Sebastian HorsleyAdore or loath him, Sebastian Horsley  is one dandy truly worth noting in today’s society.

Some feel he is crass and absurd, whilst others believe he is a true genius with words, who dares to face in life what others can't possibly even listen to.

Horsley’s autobiography 'Dandy In The Underworld' is well worth a read (if you can handle his intense life) and is guaranteed to stir every emotion in you.

Here is the interview fashion.org.nz was fortunate to carry out with Mr Horsley, the most eccentric Dandy to ever grace the earth.

What items of clothing do you admire and despise being worn by men and women?

Our natural skins. The trainer - surely the ugliest species of footwear ever devised by man. The baseball cap - a symbol of man’s inhumanity to man. (And worn backwards like their brains) And Denim. There are only two actions I cannot tolerate. The first is denim. The other is murder. If denim is not wrong, nothing is wrong.

What must one do and not do when trying to impress an interest over dinner?

Be witty, be brief, be seated, begin.

Remember : dull people take their opinions from the set menu. The witty prefer the a la carte.

Eat the wild bore - do not be one.

Try not to eat the host. But if you must …

I believe in manners. Even though I am a cannibal, I do say grace.

Being an atheist what was your main purpose for being crucified and what compelled you to do it?

Jesus was crucified to save humanity. I was crucified to save my career. In my opinion neither of us had had much success.

God and Religion, good and evil, life and death. A man should always test himself in the most superficial areas of existence.

Clothing is a quintessential part of Dandyism. Was there any reason why you were prepared to strip yourself of your identity to be naked but with a loincloth on the cross?

You don’t need clothes to be a dandy. Dandyism is social, human and intellectual. It is not a suit of clothes walking about by itself. Clothes are merely a part - they may even may even be the least important part of the personality of the dandy. Real elegance is in the mind. Dandyism isn’t a lot of flourishes encrusted upon your public image. It’s a way of stripping yourself of everything except your true self.

Dandyism is subversive. That must be the aim of all true subversion : In the end you must be prepared to subvert yourself.

And I liked Christ. He had profound style. He was the ultimate dandy. He created a stir through force of personality and example alone. One does not become a guru by accident. If Gandhi proved that you can rule the world by being polite then Christ proved, once and for all the power of personal magnetism and what it can accomplish. What's more, on the cross he created an image to be gazed at and adored. He is worshipped on church walls. And style is a way of buying people rather than things. Its values are spiritual values. All great stylists borrow a lot from the wardrobe of Christ - everything in fact except those dreadful clothes.

Have you ever been to New Zealand?

No. I hate towns like Hull, Doncaster, New Zealand.

What are you doing with yourself these days?

Nothing. Works of art do nothing but they do it magnificently.

Name a few fashion and style icons you admire…apart from yourself!

Quentin Crisp, Marc Bolan, Johnny Rotten (born 1976 died 1979), Lord Byron, Bunny Roger

What music are you listening to lately?

The usual rubbish. If I ate what I listened to I would be dead.

And literature?

I hate books. Oh, where do I find all the time for not reading so many of them? But I do. The chief knowledge that a man gets from reading books is the knowledge that very few of them are worth reading.

I rather like Dandy in the Underworld. I express in prose of incomparable grandeur thought of an unparalleled brilliance. Am I the best author of my time? I'd say I was in the top one.

Dandy In The UnderworldSome say that Dandyism died with the death of Crisp in 99. Do you think Dandyisms ideas and values have changed in today’s society?

It is very difficult to be a dandy in today’s society. I find everyday life quite hard. It is very difficult to walk with wings. Even if they are made of tinsel. Love is the worst offender.   It makes the world go round looking so dowdy. And equality. Glamour is, of course, a greater asset than equality. Truth is irritating while we are on the subject. It is better to have a solid anchor in artifice than to put out on the troubled seas of truth.

To me, dandies are a brotherhood of higher types. The true princes of the world. And the true priests of the world. Men of the cloth. That said, full blown dandyism is very very rare. Like precious stones, their personalities derive their value from their scarcity.

The reason it is rare is because this way of life is only in a certain sense fulfilling. It is also a martyrdom of sorts. Because you have to give up all the things that other people want and have : marriage, children, careers, possessions, happiness. All the things, incidentally, that don’t matter.

Carry on, one’s failures are as important as one’s successes, do not flinch in the face of public opinion, ignore the winds of fashion, be true to your inner voice and, most of all persevere. These are the honourable things, the heroic things, the right things.

It is great to be a dandy in today’s society. If everybody was somebody no one would be anybody. If everyone was like me I would have to become an accountant. We can’t all be stars because someone has to sit on the curb and clap as I go by.

Check out Mr. Horsley's fabulous blog!

http://sebastianhorsley.typepad.com/sebastian_horsley/2007/01/index.html