Meet Cole Escola: the Oh, Mary! creator arrives in London to make their West End debut

In terms of event dressing, Escola takes a curious but fabulous approach. ‘I like dressing for the occasion. I’ll get invited to something and I’ll just feel in my bones: “I think this [outfit] should be something like the French president’s wife is visiting Canada to start a new charity.” And I’ll write exactly like that to my friend David, and he’ll be like, “Got it.” And he’s the gayest person alive – it’s a superpower. Then, he will send me three options that are exactly what I’m thinking.’

Do they have any queer heroes who have helped them on their journey? ‘My friends in New York that I perform with: Spike Einbinder, River [L] Ramirez, Justin Vivian Bond, Peter Smith.’ But who’s the cooler LGBT icon, Cecil Beaton or Oscar Wilde? ‘Did Cecil Beaton ever spend time in jail? There’s your answer.’

The Bystander Man has come in many guises over the past 125 years, from male models at the Little Black Book party and Cole Escola in the July issue to Lady Louisa Howitt (née Stuart) on the November 1992 cover (right) and Stella Tennant in October 1989 (above)

Lady Louisa Howitt (née Stuart) on the November 1992 cover

Now, they’re embodying that well-known profile of Tatler’s Bystander Man, as the magazine celebrates 125 years since the 1901 relaunch of what was then known as ‘an illustrated journal of society and the drama’. Quite fitting. They join the likes of the late aristocratic model Stella Tennant (in 1989) and ’90s It girl Lady Louisa Stuart (1992), who both donned the famed bicorn and tails. ‘It’s a great waistline, a gorgeous silhouette,’ Escola says of the ensemble, which for 2026 is now paired with glittering Vivienne Westwood heels.

An American portraying the pomp and pageantry of the illustrious figure might hear jeers from the strictest of history-loving Anglophiles, but worry not. Escola ends our interview with one final gag that might appease said naysayers. ‘I just want the readers to know that I do have British roots. My grandmother is from Liverpool, which is why my teeth look like this.’

This feature was first published in the July 2026 issue of Tatler.