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"More Than War and Sports"

Tue, 15 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

The Whitney American Art Award gala attracted collectors, artists, and admirers alike to a lofty far west Chelsea venue last night. "I'm not artistic. Well, you could say my art is on the tennis court," John McEnroe told Style.com. The tennis ace chatted with Peter M. Brant, who was one of the honorees of the evening, before he did a quick browse of the work up for sale. One memorable digital print of a dollhouse landscape by James Casebere was tagged at $25,000. "I do love and collect art," McEnroe said more seriously. "There's this one guy that I think is pretty good. You might have heard of him: Vincent van Gogh?"

The casual atmosphere carried through dinner and a performance by McEnroe's wife, Patty Smyth. The strong turnout, which included Diane von Furstenberg, Julian Schnabel, and Anh Duong, brought in more than $1.5 million. With teenage sons in tow, Stephanie Seymour Brant discussed modern art—one of her favorite periods. "That's such a tough question," she said when asked about her favorite artists. Although when pushed, she conceded, "I do love Urs Fischer's work." The artist was seated just nearby.

Brant, her husband, was perhaps more decisive. He has been an avid supporter of Jeff Koons' oversize sculptures for some time. When he took the stage to accept his award alongside the Henry Luce Foundation and Ogilvy & Mather, he said, "I'm deeply honored. This fills me with great emotion I can't express. Thanks to my mother and father, who taught me that this world had more to offer than war and sports."

—Bee-Shyuan Chang

A-List Extras

Mon, 14 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

—Marina Larroude

Tutus and Bling

Mon, 14 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

At last night's American Ballet Theatre gala, some guests went for the dancing, others for the outfits. "I wish we could make ballerina gear everyday gear," said the TV host Wendy Williams, who was clad in a custom red gown with a bustier top by the House of Execution. "Everything good starts with crinoline." Rachel Roy, walking the red carpet in a tea-length skirt with tulle underlining, was of a like mind. "My daughter Tallulah picked it out; it was her birthday today," said the designer, holding the hand of her 4-year-old date-cum-stylist. "I gave her a choice of what to do and she picked the gala, which was great because it was my ideal pick."

Honorary chair Michelle Obama was a no-show, but there was still ogling to be done. Taking the stage, Caroline Kennedy was joined by her son, who drew gasps for his fledgling resemblance to JFK Jr. "I know you share my pride and admiration of the ballet dancers," said his mother, a longtime supporter of ABT.

Carly Cushnie and Michelle Ochs had dressed several of the ballerinas for the gala dinner. "We know some of them and we don't know how they do it—the discipline!" said Cushnie. Ochs, herself, was having nothing to do with self-restraint. She had just returned from a trip home to Maryland for Mother's Day. "We went to Chesapeake Bay and ate crab until we were comatose," she said. "I have cuts all over my hands." Amy Sacco had other cuts in mind. There was the plunging neckline on her black Theia gown and also the cocktail ring and statement earrings swaying from her lobes. As ever, the nightclub doyenne was ready to party. She said, "I brought BYO bling."

—Bee-Shyuan Chang

Cause Célèbre

Fri, 11 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Actor, writer, director, student, and sometime model James Franco has added another line to his curriculum vitae: museum curator. His new show, Rebel, for which he enlisted Paul McCarthy, Ed Ruscha, Harmony Korine, Aaron Young, and Terry Richardson, among others, to riff on the complexities and legends surrounding the iconic James Dean film Rebel Without a Cause, opened at L.A.'s Museum of Contemporary Art on Saturday night.

Franco described the exhibition as a "collage of mediums, approaches, and different kinds of introspections." But it's no fan-boy project for the multitasking star. "It was more about finding a piece that could inspire many different kinds of exploration and projects," Franco said. "Within the movie itself, there are so many interesting dynamics and portrayals and all the legends and iconography. It can inspire a show with many different facets."

Lily Donaldson, Val Kilmer, Gia Coppola, and André Balazs wandered through the JF Chen contemporary space, designed so that each piece was rendered in its very own bungalow. The Chateau Marmont's Bungalow 2 plays a central theme to the Rebel Without a Cause story. MOCA's Jeffrey Deitch was pleased with the "fresh remix" of the 1955 film. "It's one of our great Hollywood myths and it's part of our shared culture. It was the perfect subject matter because everyone has seen the film."

For Aaron Young, who created a digital short, Life's a Drag, as well as an elaborate re-creation of a motorbike submerged in a pool for the project, the intriguing backstories and large legends of the film—and Los Angeles—continue to linger. "It's not really about the movie, it's about the people's lives. It's what that iconic film did to their lives and how it shaped them."

