La Vie En Rose

The $120K Bag Lunch

Kristin Davis and Kerry Washington

Joy Bryant as stunt car driver? The cute model-turned-actress-activist, a freshman newlywed to a hunky stunt man, had Kerry Washington and I gobsmacked as she regaled us with details of her recent certification as a speed demon on wheels.

Of course, most of the dames at last week's charity luncheon, preferred their danger on heels. And Gela Nash-Taylor, for one, was walking on the wild side in her sky-high snakeskin, ruffled Louboutins across the sprawling lawn of the grand Beverly Hills estate of her Juicy Couture other half Pam Skaist-Levy. Pam opened up her spectacular place (which once belonged to the late Merv Griffin) as co-host with Elizabeth Stewart and George Kotsiopoulos of the PS Arts Bag Lunch.
The two super stylists founded the annual "bag lunch" in 2003, and since then have raised $850,000 to benefit P.S. Arts, a non-profit dedicated to restoring arts education to the public school system. "We can't wait to hit our first million!" George told me. They're well on their way. Last week, they raised $120,000.
Their method looks straightforward enough: They call on the many fashion brands they work with through the year--Dolce & Gabbana, Dior, Gucci, Balenciaga, Givenchy, Chloe--to donate incredible bags. From the silent auction, 100% of the sales, along with 70% of the entry ticket, benefit the organization.
That said, simple as it looks, Elizabeth and George manage to pull this off year after year with great panache. They get the socials and celeb pals there who will make great pics for the press. To fill P.S. Arts' coffers, they score the It bags--and this time, even Brian Atwood sample shoes and two Birkins, one each from Pam and Gela. And, with a lot of determination and pluck, they manage to get an underwriter and fab host, like Pam this go-round, to ensure the ladies return next year to lunch for another bag.

Joy Bryant

Lunching on the lawn.

Calista Flockhart

Gela Nash-Taylor and Pam Skaist-Levy

Pamela Glassman and little sister Rachel Zoe

Superhero hosts Elizabeth Stewart and George Kotsiopoulos

All Photos by Donato Sardella

Deux the [Diamond] Dog

Take two can be second to none. A recap over a second night cap with the right storyteller can be infinitely more interesting than real time. Smudged kohl eyes and bedhead are sexier the morning after. The sophomore door of A+R trumps our maiden voyage into retail. And, each on spouse number two, Andy and I can vouch that this second time is definitely the charm.
So, at Diamond Dogs Thursday night, when my amazing friends, lead by Bryan Rabin and Michael Schmidt, had to do a repeat performance of "Happy Birthday"--complete with sparklers and an interruption of the regularly scheduled disco happening on the dance floor--well, it was twice the fun.

With the incomparable Anne Crawford and Dudley DeZonia

We'd met up unofficially to toast a few May birthdays--my sister Blanca (on the 8th), Hya Handel (on that very day, the 28th) and yours truly (days before). There was much to celebrate, too, as Michael's bubbly clear corset costume for Lady Gaga made the cover of Rolling Stone; Robert Barr was capping off a day styling a shoot for Cartier; and Ruth Handel's cool modernist home she shares with husband Lloyd Scott and son Jobim made the cover of The L.A. Times (see below).
The whole sprawling lot of us parked into a corner in the main room at H'wood. Friends joined us there throughout the evening, and Diamond Dog hosts Bryan and Kelly Cole ensured we had a phenom set of rock n' roll disco blaring from the speakers, a bottle of Belvedere on the table and, well, anything else we needed. Including, it turns out, not one...but two cakes.

A surprise, indeed.
So much so, in fact, that the one time I got up to wander the warren of H'wood's rooms and snap photos of the kids there was the moment when the music was interrupted, the singing started and the cakes brought out. I was in a far room and oblivious to it all. Someone retrieved me. The Leica was extricated from my hand and passed on to a friend. And, an encore ensued among the divine diamond dogs gathered, a split second of deja vu.

Kathy Jeung and Siobhan Fahey

In between the Handel sisters, Ruth (L) and Haya (R).

