La Vie En Rose

The Future Looks Bright For Juan Carlos Obando

Juan Carlos Obando has to be greeting this morning with a major smile on his beautiful mug.

The reviews from his Fall 2012 presentation yesterday at the Lehmann Maupin gallery in New York are as vibrant as the palette coloring the effortlessly fluid dresses he showed.

The electric colors first bowed for Resort, and a short pink silk blouse and skirt from that grouping made “The Help” actress Viola Davis a red carpet stand out this week in the blogosphere and on the boob tube when she attended the 84th annual Oscar nominees luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

A coup for any designer, of course, is the Academy Awards itself, and right now there is a dress from the latest collection in the running, thanks in part to a pre-presentation of Fall at Barneys New York last Friday.

It was JC's first major trunk show at the Wilshire Boulevard flagship, and a risk to give the public a peek at Fall. But the turn of pals and supporters just during my brief visit was remarkable and potentially fruitful: two of Hollywood's heavyweight stylists Jessica Paster and Elizabeth Stewart (who dresses Viola Davis) admitted they had their eye on several looks for the award show circus of events, including the Big Day. Also there were fashion commentator George Kotsiopoulos, C Magazine's Amanda Ross, Katherine Ross, Anne Crawford, WWD's L.A. bureau chief Marcy Medina, among many others.

Aside from the hot colors, I loved the bracelets and necklaces made of twisted colored silk and encased in black netting. (Sadly, a couple of the best examples did not come out with my iPhone camera due to the gorgeous sun blazing into place that afternoon.)

Another flourish I loved was this ruffled feature on this look is actually a separate piece, a kind of silk dickie to be worn with the blouse or without or on another look entirely. It appeared on both short and longer length frocks.

The presentation last Friday in Beverly Hills and yesterday in New York also had its share of pieces in black and ivory. The delicate detailing and sophisticated construction of this dress are best considered in person. It's stunning and while not a dedicated bridal gown, it would perfectly fit at the altar.

Getting My Fingers Dirty

No one can describe me as having a green thumb. More often than not, I massacre plants. But in an effort to meet one of my 2012 resolutions, I spent some time Sunday planting thyme, Italian parsley and oregano plants we picked up at the Hollywood Farmer's Market that morning.

I nestled the six potted herbs into the railing planters I brought home ages ago from A+R.

Admittedly, there was something kind of exhilirating today as I sat on my sofa looking out onto the balcony and I spotted one of the two planters I suspended there yesterday. For the brief hour it took to replant these tiny herbs, I enjoyed digging my fingers into the dark soil.

I'll certainly enjoy the outcome in Andy's hands when he gets to use a few cuttings in his cooking.

Fingers crossed in the coming weeks I do not forget to just add water!

Today: Swing By Barneys for J.C. Obando

Join us today in celebrating J.C. Obando's first trunk show at Barneys New York at the Wilshire Boulevard door in Beverly Hills, from noon to 3 p.m. The talented J.C. created a special collection for the retailer, and it's bound to be beautiful.

See you there!

Report From Maison et Objet: Lighting

Andy got back a week ago from a whirlwind trip to Paris to scour the Maison et Objet for new products for A+R.

The upshot? There was plenty of design, but only a select few pieces made the A+R cut. If anything got him charged, it was some of the lighting he found, including the Disque pendant lights above with its eye-poping hot pink geometric shapes on the flex cords by French design studio Adonde.

Andy also also loved the new Milk Lamp by Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen and Kasper Rønn of Norm Architects and Design Studio for fellow Copenhagens, &tradition. We are already fans of Jonas and Kasper, carrying several of their tabletop products for Menu at A+R.

We'll be counting this cute lamp among our offerings soon, too...as well as the Blasted model below, also from &tradition. Kai Linke is behind this pendant, comprising of a simple block of wood with an imbedded fluorescent and a sliding counterweight that allows the tilt of the lamp to be varied.

Finally, Andy was impressed by the Dom series from French studio Forestier. The company realizes work by such design world luminaries as Sebastian Bergne, Neil Poulton and Arik Levy, who is behind the Dom.