Rebel (presented by Gucci) is open through June 23 at JF Chen, 941 North Highland Ave., Hollywood.

—Alexis Brunswick

Well Heeled

Thu, 10 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

—Celia Ellenberg

Pictures and Memories

Thu, 10 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

"There's Definitely Some Mom Dancing Going on Here"

Thu, 10 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

If Gilles Mendel, who created the costumes for the new Peter Martins' number at the New York City Ballet's Spring Gala last night, had a case of nerves, he sure wasn't showing them. "This is like a total vacation for me," he said as he arrived at Lincoln Center. "But, uh, I did just lose the button to my jacket and if I'm supposed to go on stage and take a bow, I'm not sure what I'll do."

He wasn't the only one in need of a last-minute costume change. Rodarte's Kate and Laura Mulleavy and choreographer Benjamin Millepied altered one of the lead ballerina's tutus during a final dress rehearsal for the premiere of his piece Two Hearts earlier in the afternoon. "The truth is," Millepied said after the show, "you go from watching everything in the studio and then bring it all together with costumes and lights, and then you have to have the liberty to do what's best."

Despite their affection for the ballet—the Mulleavys also collaborated with Millepied on Black Swan—Laura admitted, "I've never even put on a pointe shoe." Finishing the thought, Kate added, "When we were little, we'd go see all of the Degas pieces at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena." Later in the night, guests trained in ballet and not took to the dance floor. Watching the crowd shimmying to Christina Aguilera's "Lady Marmalade," one of the waiters said, "Yes, there's definitely some mom dancing going on here."

—Kristin Studeman

Built-In Bling

Wed, 09 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

—Brittany Adams

Techno Beach

Tue, 08 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

—Marina Larroude

Done Talking

Tue, 08 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Last night's Costume Institute Gala offered plenty to marvel at, but it wasn't the red-carpet fashion or the Schiaparelli and Prada dresses encased in glass that had Karolina Kurkova buzzing at the Crown after-party: "I loved the cookies!" the model told Style.com as she made her entrance with Rachel Zoe. "There were a lot of amazing things—Bruno Mars!—but those cookies were really good."

The crooner's performance back at the Met's Temple of Dendur had everyone on their feet. "People were grooving out pretty hard," said Jonathan Tisch, who added that his personal highlight was "saying hi to Tom Brady, and that's a lot coming from me." (Tisch, for the fashion types reading this, is a co-owner of the New York Giants.) There was no sign of Brady at Crown, but there were other sports stars in the mix, including Alex Rodriguez and basketball player Tyson Chandler—both of whom gave the model set a run for its money in the height department. "Wow, I bet she could make a few slam dunks," said a cocktail waiter when Chanel Iman strolled in.

By 1 a.m., the party was winding down, with some in the crowd moving on to the Prada-sponsored bashes at the Fletcher-Sinclair mansion and at the Top of the Standard. "I am going to the Prada after-party at Boom Boom after I change," said Kurkova, whose sparkling Rachel Zoe column gown and matching headpiece was one of the more opulent looks of the night. "I'm wearing all black. The turban is coming off, hair is coming down, everything is coming off."

—Kristin Studeman

Le Shocking Story

Mon, 07 May 2012 06:45:00 GMT

If your interest begins and ends at the red carpet, the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute Gala doesn't change all that much from year to year. As the CFDA's Steven Kolb put it last night: "Sometimes you walk in straight, sometimes you come in from the left, sometimes you come in from the right."

On the other hand, there's more to this particular fashion party than a glamorous entrance, and each edition informs the next. Last year's opener for the Alexander McQueen exhibition—a potent mix of spectacle, timeliness, and emotional punch—would seem to have raised the bar. Rather than try to come up with another single-designer blockbuster, this year the museum has boldly (you might even say provocatively) put two designers head-to-head, in Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations.

One has long belonged to the history books and the other is still going strong, but Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada are a couple of the most fearless nonconformists the fashion world has ever celebrated, and some guests couldn't but wonder what it might have been like had they literally shared a room.

"It would be very fiery—these are two powerful Italian women, and I think in their ways both quite complicated," offered Lady Amanda Harlech. "But I think they'd end up loving each other, and I think that would be a really exciting film."

As it happened, so did Baz Luhrmann. The director's short videos of Prada and "Schiap" conversing (featuring the Australian actress Judy Davis as the latter, reading from the designer's memoirs) play alongside the clothing exhibits, helping to drive home the idea of continuity and creative back-and-forth.

