Dinner Conversation w/ Rami Abou-Khalil
On dolmas, muscles, and Gucci Pour Homme
The same ten questions, a million different answers.
Where do you find peace?
Peace for me is being in bed. I've set up my bedroom to be a haven. There is not a work laptop insight.
Is there a piece of art you can’t stop thinking about?
I've become very interested in this one artist. His name is Kevin Cobb. He's very focused on representing distortion. He does these fisheye representations that are either digital or painted.
I actually just bought a piece from him that's a representation of this year's eclipse. It's seen from the inside of an eye. It's a circular piece, which I also think is interesting because having to align a rectangular piece of art gives me so much anxiety.
What’s the last exhibition you went to see?
At Syracuse we just had these two Chinese architects talk about their work—Drawing Architecture Studio.
They do these murals that are based on architectural visualizations that are iteratively derived from one another. They'll basically make a sketch of the building and then they'll make a model out of the sketch, and then they'll make a drawing out of the model, and then they'll unfold the drawing of the model of the sketch and make another model out of it. And through this kind of iterative process, they generate these amazingly complex, very colorful murals that are so visually rich. It really makes me envious of that kind of visual freedom.
What’s the best meal you’ve eaten recently?
When I was in Armenia, the food was very Central Asian but we went to one restaurant that experimented with different forms of dolma, which I thought was really, really, really good. We grew up with dolmas in the Middle East, but these were extremely inventive. Dolma-wrapped fish, for example. That was very good.
What’s your favorite thing to wear right now?
On the weekends I unshackle myself of the limitations of both the corporate world and academic world. I've been wearing a lot more leather. I have a lot of really interesting leather pants and leather shirts and things like that that are maybe not as easy to wear in an office context but that are more fun to wear on the weekends. And it's fall, so it's perfect timing.
Which unread book on your shelf haunts you the most?
I just got it! It's not an architectural one at all, but it's called “Swole: The Making of Man and the Meaning of Muscle.” I've always been fascinated by this resurgence of masculine anxiety and contemporary culture, especially in the last few years. I'm kind of flabbergasted by the phenomenon, but also have completely given up to it myself, so I am looking forward to this book.
What’s your beauty secret?
I just moisturize, I guess. Oh, and sunscreen. I wear sunscreen.
What’s your favorite scent?
Oh my God, are you ready to go there? I have 200 perfumes.
The anchor scent of my life since I was maybe 18 years old, is the first men's scent that Tom Ford released when he was at Gucci. It was called Gucci Pour Homme, and it was only released for a couple of years. It was a beautiful bottle with a square bronze cap.
The perfumer Michel Almairac re-released under his own label a very, very close version. It's called Papyrus Oud, even though there's no oud in it. But the meaningful note in the first Gucci Pour Homme was this kind of papyrus accord, almost like if you took something that was once very fragrant—maybe eucalyptus or something—but left it in a desert sun to dry. So that's kind of my anchor perfume. It took me years to find it and it was a nightmare, but finally I found it.
Where is your dream vacation?
I like a beach for a couple of hours, but then I just get so antsy. I need to see a city. I need to try some food. I need to explore some buildings. I need to talk to some people. I need to go out, see some clubs, see some bars. I think an ideal vacation is a well-rounded one. It doesn't really matter where it is.
What’s love got to do with it?
Honestly, these days it’s nothing. But I will say this: This is the year where I am actually having this very serious conversation with all my friends to be like, ‘Listen, if you want me to be in a relationship, why don't you introduce me to some people who you think I would be a good match with?’
I think that's a reflex that we've all collectively lost really—not to set people up or do a blind date situation, but just to be on the lookout for your friends. Triangulating our immense social circles to be like, ‘I wonder if these two people would be a good match.’
This interview has been edited for length and clarity