Paper Magazine Turns 25

by Ben Widdicombe (Subscribe to Ben Widdicombe's posts)
Posted Sep 9th 2009 at 5:30PM

Kanye West and lady friend Amber Rose strike a pose in honor of Paper magazine's 25th year. Photo: Patrick McMullian

Downtown darlings Paper magazine celebrated 25 years of being the coolest kids on the block with a party at the New York Public Library Tuesday night, complete with performances by Queen Latifah and Liza Minnelli.

Guests included Kanye West and his ambisexual arm candy Amber Rose, Mischa Barton (looking better!), old school legend Fab Five Freddy, the musical Hanson brothers, designers Anna Sui, Betsey Johnson, Cynthia Rowley, Isaac Mizrahi and Nicole Miller, DJ/producer Mark Ronson and stylist Phillip Bloch.

Founder and co-editor David Herskovits told StyleList the magazine's message was: "Move to New York! For young people reading Paper, do what you love and don't give up on your dreams."

Paper is famous for its characters, including co-editor Kim Hastreiter and it's fabulously off-beat style maven, "Mr. Mickey" Boardman, who rocked a sequin suit for the occasion.

Queen Latifah and Liza Minnelli belt it out for Paper Magazine. Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage

But it wasn't always open-bar-and-Liza-Minnelli for the plucky magazine. "I worked there for six years and I was the only sober person in the place," recalled one former editor with a smile.

"Everyone was doing drugs off their desks. And in the old building, the rats! I can remember one time Mickey was interviewing a receptionist, and while he was talking to her he was literally clubbing a rat to death with his shoe."

Another former employee was there scanning the crowd for an old friend. "During my time at the magazine there was this stuttering copy editor who used to sell us heroine," he said, with a look of fondness." I wonder if she's here?"

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