Hye Won Jang

RTRC

Hello Handsome!

From Pop Idol to Fashion Icon

Sarah Hoopes

NT

Wenqi Wu

Moon Hwang

Paul Cavaco Steps Reluctantly Into the Spotlight

All the Colors

Justin Chu

“It has to be renamed the Midlife Achievement Award”

—By Tim Blanks. Photograph by Patrick McMullan.

Youngji Cho

Out of Office

Hye Gin Hamm

Shin Young Jang

LOTW

Style.com's Sun Essentials

weddings

Carlota Salvadores Calero

Cinema Against AIDS 21

Our party report will be posted shortly. In the meantime, please enjoy our exclusive red-carpet pictures.

You Never Leave Parsons

When Michelle Obama wore one of his dresses to the 2008 inauguration, a then-26-year-old Jason Wu famously said, "I just didn't think it was my turn yet." At last night's Parsons Fashion Benefit, Wu—now 31, with a namesake business and an artistic directorship at Hugo Boss to boot—took the same humble attitude when he was honored for his achievements. He told us, "It's a little surreal. I feel a little inadequate, like I need to do more. It's a huge honor, though. Especially in this new building—I'm the first one!"



He was talking about Parsons' new University Center, a state-of-the-art building that opened its doors in January on lower Fifth Avenue. A fashion show of the graduating seniors' work was shown in the new auditorium, and dinner was held upstairs in the sixth- and seventh-floor libraries. "This beautiful new building is a beacon for innovation and design," Wu said when accepting his award, fondly remembering the outdated building he studied in on Seventh Avenue. "And now we don't have to share space with those Garment District sample sales. Although I did get some great deals at the time."



Last night's best deal? A singular gift of $250,000 from Hugo Boss. In total, the evening raised more than $1.2 million for scholarships.

—Todd Plummer

NT

Ximon Lee

It's Hermès' Universe, We Just Live in It

The extravaganza that Hermès threw in downtown Manhattan last night was billed as "All About Women"—with a noticeable bias toward those who buy Hermès. Despite the healthy turnout of fashion editors and Frenchmen in suits, the main contingent was favored clients. They had plenty to keep them entertained.



Round one, in the velvet-draped historic J.P. Morgan headquarters at 23 Wall Street, was a rerun of the house's Autumn/Winter collection défilé. For round two, guests descended into an elaborate fashion carnival comprised of dozens of separate installations, including a county-fair area with pinball and roll-a-ball horse racing; "Dancing Bags," a mod-themed act featuring girls in white jumpsuits; a studio (dubbed "Art of the Scarf") with artists sketching a model on a pedestal; and a fortune-teller attempting to divine whether his chosen subjects had glamorous vacation plans or owned an art gallery.



At a swim-themed tableau, retro bathers executed a coolly choreographed routine to sixties luau music. It had Monique Péan intrigued and stylist Kate Schelter climbing up onto a chair for a better view: "I can't keep up!" Most whimsical of all, perhaps, were the passed trays of plain bacon.



What to make of it all? "Hermès is not as serious as some people might think," suggested the house's artistic director of fine jewelry and shoes, Pierre Hardy , as guests filtered back upstairs for a buffet dinner. "Because it's an old brand, from France, it's supposed to be the epitome of classicism. But it's younger and more dynamic than that."



As such off-season theatrics become a thing among big fashion labels, some of the fun is in seeing how each one approaches it differently. "It's not only about power and marketing. It's more about trying to create a little bit of poetry and charm," offered Christophe Lemaire , Hermès' creative director of womenswear. "That's the beauty of this house."

—Darrell Hartman

World Cup Fever

Inseop Keum

Meet the Dandies of Avenue C

"Bring Back the Ball," pronounced the invitation to the Museum of Arts and Design's Young Patrons event, and in a smaller font: "a 1920s Immersion Experience Gala." Hard to resist a pitch like that, and the period-correct James Burden Mansion on East 91st Street, where the party was held last night, was packed. The guests of honor: the time-traveling performance artists David McDermott and Peter McGough , aka the "Dandies of Avenue C," whose MO includes the wearing of coattails, living without electricity, and traveling by horse and buggy.