I have to say, Andy did a very fine job on this solo outing. All of these lamps could be lighting A+R's life in 2012.

More coverage from M et O to come...

 

 

Time For Tea

Tea time just got better. Andy just sent word through A+R that the stunning glass Teapot with Diffuser by Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen and Kasper Rønn of Norm Architects and Design Studio for Danish brand Menu has dropped in price from $80 to $60!

Talking Kids + Art Today

Got kids? Today at 1 p.m., I'll be speaking on the positive influence of great design and art on the little ones at the Affordable Art Fair at L.A. Live in downtown. The panel features Chrissy Crawford of the innovative site Little Collector and interior designer Pia Lindstrom.

The fair is a great opportunity to add to or start a collection. Try to swing by. During my panel, I'll be touching on the growing category of kid stuff at A+R, which include ageless items such as the Playshapes Wooden Blocks by Miller Goodman of the UK. Love them. And so do the many adults who buy them for themselves!

A Razzle-Dazzle Ride with Coach + Tony Duquette + Glamarama Pals

If the best job in the world is one where it doesn't feel at all like work, then being able to glam it up and cohost a party with truly fabulous pals such as Tracee Ellis Ross, Hutton Wilkinson and Nina Clemente (as we're all pictured above) was a great gig, indeed.

Last night's celebration marking the debut of the new collaboration between Coach and the estate of Tony Duquette was pure fun. THANK YOU to everyone who came out. It was a busy evening in town, so it was great to even see the likes of Christos Garkinos pop in since his Decades partner Cameron Silver was hosting his own crystal-drenched fete up the street for Swarovski.

The night was a merging of old school meets new school as friends dropped in through the evening, inspired, it seemed, by the ghost of Duquette to turn up the glamour quotient.

Even our handsome photographer of the evening, Alex Berliner, whose photos appear in this posting, looked the part in his floral tie and checkered shirt. If only I'd had my own camera. Live and learn!

Luminous Jessica Joffe showed that less can also be more with a gold spikey bracelet from the new collection.

 

On the tables, our new favorite deejay, Daisy O'Dell. She played our friend, Anita Wetterstedt's birthday last month, and we had to have her for this night.

Part of the overall sparkling presentation of the new collaboration inside the Rodeo Drive Coach flagship. Pieces were selling fast during the party, so it's very likely the display will be shrinking as soon as this weekend! If you do have your eye on something, best not to delay popping in or shopping it online.

 

  Hutton Wilkinson, our fearlessly dapper leader of the night, was not only debuting the collaboration he spearheaded with Coach. He was also busy as a jeweled bee signing copies of the stunningly leather-bound book reissued by Coach. As they say, supplies are limited. So any of you collectors of books on jewelry or the Duquette legacy better get your skates on if you want to ensure having a copy in your library.

The cover of the book features a favorite Duquette motif, the sunburst. The massive jeweled piece was a source of envy at the party as it twinkled pinned to the left shoulder of lucky Ruthie Wilkinson, Hutton's other half all these many years (pictured below). As we enjoyed our first glass of Champers before the guests arrived, she reminded me of the time I was stung by a bee at their Malibu compound. We were walking from their home to the burned-down Duquette property (since sold), and a bee got under my bonnet, literally. What a wouzy afternoon I spent back on their sofa, thanks to the sting and fabulously surreal decor of their home!

Ruthie wasn't the only one flaunting an original Tony Duquette creation at the party. Long before she became West Coast bureau chief of InStyle and long before Tony Duquette was "discovered" by a new generation of fashion aesthetes, Glynis Costin interviewed the genius sometime in 1995 for the now-defunct yet still-legendary magazine, Buzz. He gifted her this incredibly wild necklace. Some gals do have all the luck!

Glynis laughed as she relayed her daughter's dismay over her mother wearing what in her young mind was such a questionably attractive necklace. Some day, she will realize otherwise. If not, Glynis dear, you have my number...

 

  Certainly not to be outdone by the OD (original Duquetters) in the party was Peggy Moffitt, who turned up in a jaw-dropping necklace dripping with ammonites, tiger eye, agate slices and other earthly delights. Peggy told me how she spent the afternoon filing the edges of the dangling shark teeth after one snagged a one-shoulder dress she'd planned on wearing.

