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Alphabet Soup
Stefano Tonchi, the magazine editor who recently made the alphabetical switch from T to W, has long straddled the worlds of art and fashion. Emissaries from both universes populated the dinner party that gallerist Angela Westwater and Calvin Klein’s Francisco Costa threw for Tonchi last night at the Fifth Avenue apartment belonging to Westwater and her husband, David Meitus. The intimate affair put the likes of Daphne Guinness, Ingrid Sischy, and New Museum director Lisa Phillips together in rooms hung with Picabias and Warhols, while gaining more than a few influential new admirers for Westwater’s sociable poodle, Basket. Among them was Italo Zucchelli, who’d spent four hours earlier in the day in cap and gown to receive an honorary degree from FIT. Greeting Zucchelli, Dree Hemingway complimented him on another newly acquired point of pride: “I like your mustache!” she said.
Tonchi was the man of the hour, though. Although he’s been busy making the international rounds for W, T has yet to replace him. (Anne Christensen, who’s rumored to be at the top of the list, told us she had no update.) “What Stefano did to the magazine that was interesting was that he made it very international,” noted Costa, who first got acquainted with Tonchi about 15 years ago in Milan. “I always used to see this very handsome man come to shows,” he recalled. “Back in the good days,” Tonchi quipped, “when we had no responsibilities.”
—Darrell Hartman Continue reading
Mutual Admiration Society
Usually, it takes Alexander Wang and one of his raucous Pier 94 shows to get the fashion crowd to trek to the far west side of midtown Manhattan. But last night, Nadja Swarovski and W‘s Stefano Tonchi managed to bring this year’s CFDA nominees and a penthouse-full of well-wishers to the 16th floor of the new Ink48 hotel on Eleventh Avenue. The main draw, apart from the company: stunning sunset views of the Manhattan skyline.
Though the awards ceremony is two weeks away, Swarovski Accessory Design contender Dana Lorenz said that far more important matters have been occupying her headspace. “All I’ve been thinking about is Lost,” she said. “They could’ve done anything with the finale and I still would’ve cried. I based part of my last collection on it.” Marcus Wainwright of Rag & Bone, who’s vying for the Menswear award with his partner David Neville against Tom Ford and Michael Bastian, had a pastime other than TV watching on his mind. “My father’s a birdwatcher and a marksman,” he said. “You know, a lot of people think Swarovski’s binoculars are better than Leica’s. But they’re about two grand, so if you put that in there, tell Nadja I want a discount.”
As for Swarovski Womenswear nominee Prabal Gurung, he’s prepping for the big night by sticking to his routine. “I’m not doing anything out of the ordinary,” he told us. “The gym, meditation, eating healthy, riding my bike. Everyone has said to me, Enjoy this moment. I mean, look around,” he concluded, as the sun set over the Hudson behind him. “How could I not?”
—Nicole Phelps Continue reading
We Will Not Be Deleted
—Alison Baenen Continue reading
More Sex, Less City
The world premiere may have been in New York—”here at home, where we were born,” in Sarah Jessica Parker‘s words—and the opening-credits sequence has the famous foursome reuniting (where else?) at Bergdorf’s, but with the bulk of the film taking place over the course of an extremely luxurious vacation in Abu Dhabi, this sequel has more sex than city. Harem-inspired fashions, punch lines involving water pipes and camel anatomy, and a rather wishful version of a traveling Australian rugby team are just the tip of the sand dune. No, the characters aren’t as young and restless as they once were, but that hasn’t affected Patricia Field‘s costume choices. “It’s a liberty I take, because I master it,” she told us.
At the after-party at Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park, where the carpeted pathway was illuminated by Moroccan lanterns and spread with rose petals, Peter Som conceded he’d been charmed by one of Field’s more elaborate fantasies. “I love the idea of wearing a ball gown into the souk,” he said.
—Darrell Hartman Continue reading