McDermott and McGough take time-travel immersion seriously. The only authentic period silverware up to their specifications had to be hand-carried on a plane from Los Angeles, along with some 120 individual Limoges porcelain place settings. A Ford Model A was parked outside on the street. Of course, dressing up was half the fun. Sofia Sanchez Barrenechea was nearly unrecognizable in a platinum blond bobbed wig. "You know, I think I really like this," she said, as her fiancé, Alexandre de Betak , gave an unsure eye roll over her shoulder. Taylor Tomasi Hill , wearing a top hat with a shawl she sewed herself from fresh flowers ("Honey, I don't touch a fake flower"), people-watched from the corner with Maggie Betts .



After the beef stroganoff was served and the champagne poured, McGough expressed a subversive side to the evening's 1920s theme. "This party is sensational. And it's all about our time theory. McDermott and I believe that we're all marching off a cliff, especially with climate change. The scientists say that everything will be either desert or flooded, but nobody wants to get rid of their cars, their plastic cups. Time is a trap. Onward, onward, onward." The artist raised his glass and held up a folding fan he was carrying, and sang lyrics from the Jazz Age: "If we only meet your fate, dear, it will be the great event of 1928!"

—Todd Plummer

They're All Winners

Luxe et Veritas

—By Dirk Standen. Photograph by Kuba Dabrowski.

Tuyen Tran

Throw It in the Bag

When in Monaco

Usually, people clear out of a fashion show as fast as the exits allow, but not at Louis Vuitton's Cruise presentation at Monaco's Place du Palais on Saturday night. While Nicolas Ghesquière adjourned to the Palace to conduct interviews (a rare honor for a non-royal, we were told), guests lingered over champagne and hors d'oeuvres in a clear plastic tent below a sunset that turned the Riviera sky a brilliant shade of pink not far off from the first look on Ghesquière's runway. In the mix: Adèle Exarchopoulos , Pat McGrath, Juergen Teller, Philip Crangi, and Susie Lau. Only the celebrities due at one of the evening's Film Festival parties in Cannes beat hasty retreats. Their helicopters were waiting. Much later, the party moved to Jimmy'z, Monte Carlo's legendary nightclub. We didn't spot her Serene Highness or the Prince, although the latter was rumored to be attending, but Ghesquière was there well past 2 a.m., and, yes, he did take a few turns on the dance floor.

—Nicole Phelps

This Is Forty

The New York party scene doesn't build itself. One of its primary architects is Ben Pundole , the sprightly Englishman who has helped put together a whole bunch of late-night bashes over the past decade-plus, not to mention a handful of hangouts that people tend to want to throw them in (most notably The Surf Lodge, which launched the Montauk craze). Following stints with the Morgans and King & Grove hospitality brands—the latter of which he cofounded—Pundole has gone more international of late as the branding guru for Ian Schrager's fast-expanding Edition hotel chain.



Pundole can gather a crowd—especially when celebrating his 40th birthday, as was the case Saturday night at Indochine. Dree Hemingway and China Chow were among those who came to raise a glass of Absolut Elyx, the evening's liquor of record.



In black tie and Nikes, Pundole outdressed his guests. He entertained his mother, who'd crossed the pond to join in, and noted that over the past year he's adopted a healthy regimen of yoga, running, and earlier bedtimes—a chapter anyone in his field is pretty much bound to hit at some point.



Still, you only turn 40 once. After clearing out Indochine at 2:30 or so, Pundole headed out to Brooklyn for another round. "I can still do a crazy late night when I put my mind to it," he said.

—Darrell Hartman

Discovering 11:11

lotd recap

Aaron de Mey

Louis Vuitton blog post

Balenciaga

The Fighter

NT

Cannes in the Spotlight

Are You Feeling Lucky?

Plenty of people shy away from the number thirteen, but last night (May 13, as it happens) at Kirna Zabête in Soho, it was everywhere. Editors and designers joined store owners Beth Buccini and Sarah Easley at the boutique to toast the 2014 CFDA Swarovski Emerging Talent Award nominees and to see their one-of-a-kind crystal creations, inspired by the theme Lucky 13. Swarovski is celebrating its thirteen-year partnership with the CFDA—a fortuitous thirteen years, indeed, for all the talents who have benefitted from the brand's support.



