Julia Fox on Dumpster Diving and Fashion Disasters

Imagine a game of i-Spy in Julia Fox’s closet—condoms, watches, dried leaves, shower curtains. The fashion dissident loves unconventional materials. So in her new competition show, OMG Fashun, it’s fitting that a crop of budding fashion designer contestants-slash-fans must scramble to upcycle a look out of four mystery goods, Chopped-style, for the Down the Drain author to actually wear. On an unidentified turf-covered rooftop, the contestants meet Fox and her co-host, ex-celebrity stylist Law Roach, before being sent off to sew and glue, ultimately returning to the rooftop to present their looks and get read by the judges. Between takes, Fox met up with us to talk thrifting in the trash, sweaty edible underwear, and how it feels to get the Law Roach stamp of approval.

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MEKALA RAJAGOPAL: When did the idea come to do this show with Law?

JULIA FOX: I was given an assignment to write a list of all my dream co-hosts and I put Law down as my first option, but I was like, “There’s no way he’ll do it.” And when they got back that he was down, I could not believe it. I was like, “Okay, this is actually going to be major.”

RAJAGOPAL: When did you first meet?

FOX: I met Law in Paris at an after-party dinner thing. And we already knew each other. There’s actually a really funny picture where I’m getting papped in front of the restaurant and he’s just eyeing my outfit.

RAJAGOPAL: Side eye.

FOX: It’s so good. But he’s told me in private that he really loves my outfits and loves what I’m doing. So that stamp of approval makes me feel good, because there’s definitely a lot of naysayers. 

RAJAGOPAL: High praise. What’s your dynamic like on the show, or behind the scenes?

FOX: It’s very good cop, bad cop. he’s definitely not afraid to read them for filth, whereas I’m a little more like, “I don’t want to hurt their feelings.” 

RAJAGOPAL: Do you guys ever argue?

FOX: A little bit, yeah. But it’s not serious arguing. It’s funny. We don’t agree on everything. There are moments where he doesn’t like something I like, or he’s like, “You should have picked the other one.”

RAJAGOPAL: Do you have different tastes?

FOX: We like a lot of the same stuff. We both have very good taste, I’ll say.

RAJAGOPAL: What do you judge the contestants based on?

FOX: How well they were able to upcycle. We don’t just want to see the items smacked onto the outfit. We want you to really incorporate it and almost disguise it. I want you to just make it so I’m not even looking at that thing. And there were definitely some struggles. One of our items was a dildo, and one of the designers put it on top of a hat. Just, like, an erect penis on a hat. And I was like, “Do you really think I would wear that? I wouldn’t.” 

RAJAGOPAL: It can’t be too arts and crafts.

FOX: Yeah. It needs to look a little elevated. 

RAJAGOPAL: Were you inspired by any other competition shows? I was definitely getting Chopped.

FOX: Yes, from Chopped to Drag Race to Project Runway to America’s Next Top Model. We took elements from all of them, and we are also just in an era where we’re just not taking ourselves that seriously. It’s about having fun, and it’s not life or death. I don’t want to be in an environment where it feels like the end of the world. I am not doing that.

RAJAGOPAL: Yeah. What was the biggest fashion emergency during the season?

FOX: The biggest fashion emergency? I mean, you’d really have to ask the contestants. They were the ones going through it back there. For me, it’d probably just be when things broke, because my outfits were pretty major on the show. And we pulled all from upcycling designers, so there were mishaps, but nothing a hot glue gun can’t fix.

RAJAGOPAL: The looks were so crazy.

FOX: They were really amazing. Some of them we found on TikTok, some of them my stylist just knew about. Everything was upcycled. It’s about not damaging the planet further, and it’s also about reversing the damage that’s already been done. So all the items we gave them were either dead stock, or we got it at thrift stores or secondhand stores. That waste already existed, and we took it and upcycled it. So that was really important to me because I’m not trying to add to what’s already been done. I want to reverse it.

RAJAGOPAL: What’s your favorite thrift store?

FOX: In New York? Tokio 7. I guess it’s more of a consignment store. But it’s like, the best.

RAJAGOPAL: The lines are blurred in New York, sometimes.

FOX: What constitutes a thrift store?

RAJAGOPAL: I don’t know. The bins?

FOX: Yeah, the bins. I mean, I also love Beacons Closet. I sell a lot of stuff there.

RAJAGOPAL: Beacons has that high-low vibe.

FOX: Yeah, you could find gems there, but I go anywhere and everywhere.

RAJAGOPAL: Do you recycle?

FOX: Of course.

RAJAGOPAL: Is recycling a scam?

FOX: I mean, I’ve heard it is, but I still do it. I don’t know. It feels worse not to do it. I just do the bottles and the cans and the paper. Ideally, I’d like to be one of those people that has no waste.

RAJAGOPAL: Composting.

FOX: Yeah, composting.

RAJAGOPAL: What’s the strangest material that you’ve ever worn?

FOX: Condoms. It was just an entire look made of condoms. Gosh, there’s been so many weird things. Watches, condoms. This one I have on is pretty weird.

RAJAGOPAL: That jacket is fun. It’s reminding me of the Moschino cutlery jacket.

FOX: Yeah, it’s so good. This was actually made by one of the contestants on our show.

RAJAGOPAL: Oh, cute. 

FOX: We bought it after because it was so good.

RAJAGOPAL: Have you ever dumpster dived?

FOX: I’ve gone in the trash for stuff, but I haven’t actually gone inside a dumpster.

RAJAGOPAL: No?

FOX: My dad has. That’s too much for me. I’m very sensitive to smell.

RAJAGOPAL: And the rats. What do you do when you’re sick of wearing something?

FOX: I wear different things so often, I don’t get sick of anything. I don’t have time to get sick of anything.

RAJAGOPAL: How do you organize your closet?

FOX: My friend Emma does it for me.

RAJAGOPAL: Oh, that’s nice.

FOX: She’s so good at organizing. She loves it. It’s like therapy for her.

RAJAGOPAL: How do you feel about edible clothing?

FOX: I’d have to see how edible it is. Will it melt if I wear it too much? Or, is it even edible after I’ve worn it and sweated on it? Do I want to eat it? But in theory it sounds cool. Remember the underwear with the little candies on them?

RAJAGOPAL: Yeah.

FOX: Definitely ate my fair share of those. But that too, I’d only eat up to a certain point.

RAJAGOPAL: What’s the it-bag for the summer?

FOX: The it-bag for the summer is the new Chopova Lowena bag that has a comb in it, a nail file, a little notebook, and a pen.

RAJAGOPAL: The Swiss Army bag.

FOX: It’s so cute. A big bag is coming back. Girls have a lot of things.

RAJAGOPAL: Girls need their laptops and their books.

FOX: And their tripods and their cameras and their glam, and a change of clothes and their water bottle and their perfume. A big bag is just so key. Especially in the summer when you’re out all day long. You need your hydration, you need your vitamins, you need your serums.

RAJAGOPAL: Your sunscreen.

FOX: Absolutely.