Michael Schmidt and Annie Flanders

B., China Chow, pal and Serene Ciccora

Fashion Illustrator Amy Adams and furniture designer Michael Stewart

My former assistant-turned-novelist/stylist Robert Barr

Magda Berliner and Bryan Rabin figure out the world economic crisis.

The scene.

A newly svelte Howie Pyro lies down on the job.

Hair prince Brandt

Michelle Carr

Rafael Negron, A+R superhero

Stylist George Kostiopoulos

Andy shows his jazz hands.

Enough said.

Yes, kids: Madame Carr, Bryan and me = TROUBLE.

A new generation emerges...thank God.

Mixing It Up with Muuto

Muuto cofounder Kristian Byrge, his girlfriend and Andy

Kristian Byrge and Peter Bonnén got a lot of muutos. They've realized a candelabra skinned in rubber, a "cordless" bone china lamp lit by oil, and a storage system compiled of a group of fiber tubes that can be endlessly reconfigured.
Lifted from the Finnish word for change and new perspective, their young company Muuto collaborates with leading Scandinavian designers such as Louise Campbell (her More, the Merrier candelabra was in the second series in 2007), Thomas Bernstrand (A Cordless Moment) and Phil Bredahl (he of the Oto 100 Storage System). To wit, they are the first Danish design firm to launch with capital from venture fund Vaekstfonden, which will pull out as co-owner after five years, when it expects Muuto to have a footing in the global market.
Making that deadline shouldn't be a question. We should know, having introduced the collection to the North American market after its 2006 debut in Paris. Last Monday night Muuto finally marked its official roll out at an American trade show, ICFF, with a late-night cocktail fete at the Tribeca Grand Hotel. There, after Andy and Kristian bonded over their Form Us With Love watches, the striking cofounding director let us know over the clamor that A+R is the Finnish brand's number one retailer in the U.S. (Hurrah! Not all we carry instore is online...yet). And the distinction is made all the more uncomplicated when working with such a cool bunch of products--and people.

The Dots wall hooks by Tveit & Tornøe

The Oto 100 Storage System by Pil Bredahl

John Brunner from Direct Designs

Mhy Pendant Lamp by Norway Says

Grinders by Norway Says

Kristian and Andy compare their Julius watches by Form Us With Love

E27 Pendants by Mattias Ståhlbom

Go Underground with "The Reptile" Puppetry

Through the peephole of L.A. puppetry.

If you're in L.A. and can still score a ticket to one of the handful of day and evening performances left through Sunday night of "The Reptile Under the Flowers," do.
Go solo if you have to, but go.
We just returned from an afternoon performance of this avant garde puppetry showcase at the Masonic Lodge in Culver City, and are still in that dazzled awe that happens in the experience of art well done.
The hour-long diorama-performance involves miniature puppets and sets, peepshows, mechanical ephemera and projections, and a bit of live, freaky mood music. Groups of eight are lead around 13 stations, where scenes of this black tale play out with the "help" of 16 puppeteers.
This ain't exactly kid stuff. But the two 8-year-old boys in our group kept mesmerized the entire hour.
The experimental puppet community is alive and thriving, and with the latest show, which began Thursday, it warranted a feature in a recent L.A. Times. Among the forces is Automata, a nonprofit band of puppet artisans and enthusiasts founded in 2004 by Janie Geiser and Susan Simpson. For this show, Automata collaborated with the Museum of Jurassic Technology. (This place deserves its own entry entirely: It's a kind of cabinet of curiosities pretending--or is it?--to pass off as a museum. It has been more appropriately described as a site of conceptual art. It must be seen to be believed, and even then, you won't believe it. But I digress...)

While it's probably best to buy tickets in advance, a few folks took their chances and just showed up. There's a show starting every 15 minutes.

Thank you to puppeteer Michael Serwich for the tip.

Photo Credit: Cribbed from Janie Geiser's site.