Prada didn't exactly bask in the attention. She barely broke her stride on the way in, pausing only to do a perfunctory live-stream interview with Elettra Wiedemann. "She's not comfortable with it at all," explained Luhrmann, who's close to the designer. "But it's part of being a creative force. You have to front."

Or, perhaps, let the kids and A-listers take the spotlight for you. More than a few of them employed Schiaparelli's trademark pink, the bright one the French still call "le shocking." That was the color of Poppy Delevingne's lips, of Lena Dunham's Stella McCartney pumps, and of the top that Coco Rocha paired with her vintage jumpsuit, a Givenchy number that once belonged to Elizabeth Taylor.

For all the praise lavished upon Schiap's sense of whimsy and her work with Salvador Dalí, there was little resembling one of the designer's famous bug necklaces or shoe hats in sight. Linda Fargo and Cameron Silver were exceptions to the rule, the latter arriving with a blowfish skewered on his walking stick.

Among the dozen or so dressed in Prada, Gwyneth Paltrow and Carey Mulligan, who served as co-chair, brought extra dazzle. Alexander Wang accompanied Azealia Banks, who performed after dinner. Pucci's Peter Dundas dressed Renée Zellweger. "No tape," he reported. "She's got very good posture."

Despite scoring a pile of pre-event headlines for dressing Kate Upton, Michael Kors arrived with Hilary Swank on his arm. "He is suave and wonderful and funny and charming. He picked me up at my apartment, like a gentleman," she cooed.

That's one kind of conversation that was going on at the Met. The more serious one proposed by the Met's curators awaited inside, and Joseph Altuzarra wondered what it would be like to be a third party in it. "I'd be totally intimidated," he confessed. "Although, I am in rooms with fiery Italian women during fittings for weeks on end, and it's usually OK."

Moments later, Giambattista Valli thought over the same proposition. "More scary to do this," he decided, scanning the canopied, raucous, celebrity-packed corridor leading up to the museum's doors, "than to sit and talk with amazing people."

—Darrell Hartman

Girl Talk

Mon, 07 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Not just anyone could draw the fashion set out for a party on the eve of the Met ball, but Amanda de Cadenet isn't just anyone. Donna Karan, Prabal Gurung, and Christian Louboutin joined Gwyneth Paltrow and Diane von Furstenberg at the designer's Meatpacking District studio to fête de Cadenet's new Lifetime series The Conversation last night. "I haven't seen the show yet, but they're saying everyone is having real conversations, no bars held—it's raw and honest," Malin Akerman said of the series. "I think people forget celebrities are real people too and we are all fallible, you know? I just feel like we should be real about it."

Of her turn on de Cadenet's couch, DVF admitted, "I don't remember what I said, so I may hate it, but I don't think I will. All I can say is I talked about myself, my favorite subject, and became friends with Amanda." Paltrow has known de Cadenet a little longer: "Amanda has been my dear friend for many, many years," she told the crowd. "If you YouTube her, you'll see she was interviewing people when she was 15 years old, you'll see she has this gift. She's able to put people at ease and extract the most incredible bits of information from them."

De Cadenet, in turn, shared one of Paltrow's talents: "I'm a terrible cook," she said. "My kids ask to go stay with Gwyneth all the time because she makes better food for them than I do. Seriously."

—Kristin Studeman

Dirty Dancing

Mon, 07 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

If the measure of a party is how many times it's compared to New York in the eighties, Friday night's Creative Time gala at the Roseland Ballroom was a raging success. "When times are uncertain, I think it's only natural to crave a return to opulence," said Donna Karan. Terence Koh, wearing a plastic suit jacket from a Hong Kong street vendor, said he comes to the gala every year because it's "just over-the-top, crazy." But this year being the nonprofit public art foundation's 40th anniversary, things were perhaps more heightened than usual.

By the time dessert was served, a wild dance competition had Cindy Sherman, Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, and Courtney Love all looking more than amused. Twenty pinup girls swirled among the dinner tables, each carrying a red box containing a single silicon rose, sculpted by the artist Rachel Feinstein Currin. The flowers felt, said more than one partygoer, like sex toys—which may explain why all 20 sold by night's end. "People love coming out for Creative Time because they've made so much great art happen in New York," Waris Ahluwalia told Style.com over the din. "And because it's a hot party. Wait, can you hear me? If you have to make up a quote, make it dirty."

—Sarah Nicole Prickett

The Big Frieze

Fri, 04 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

—Matthew Schneier

Bottoms Up

Thu, 03 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

—Brittany Adams