L.A.-based jewelry maker Irene Neuwirth said that her skateboard, made of thirteen different shades of crystals, took more than seventy hours to make. "I was taking Super Glue and making a dot and putting on each one." Does the native Californian skate? "I do, sometimes, but not very eloquently." Todd Snyder also created a piece inspired by a hobby: a bedazzled Brooklyn Nets basketball jersey. "I used to play in the city league in Iowa growing up, and thirteen was my lucky number," he said. "Obviously, a city league jersey isn't as chic as a Brooklyn one, so I went with the Nets…I am hoping Jay Z outbids me for it." All proceeds from the auction running on Gavel&Grand through June 2 will benefit Free Arts NYC, which provides art education to children.



If anyone was feeling like they might need a good-luck talisman at the actual awards next month, they weren't showing it. "No, we aren't really nervous, we're just going with it," said very calm first-time nominee Rosie Assoulin . She paused for a second, cracked a smile, and added, "I am lying, by the way."

—Kristin Studeman

One Thousand and One Nights

Sculpture Club

Lykke Li hates dresses. At least that's what she told us before she took the stage to premiere some of her new music at MoMA's Party in the Garden last night: "I don't find them comfortable. I never wear dresses, so why would I wear one tonight? I wore this instead." "This" was a boyfriend-proportioned tuxedo jacket of her own design from a recent collaboration with Swedish brand & Other Stories. Her sister and stylist, Zara Zachrisson, showed support by spending the night by her side in a coordinating tux.



Another woman wearing a look of her own design was Ariana Rockefeller, who admitted that getting dressed for the occasion was a bit stressful. After all, family expectations were high—her great-grandmother founded MoMA: "I tried to wear something that I thought she would like, that would make her proud. She was a woman of very specific taste."



That's the thing about MoMA's Party in the Garden—it's an occasion that brings together generations of the museum's supporters. Although the seated dinner honoring Daniel Craig , Steve McQueen , and Maja Oeri was attended by some of the more veteran patrons of the arts, scores of the museum's younger supporters (Chloë Sevigny among them) filled the sculpture garden for the after-party. So by the time Lykke Li took the stage after 10, the evening was less like a formal gala and more like a relaxed backyard dance party. Even Madonna herself took in the show, swilling straight from a bottle of rosé.

—Todd Plummer

Brigitte Bardot

Chanel

Woman to Woman

Tod's should seriously consider an inside hire for the next face of the brand. Since taking the reins of the house's accessories and ready-to-wear collections more than a year ago, designer Alessandra Facchinetti has proven that she not only has a keen, fresh sense of what women want, but that she's the perfect model for her own creations. "When you're designing, there's always one point when you have to ask yourself, 'Would I wear this?'" Facchinetti said during last night's Tod's dinner at Il Principe at Soho's Hotel Hugo. Judging by the way Facchinetti worked her silver leather skirt and airy baby blue top, we'd say the answer to that question was a firm yes.



Yesterday's dinner marked the first official New York event Tod's has thrown since Facchinetti came on board, and the fashion set turned out to give the creative director a warm Manhattan welcome. "She took me to the Met ball last year, and we just really liked each other," offered Maggie Gyllenhaal , who's gearing up for her new television miniseries, The Honourable Woman ("I've never been more proud of anything I've made in my life," she told us), as well as a Broadway play this fall. Considering that the actress wore a colorful Valentino number to last week's Met Gala, we wondered if she had a particular fondness for Italian brands. "I do like the Italian thing. I was married in Italy, I like Italian people, so yeah, I guess I do like Italian clothes," she mused.



Italian food isn't too shabby, either. Guests including Katie Holmes , Leandra Medine , Waris Ahluwalia , and Caroline Issa were offered nibbles like mozzarella and tomato bites and arancini before sitting down to dinner. Designer Misha Nonoo arrived just as partygoers were heading to their tables. "I have to say that I really like what Alessandra is doing. The clothes are very clean and very modern. I think it's a great direction for Tod's to head in." Lucky for her, then, that Tod's has a stateside retail expansion in the works. "That will probably happen in two seasons, but in September, we're going to completely redo the Tod's store on Madison," said Facchinetti. Sounds like this New York festa will not be Facchinetti's last.

