subscribe to style file blog via RSSBlasblog From Moscow: Friends Don’t Let Friends Shop Drunk
November 21, 2008
I’ve been to a lot of store parties. Making dinner out of mini-grilled cheese sandwiches and stumbling home after one too many passed cocktails is a way of life. So you can imagine my disappointment when I heard from both Mario Testino and Riccardo Tisci (two people I thought would know the coolest spots in the world) that they were going to Denis Simachev’s boutique for drinks after the Russian Vogue tenth anniversary party on Thursday night. That’s like telling me we’re going to the D&G store on West Broadway after the Met Ball. I didn’t fly halfway around the world to Moscow to go to another store party. Thankfully, though, the Russians know how to stock a showroom; below Simachev’s boutique is a 24-hour restaurant, bar, and dance floor. And with Dasha Zhukova, Camilla Al Fayed, Eugenie Niarchos, and Olympia Scarry joining Testino and Tisci, the evening was actually fun. “I wanted the boutique above to be white, with lots of light, and the bar underneath to be black and dark, like an underworld,” said Simachev, who told me he’s gone straight from the bar to the office on more than one occasion. According to the designer, the wildest night was when Mischa Barton stopped by when she was filming here last year: “She got really drunk and laid on the floor, and everyone was laughing at her. No one recognized her until the next day in pictures.” Jumping on the discotheque store trend is another Moscow designer called Chapurin. His branded drinking establishment opened earlier this year. “I create clothes, furniture, interior design, and jewelry,” said Chapurin. “And today we would like to suggest a certain lifestyle to our clients.” When we asked him what fashion and clubbing have in common, he said, “They both have passion. Without strong emotions, neither would exist at all.”
tags: Denis Simachev, Mario Testino, Russian Vogue
Adidas’ Ware(House) Party
November 21, 2008
For its 60th birthday, Adidas kept things simple: a couple kegs of beer, a few boxes of pizza, and a ginormous warehouse space converted into a prototypical suburban home. To some, the Williamsburg “house party” may have felt like the exburbs, but judging by the plaid, Converse, and ironic mustache index, most partygoers hadn’t traveled far. You could find them in the kitchen, sharing mini Chinese takeout containers of mac and cheese, or in the rec room, ashing their cigarettes on the carpet. Le Call showed up with a “bunch of degenerates,” as she called her friends. Moved by the decor, the degenerates shared stories of their high school days. “Can you put my name on his memory?” Call asked, after a friend recounted a night involving beer, a minivan, and Ecstasy. “I’m so boring!” Yeah right, Le. The night ended with a set by the Phenomenal Handclap Band, during which Adrian Grenier air-drummed in the front row (he’s in his own band, he reminded us after the performance). The cops never showed up—which could be counted as a success or a failure, depending how you look at it.
tags: Adidas, Adrian Grenier, Le Call
Zimmermann, Now From Head To Toe
November 21, 2008
We love Australian label Zimmermann for its colorful bikinis and little dresses. But the sister duo behind the brand, Nicky and Simone Zimmermann, are branching out—or as the case may be, inside and down—with the addition of lingerie and shoes for spring. They bring their signature playful and sexy touch to fabric pumps in dip-dyed brights and printed silk underwear that is just as covetable as their famous swimwear.
tags: Zimmermann
SLS: It’s Angeleno For Elegance
November 21, 2008
They’ve tackled L.A.’s fickle dining and nightlife scene, and now the creative forces at SBE have officially entered the hotel game with the opening of SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills at La Cienega and Burton Way. “We’ve teamed with the best minds and companies in the industry,” says SBE’s CEO, Sam Nazarian, the man responsible for hot spots like Katsuya Hollywood and XIV and for the coup of locking in visionary designer Philippe Starck for a 15-year exclusive with SBE for the U.S., Mexico, and the Caribbean. As for the hotel’s name, Nazarian explains, “SLS is not an exact acronym for anything in particular, but it will become synonymous with timeless elegance.” It’s an ambitious goal but one that appears well on its way to happening, with 297 minimalist rooms in a serene palette of grays and greens. Of course, that serenity is punctuated by Starck’s witty details like trompe l’oeil floating beds, giant potted plants, and a PETA-friendly solid glass deer head over the fireplace. The hotel’s 11,500-square-foot public lobby, dubbed the Bazaar, allows for dining, cocktails, lounging, and shopping (a retail concept from Moss), all in one sweeping, Starck-designed environment. And Nazarian has assured that the food transcends typical hotel cuisine. Famed Spanish-born chef José Andrés is responsible for the traditional and modern tapas dishes at Rojo y Blanca, while Bar Centro serves caviar, raw bar selections, and SBE’s signature master-mixed cocktails featuring herbs and organic emulsifiers.
tags: Philippe Starck, SLS Hotel
When Vena Met Via
November 21, 2008
In these hard times, everyone’s looking for high-end quality at mid-level prices. With said objective in mind, shoe retailer Via Spiga has hit the ground running, recently opening a boutique on Broadway and Broome just south of the frenzied retail strip and collaborating with Vena Cava’s Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhai to produce a line of relatively affordable souliers. “One of the things that was really important to us was that the shoes be of the same price point as our brand,” said Buhai at last night’s launch. “So, the shoes are going to retail around $500, a little less expensive than some of the designer brands.” It’s not quite bargain basement; however, you can expect the same special detailing and exceptional craft that has made Vena Cava a downtown favorite. Try these on for size: a basic clog toughened up with the label’s signature triangle studs. “All the buyers are gravitating toward a lower price point,” added Buhai. “We’re trying to take those things that people are really responding to and run in that direction.”
tags: Lisa Mayock, Sophie Buhai, Vena Cava
Angelina Jolie, “Scary Smart”
November 21, 2008
Turns out when Angelina Jolie sold her baby photos to People, she also sold her soul. On the condition that it look really, really good.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame New York Annex opens Tuesday. Where else were they going to put all that stuff from CBGB?
