When he was a ten-year-old Brooklyn yeshiva boy, his father gave him a sewing machine. It’s like The Sword in the Stone, the perfect destiny-calling start for a man who’s distinguished himself as a fashion designer and more. He’s created sets and costumes, directed opera (including the Magic Flute) and appeared in movies and television as an actor, a singer, and best of all as himself.

• PERSON: George Balanchine
• PLACE: 2 sq. feet in his kitchen
• THING: Hermès agenda

• RANDY’S THING: this zipper