—Katharine K. Zarrella

KORS

Frieze Framed

LOTD

rtrc

A No-Special-Occasion Occasion

God, fashion people can be cynical sometimes. As guests gathered around the two long tables in the private room of NYC's Locanda Verde last night, a common refrain could be overheard: "What is this dinner for?" People! When did we start thinking that all soirees had to be in aid of something? Can't two brands, like Rag & Bone and Mytheresa, just decide to throw together a multicourse meal for the hell of it, because it might be fun?



That was indeed the raison d’être for the shindig, a mutual admiration society gathering thrown by Rag & Bone and Munich-based e-tailer Mytheresa to celebrate their admiration for each other. Liv Tyler , Spike Jonze, Michael Pitt , and Alexa Chung were among the friends-of enjoying a dinner of salads; various kinds of thin slivers of meat; lemon, Pecorino, and asparagus pasta; chicken and fennel; and much, much more. The groaning table seemed to offer some of the guests an opportunity to soak up their hangovers after a few boozy nights, starting, of course, with the Met ball. Rag man Marcus Wainwright , however, was in perfectly good form and reported that his placement at the Met dinner provided spark enough. He was, he said, seated with Rihanna. Meanwhile, a few seats down, erstwhile Victoria's Secret models Toni Garrn and Camille Rowe tucked into large helpings of dessert—yogurt-flavored gelato, lemon tart, chocolate torte—with appetites that would drive any persistent dieter to despair. Rowe, who opened the Fall 2014 Rag & Bone show, appears to stay slender thanks to a keenness for sport. "Foosball," she enthused, between mouthfuls of tart. "Like all French kids, I grew up playing. I'm obsessed. I can kick anyone's ass."

—Maya Singer

Mother Knows Best

The Belgian View

Raf Simons arrived at last night's Dior Cruise after-bash at the Top of the Standard just a few minutes before 1 a.m. The effect wasn't unlike the appearance of a homecoming king—had said king just brought an archetypal French fashion house across the murky waters to Brooklyn. Simons' latest offering earned him quite the entrance, as much of a sizable crowd made bids for their moment (or Instagram snap) with the man of the evening. Guests including André Saraiva, Michel Gaubert, Alexandra Richards, and Malgosia Bela bent elbows and took to the dance floor for some slow jams—alongside one or two rogue twerking elements. Though Dior CEO Sidney Toledano 's moves went sadly unseen, he offered up his thoughts on the show: "It was, for Dior, the right vocabulary. It's the new New Look. It's right on the target." Simons, for his part, answered the question on so many minds: Why Brooklyn? "New energy! And it's nicer to have a view of Manhattan than the other way around."



Nearby at Highline Stages, the Whitney was dispensing its 23rd Annual American Art Award. Receiving accolades were Dorothy Lichtenstein, wife of artist Roy and president of his foundation, and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the quarter-billion dollars in art-related grants it has distributed since 1987. But the real star was Maria Giulia Maramotti , third-generation member of the family who founded and still operates Max Mara, who accepted an award on her family's behalf. In 2007 they converted a factory into a public museum to display grandfather Achille Maramotti's prolific collection of contemporary art, and Max Mara has underwritten the Whitney's Art Party for the past two years. "My mother called me from Italy this morning to tell me how proud my grandfather would have been," Maramotti told the crowd. "And I thought, Oh, thanks, now the pressure is really on!" The evening raised more than $1.6 million for the Whitney.



Across town at Lafayette, meanwhile, Burberry and W magazine joined forces with the New Museum's Lisa Phillips to honor the artists Hannah Sawtell , Roberto Cuoghi, Ragnar Kjartansson , and Camille Henrot . Among the art enthusiasts who turned out to celebrate: Naomi Campbell , Suki Waterhouse , Dianna Agron , and Hollywood newcomer Gugu Mbatha-Raw.

—Kristin Anderson and Todd Plummer

NT

Hangover? What Hangover?

