Daphne Guinness's guide to Los Angeles: sunshine, glamour and driving with RuPaul

Where is your favourite destination and why?

Los Angeles. I love the West Coast, the sunshine and the people. I like the colour at the “golden hour” through the limpid palm trees. I have been going to LA for many years and have lots of friends there. I first visited in the late Eighties — quite a long time ago and it has changed a lot.

I visit two or three times a year for a good chunk of time — a few weeks. I go there because other than Japan, it’s the furthest I can go to get away from everything and everyone. I got waylaid there for the entire pandemic and it wasn’t a bad place to be, actually.

When was the last time you were there, and who were you with?

I was there in August spending time with my friend RuPaul who I love. We have such fun together. Ru is very wise but also makes me laugh like no one else.

Where do you like to stay?

I stay at The Beverly Hills Hotel and have done for many years. The staff there are like family to me. I look forward to seeing Stephen the manager and the people in the garage who I know and love. That’s why I go there — for the people. It’s just a very friendly and well-run hotel, which is unusual in this day and age. Some of the staff have been there for 40 years.

If you’re trying to imagine the hotel, I’d say it is old fashioned, there are very extensive carpets which go on and on, with banana leaf patterns running down the corridors. It’s very difficult to get me out of my room here. I tend to keep my head down!

What has been your favourite meal in LA?

I’m not sure about my favourite meal but I remember taking Tony Visconti to dinner in the Polo Lounge and he said it was the best Cobb salad he’d had in his life. When I go I often have a hamburger without a bun.

What are your top three restaurants?

San Vicente Bungalows, Musso & Frank’s, Chateau Marmont.

What would you do if you only had 24 hours there?

I would go driving with Ru. He takes you on incredible adventures and we just drive around doing fun things together. We look at houses, go to the beach, shops, for lunch.

We love exploring the many aspects of Hollywood from the beautiful views in the Hills to the faded glamour of old Hollywood. Ru is really such a wonderful driver — the best ever. We also love going hiking together.

What is the one unmissable thing you recommend doing?

Going on the ferris wheel at Santa Monica Pier. I go with the photographer and director David LaChapelle, and we love the rollercoaster. He pushes me to go on these rides and then once we’re on them he looks more scared than I do! It’s very funny. We do it to break the day up and we also go and paint plates and do all sorts of funny things together.

Is there a hidden gem you are willing to share?

There is such beautiful art deco architecture in downtown LA. The Central Library building, the Oviatt Building and the CalEdison Building are all exceptional examples of monumental Twenties’ American buildings with spectacular interiors.

Where do you like to let your hair loose?

Andrés Regal’s club Evita with my friend Rich Royal. It’s like an LA Studio 54 — a fabulously indulgent night where everyone dresses up. They have live performers such as Britney Spears — I performed there myself a few years ago. My albums are a bit of a blur, as I go from one into the next so it feels like one long album, but I think I performed my third album, Revelations, and my second, Daphne & the Golden Chord, as well. I might perform again in LA. I tend to do videos instead of live performances, but I’ll see how it goes. I can never do the exact same thing twice.

Who do you call to have a good time there?

David LaChapelle. We always do creative things together and get up to mischief. We have made seven music films together now, it has become a real body of work. Most recently we made the Time film, from my current album. It was during the writers’ strike and nothing was being made at all. Consequently, we were able to work with incredible people like costume designer Colleen Atwood who would not have been available under normal circumstances.

Favourite shops?

Just One Eye is great for unusual jewellery pieces. Rick Owens is perfect for sheer long sleeved tees and leggings, and Resurrection is a curated vintage store with incredible one-off fashion finds.

The one thing you would bring home as a souvenir?

The sunshine. There aren’t many seasons in LA, which is what’s great about it.

Your favourite beauty spot?

The sky. It is genuinely a different blue — it’s more saturated and the sun has much more of a tangerine glow. It’s best seen at golden hour around 5.30pm to 7pm in Runyon Canyon. So beautiful!

Your packing essential?

Headphones, pens and paper. Lyrical and musical ideas and couplets often come to me when travelling, when I mainly listen to classical music.

A song that reminds you of the place?

Dr Dre’s songs from the album 2001. I thought it was a masterpiece. I loved that period for the genre — the time of the last great hip hop. I have also recorded in LA in Westlake Studios where many great records were made, such as Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

Your dress code for LA?

My dress code for all destinations is white tie and tails. I make all my videos in LA with David LaChapelle, so the destination is a storm cloud of clothes in my mind. The video for Evening in Space [2016] is probably the most memorable to me as the shoot went on for three days and nights. All of the shoots we do are so extreme and you don’t really know what you’ve done until you see the edit. I wore so many looks. My Alexander McQueen for Givenchy kimono, as well as looks from Iris van Herpen and Noritaka Tatehana. Plus there were various catsuits and a lot of different outfits which I still have. They’ve made appearances in many of my videos.

Have you ever had an emergency incident there?

I once drove through a shootout between three cop cars and the Land Rover they had chased down. I was in an open-topped Porsche — the bullets were whizzing past my ears …

Which building you would like to live in?

The Wells Fargo building — it glistens in the sunlight.

Do you have a top wellness tip for the area — spa, gym, beauty?

I like to go walking or hiking in Runyon Canyon. You get such a fantastic view. It clears my head — any kind of exercise helps me to write. When you’re in motion words come to you so much better than when you’re static.

Daphne’s new and fourth album, Sleep, is out now (Agent Anonyme Recordings)