Peter Davis
Appearances
Big Time
The Mayor of Madison Avenue | 9
those vendors, those designers. So I think it was kind of a day-to-day, hand-to-mouth existence. But retail's a hard racket, but I think that he didn't care. For him, it was just a way to have his name on Madison Avenue. And it was, I think, a vehicle for him to propel his own name. He's one of those people that wanted to be famous by any means necessary.
Big Time
The Mayor of Madison Avenue | 9
I guess the whole porn star, you know, he tried to produce or he produced a movie called Trust Fund Sluts, which is actually the maybe the most amusing thing he did because it was kind of like riffing and making fun of the world that he was trying to be so much a part of the trust fund talks of New York. And he wasn't one.
Big Time
The Mayor of Madison Avenue | 9
And if anything, that's probably the smartest thing he ever did, even though the movie never came through.
Big Time
The Mayor of Madison Avenue | 9
People just talk about really what they're wearing and what parties they were going to, where they were off to next. And there were a lot of parties. Brands were spending a lot of money, fashion brands, whether it was a store party or a benefit or whatever. a big blowout being thrown by a designer every night. There were five to eight things to go to.
Big Time
The Mayor of Madison Avenue | 9
I think he denied the reality of the situation. And he thought that if you looked a certain way and dressed a certain way and maybe spoke a certain way and were photographed with the right people, then everything was okay. But in reality, a photograph means nothing. A photograph on Patrick McMullen's website is not going to get you out of jail.
Big Time
The Mayor of Madison Avenue | 9
And these women would go from party to party to party. Sometimes they would just stop by, get their picture taken, jump in a car and onto the next. And the media, myself included, ate it up and wrote about it.
Big Time
The Mayor of Madison Avenue | 9
So what, if any, is the moral of his story? Oh, gosh. The moral of the story of Andrew Parker is don't trust anyone who wears sunglasses at night and any man in a fur jacket and only use your own credit card. Yeah.
Big Time
The Mayor of Madison Avenue | 9
A lot of picture taking. Patrick McMullin, you know, there was the saying, if Patrick didn't take your picture, it's like you weren't even there.
Big Time
The Mayor of Madison Avenue | 9
I'm sure he's even, if he listened to this podcast, he'd probably go out and celebrate because he'd find himself famous again. I think one of those people that likes to be talked about.
Big Time
The Mayor of Madison Avenue | 9
He seemed like someone that was desperate to be a name and would do anything to be that name. And the way he spoke, as if he was, you know, a Rockefeller when he was a nothing fella. I think he was trying to rise through the ranks by latching onto the coattails. He definitely jumped in photographs to get his picture taken.
Big Time
The Mayor of Madison Avenue | 9
A lot of times you can get your picture taken with somebody you don't even know, and I think he was pretty savvy who to stand next to and try to get into a picture shamelessly.
Big Time
The Mayor of Madison Avenue | 9
There was a trick where people would close their eyes if they were being photographed with someone they didn't want to be photographed with because Patrick McMullen wouldn't put any pictures on his website if someone's eyes were closed. And I think that he definitely had people closing their eyes when he jumped into a picture.
Big Time
The Mayor of Madison Avenue | 9
The New York social scene are always like these talented Mr. Ripley types, people that change their names and people who said they were from somewhere and they weren't from that place. And New York is right for that type of character to kind of flourish in a way until they get found out.
Big Time
The Mayor of Madison Avenue | 9
He didn't really look the part, though he tried to get himself out in designer duds. But, you know, he wore sunglasses at night and weird fur collars and coats. And so he was trying to project the image of being a part of the scene, but he kind of stood out because he was trying so hard. But it never seemed natural. It always seemed put on or fake.
Big Time
The Mayor of Madison Avenue | 9
People were flaunting their money and this group kind of seemed like they were a rarefied little circle in New York. It was really the same 20 to 30 characters going out every single night.
Big Time
The Mayor of Madison Avenue | 9
Well, I first found out about what was going on by someone who worked in the store. She'd worked there for a week and told me that he was getting these cheap sweaters that I guess he was paying $60 a pop for and selling them for $1,000 as cashmere. And I thought that was kind of interesting.
Big Time
The Mayor of Madison Avenue | 9
And then someone else told me that he was double and triple charging people, that they didn't have a cash register at the store. So if you bought something, he would run your card through two or three times. And from there, kind of ballooned. I think he just relentlessly networked and told people I have a store and people wanted to sell their clothes and get their name out there.