ICFF and the NYC Designathon

ICFF--the International Contemporary Furniture Fair—and an ambitious roster of studio open houses, after-show parties and store showcases makes it widely regarded as one of the best design events in the country.
And, at times, we were certainly wowed: A minimalist console desk from salvaged hardwood beams crafted in a Pennsylvania barn; A self-contained cool—yes, cool—looking litter box by New York’s ModKat, ideal for tiny apartments; the colored cork bowls and chairs from DMFD in Brooklyn; lamps made of an oversized beaker by the new Milan-London designer Nicolo Taliani; the novel rain collector and air dryer by Canada upstarts Hero-365; the cork mosaic sideboard from Philadelphia’s Iannone, which continues to turn out striking furniture in eco-friendly materials; and the clever convertible furnishings by Corning, NY-based Offi.

Cork mosaic console by Iannone

NT No. 1 Lamp by newcomer Nicolo Taliani

But we came away from this latest weekend in New York sensing that not all of the best in design had its moment there.
Or, rather, that some of this stuff lacks a function—or enough of an aesthetic reason to warrant its existence.
Maybe it’s a sign of the economy when Designboom Mart, the usually compelling curated group of fledgling designers, has on offer Barbie dolls fitted with skirts of hot pink feathers for dusting—and inevitably destined for the shelves of the 99 Cent Stores. Or when too many companies on the main floor rehash now commonplace conceits (Animal figurines repurposed as lamps? Scratch-prone plastic lamps, chairs and anything else you don’t want to imagine). Or, gone were the vendors in an adjoining hall, in its place a gallery of the best in design from Japan—from the last five years. And the cute girls in geisha drag couldn’t even tell us whom we could contact to buy some of the newer stuff.

Rain Collector and Air Dryer by Hero

But for every chandelier made of black lace panties (Note to designer: This is neither edgy nor interesting), there was, say, the ultra-lithe Lim LED light by Pablo Pardo from San Francisco. In other words, there were innovations that grabbed our attention (and dollars) because they enhance life. As anyone who regularly reads this site knows, I’m no glutton for minimalism, either. Heck, the ankle boot made of loofah by Ian Horowitz in the RISD showcase may only be a prototype and a ridiculous one at that, but it reveals a kind of over-the-top, clever conceit that speaks to other applications. And, at least, he chose a shoe design that was modern.

Pedi in a Platform: Loofah boot by RISD student Ian Horowitz

And, for all our disappointment of Designboom this year--a showcase that we always beeline for and never walk away from empty handed—we did find some gems. Hiromi Kim from Japan offered luxurious titanium chopsticks and a porcelain carafe we will likely be adding to our own offerings. And we’ll be keeping an eye on the slipcast collection of glazed earthenware one-offs from Studio Make by the lovely couple Im and David Schafer; as well as the Dining Agenda by Sara Ferrari and Marcella Fiori, a witty take on a foodie diary, not ready for retail—yet. We also showed our love for Nervous System, the Boston-based line of jewelry utilizing rapid prototyping techniques. Amazing.

Marcella Fiori and Sara Ferrari and their Dining Agenda

There was also plenty of action beyond the Javits Center, home to ICFF, to keep us equally enthralled and, at times, apathetic. In fact, some of the best in design often involves outside of the box thinking. And whether it was Patricia Urquiola's spectacular Tropicale series at Moroso or the high-concept, low-brow Kiosk mart, there was plenty outside the convention center to keep us going. More on all of that to come…

Paradise Lost: The Tropicalia Series at Moroso in Soho

Jewelry designer Kiel Mead

L.A. designer Zoë Melo

Compact nesting tables/seats by Paul Loebach and the new look of swine flou

Kikkerland channels Warhol with this Campbell Soup display.

Geo Birdhouse by Kelly Lamb (of Silverlake!)

Brad Cook of fab store Show in Los Feliz

Great Scott! Getting a "Handel" on High Style-Low Cost Entertaining

Let Her Entertain You: Ruth Handel preps the fest.

