Interview’s Own Daniela Morera Has Some Clothes to Sell You

On Thursday, a treasure chest’s worth of pieces owned by former Interview European editor and Italian correspondent Daniela Morera will become available with Kerry Taylor Auctions and Maurice à Paris. From a killer 1981 Issey Mayake bustier to a striking yellow top that looks like a flying saucer by the same designer, the 40 or so pieces serve as a kind of time capsule of Morera’s gilded past. “There are many funny stories because every time he was coming to Italy, I was always with him,” Morera told our editor-in-chief Mel Ottenberg earlier this week of Interview founder Andy Warhol. “In Rome we were going to the beach to look at the beautiful boys.” Below, Morera recounts her earliest adventures with the man who started it all and tells us how she felt like “Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra” wearing some of the pieces going to auction.

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MEL OTTENBERG: I’m on the line with Daniela Morera, my friend and former European editor of Interview Magazine. What years were you the European editor?

DANIELA MORERA: I started as the Italian correspondent because I was living in New York and Italy. I was from Rome originally, so I did interviews with Bernardo Bertolucci, and with movie stars from Rome. That’s how I started. But I was very soon promoted. For 20 years, I was the European editor.

OTTENBERG: And you were always hanging with Andy Warhol?

MORERA: Yeah, yeah. I did many things, going back and forth between New York and Italy.

OTTENBERG: So you’re auctioning off your fabulous clothes. What can you tell me? Let’s talk about the Issey Miyake 1981 bustier.

MORERA: This 1981 bustier I found, I don’t know where it came from or which was the party that I was wearing it to. And these bustiers have sold years ago for $50,000. Mine has an estimate of $30,000.

OTTENBERG: Wait, did Mr. Miyake give it to you?

MORERA: Yes. I’ve been a very, very long time friend of Mr. Miyake’s since he started the first collection in the ’70s in Paris.

OTTENBERG: Daniela’s really best friends with everyone, people. Warhol, Miyake, Armani, et cetera.

MORERA: Because I was a model before in Rome, so I was in the fashion world. And from there, I started to be interested in contemporary art. I met Andy Warhol very soon when I went to New York at the end of ’69, beginning of ’70.

OTTENBERG: Oh, wow. That’s right when Interview started.

MORERA: So that’s when Andy was shot. When I met him, he couldn’t really go in the street and confront humanity. He wasn’t going out at all. Andy was not talkative even when he was in the best mood, so imagine after he was shot, he was not talking at all. He had his kids at The Factory. At that time, they still called it The Factory. I was with another group of friends at Max’s Kansas City, and they said, “Oh, Daniela, this is Andy.” He was talking to me in a corner with all these kids around him, like a shield. He had told one of the guys, “Tell this girl to come and see me at the studio.” Anyway, that’s how I met Andy. He liked me and said, “Oh, but you have to write for me from Rome.” He loved Rome. There are many funny stories because every time he was coming to Italy, I was always with him. In Rome we were going to the beach to look at the beautiful boys, and Andy, who was completely covered, was saying, “Do you fuck with all of them on the beach?”

OTTENBERG: Did you?

MORERA: No, of course not. I had my boyfriend.

OTTENBERG: I bet your boyfriend was really hot. Let’s go back to the show. How many pieces are in this collection from you, Daniela?

MORERA: There might be at least 40.

OTTENBERG: Wow. Do you have any favorites?

MORERA: I have a fabulous, fabulous coat by Issey Miyake, my God. Do you know Marpessa, the model?

OTTENBERG: Yeah, I do know Marpessa.

MORERA: She wrote to me the other day, because she saw the bustier and she sent me a very nice note and she said, “Daniela, this is fabulous. I’m going to the auction and I’m going beat the them, so the prices go higher.” Did you see the bustier?

OTTENBERG: Yeah.

MORERA: It’s completely nude, the back. The bustier is only in front because there is a little curve that holds it [together].

OTTENBERG: There’s a little elastic strap that’s on, right?

MORERA: Yeah, it holds on your waist, that’s why it’s so fabulous.

OTTENBERG: I’m on the auction page, look at these Jimmy Choo boots. It’s like white, knee-high and leather boots with mirrored details. They’re fucking insane. This is a really good auction. And look at this Fendi reversible fur coat that is estimated for 900 to 1,000 euros. People, get into it. Tom Ford for Gucci 2000 fur coat. They’re giving this stuff away for free, Daniela.

MORERA: Did you see the blue Kerry Taylor Chez Maurice?

OTTENBERG: Yes. I’m looking at it right now. And there’s a yellow Issey Miyake Flying Saucer top, and an incredible black draped Issey Miyake thing.

MORERA: Oh, yes! A top that is like a lantern?

OTTENBERG: Yes, exactly.

MORERA: It’s brand new. I never wear it. Absolutely new, but it’s not very expensive.

OTTENBERG: Do you remember any great experiences wearing this Issey Miyake? What does it feel like to be wearing it?

MORERA: Wearing it, you feel like Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra.

OTTENBERG: Yes. And it fit your body well?

MORERA: Oh yes. Absolutely, unless you have enormous boobs, which we models usually don’t have.

OTTENBERG: Well, you look good in everything, Daniela. Thanks for doing this.

MORERA: Ciao!