La Vie En Rose

Glam Rocks: Revealing Michael Schmidt

Behind every pop supernova and her unimaginably conceived getup, behind every stylist and costume designer who orchestrates their star’s image, there is always a gifted artisan actually conceiving the original idea, literally crafting it into existence, ultimately responsible for conjuring the stuff that legends are made of.

To Cher, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Dolly Parton and a host of other bonafide icons, that guy is Michael Schmidt. Some of the most stunning, provocative, diabolical, how-the-hell-did-they-pull-that-off costumes seen on the likes of, well, every top pop star in the last two decades were hatched by the downtown L.A. designer.

For the covers of Rolling Stone, he put Lady Gaga in plastic bubbles and Rihanna in cut-off jeans that were actually silk-screened mesh, a process he innovated. He put Fergie and the Black Eyed Peas in elaborate costumes made of thousands of Legos. For Janet Jackson, he faced the mind-blowing request of creating a fully articulated ring that resembled a penis—from wax to final functional form in less than a week. His intricate hand-wrought mesh togs famously drape Iggy Pop, Tina Turner, Cher, Steven Tyler, Grace Jones...
Then, there's my favorite, the gown he created years ago for long-time friend Debbie Harry covered in 3,500 real razor blades that he personally hand sanded and hand sewed on individually to create a fringe effect. The floor-length dress has appeared in the “Rock Style’ exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in NYC and the fashion showcase  I curated at last summer's California Design Biennial.

Karl Lagerfeld has collected pieces Michael has created for Chrome Hearts. And Michael's large-scale interior projects include black leather floors in the VIP room of NYC's Palladium nightclub, studded in silver and spelling out in Braille the lyrics to the Iggy Pop classic "Nightclubbing."

Folks with a fraction of his credits and talent have managed to bask in the limelight of clients they've scarcely worked with, a fact that speaks to Michael's maddening modesty. So it goes to reason that those of us fans who've become his champions were as delighted as we were relieved when he finally decided to roll out a collection of silver mesh and Swarovski jewelry under his very own name.

For the big reveal, Lisa Edelstein, Annie Flanders and I banded to do what we do best: throw a party to share our excitement for Michael's work. This was the first opportunity anyone had to order from the collection, which should start making its way into better boutiques in coming months. Lisa (pictured above, her wrists wrapped in Michael's mesh "sleeves") opened the doors to her incredible mid-century home on a recent Sunday afternoon, and the response just proved what we have always known: Michael Schmidt rocks!

The man of the hour, Michael Schmidt strikes a pose in between actresses Danielle Bisutti and Sara Ramirez, both dripping in his mesh and crystal pieces.

 

Michael has created elaborate costumes and accessories for friend Dita Von Teese, and she turned out to check out the collection and zero in on a few favorite pieces for herself.

  Neither mesh or sparkle, these crystal "bubbles" come as a swatch of fabric from Swarovski which Michael partly deconstructs and refashions into tubing and other forms to create jewelry that is comfortably pliable and moves.

 

Talk about glam punk.

The fiercely pointed spikes of Michael's crystal cuffs perfectly fit Joni Smith's sharp style. She ordered the champagne cuff, which she showed off here with an edgy accessory by yet another L.A. designer, Raven Kauffman, whose own landmark collection this year comprises of bags made or rubber-cast exotic skins. That's right, Joni's clutch is rubber!

 

Arianne Philips, pictured on the left here with Lisa and me, has long collaborated with Michael on jaw-dropping tour costumes for Madonna and her editorials with sharp shooting greats such as Steven Klein. She has always been an incredible champion of relatively unknown talent, and has been equally supportive of Michael's work forever and now.

 

Blindingly beautiful.

Seeing Red: Always an original, our grand fairy godmother of the pack and co-host, Annie Flanders wearing a mesh bracelet Michael made for her before he launched the collection.

 

Bryan Rabin mugs for the lens modeling a bracelet wonderfully jam packed with rings.

 

John Quale, a.k.a. Prince Poppycock and Michael's former studio assistant.

