Dafydd Jones: The Real-Life Inspiration Behind Tom Wolfe’s Character in ‘The Bonfire of the Vanities’

The picture David Jones could be encouraged Tom Wolfe. In his complete novel on New York, The Fire of the Vanities (1987). This great writer, famous on the Old Continent for his ability to interfere with the daily lives of the most fortunate, is employed by the A daily star in New York do more or less the same thing. But Fallow, who has been working for his new newspaper for several months, has yet to report a single scoop. He cannot reproduce what he did London despite his actions, and his editor-in-chief is getting impatient. “Most of the time Fallow is drunk, and I don’t have a drinking problem,” said Dafydd Jones, who is less flattered by the comparison. Furthermore, it is commonly assumed that Wolfe’s character was inspired by a journalist, the legendary Anthony Haden-Guest, based in New York and known for frequently raising an elbow. “I knew him well too,” slipped Dafydd Jones, holding back a smile.

We are stubborn though: like the fictional character, Dafydd Jones made his name in London before landing in Manhattan. He was also among the most beautiful observers of the upper bourgeoisie of England. In the early 1980s, it was sent by an editor-in-chief Tatler, Tina Brown, on most social evenings, balls and other celebrations given by this son or that Lord. He brought back pictures where the biggest fortunes in England appeared drunk, unrestrained and a little too free, at a time marked by Margaret Thatcher’s economic deregulation. His provocative black-and-white photographs did not sit well with his successor Brown, who once asked Dafydd, “But you can’t ask people to laugh?!” » It was an invitation to leave the Condé Nast English publication.

Hotel Parano au Plaza

Tina Brown, promoted to Vanity Fair, let Dafydd Jones join the editorial team. Here he arrived in 1988 with his wife and two children in an apartment in Brooklyn. At VF, Jones found an editor where understaffing wasn’t really a problem. “There were a lot of journalists in the editorial office for a magazine of this size. He experienced a strange feeling of paranoia: everyone was afraid that their place would be stolen,” he recalls, half amused, half terrified.

In total, Dafydd Jones spent ten years at Vanity Fair. His pictures have become emblematic of the “Vanities” section, the history of New York’s biggest parties. We meet there Sharon Stone, Ivana Trump with or without Donald, Arnold Schwarzeneggerthe grandfather Joe BidenAN Kissinger, and some social groups that are unknown to the French population. Especially two: the philanthropist Brooke Astor etc Love Magazine. The last one was an archeologist, present all night and husband of Liz Smiththe most famous journalist people from New York. “I always managed to talk to Liz when I arrived at a party,” said Dafydd Jones. This was the best source for who to photograph. »

Dafydd Jones never stayed. He focused on the moments that interested him. He never participated in the party, at the risk of not lasting long in the business. On these nobles, newly rich people or rentiers, he did not pass a moral judgment. “I was just trying to capture special moments,” he explains. Jones captures Ivana Trump, invited to the parade but devastated and in the midst of a divorce. He is overwhelmed by those guests who came to a reception given in the Plaza Hotel with bulky handbags to fill with gifts. In another picture, Ghislaine Maxwell joke with Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia. For Graydon Carterflagship editor-in-chief Vanity FairDafydd is a “sniper or spy”: able to capture scenes without being seen by his subjects.

Dafydd Jones’ New York adventure ended at dusk in the 90s. “It also had to be said that it was more difficult for me to find another job in New York at that time,” he admits. Today, he has the photos taken in the two years twelve spent moving around the megalopolis to collect, whether they were published or rejected by his editors.One of the last parties in New York in which he participated as a photographer was a held on September 2, 1999 at the initiative of his old friend Tina Brown. In one of the pictures taken that night, three people gathered at Liberty Island for the launch Journal of Conversation : Paul Newman, Natasha Richardson etc Lauren Bacall. All three are now dead but New York is still New York.

• Dafydd Jones, New York : High Life / Low Life (ACC art books2024, 35 €).