Hands down, one of the great forces of style in L.A. is Ruth Handel. The former long-time publicist for L.A. Eyeworks (where we met two decades ago when I was at the The L.A. Times) is singular in her vision, a pioneer of eclectic cheap chic, a historian of Angeleno lore (and not just the recycled Tinseltown stuff), and has a graciousness about her that makes her a par none host.
She's the genuine McCoy.
Ruth and her other, fab half Lloyd Scott let shelter writer David Keeps and photographer Christina House in on one of their fun shin digs at their cool 1948 Gregory Ain home in Mar Vista a couple months back, in honor of pal Stan Williams and his new book.
The results of the Keeps-House coverage--"Entertaining on the Fabulous Cheap..."--finally appeared in the The Times.
See if you can spot a certain hot blondish Brit in pic 8 of the dozen on view...

Credit: Christina House/L.A. Times

Be Right Back!

So much to share...so little chance to do so as we dash around New York for ICFF, the design events and all the extracurricular activities we're squeezing in during our trip. Hence the dearth of postings. Full report to come....stay tuned.

Sale Away: Decadestwo Does NYC

The Scene of the Fashion Crimes and Misdemeanors

The big score this weekend is all in the numbers: 3,000 miles from home, 1,500 designers pieces and three days and counting.
Billed as a taste of “D2 in the City,” Decadestwo owner Christos Garkinos and his team have journeyed from L.A. to New York City with an embarrassment of riches of resale clothes and accessories—Chanel jackets, Louis Vuitton platforms, Chloe bags and Rick Owens leathers--and set up a pop-up at haute sex shop Kiki de Montparnasse in SoHo.

The sale actually began earlier today, as I was bouncing on a United flight somewhere over the Midwest. But with a 9 p.m. closing time, I’ll be getting my skates on as soon as we drop the bags off at the hotel.

Chanel on the Cheap

Unlike Decades, its sibling store stocking pre-1980 vintage, D2 carries recent designer goods, some from the current season. Christos cherrypicks it mostly from homes of Hollywood stars, stylists and socialites—who also then shop at his Melrose Avenue shop. On this trip to Gotham for the ICFF show, I’ve packed a Margiela coat I picked up at D2 last year, the original price tags still attached. D2 is where shopaholics rid of the evidence of their habit, and where stylists and celebs often offload all the free merch gifted by designer and publicist pals. Which is why, it’s not unusual to find a Lanvin dress or Balenciaga bag there before they even hit other stores--and at full price, no less...literally.

No wonder D2 chose Kiki’s. This is recycling that’s almost as good as sex.

D2 at Kiki de Montparnasse, 79 Greene St., between Spring and Broome Streets. Sale open to the public Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Tonight: LA on the Runway. A New Era?

Mason by Michelle Mason

The whole conceit of Los Angeles Fashion Week may have suffocated under the weight of vacuous egos and misdirected souls, but the dream to showcase the city’s talent continues.
The wishful include some of the original architects of efforts to organize something, anything, here: designers Cynthia Vincent of Twelfth Street, Michelle Mason of Mason and Nony Tochterman of Petro Zillia. Add to that mix, brand managers Sara Stein and Margaret Schell of S.PR, who, despite trying to remain in the background, can also take credit for creating one of the first formal showcases with their Audi-sponsored marathon in Hollywood in 2001.

I remember covering all of their highly creative, low budget presentations when I began at Women’s Wear Daily in 2000. And, I suppose, like them, I continue to hold out hope that there can be an alternative way of framing the new and original ideas coming out of Los Angeles. For if those of us involved in fashion week efforts here learned anything, it’s that this city shouldn’t try to emulate New York or London. L.A.’s got talent. But any revelation of that talent to the press or public has to be realized in a wholly different format.

Tonight, the whole lot is testing out “Fashion@The Grove,” a concept they hope will be one of a many reconfigured programs that achieve this.

Ever Spring 2009

At that new galleria of L.A. life, The Grove, visitors will be treated to a runway show co-hosted by Barneys New York Co-Op. The program is open to the public, although Co-Op VIP customers will have a reserved seat and after-hours access to shop the store, natch. On view will be the latest collections already in stores—not a preview of fall. But that’s part of the new M.O. If the goal is, ultimately, the charm consumers, then why not take it directly to them? According to S.PR, The Grove attracts nearly 40,000 guests daily, and 92% of whom leave with a purchase.