 

Britta Hayertz and the Marquis Michael Des Barres

 

Besides the dazzling eye candy they create, the beautiful thing about the creative folks in this community is the support. At our Sunday fling for Michael, fellow accessories designers and friends turned out such as Raven Kauffman and Joseph Brooks, whose jewelry we carry at A+R. Amy Glenn, pictured here with Michael, also popped over. Because of Joseph's introduction, we will now be carry select pieces from her collection at A+R in the coming week. Stay tuned for more about all of these folks...

Photos Courtesy of David Crotty/PatrickMcMullan.com

You're Invited To A Current Affair: Booksigning+Vintage Togs

In spite of a career as journalist-curator-retailer based on endlessly ferreting the Next Big Thing, I've had an equally consuming passion for the past. What people wore and surrounded themselves in served as a intuitive mnemonic system for me to recall my school history lessons, thanks in large part to growing up with a mother who frequented dusty antique shops and garage sales and filled our family suburban home with stuff a century-plus years old.

As a budding clotheshorse, I used my allowance to buy my very first piece of vintage fashion, a pair of kitten-heeled black pumps with a severely pointed toe. I was 10. They reminded me of the pair that Debbie Harry wore along with a striped jersey dress when Blondie performed on TV. I had my mom quickly make me a dress like it, of course. Into high school, I wore vintage clothes, lingerie, jewelry, stilettos and even dead-stock silk stockings almost exclusively, and what I couldn't find, my mom continued to whip up in time for me to hit the clubs each night.

Three decades later, I continue to mix my vintage with modern, like so much of the world does now. I love that the very thing that the Heathers of the world used to mock me for in grade school is now the chic girl's badge of style. My friends who live in London, Paris, Barcelona and New York tell me that Los Angeles remains, bar none, the best place on earth for vintage.

With resources such as this weekend's vintage marketplace A Current Affair, who am I to argue?

More than 30 vendors of vintage fashion, jewelry and accessories will come together at downtown's Cooper Design Space for the 
two‐day 
pop‐up
, the brainchild of 
Joey 
Grana 
of 
Scout, one of the city's best retail resources for new and vintage fashion, 
and
 Richard
 Wainwright 
of NEW/FOUND, the innovative appointment-only vintage concept studio.

This weekend's installation is especially exciting for me because Joey and Richard have invited me to participate as host, as well as sign copies of my latest book, Fred
 Hayman—The 
Extraordinary
 Difference:
 The 
Story 
of 
Rodeo 
Drive, 
Hollywood
 Glamour
 and
 the
 Showman 
Who
 Sold 
It
 All.

Part of my hostessing duties involve curating a selection vintage holiday frocks and frippery from the many vendors that will be showcased and available for purchase. What a fun opportunity!

The showcase, along with the booksigning and yours truly will be there for the opening festivities Saturday night, from 6 to 10 p.m. It's a great party, with music, bevvies and a turn out of some of the city's most fashionably turned-out vintage enthusiasts.

Stay tuned...I'll be giving away free tickets on my Twitter digs.

See you there!

A
 Current
 Affair:
 Pop
-Up
 Vintage
 Marketplace takes place this Saturday, Dec. 4 from 6 to 10 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 3 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Cooper Design Space, 860 South Los Angeles Street  Los Angeles 90014-3311.

Gratitude

Andy and I have many things to be thankful for in this life. But none more great than the gift of our daughter Nina.

The desire to become parents was easy. Finally, becoming parents, not so.

We share just a fraction of our experience in an essay I wrote for this month's Harper's Bazaar.

Our pals there, by the way, from my direct editor Elisa Lipsky-Karasz to Laura Brown and the great Glenda Bailey were beyond amazingly patient as we maneuvered what we could write about, wanted to write about and could ultimitately shoehorn into the 1,500-word space while still doing justice to the experience. No easy feat!

In the end, it's a story both Andy and I are proud of, and, most of all, one we look forward to sharing with our daughter when she is older. We are so grateful to the woman who made such a generous sacrifice, and we are grateful to the women involved in this process, from our "guides" at Children' Bureau to our angel attorneys. So, too, our friend Valentin Toledo who snapped the beautiful family photograph that he kindly let us use for the feature.

Taking a line from my story, this experience and the extended family that has come out of it confirms what we have always believed about family: it is not about genetic strands but something much thicker than all of that.

Be good and loving to yours.