The Socialiterank.com siblings, Olga and Valentine Rei, are back, this time with the occult. Their newest Web endeavor, Astrocrack.com, is full of astrological wisdom, but as far we can tell, no ranking system. Sigh.
Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz welcome their son to the world by naming him Bronx Mowgli Wentz. Must make him wish he’d stuck it out in the womb.
Hanging Ten With Alexandra Cassaniti
November 21, 2008
“Where I went to high school, we didn’t even have a football team. We had a surf team,” recalls Alexandra Cassaniti. It’s not surprising then that the former Steven Alan designer has found herself back at the beach. After fleeing the monolithic surf culture of her native Hawaii for the urban environs of New York, Cassaniti recently relocated to Los Angeles in order to be closer to the water. “The only thing is I didn’t realize that Silver Lake was so far from the ocean,” she laughs. “[It] didn’t even occur to me. I mean, I love the neighborhood, but it was actually less of a hassle to get to my beach in New York.” No matter though, Cassaniti has devised the perfect fashion solution for her long surf commute. The latest addition to her likably random eponymous line is a range of neoprene separates that work as well making the scene on Hillhurst Avenue as they do on a board in Malibu. Certainly, a nouvelle vague-vibe neoprene bustier top and beret make a nice rejoinder to the typical beachy bodaciousness, though Cassaniti notes that she finds herself looking less and less askance at that so-called cheesy West Coast style. “I feel like it’s an interesting challenge to warp that look into something interesting,” she says. Next up: higher-end versions of the mirrored specs Cassiniti has been remaking from deadstock neon sunglasses, and beach clogs inspired by the ones she used to wear in Hawaii.
tags: Alexandra Cassaniti
House of Waris Spends Night At Plaza
November 20, 2008
Wes Anderson couldn’t make it, but the charming mise-en-scènes Waris Ahluwalia created to show off his new jewelry collection Wednesday night had his director friend’s upper-crust quirk all over them. The vignettes were staged in a two-story suite at the Plaza (with a terrace, obviously) and, if you didn’t already, they kind of made you wish you were spending the night. There were models in the parlor playing chess, models in the bathtub (splashing and playing like little girls), and models in the bedroom playing cards. Throw in a tub full of vodka bottles, and, hey, who needs a jewelry collection? Still, the avian-inspired gems for the House of Waris garnered their own share of attention, decorating the rooms like mini artworks. The intimate group of guests varied from the expected (Arden Wohl, Hope Atherton) to the less expected (Malcolm Gladwell) to the head-turning, represented by Anthony Edwards. (”Why is Goose here?” one guest asked.) The collection was inspired by another hotel, this time in Paris, where Ahluwalia was taken by a bird motif in the tiles of his bathroom. The hand-enameled pendants and earrings are individually named—Raphael, Virgil, Spero, etc.—and the collection goes by the classical moniker Omnia Vincit Amor, or Love Conquers All. Another partygoer not normally in these parts was the designer’s mom. Easily the chicest woman in the suite in a slim, saffron-hued sari, she proudly displayed her own House of Waris pieces. “Of course I think they are great,” she said, and showed off her ears, beaming.
tags: Anthony Edwards, Arden Wohl, Hope Atherton, Waris Ahluwalia
Reebok Pops Up On The Bowery (Where Else?)
November 20, 2008
Sidestep the crowd outside. Pass the bouncer and the PR girl gauntlet. Ascend the dark stairs, turn at the dirty orange traffic cones, and proceed to the second PR girl gauntlet. Check your coat. Descend a set of neon stairs, and you’re there: Reebok Flash. Presumably, Reebok’s first-ever pop-up store doesn’t usually require quite as much effort to access, but opening-night-party measures were in full effect Wednesday evening. Inside, staff from La Esquina assembled rapid-fire mini quesadillas and tostadas while guests tried not to trip over the angular, low-to-the-ground display tables boasting Reeboks in shades from chartreuse to khaki. The vibe was decidedly eighties (when was the last time you inflated your Pumps?), which meant different things to different people. For Christian Stegmaier, Reebok’s head of lifestyle product marketing, the decade called to mind “Freestyle, fitness, and aerobics.” Freestyle, as in rap? No, no, as in Reebok’s first women’s athletic shoe, circa 1982, of course. For a different perspective on the decade, we checked in with Taylor Momsen: What was the Gossip Girl doing in the eighties? “Um, not born,” the high school-age star said with a cute Jenny Humphrey shrug and grin. Ah, youth. Rent a few Jane Fonda workout tapes and check back with us in the morning.
tags: Reebok, Taylor Momsen
Ralph Lauren’s Glory Days
November 20, 2008
Patriotism is particularly in style these days—witness Michael Kors’ red, white, and blue Spring collection or Catherine Malandrino’s U.S. flag dress (and she’s not even a citizen). But it’s always been in fashion for Ralph Lauren. Back in 1998, at the request of then-First Lady Hillary Clinton, he made a $13 million donation to the Save America’s Treasures campaign that went to the restoration of Old Glory. Yesterday, the designer was honored at the Smithsonian’s Star-Spangled Banner dedication ceremony. “The flag has always been an inspiration, and I wanted to preserve it for our children and generations to come,” he said in a statement. David Lauren, in an occasion-appropriate red and blue striped tie, white shirt, and pinstriped double-breasted suit, attended in his father’s absence. Maybe Lauren père is waiting until January 20 to make a trip to D.C.
tags: Ralph Lauren, Smithsonian
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