You'd think that the Met Gala would've tired everyone out, but there are no nights off for the fashion flock. Tuesday evening began in Soho, where Style.com contributor Darrell Hartman threw a one-year anniversary dinner for his travel website, Jungles in Paris. Elettra Wiedemann , Kate Foley , and Jeff Halmos turned up at Rintintin to show their support. Explaining the connection between style writing and travel journalism, Hartman said, "I think Jungles functions as a source of inspiration. It fosters this feeling of wonder about the world—and that can include creative inspiration for designers." Max Osterweis —who cofounded Suno, a brand known for its global outlook—confirmed that a recent story about elk in Wyoming had caught his eye.



A few blocks west, at his Grand Street store, Alexander Wang threw his friend, interior designer, and creative collaborator Ryan Korban a release party for Ryan Korban: Luxury Redefined. "It's not your normal 'here's twenty years of work' interiors book," Korban said. "I think it has a different point of view, and it's meant to add some excitement to the interiors world." The new volume juxtaposes photos of his interiors with artistic images that inspired each space, and took Korban four years to complete, so it was definitely time to have a drink or three in celebration. "Ryan is one of my best friends," Wang told Style.com. "He has an eye that is really special, and is very honest. He isn't afraid to tell me when I'm wrong. But it works—I say black, he says white, and we land on gray."



In the West Village, Bonpoint's Sabine Brunner celebrated the new Soho store with a private dinner, while uptown Bergdorf Goodman feted jeweler Noor Fares . Not far away, Ferragamo was launching its new handbag range at Casa Lever. Fiamma, as the line is called, is named after Salvatore Ferragamo's daughter and is modeled on a bag she designed in 1992. Mariel and Langley Fox Hemingway and Jacqueline and Stella and Lola Schnabel, among other mothers and daughters, tucked into caprese salads and grilled branzino below images from the Fiamma campaign in which they star.

—Todd Plummer

One Lump or Two?

Though a bevy of fetching women turned out for last night's Creative Time gala at Brooklyn's Domino Sugar Factory (Chloë Sevigny , Jenna Lyons , and Cindy Sherman among them), none received so many long glances as the lady of the evening. She was stark naked, 65 feet long, and entirely crafted from sugar. Her name? A Subtlety: Or the Marvelous Sugar Baby, an Homage to the Unpaid and Overworked Artisans Who Have Refined Our Sweet Tastes From the Cane Fields to the Kitchens of the New World. Commissioned by Creative Time, the work of conceptual confectionery is honoree Kara Walker 's first large-scale public project, and a last hurrah for Domino, the bulk of which will soon be demolished to make room for housing.



Walker's tremendous sphinx stretches out in the factory's former storage shed, and commanded an array of responses. "My sweet tooth is coming out," laughed Public School's Dao-Yi Chow . Dustin Yellin had a less G-rated take. "I want to lick this thing," he intoned, "from head to…ear. I want to go climb in the rafters…I like…honey. I…love molasses."



Guests from Chuck Close to André Leon Talley marveled at both the work and the cavernous space. Chow's colleague Maxwell Osborne lamented the imminent loss of the spot, which the born-and-bred New Yorker said he had once visited on a school trip: "It's a bummer, seeing New York lose a lot of its historic landmarks. It could be your favorite pizzeria or the Domino Factory." Waris Ahluwalia took a different tack, proclaiming, "Everything is temporary." Even 60-ton sugar sphinxes.

—Kristin Anderson

The Best of Brazil

Spring's New Silhouette

Late and Later

An unintended consequence of the Charles James theme at this year's Met Gala? Just how hard it was to move around in those big dresses, especially at the "unofficial" after-party at the Top of the Standard. At one point, Hedwig and the Angry Inch star Lena Hall slipped on the dance floor; lucky for her, her full Jamesian skirt broke the fall: "Oh, it's fine, it's like falling on a bunch of pillows—I feel like I'm wearing a big comforter!" Sarah Jessica Parker spent the better part of the evening in the far back, by the fireplace, her massive Oscar de la Renta train safely out of everyone's way.



The consensus among all of the designers in attendance—Peter Copping, Peter Dundas , Stella McCartney , Alexander Wang , and Joseph Altuzarra among them—was a sense of relief that the event was over. "Well, until the CFDAs next month!" Phillip Lim exclaimed.



