Finding Kate
July 19, 2008
"Hey, were you serious about wanting Kate?" asked my friend Mauricio. When I'd seen the mannequin in his showroom, he told me that it had been gifted to him by one of his clients, but he wasn't sure what to do with it because it was so unlike his other mannequins. I expressed a willingness to take her off his hands. But mannequins are expensive, and I knew he wasn't looking to unload her for free. A few days later, when he asked if I was serious about it, I still wasn't sure.
"How much?"
He quoted a bargain basement price, but even then, I had to check with Deborah. Regardless of the cost, it wasn't exactly a practical decision. I told Deborah about the deal, and she didn't hesitate: "Get it!" she said.
"Are you sure? Mannequins take up a lot of space, you know. It's like a full-sized person. Well, okay, it's Kate, so maybe it's not full-sized, but you know what I mean."
"Get it!"
I called my friend and told him I'd take it, and I'd be in touch to figure out the details.
Earlier in the week, I made plans to meet Brian in SoHo. When I called him to see if we were still on, I told him about the mannequin and asked if he'd come with me to pick it up and help me load it — and unload it.
“Does that mean I have to drive to Brooklyn with you?"
"Well, yeah, that's the idea."
"Okay, what the hell?"
I parked the truck in an illegal spot near the freight elevator of Mauricio’s SoHo showroom (try finding a legal parking spot in SoHo) and had Brian stand guard with the keys while I went upstairs to fetch the doll. Kate was boxed up and waiting. Mauricio helped me get her onto the freight elevator and carry her to the street. I introduced Mauricio and Brian.
"So Kate is inside this box," Brian said to him, drumming his fingers on the cardboard, eager to take a peek.
"Yup," said Mauricio.
"Do you have another one?" Brian asked him. "Preferably one in a soft vinyl?"
"Ha, no."
We stood on the street talking for a little while, but as I said, I wasn't legally parked, so we had to get going.
"Have fun, you guys," said Mauricio. "But not too much fun."
After Brian and I put the mannequin together and finished debating which angle made her look most life-like, I called Deborah to let her know our house guest had arrived.
"Are you excited?" she said.
"I guess."
"What's the matter? Disappointed?"
"I don't know. Buyer's remorse, maybe? I can’t figure out where the hell we're going to put her or what we're going to do with her."
"We'll figure it out."
Brian overheard the conversation and said he'd be willing to take her off my hands. "It's exactly what I need," he said. "It would be the answer to all my problems."
"All of your problems?"
Despite the resemblance, the mannequin isn't an official "Kate Moss" mannequin. The company that produced it had apparently been in negotiations with Kate Moss to use her likeness, but she pulled out at the last minute. The company released the mannequin, anyway, under the model name "Katherine."
(If there's any question about why Kate Moss would have second thoughts about being made into a mannequin, you haven't been reading very carefully.)
Brian tries to match Kate’s vacant stare