Gaga for Danilo

One of the perks of being a writer is the opportunity to spend time talking about something of genuine interest with a subject I respect. Today that somebody was Danilo Dixon, hair guru in the worlds of fashion, music and film. Due to the many mutual friends and collaborators in our respective lives, our paths have crossed before. It just took the excuse of my current book project to finally stop and chat one-on-one.

The impetus for our coast-to-coast conversation (he in N.Y.C.; me in L.A.) was his contribution to the beauty book I'm writing with Dita Von Teese. Over a full 90 minutes this afternoon we talked shop—hair, beauty, general aesthetics, big 'dos in the early 1980s...and by this I mean the teased bouffants like the ones he as a fledgling stylist in SoHo would conjure for the B-52s, or that I would do as a high schooler on my self every morning.

Discussions of beehives invariably lead to the Coke can method, where by the broads of the late 1950s and early 1960s who wanted theirs bigger and bolder purportedly used soda pop cans to roll their dyed locks (because, of course, the hair was treated to the hilt!).

Danilo famously showed this in an editorial with Naomi Campbell, one of the band of Supermodels (with a capital "S," no doubt) whom he cemented his career on. In those years, he recalled today, he was doing upwards of 17 shows a season—and that was just in Europe.

Decades later when Danilo collaborated on an editorial look for Lady Gaga, the pop superstar took a page out of his legendary book and had him roll her hair in Diet Coke cans. It's a contemporary tweak that is as hilarious as it is clever.

But as Mr. Dixon has shown so often throughout his rich and inspired career, genius is in the details.

Friends Feted At Hollywood Style Awards

The only thing better than cheering on the madly talented (and wonderful) Arianne Phillips being named "Costume Designer of the Year" at Sunday's Hollywood Style Awards was giving an equally enthusiastic shout out, literally, to Elizabeth Stewart ("Stylist of the Year") and Decades founders Cameron Silver and Christos Garkinos ("Hollywood Boutique of the Year"), along with following the show's host, George Kostiopoulos, give good one-liners throughout the 90-minute ceremony at Smashox Studios in West Hollywood.

All of us seemed to have in earnest planted our career stakes in the evolving L.A. fashion and red carpet scene around the same time. Elizabeth as a stylist with George as her assistant; and Cameron and Christos just opening their doors to what would become a global phenom. Arianne was already becoming a respected costume designer and stylist, but well before the Oscar nod or the iconic work that would keep her one of the most sought-after artists in the world. Yes, what she does is art.

They all more than deserved the trophies along with the praise from celebrity pals who introduced their respective awards: Kristen Davis for Elizabeth; Selma Blair for Cameron and Christos; and Andrea Riseborough for Arianne.

For the hotly anticipated Madonna-directed film, W.E., Arianne as costume designer dressed Andrea as Wallis Simpson in some 60 costume changes. No harm done, clearly, since the gorgeous actresss lead the lovefest that evening among our group, which included (from left to right in the above snapshot) Ari's high school BFF and A+R manager, Rafael Negron; Decades' Jarred Cairns; me; Ari's love Mike Monzingo; Arianne; her manager, TK; Andrea; Jeremy Scott; and Andrea's boyfriend, graffiti artist Joe Appel.

The ceremony will evidently air on E! at some point. While I'm all for an awards show dedicated to the genuine style makers in Hollywood—as in those behind the curtain—such a televised show wouldn't exist without the in-your-face sponsors, or mind-boggling awards for the sake of publicity.

Jamie King awarded cute Chloe Moretz the "One to Watch" award. She certainly is one to watch as an actress and fashion plate, but the award itself is no doubt a way of including some PYT in the mix.

And there were the suspect 11th hour-awards. One went to Alice Temperley by actress Alice Eve for "Designer of the Year" (even Alice admitted onstage she just learned about this last week!). It definitely put the word out on the award in the UK, which breathlessly covered it in the next day papers. The other was a "Stylish Sisters" prize bestowed on a couple of sisters of the Kardashian-Jenner clan. Like earthquakes and gridlock, there really are some things in L.A. that can't be avoided.

Haute and Heavy: Cameron Silver, Elizabeth Stewart, Selma Blair, Kristen Davis and Christos Garkinos

 

The evening's host and man with the velvet touch George Kostiopoulos and designer Magda Berliner

 

"Stylist of the Year" recipient Elizabeth Stewart and her fab husband, Rob Bragin

 

Performance artist and dapper Decades' right hand man Jarred Cairns

 

Glam Carineh Martin and Arianne Phillips

 

The beautiful Zoë Saldaña presented Mara Hoszak "Hairstylist of the Year" award.