The room hushed when Beyoncé Knowles and Jay Z arrived, but only until the DJ queued up "Drunk in Love." Naomi Campbell , Riccardo Tisci , and Lupita Nyong'o led the room in a spirited round of dancing. At one point, Beyoncé enthusiastically approached a woman, believing her to be someone else, and to her dismay, was corrected. "Oh, I'm sorry, that's so embarrassing!" said Knowles. Blame it on her Givenchy Haute Couture net veil, or maybe Queen Bey mistakes strangers just like the rest of us. She quickly resumed her place on the dance floor alongside her sister, Solange .



The crowd danced until well after 2 a.m., when the party moved to Up & Down for an even more "unofficial" after-after-party, hosted by another Met-goer by the name of Rihanna.

—Todd Plummer

Discovering Charles James

Our complete coverage of the Met Gala will be posted shortly. In the meantime, please enjoy this slideshow, and don't miss our other features on the couturier Charles James.

Galerie Hopping

Where the Art Is

With Frieze around the corner, the art world was out in full force this weekend. First up on Friday night was Black Eye, Nicola Vassell 's new exhibition. "It started with Thelma Golden 's 1994 show, Black Male," Vassell told Style.com at a jam-packed (and about 20 degrees hotter-than-hell) exhibition space in Tribeca. "I thought about how controversial and at the same time how seminal that show was in the art world: It basically birthed the whole notion of the post-black generation." Twenty years on, some things have changed, others haven't—an actuality that Vassell, formerly a director at Deitch Projects and Pace Gallery, explores in the show. Bringing together twenty-six established and emerging black artists (from Nick Cave to LaToya Ruby Frazier to Steve McQueen), Black Eye looks at black experience in a post-Obama moment world. After the opening, André Saraiva , Johan Lindeberg , and Waris Ahluwalia were among the guests at a dinner at All Good Things.



On Sunday, revelers decamped to Dustin Yellin 's Pioneer Works in Red Hook, Brooklyn, for the first annual Village Fête fundraiser. "If there's a boat trip involved, you know it's going to be a good party," said one attendee. And from the ferry ride to the family-style meal courtesy of The Fat Radish to performances from Ariel Pink and MGMT, Yellin delivered. The Pioneer Street warehouse on Red Hook's waterfront was acquired by the artist nearly three years ago, underwent a gut renovation, and is now a combination studio, education, and gallery space that lists Liv Tyler and Maggie Gyllenhaal among its supporters. The event raised dollars for the sight's educational programs and upkeep. As the sun began to set, Yellin remarked, "There's been so many highlights since we started that it's like the sun has been in front of our moon. It's really all about how when people come together, they can change the world."

—Ashley Simpson and Todd Plummer

Fully Booked

Net-a-Porter closed down the Waverly Inn for a private dinner for Christopher Kane on Saturday night, and the restaurant was packed with the designer's ardent supporters. There is no shortage of those. In her toast, Net-a-Porter president and the evening's host, Alison Loehnis , revealed that the site shipped Kane pieces to women in eighty-six countries last year. Alexa Chung was one of them. "There are a lot of things you'll just wear for one season," she told Style.com. "But Christopher is so funky that you'll have it forever. Like these pockets," she said in reference to Spring 2014's teardrops at her waist. "The cutouts seem odd at first, but they're just perfect."



Kane spent the evening catching up with the likes of Caroline Sieber and Dree Hemingway . "Obviously it's always good to see old friends," he said. "But what I really love is to just walk around when I'm here. I think you can see so many things on the street in New York."



Meanwhile, on Friday night, Domenico Dolce was the guest of honor at a Metropolitan Club dinner hosted by Saks Fifth Avenue's Marigay McKee . And early on Sunday evening, a special appearance by Kirsten Dunst and Rodarte's Kate and Laura Mulleavy lured partygoers to Nevena Borissova 's Curve boutique. The designers signed limited-edition copies of their book hand-painted by the artist Rebekah Miles.

