the people in it do.”

@ The Andy Warhol Foundation Truman Capote.

One New York night in 1979, the then-budding fashion designer Carolina Herrera was making the scene at Studio 54 when her gold-mesh-and-diamond Van Cleef & Arpels minaudière (a bejeweled clutch) caught a certain artist’s eye. “Andy took it and played with it all night long,” she recalls. “When he returned it he said, ‘If you give it to me, I will give you your portrait in exchange.’ I said, ‘Take it, it’s yours.’ And that was that.”

“Carolina Herrera,” 1979, acrylic and silkscreen ink on linen, 40 x 40 in., by Andy Warhol.
© The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. 

Herrera sat for Warhol in his Union Square Factory shortly thereafter. “The Factory was an organized insane asylum—quite beautiful in its simplicity,” Herrera says. “You had someone doing petit point at the entrance by the telephone. You had Bob Colacello running Interview magazine and being his usual intelligent self. You had Fred Hughes talking like Diana Vreeland and thinking he was an English Duke. There were all sorts of characters—actors, transvestites, business people. And throughout all of this madness, Andy sat like a contemplative child, yearning for more gossip.”

Warhol snapped dozens of Polaroids of the glammed-up Herrera (including those pictured here) that would result in three screen-printed portraits, the most iconic of which pictures the young designer with lush red lips, an elegant up-do, a swath of era-appropriate blue eye shadow, and stunning chandelier earrings (by Van Cleef, naturally). It still hangs in her New York house today.

“Andy and I were possibly the only sober people in the place,” adds Herrera, whose fashion empire took off shortly after this shrewd exchange—she hosted her first official runway show in 1980. “Studio 54 promised that something extraordinary would happen every night and it did. Impending extravaganza! There was gold dust everywhere. We used to return to the Mayfair and leave a golden trail all over the floor.”

Read Carolina Herrera’s Warholian Questionnaire to find out who alongside Warhol makes a perfect dinner party.