Walk This Way: Miss J Alexander, ANTM’s favorite runway coach

True Crime, Fashion and Passion

In September 1978, I walked into Xenon, one of New York’s hottest discos. The music was pumping, the crowd was glamorous, and as I looked across the room in this mecca of debauchery and disco devotees, I saw this apparition. It was like nothing I had ever seen. This incredibly statuesque creature twirling and dancing at a feverish pace right there on top of the speaker, draped in yards of cascading taffeta. I Instantly knew I was in the right place & I wanted to be a part of this scene. Who knew we were destined to be friends for more than four decades of fashion and fun around the world and on everyone’s TV screens everywhere. Miss J Alexander has been a fashion show fixture for decades, teaching the world’s top supermodels to walk like a supermodel and basking in the glory of his teaching. He can often be found sitting front row applauding and judging every step every model makes. Miss J Alexander was a kid from the Bronx with a dream and a talent for seeking out glamour & the world is a more fun and uniquely colorful place because of his tenacity. The one and only J Alexander was not always what TV casting directors were looking for before his buddy supermodel, Tyra Banks, gave him the job on America’s Next Top Model. J Alexander knew he had to be his own benefactor and biggest fan to shatter the glass ceilings that the world of fashion had put above him. Being one of a kind and ahead of the curve didn’t stop him. In fact, it didn’t even slow him down, he broke the rules and broke the mold in the world of tv and fashion. Long before the trend of cross dressing and gender fluidity was in, Miss J Alexander was coming out and he did it boldly, vibrantly, and unapologetically. Miss J recounts the funniest stories of how he sauntered his way into the elite world of fashion and dazzled my beautiful Iconic cohost, Pat Cleveland, and the Legendary Vogue editor, Andre Leon Talley. His over-the-top DIY couture style has also turned him into the people’s prince & princess of style and international celebridom. Miss J’s strategy to strutting his stuff around the world and conquering the hearts of many will have you sitting on the edge of your seat laughing and taking notes on how to walk this way through five decades of fabulousness and fashion notoriety. True Crime, Fashion, and Passion is recorded and edited at DNR Studios in New York, NY. The podcast is hosted by Phillip Bloch, cohosted by Carol Alt and Pat Cleveland. Our Senior Producer is Annie Quaile. Illustrations created by Antonio Contreras. Follow him at @antonioeldeseo on Instagram. Special thanks to Paul van Ravenstein, Romaine Patterson, Andrew Bagley, and the entire DNR Studios crew. Additional thanks to Vinnie Postestivo. Visit us on the web at truecrimefashionandpassion.com, on Twitter @crimefashionpod and Instagram and Facebook at @TrueCrimeFashionandPassion.