 

Honoree makeup aritst Molly Stern was introduced by friend and longtime client Mandy Moore.

 

Kendall and Kylie Jenner received the "Stylish Sisters" award, and were introduced by older sis Khloe Kardashian-Odom.

 

The "brainy bombshell" is how host George Kostiopoulos introduced actress Alice Eve, who in turn introduced "Designer of the Year" Alice Temperley. Why did the British designer receive this accolade now? For dressing Pippa Middleton. It also tied in neat-and-nice-like with her tenth anniversary in biz.

 

Arianne graciously thanked all of us in her party who turned out for the evening. A real class act that gal. But we already knew that.

 

Photo of Decades group Courtesy of Decades

Gwen Stefani On Target With Harajuku Mini

Malcolm Maclaren could very well be turning in his grave. Then again, the grand poobah punk provocateur might find the sight of pint-sized schoolchildren clad in skinny tartan bondage pants hooked with pleated half skirts and multi-buckled boots courtesy of a mass retailer utterly subversive.

Mini-me versions of these once-rebellious togs debut today in Target stores as part of the new Harajuku Mini Collection by Gwen Stefani, following a playfully whimsical launch party Saturday afternoon at the Jim Henson Studios in Hollywood.

The grand hall was transformed into a kind of Japanese kawaii Mod girl fantasy-meets-Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But the tall glass jars overflowed with Japanese candies as this is the uber cute and uber cool world Gwen has cultivated with her grown-up girl Harajuku Lovers line. That label launched in 2005, a year after her primary collection L.A.M.B. and named after the style-obsessed zone around Harajuku Station in Tokyo.

This peewee incarnation for Target proves this mother of re-invention has only scratched the surface of possibilities.

The walls of the studio where the party took place were swathed in projections of a cartoonish Tokyo, and massive blow-ups of Gwen's Harajuku characters suspended overhead like those in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade.

There were plenty of activity tables for the many kids who turned out with their parents: a station where they could draw and apply Harajuku Mini stickers in blank books; a beauty area to have their hair done and dressed up with hair clips and poufy hair bands from the line; a DIY fashion stop, where the tiny guests earnestly embellished T-shirts and bandanas from the line with studs, buttons and other details.

And, of course, there were photo booths like those so favored by Japan teens, where users can choose from a range of fun and silly backdrops and symbols such as hearts, stars and cute creatures to decorate photos. Nina and I lined up as soon as we arrived.

Both off and on the runway, the hall was filled with cute kids. There were several folks I hadn't seen in ages, and here we all were, decades after scoring our own bondage pants at NaNa's, toting around our tiny tots. C'est la vie!

On the catwalk, the mini models sported some fantastic hair thanks to Danilo, a longtime collaborator of Team Stefani, which includes costume designer/stylist Arianne Phillips. She turned out to celebrate in the fruits of her labor in the craziest jacket she picked up in Tokyo, decorated with patches of pandas illustrated in Ace Frehley make-up. 

Gwen's sons Zuma and Kingston were among those who scampered and posed for the crowd and cameras, and they returned to the runway for the finale bow with mom, who was dressed in a psychedlic patterned suit from her label L.A.M.B. and a whopping Indian-style necklace.

From the creatively assembled sushi displays to the Japanese vending machines serving up juices, the bash was flawlessly executed. With the nonstop ska and rock steady courtesy of our deejay pal Scott Oster, Nina certainly was loving every moment.

The collection is for kids ages 1 to 13 and accessibly priced from $4 to $30. I only hope there are a few things left when I finally make it to Target tomorrow. It's online—but only for viewing. Ugh!

Arianne Philips gives her approval.

 

Jeremy Scott and Nina Griffith

 

Designer/stylist Andrea Leiberman and son

Face painting table

Japanese-style veniding machines with Japanese juices

Another shot of Kingstone and Zuma with mom

Bullseye! Jeremy Scott, Gwen Stefani and Arianne Phillips

Read All About It! Partying 90210 Style

As seen today on Style.com!

