34 posts tagged "Richard Chai"
Details’ Square Deal
Details hosted a cocktail party at Norwood Club last night to launch its latest menswear collaboration with the CFDA: a series of limited-edition pocket squares from ten different designers. The collection features styles like an autographed Marc Jacobs square (right), Thom Browne’s signature red, white, and blue (center), a weathered American flag look by John Varvatos (left) and a black and white rose print from Richard Chai. “Mine was inspired by punk, the street,” said Chai. “And they’re all screen-printed by hand.” The small batches produced—only ten of each style—launch exclusively on Bonobos.com today. And at $100 a pop, all proceeds will benefit the CFDA Foundation. Why pocket squares? “It’s an easy place to start; you can wear one without looking too over-the-top,” Details editor Dan Peres told Style.com. Although he confessed to never having worn a pocket square in his life, CFDA CEO Steven Kolb forecasted a new trend. “Guys are into pocket squares. They’re the new skinny tie!”
New York Is Burning
Anyone who has seen the seminal documentary Paris Is Burning or tried to “strike a pose” like Madonna is familiar with voguing—the gender-bending posing that flourished during the late eighties and early nineties with New York’s “ball culture.” Last night, W Hotels paid tribute to the “legendary” underground movement by putting on its own Love Hangover Ball—a voguing competition—in support of amfAR and World AIDS Day on December 1. Hosted by Kelly Osbourne, the walk-off drew a crowd of club kids and fashion fixtures, including models Karlie Kloss, Anja Rubik, Anne Vyalitsyna, and Lily Donaldson, and designers like Richard Chai, Zac Posen, and Prabal Gurung.
“I used to go to all the voguing balls back in the day,” said Simon Doonan, who judged the event alongside a panel that included Fergie, Mickey Boardman, and Jason Wu. Wearing a fur coat and a necklace constructed out of Liberace charm bracelets, Doonan reminisced about the old days. “I knew all those people and houses: the Xtravaganzas, the House of Dorian Corey, the Mizrahis. The level of style and preparation that went into the balls is beyond description. Drag queens would still be painting on their lashes at 10 p.m., and the balls would take hours and hours, going until 3 or 4 in the morning. Hopefully that won’t be the case tonight.” W‘s style director Edward Enninful was also a judge and voguing veteran. “I’m a huge fan of voguing. Growing up, it was a very important part of all our lives,” he said. “It’s a great art form. It’s glamorous. It’s fashion. I think the new generation is really inspired by what it represents.”
Speaking of the new generation, Donaldson and Kloss were just babies during the fad’s heyday, but were quickly swept up. By the end of the performance, both girls were pounding their fists on the makeshift runway, finger-wagging, and yelling, “Work!” When asked to compare her posing abilities to the divas onstage, Donaldson enthused, “These girls are on a completely different level. I wouldn’t stand a chance against them.” Perhaps Pat McGrath summed up the evening best: “Drama, drama, drama. Fierce, fierce, fierce. Realness.” Amen.
Custom Chai For A Cause
On a casual Thursday afternoon, Richard Chai (pictured, right) and Hilary Rhoda (pictured, left) were reminiscing over their nearly ten-year-long friendship (which dates back to before the supermodel got her big break as the Spring ’06 Balenciaga exclusive, according to Chai). The designer put finishing touches on a custom gown Rhoda will debut at a cocktail party hosted by EFFEN Vodka in honor of Chai tonight at the Dream Downtown. “Hilary is super easy to fit, we just have to take it in a bit. Look at how in-shape she is,” he said, gesturing to Rhoda’s tennis-toned biceps before adding a few more pins to the bust of the hand-pleated, crinkled chiffon number, which will be auctioned off to benefit Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS following the event. This marks the second time Chai has partnered with EFFEN and DIFFA (as part of an ongoing collaboration with the spirits label), having created a bar-lounge installation for the Dining by Design tour back in March. It also represents a recent push on Chai’s part to re-enter the eveningwear arena after having focused on his contemporary Love line for the past few years. He has since been filling special requests for his black-tie fare, like the custom tuxedo Nick Jonas wore to the Met ball. Keep your eyes peeled for starlets wearing custom Chai looks on the red carpets leading up to the Fall ’13 launch of his eveningwear capsule.
The Farrow Way
Linda Farrow’s Westway dance party lived up to its name at last night’s bash, luring a group of fashion insiders ready to show off their moves in the old strip joint and fête the end of New York fashion week. As expected, the party was off to a late start thanks to a string of other shindigs around town, but as the clock struck twelve, guests began to filter through the door, including Phillip Lim, Richard Chai, and The Walking Dead‘s Norman Reedus. If the mood was a little more subdued than usual, chalk it up to being situated at the tail end of a long and party-filled week. The boite’s co-owner Matt Kliegman admitted he was still recovering from its new Tuesday night installment dubbed Westgay at Westway, which boasts go-go dancers and a custom neon pink sign with the party’s moniker.
Missing from last night’s scene? Recent collaborator Prabal Gurung, who was celebrating his ICB collection across town and who revived Spring’s oversize sunnies for Fall. (The Blade Runner-esque shades made such an impression on Anna Dello Russo that she swiped a pair from the runway to wear tout de suite.)
“What’s amazing about working with Prabal is he knows exactly what he wants,” said the label’s global marketing director, Tracy Sedino (left, with Lim), who has helmed the eyewear label’s recent buzzy collaborations, which include Alexander Wang, Oscar de la Renta, and The Row. “Other designers usually take vintage frames and rework them, but with Prabal, he literally sketched the design from his imagination; we just helped bring it to life.” Even with New York fashion week winding down, the British cult brand is just getting started—tomorrow Team Farrow jets back to London to launch the latest capsule collections for Jeremy Scott and Charlotte Olympia. As for the latter’s inspiration? “Ostrich feathers and long legs.”
A New World Of Filson
Filson’s fashion moment just got extended—the 115-year-old outdoor clothing company from Seattle, known among the style set for its canvas and leather totes, has tapped Richard Chai as its new creative director.
“As a young designer in New York, we get approached with so many opportunities to collaborate, and sometimes they work—and sometimes they don’t. With Filson, [initially] I just wanted to do some outerwear for my specific collection this season,” Richard Chai tells Style.com of his new partnership with the brand, announced this morning. “Then I was talking with Filson’s CEO and he asked if I would be interested in coming on as creative director—it was all very seamless.”
Chai’s first efforts with Filson, a capsule collection of six jackets and three bags, are set to debut next week at his Lincoln Center runway show. Chai, a longtime wearer of Filson, says, “The core of Filson is hunting and fishing and it’s really practical—it’s amazing when you see how the outerwear is constructed and how it functions,” says Chai. “As a designer, it’s amazing to take that look and reinterpret it to something more fashion-oriented.” Chai did that by adding some of his signature accents to their classic duffel bags and bomber jackets, refabricating them with wool and black stripe fabric. The aim, for this extended partnership, is to land this more fashion-forward Filson collection in specialty boutiques and luxe major department stores.
“Spring ’13 is what we are working on next, and it’s really about rounding it out and making something that feels more cohesive as a collection,” says Chai, who plans to filter in shirts, pants, etc. next. “It’s going to be a whole new world of Filson.”