Larry Tee is a veteran of the club scene to say the least. From partying to DJing to designing for club kids, the multitasking creative force that is Larry Tee has a lot of stories to tell and advice to give. The man talks so rapidly and excitedly you’re afraid at some point he may spin out of orbit, but he never does. Larry’s staying power is his ability to reign in it and know the perfect timing for everything. Let him tell you a thing or two about how to stick around in this business.
A legendary DJ, producer, club kid, host, songwriter and now designer- Larry Tee is the clubland equivalent of a household name. When I ask him what he considers himself to be, Larry responds “I run clubs and I make clothes. It’s a tough question to answer, most of the time I’m just running around like a lunatic”.
It all started in Atlanta in the early 1980s. “I’d moved from Seattle to Atlanta where I met RuPaul and started a weird little band. It was more than just a band though, it was like drag performance art”. Thus begins the story of Lawrence Thom, or Larry Tee as he’s professionally and colloquially known. The story of a man from America that revolutionised the clubbing across several States and now has his sights set on Europe.
“I remember these supermodels- Naomi and Christy just standing in the corner of the club. That’s kind of where the inspiration for “Supermofel (You Better Work” [the hit song he helped pen for RuPaul] came from. RuPaul knew everyone by name- all the designers and models- he followed all of it so meticulously. We were asked to host this Versace show after-party in Milan during fashion week in the 90s back when Gianni was alive… it was amazing”
“When we got to New York the scene was like a ghost town. All of the gay creatives had dropped like flies following the AIDS virus. We went in there and gave it life again”. We, of course, refers to Larry, RuPaul and their band called ‘The Fans’. They left Chicago for New York in the 1990s in search for a bigger party. What they discovered was the aftermath of the AIDS virus, effectively wiping out a large portion of the city’s party scene. As soon as Amanda Lepore joined the scene in New York “I immideately hired her” he remembers fondly, “she was so obviously unique”. He then recruited more and more creative individuals until he had a scene built back up again.
By that time, Larry had been partying somewhat constantly for almost a decade. “I’ve seen people get lost in this hole of drugs that’s so hard to get out of. I’ve seen people lose their minds over drugs. I’ve seen people murder over them”, this being Michael Alig, formerly known as ‘The King of the Club Kids’. “Luckily I haven’t touched drugs or alcohol in seventeen years. I realised in the late 90s that I needed to make a change.”
It was then that Larry became a bonafide producer, discovering acts such as The Scissor Sisters. Upon looking back at old images of himself as a club kid, Larry reflects. “They're really funny. And very evocative, actually-they're strangely touching when you can see just how much in the faces of the ‘80s, how it looks just like the kids of today.”
Looking forward, Larry’s starting to move away from the music industry. “I’m making clothes and I’m DJ’ing. I want to focus on making clothes at the moment though, it’s so much fun.” His clothing line, Tzuji, stays close to home though, it’s target customers are in fact club kids. “It’s a combination of sportswear, streetwear and clubwear. It’s comfortable but it also looks amazing. Tzuji is not just a clothing line; it is an ideology and a concept, a new way of approaching fashion” he says.
“If you think about, all anyone really wears is jeans and t-shirts and sweatshirts- guys and girls. It’s important that Tzuji remains basically unisex because that’s the way things are going these days. Let’s face it- the only people that really wear stuff like suits and ballgowns are rich people and that’s not who Tzuji is appealing to. It’s for people who want something comfortable, wearable that they can dance in while still looking cool.”
In regards to the name, Larry explains “Tzuji comes from a Yiddish term “to tzuj” means to spruce something up. I then discovered later on that back in the 1960s when it was near impossible to be out as a gay man in England, they created this underground secret gay language. They made this dictionary called the Polari Dictionary and in it “to tzuj” means to make something fabulous. I really liked that”.
The collection is obviously meant to be bi-gender, for girls and guys to mix and match. There’s this notion of being bi-sexual or androgynous or even genderless to make a point. “It’s actually a really good point!” Larry chimes in. “It’s like, who the fuck cares? I think that’s culturally relevant”. I ask him to elaborate, “culture at the moment is a mix of everything. That’s what’s interesting. You always have to be looking for what’s new, we don’t want to get caught up in the retro game.”
That rings true to the new generation of club kids in London. Larry expresses how impressed he is with our club scene, “British club kids are beautiful. There’s a massive drag trend going on at the moment in the London club scene- probably influenced by RuPaul’s Drag Race- and they’re just beautiful looks they create. It’s not tranny and horrible- it’s really well done with a glam spin”.
“DIY means ‘do it yourself’ as much as it means ‘do your own thing’. These kids have a great fear of being seen as normal or similar”. He berates people that buy looks on the high street for unoriginality. “People today want to be the rockstars. It’s not enough to just buy what’s trendy, everyone wants to look like Rihanna”. It gives the creative people that much more power though, they are the ones that stand out and get noticed. “Absolutely! Designers are more influenced than ever by what’s on the street with the invention of Instagram. Everything is shared that much faster. I’m a big believer in social media, the doors it can open and windows of inspiration it provides”.
He expresses no desire to leave the UK anytime soon. “London is always challenging me. Always asking me ‘what is it you are passionate about?’” The city continues to feed his creative side but he’s still looking onwards and upwards. “Right now, I love London and the people I’ve met but getting clothes made here is extortionate. I’m doing Berlin Alternative Fashion Week next week. It’s a really interesting scene there. It’s nothing like here with the dressing up but there’s a lot of interesting creative people there”.
After so many wise observations and witty anecdotes, I ask Larry Tee for one last pearl of wisdom. He happily obliges, filling my heart with inspired optimism. “Do what you want in life, don’t let anyone tell you what you want. Just realise your purpose and fulfill that. Decide what you want and don’t take your eye off of it. Push through all the negativity and fear that stops you. I asked for this amazing life where I’d meet lots of interesting, creative people and because I rose above fear, that’s where I am today”.
Never stop, Larry Tee.
Images from Tzuji lookbook