Along with Twelfth Street, Mason and Petro Zillia, tonight’s event will also feature younger labels such as Ever, Genetic Denim and Trovata. Designers John Whitledge, Jon Rose and Sara Mehrkhast of Trovata, Jason Bleick and Jamie Haller of Ever, and Ali Fatourechi of Genetic Denim are also expected to be on hand.

It’s certainly not the final word on what can happen here. But it’s a start. And champions of this city’s fashion scene can dream.

Fashion@The Grove, 189 The Grove Drive, Los Angeles (off Fairfax, Third and Beverly). Event begins 9 p.m.

Genetic Denim Spring 2009

Photos supplied by Barneys New York Co-Op
Photographer: Nick Haymes

Drew Barrymore Whips it Out

Sign of the times

Something about roller derby that inspires the "F-this" in any gal. And Drew Barrymore did just that Saturday night when she split from the endless line into the single-stall VIP women’s loo and bee-lined it for the empty men’s room.
I cursed. Not because she dared to enter the boy's cave (what chick hasn’t done that before?). Ahead of her as I was, and just three friends away from relief, I was just about to bust such a move.
Drew was among the sold-out crowd at the L.A. Derby Dolls all-star match in the gritty downtown-adjacent ‘hood of Phillipinotown, there to cheer our girl Iron Maiven—who’s got a cameo in her directorial debut Whip It! That’s right, for her maiden launch behind the camera, Drew is doing the screen adaptation of Shauna Cross’ first-time novel “Derby Girl.” In the film, slated for an October release, the cast assumes the crafty tags of real roller derby queens: lead Ellen Page as Bliss Cavendar, Kristen Wiig as Malice in Wonderland, Juliette Lewis as Dinah Might, Eve as Rosa Sparks and Zoe Bell as Bloody Holly.
The multitasking, multi-talented Drew also takes turns as lead Smashley Simpson. But our very own Eastside leading hunk Har Mar Superstar ends up with the mundane name Coach Jeff. Go figure.
Play at derby as they might, they couldn't possibly feel the pain and ecstasy of the sport-as-entertainment that these athletes in the rink do monthly at the Doll Factory, home of the L.A. Derby Dolls, or at the many rinks popping up nationwide during this latest roller renaissance.

Ball Buster: The disco twinkler gets the roller treatment.

Iron Maiven is Rachel Piplica, captain of team Tough Cookies ("sugar and spice and far from nice") and a similarly tough broad of a production manager for Lucky 13, the hot rod-psychobilly fashion line designed and art directed by Heathyr Lawrence. Heathyr and I go back two decades when she put the whole "pussy power" phrase on the map--and on T-shirts and other streetwear. At the time, she was married to skate legend John Lucero, and I lived with my own 24/7 skateboard engineer (yes, dear readers, my past lies in the Wide, Wild World of Ramps and Trucks). Besides sharing a son named Lucky (who turns 11 on June 1--Marilyn Monroe's birthday, his platinum-tressed mom likes to point out) Heathyr's employer Lucky 13 and Lucero's company Black Label are sponsors of L.A. Derby Dolls.
Our trio back then and Saturday night was rounded out by Cindy Jimenez, wife of Marty, a.k.a. Jinx to all of you skate enthusiasts who know that equally legendary name.

Hot-doggin' it at half-time outside the Doll Factory

Shepard Fairey does, and he was beyond thrilled to regale them with tales of getting his first skateboard in the mid-80s when he was barely out of high school. At that moment, I couldn’t decide who was more excited about meeting whom. Even when Drew interrupted to speak to Shepard, she sheepishly apologized, clearly realizing this was quite a nostalgia trip for her pal.
Ditto for the rest of us. Heathyr, Cindy and I recently reunited after eons. And it's been an absolute high getting together and rooting at the top of our lungs for a sport we all dreamed about doing as little girls in the 1970s, the last time derby ruled. (At last month's match I cheered with an old pal from another period in my life.)
Young as we were, we recognized the power and freedom, beauty and boldness of those women on wheels. Then as now, the F-word that truly rocked our world was feminism with a capital F.