—Todd Plummer

The Frieze Report

beauty

rtrc

Karl Lagerfeld's All-Mango Diet Is the Secret to Eternal Life

At the dinner he hosted with Silvia Venturini Fendi and Pietro Beccari last night at Sotheby's on New Bond Street, there was a curious, emphatic little something in the way Karl Lagerfeld said he liked Londoners, which suggested he wasn't that crazy about London. He certainly doesn't cross the Channel that often. But if the city obliged the opening of Fendi's new London flagship by displaying the chilly, drizzly side of her personality, the Londoners laid it on thick for Lagerfeld with all the funky, flirty, funny weaponry in their arsenal of charm. At dinner, he even downed the shades that usually render his reactions impenetrable, all the better to appreciate the pictures Cara was showing him on her phone. He showed her his, too. Given that Poppy and Suki and Lily and Charlotte were the width of a dinner plate away, Lagerfeld's table was quite the sparkly social mediacracy. "You'd never get people like this in Paris," he said while he waited for his main course to arrive. (He had what looked like slices of mango. We had sea bass.)



The evening was not simply to celebrate a store opening. Fendi had also commissioned ten "Iconic Women" to customize a Peekaboo bag each for a blind auction to raise funds for Kids Company, the London charity founded by force-of-nature Camila Batmanghelidjh to support abused, vulnerable children. The appalling statistics she offered in her speech highlighted the depth of the problem in a city like London, where ludicrous extremes of wealth and poverty cast a critical spotlight on each other. It's quite within Venturini Fendi's questing character to connect with a social initiative such as Kids Company, in the same way that her female "icons" ran the gamut from Gwyneth and Cara (of course) to Adele, Zaha Hadid, and Kate Adie, once the BBC's most famous war reporter. (Her Peekaboo was lined with a hyper-colored camouflage.)



Sotheby's auction spaces had been converted for the night into an exhibition of decades of Fendi's experiments in fur, mounted and lit like paintings on a gallery wall. If Venturini Fendi's own personal favorite—the tantalizingly titled Intestino from the late seventies—was missing, there were plenty more examples of the extraordinary, idiosyncratic hybrid of the sophisticated and the primitive that her family has mastered under Lagerfeld's tutelage. "Forty-nine years, forty-nine years," he mused, sounding like he scarcely believed it himself. But he's not stopping anytime soon. Ten minutes after the mango was gone, so was he, out into the night to continue wrapping up the finer points of his trip to Dubai next week, where he will show Chanel's Cruise collection.

—Tim Blanks

A Hollywood Hello

Emanuel Ungaro creative director Fausto Puglisi touched down in Los Angeles for a dinner in his honor thrown by Arianne Phillips , B. Akerlund , and Barneys' Tomoko Ogura last night. "It's a great emotion," the famously enthusiastic Sicilian designer said, looking around at the party, which reunited him with the one of the women who helped launch his career. "For me, to meet Arianne was a goal," Puglisi explained of his teenage dream to move from Italy to America. "I said, 'I'm coming and I'd like to show you the collection,'" he recounted, with Phillips clarifying that their first exchange actually happened over fax. "You know, those old, rolled faxes?" she remembered. "Arianne was so open-minded," Puglisi said. "After three months I saw Madonna wearing my pieces."



As guests made their way to an elegant seating inside Bungalow 1 at the Chateau Marmont, Gwen Stefani took a seat next to Shirley Manson before passing baby photos back and forth across the table with Fergie . "One of the things that I absolutely love about Fausto is that he has this incredible energy that is completely contagious," Barneys' Ogura said, addressing the crowd. "You can feel it the moment he walks into the room, and it's really fused and integrated in his collection and his clothes." She too had a story about a younger Puglisi. At 17, he apparently walked right into Barneys with five dresses in hand that he hoped to sell.



Earlier in the week, Puglisi was in New York celebrating the arrival of his signature label at Bergdorf Goodman. Chanel Iman and the teenage singing sensation Zendaya chose looks from his Spring collection. On Thursday in Manhattan, Prada, in association with Friends of FAI, hosted an evening benefitting the restoration of the Abbey of Saint Mary of Cerrate in Puglia, Italy. Lake Bell was among the bold-faced guests.

—Alexis Brunswick

With the Band

NT

The True Original

—By Katharine K. Zarrella