A Moustache to Kvell Over
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Using his Jewish manhood to go for the gold, Los Angeles musician, DJ and fashion designer Alexander Antebi was recently named the World Imperial Moustache Champion at the 2007 World Beard and Moustache Championships, held last month in Brighton, England. Taking the top prize in the imperial (also known as handlebar) category, Antebi beat out competitors from all over the world to become the first Jewish person to win a prize at the championships and the first American to win in his category. “There are certain nuances to having a good moustache,” Antebi told The Shmooze. “When I get out of the shower, I wait until it’s still slightly damp. I use a moustache comb. Then I apply Hungarian moustache wax to my moustache evenly. If I get the timing wrong, then it is a nightmare.”
Musician and sometime-moustache-wearer Nick Cave judged the moustache categories. The judges select “the one they feel is most stylish,” said Steve Parsons, secretary for the Handlebar Club, which hosts the championships. “Alexander certainly has plenty of style!” he said. Antebi topped 11 other entrants in his category to bring home his trophy: a beer tankard with moustache guard.
Frontman for the L.A. funk-glam band Conquistador, Antebi, 26, said that his music is often inspired by his Sephardic heritage (his descendants were from Toledo, Spain) and that some of his songs incorporate Ladino lyrics.
Antebi first began growing a moustache four years ago. “It was something that allowed me to connect with antiquity,” he said. As his personal style tends more toward Renaissance Faire than Ralph Lauren (he describes his own clothing line, Alexander Antoinette, as “Southern Civil War Vermeer meets Rajasthani Rock ’n’ Roll eleganza”), this anachronism seemed appropriate. “Today’s man, the conventional idea of male beauty, is that of youth,” he said. “Hairlessness has become beautiful for men. I’m proud to be a man, and this is an extension of my manhood and also my individuality.”
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