 

Nearly 24 hours after we christened the new Caulfield's in Beverly Hills with a party officially launching The Extraordinary Difference, and I'm still too shattered to do a proper posting on the night.

What a fabulous turnout! THANK YOU everyone who came out to share in the festivities.

Thankfully, many of the fellow journos who were there managed to go live today. And what lovely things they had to say:

Style.com

WWD

Paper Magazine

Style Section L. A.

PopSugar

The Daily Truffle

Champagne and Heels

THANK YOU THANK YOU.

And, Dear Reader, this doesn't excuse me from my own coverage. So stay tuned...

Charmed Life: A Brand Like No Other

As I work out all the elements of my look for tonight's bash co-hosted by my fantastic pals Arianne Philips and Jeremy Scott to celebrate my latest book, my thoughts go to the costume jewelry Fred Hayman created which was as much about style flourishes as marketing ingenuity.

Mr. Hayman, the subject of my 7-pound tome, had a rare knack for zeroing in on an uncharted opportunity for what we now commonly refer to as branding.

In the early days of Giorgio Beverly Hills, the burgeoning retailer had a rollicking business with fur-trimmed maxi coats and other luxe outerwear from Cuddlecoat. In those years of the 1960s and early 1970s, it wasn't unusual for better retailers to sew in a second label below that of the designer or brand. Recognizing that women would toss their coats over the back of a chair at a restaurant or other public place, Mr. Hayman had his Giorgio label sewn in upside down. This way it was easier to read right side up when the coat was slung over the back of a chair.

As the years progressed and his shopfront continued to expand along the first block of Rodeo Drive, Mr. Hayman erected striped yellow awnings to reflect those of the shopping bags. The shopping bag rep himself insisted that the yellow and white stripes were too garish and would never fly. But Mr. Hayman stuck to his guns. And when he and his then-wife Gale introduced a signature perfume, he once again pressed for striped packaging—despite the urging from the box manufacturer that is was, once again, too garish. As history tells it, Mr. Hayman was so right.

Perfumes—first under the Giorgio Beverly Hills banner, then Fred Hayman—were the single-most fruitful branding extension for the business. They broke records and conventions in the beauty industry and made the Haymans wealthy and well-known.

There were other items to be sure. The striped canvas Giorgio Beverly Hills bags became a covted souvenir, one that a young Jeremy Scott had to have when he visited this valhalla to excess with his familly in the 1980s. My former intern Brandee started carrying the one her grandmother had long saved when she began transcribing for the project.

Grannie's archives and now eBay are the sources now, more often than not, for the smattering of watches, rhinestone pins and charm bracelets that conveyed the store's name, address (273) and even the ancillary products such as the perfume bottles or bags.

And so for tonight's party at the new Caulfield's in Beverly Hills, I should really look into digging up one of those vintage charm bracelets. What a better way to honor the story of the man who knew how to make his mark in this world.

 

Photos by Ramona Rosales

"Extradorinary" Shout Out for the New Caulfield's, Yours Truly in THR

A great plug for my second book and upcoming party in this week's The Hollywood Reporter. "Where the Young Turks Go To Drink," is a two-page feature by Alexis Johnson and Degen Penner spotlighting the new wave of hangouts caterting to the entertainment industry's rising power players.

From the story:

Another hotel is getting a hip reboot. The Thompson Beverly Hills (9360 Wilshire Blvd.), which shut down its BondSt restaurant last year, is reopening the space as a 125-seat bistro called CAULFIELD’S. The first event is a private book party Nov. 9 for fashion writer Rose Apodaca’s biography Fred Hayman: The Extraordinary Difference, hosted by Oscar-nominated costume designer Arianne Phillips (Walk the Line) and fashion designer Jeremy Scott. We hear that the management, which poached a VIP ambassador from the Standard Hotels, is consciously going after Soho House’s young creatives crowd and planning to open a second-floor lounge as well.

I'm absolutely honored that Caulfield's owners Ron Marino and Laurie Mulstay are rolling out the carpet in celebration of my book (Fred Hayman - The Extraordinary Difference) with next Wednesday's party. The pair are also behind bar Chloe in Santa Monica and Magnolia in Hollywood.

The name of this latest place is a nod to the protagonist in Catcher in the Rye, and the gem in the space is a mural with the faces of the blacklisted writers. Such amazing company.