Category Archives for Uncategorized
Gardening at Night
It was back to the garden at Saks last night, as Louis Vuitton turned the store’s third floor into a jardin extraordinaire for the launch of its 2010 Cruise collection. Planted among the topiaries, colorful bouquets, and superbly coiffed models was a retrospective summing up the brand’s savoir faire. There was a botanical scent in the air, and attendees—including Maggie Gyllenhaal, Serena Williams, and Arlenis Sosa—were invited to hang a note on the “wishing tree” near the back.
More than a few cards listed the wisher’s shoe size and address, although Vuitton reps were quick to explain that’s not how it works. (Having their wish cards incorporated into the display at the Fifth Avenue flagship is the best those goody-seekers can hope for.) Gyllenhaal, though, confessed that she’s benefited from the brand’s giving tree: Vuitton has flown her to Paris and donated to her preferred charity, Partners in Health. Pondering what she’d opt for next, the actress mused, “Who doesn’t want one of those trunks?” And once she had it? “You can’t go just anywhere with that. Where would I go? The beach, in India,” she decided.
—Darrell Hartman Continue reading
Ladies’ Night
It seemed like everyone and their mother was celebrating the Y chromosome last night at Glamour magazine’s 2009 Women of the Year awards ceremony: Rihanna‘s family was up from Barbados, a delegation of Iranian equal-rights activists made the trip, and the First Lady and the President appeared in separate video clips to give respective shout-outs to the Girl Scouts and the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Susan Rice.
Following a performance by Estelle, a string of inspiring honorees took to the Carnegie Hall stage. “The adult version of me is still surprised that I’m here in front of you. However, the 10-year-old version of me is not,” comedienne Amy Poehler joked. Like many of the evening’s speakers, she offered some wisdom to the youth sitting in the upper balcony: “If boys say something that’s not funny, you don’t have to laugh.” (Stella McCartney‘s advice: “Never wear a skirt this short.”)
Presenting to Serena Williams, Tyra Banks mentioned a recent encounter with the tennis star’s wax doppelgänger at Madame Tussauds. “I started squeezing the biceps, squeezing the legs, squeezing the booty. Oh my God, I was in heaven!” Thankfully, President Bill Clinton offered a very different sort of introduction for Maya Angelou. The 81-year-old poet then recited from “Phenomenal Woman”: “It’s in the reach of my arms / The span of my hips, / The stride of my step, / The curl of my lips.” Angelou also had a note for the gents in the auditorium: “To the men, you have to write your own poem.” This was ladies’ night.
—Darrell Hartman Continue reading
Crossing Delancey
Where? That was the response many people had to the address on the invitation to the opening of The Martus Maw, an exhibition of 16 new paintings by the French artist Nicolas Pol. 80 Essex Street, it turned out, is an unassuming, low-slung warehouse on the Lower East Side—and, as the show’s producer, Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld, explained, there’s a reason why most people in New York have never been inside. “The building is owned by the city, and they hardly ever rent it out,” said Restoin-Roitfeld, who worked with RVCA’s Artist Network Program to stage the show. “This was actually the first meat market in New York City,” he added. “Cool, no?”
Cool indeed, and so was the crowd that turned out for Restoin-Roitfeld’s latest artistic endeavor. (If the curator thing doesn’t pan out, he could always have a second career as a party planner.) Andres Serrano, André Balazs, and Jean Paul Gaultier all checked out Pol’s massive mixed-media paintings; Lauren and Andres Santo Domingo, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Terence Koh joined the party later, at the post-show repast at Indochine. The first plates of spicy beef salad arrived on tables well after 10 p.m., which was basically still early for the Euro-inflected crowd.
—Maya Singer Continue reading
CandyCast Spring Trends
—Candy Pratts Price Continue reading
Spring 2010
—Candy Pratts Price Continue reading