The next L.A Derby Dolls match is May 30.
See you in the bleachers.








Note: Cameras are not allowed inside the Doll Factory, so had to rely on the crude iPhone cam. Will get credentialed for the next game.

Street Ahead

Can the finger-licking morsels served up from stands at the side of the road in Mongolia or Jerusalem or Korea be just as delicious served seated in the comfort of a walled courtyard in Hollywood?
We pondered that, again, late last night over a second birthday dinner in as many weeks, as we lapped up whatever sticky, spicy flavors glazed our fingers from handling the Indian potato-stuffed paani puri we’d gobbled in minutes.
Street, Susan Feniger’s newest restaurant devoted to transglobal cuisine, is also A+R manager Rafael Negron’s favorite, so he chose it to celebrate his birthday. Ditto fellow guests, costume designer Arianne Phillips and art rep Richard Scarry (buzzing still from Gary Baseman's carnivale last weekend, as we were), among the friends piled around a long table near the blazing fire pit.
Susan, along with fellow chef Mary Sue Miliken, educated Angeleno palettes with their fusion menu at the late City Restaurant in the 1980s, followed by Border Grill and Cuidad (still going in Santa Monica and downtown, respectively).
At Street, Susan and executive chef Kajsa Alger serve up Moldavian meatballs with dill cream, Mid-Eastern-style lamb kofta with a slab of artichoke for the peeling, Scandinavian apple and beet salad with black currants, and a crazy Vietnamese corn with onions and bits of crispy pork belly. There’s plenty of vegan and vegetarian offerings, actually, which Richard ensured we try.
Part of the appeal of street food is the experience. And while Street offers a distinctly different, more refined spin than the origins of much of these plates, it’s certainly an appealing alternative to those of us who regularly hit vendors on our travels. Inside and out, U.S. artists Su Huntley and Donna Muir scrawled massive line drawings of urban life on the hot red and orange walls (they also did Cuidad). Neil Denari (who, among other amazing projects, did the futuristic L.A. Eyeworks flagship on Beverly Boulevard) enveloped the inside with long bars of wood, interspersed with streaks of light, that gives the effect of a tunnel. (The building is the former Highland Grounds space on Highland, north of Melrose.) The L.A. architect topped tables with a hard material made from recycled paper, and salvaged Danish modern chairs from a Sonoma Valley schoolhouse.
There’s a green theme running through the daily grind, too. The kitchen serves only Seafood Watch-listed sustainable seafood (so no tuna or swordfish), fair trade coffee from Intelligentsia, and collaborates with SEE-LA, the city’s nonprofit farmer’s market collective. They not only recycle, but compost, too. And that’s only the start.
Not so easy to swallow are the prices at times. One can’t help but recall the coins doled out to a sidewalk vendor in some faraway land, or even the ma-and-pa eatery owned by immigrants down the road from our Silverlake home. And, worth every penny as they are, the fresh-fruit cocktails are expensive. A great beer and wine list, many organic and biodynamic, are more reasonable. The $8.50 valet charge during dinner times also inspires a five-minute onslaught from Andy (there is some street parking on Highland).

But that’s all forgotten once we’re seated under the inky L.A. night sky, implausible palm trees towering above us, seated in the cozy glow with friends and jostling for the last millet puff.

Tauromania: Blanca and Rafael

The Original Octobabies

HAPPY BIRTHDAY wishes go out today to two members of the A+R family:

BLANCA APODACA -- Painter, children's book illustrator and writer, singer, songwriter, musician, snappy dancer, goof ball and sister extraordinaire! (Her new album, "Butterfly Core" will blow your tube socks off. Several tracks on her MySpace).

RAFAEL NEGRON -- A+R manager, superstar salesman, design fan, salsero, hot guy, swell dresser and loyal friend.

You make our lives better.

xAndy+Rose