For any budding fashion line, finding funding is nothing short of a godsend. “It was the best Christmas gift,” Mara Hoffman raved about being selected for the W Hotels’ Fashion Next program. “I found out in December right before everybody headed off for the holidays.” Along with fellow colleagues Tess Giberson, Mandy Coon, Frank Tell, [...]

There was small talk in at least three languages at the mid-morning cocktail hour preceding Fashion Group International’s Rising Star Awards luncheon today, but Bellini, apparently, translates—good thing, since the fashion talent being honored hails from locales as far as Iran (Nima Taherzadeh), Australia (Michael Angel), and Nepal (Prabal Gurung). Fellow nominees Carly Cushnie and [...]

A 9 a.m. slot at the Tents doesn’t always guarantee the best front row, but Michael Angel’s fans weren’t deterred by the early call time. Preening in the designer’s wares were Julia Stegner (in a sexy minidress) and Cory Kennedy (who paired her long, printed skirt with saddle shoes), while blogger Susie Bubble sat front-row [...]

“Classical music has been a long-time passion of mine, and it’s struggling to survive,” concert pianist Sugar Vendil told us last night after a sold-out concert at the Nabi Gallery in Chelsea. “I wanted to find a way to promote it to a hip, downtown crowd.” Vendil’s resulting brainchild, the Nouveau Classical Project, brings music [...]