tastemakers

What Moda Operandi’s Fashion Directors Really Love

Lisa Aiken, Josh Peskowitz. Photo: Courtesy of Moda Operandi

Lisa Aiken and Josh Peskowitz know what you want right now. And what you’ll want next month, and the month after that. The two are the newly appointed fashion directors of Moda Operandi, the luxury retail site that allows you to shop straight off the runway. (Peskowitz oversees men’s fashion, and Aiken, women’s.) Aiken has worked for pretty much every online store you trust: Net-a-Porter group, My Theresa, and Matches Fashion. Peskowitz recently opened up a brick-and-mortar store in Los Angeles, Magasin, and he’s worked for Esquire and The Fader. We spoke with them about the things they love, from lilacs to terrycloth shorts.

How do you thank someone for a gift?
Lisa Aiken: Handwritten note (often far too late to be appropriate).

Josh Peskowitz: I try to send a thank-you card, but the best thank you is to actually use the gift.

What would you never wear?
LA: Nude hosiery.

JP: Any type of open-toed shoe. Except when I’m physically on the beach.

What’s your dream vacation?
LA: Wine region in France.

JP: Nepal/ Kathmandu.

What’s a good book on your coffee table right now?
LA: 500 Secrets of New York, as I start to hunt out what will be my local places as I move to the city.

JP: Stanley Kubrick Photographs: Through a Different Lens.

Favorite piece of furniture in your apartment/office?
LA: The Natasha Law illustration Hitch, which hangs in my dressing room.

JP: Probably a tie between my original Hans Wegner plank arm chair, which often functions as my office, and my palm tree named Clarence.

Last show you binge-watched?
LA: Killing Eve on BBC iPlayer (I am only a few weeks behind).

JP: Mindhunter on Netflix.

Secret to hosting a good party?
LA: Late-night snacks, as hopefully the party is good enough to keep going into the early hours.

JP: The music is the most important. Make sure you handle that, or put the aux cord in trusted hands.

What is a trend that you like right now?
LA: Tailoring, I wear blazers almost every day.

JP: Wide leg, pleated pants for men. Burberry makes a great pair.

One you don’t understand?
LA: Cycle shorts.

JP: I understand them all. Now, whether I like them or not is another question.

What’s another decade you’d like to live in and why?
LA: The ’70s. I would like to have known my parents in their youth.

JP: Late ’60s/early ’70s for the music and the scene, but I’m pretty happy with the decades I’ve lived through.

What’s one piece of clothing you can’t part with?
LA: A worn out pair of Acne jeans that they have never re-released.

JP: A cable knit shawl collared cardigan from Ralph Lauren that I bought on sale for $30 in 2000. It’s all frayed now, but I think that just makes it better.

Favorite museum/gallery?
LA: Musee Rodin, Paris.

JP: Sackler gallery of eastern art at the Smithsonian.

Shoes you wear most often?
LA: By Far lace-up ankle boots. This winter I’ll be living in Tabitha Simmons and Proenza Schouler hiking boots.

JP: For the last few months, the John Elliot x LeBron James Nikes.

What’s your favorite…

Flower?
LA: Hydrangeas.

JP: Lilacs.

Pajamas?
LA: Striped silk from Olivia von Halle.

JP: Terrycloth shorts.

Candle?
LA: Figuier, Diptyque.

JP:Good Art Hollywood candle.

Scent?
LA: Santal 33, Le Labo.

JP: Fueguia Patagonia Muskara Pelargonium.

Sheets/bedding?
LA: Doesn’t matter as long as it’s my own bed (I spend a lot of time in hotels).

JP: As long as they’re clean and crisp, I’m happy.

Restaurant?
LA: Il Bucco.

JP: Russ & Daughters cafe.

Store?
LA: Liberty of London.

JP: Magasin.

Suitcase?
LA: The Large, Away.

JP: Tumi.

Socks?
LA: Ribbed cashmere socks, Johnstons of Elgin.

JP: Bombas.

T-shirt?
LA: Topman slim-fit tee.

JP: Billy Los Angeles.

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What Moda Operandi’s Fashion Directors Really Love