In the end, her camel-colored ensemble was on the mark. Not only was the necklace beyond amazing, the pairing of her sable jacket with her well-loved vintage Coach classic bag was the height of chic (see below). LOVE her and the way she vamps it up for the camera.

Coach should seriously consider Peggy for a future collaboration.

Tony Duquette didn't meet an insect he couldn't reimagine as a jewel. So it goes to reason, that in ode to the master, guests would bug out for the night. So did Raven Kauffman with a dazzling laboradite vintage beetle on her satin lapel. From head to toe, Raven is always such a vision of elegance.

Thankfully, the bug motif appears in the Coach collaboration. Co-host Nina Clemente brandished a beetle of lapis and malachite with enamel eyes on the back of her vintage Moschino riding jacket. The stick pins, seen below, ended up receiving plenty of attention because of the way they were dashingly worn by both Nina and my other half, Andy...

On his necktie, Andy sported a golden grasshopper stickpin with crystal eyes, lapis body and royal blue enamel accents. Because of this, many a man at the party suddenly realized there was something for them, too, in the Coach collection. Of course, now I've created a monster: Andy kept requesting the entire set all the way to dinner!

While I'm at it, I'll highlight the four pieces from the new collection that made me sparkle: tiny gold-plated brass sunburst earrings twinkling with crystal pavé centers; a giant cocktail ring of clear quartz crystal with vines of Swarovski crystals; a fuschia satin clutch with a chunky pink and red Swarovski heart in flames that perfectly matched my vintage Dior turban (close-up of clutch below); and the pièce de résistance (which is why it was featured on the invite), the Duchess Bib, so named because it's based on a design Tony Duquette fashioned for the Duchess of Windsor. I'm no duchess, but I definitely admired that crazy dame's jewelry collection.

  Speaking of dames with crazy great style, there were no shortage at the party, as if anyone would expect otherwise. Seen here with Ruth Wilkinson is interior designer Barbara Lockhart, draped in a floor-length garnet fur coat. She came right up to me and complemented my turban. And that woman, no doubt, knows her turbans...

 

  Another grand dame, Peggy Larson...

 

And Michele Crahan. What flair! She certainly gave Tracee and Nina a run for their red outfits.

 

My hats off to both Magda Berliner and George Kotsiopoulos (ok, so I couldn't resist!). These two always look perfect.

 

Leandra Medine of Man Repeller

 

Alexis Johnson and Erin Weinger (love the dress Erin!)

 

Desiree Kohan and her handsome beau Ricardo

 

Stylist Tanya Gill, writer Adriana Caras and friend

 

Nina with her debonair beau, Wayne Rambharose

 

Jessica Joffe with pal and Coach's Carolyn Angel and art world mover Bettina Korek

 

Pretty in pink: Amanda Luttrell Garrigus

 

Bookended by two stylish pals is Jessica Fels, my conduit at Coach through this affair and an absolute pleasure to work with. She also showed how to wear pieces from the collection in a very modern, louche style.

 

  Make-up artist Kathy Jeung (with Joseph Brooks and Andy to her right)

 

Gorgeous Yaya DaCosta says good night.

 

 All photographs courtesy of Alex Berlier/ABImages

In A Twinkle: Countdown to Tony Duquette+Coach

Just got off the phone with the charming Hutton Wilkinson, the keeper of the flame of the most fabulous Tony Duquette estate, busy as ever it seems and these days because of the collaboration between Tony Duquette Inc. and accessories uber brand Coach.

Hutton called to connect before the big kick-off celebration Wednesday night for the sparkling capsule collection at the Rodeo Drive outpost of Coach. I, too, have been busy on the fest, working behind the scenes and, finally, standing with Hutton front and left-of-center as co-host, along with my charismatic pals Nina Clemente and Tracee Ellis Ross.

It's going to be hoot. And to capacity given numbers who've rsvp'd! In prep for the evening, I hightailed it to Coach (yesterday morning before my shoot with Dita Von Teese...what a morning!) to select a few pieces from the collection, which is based on classic Duquette motifs of sunbursts, exotic koi, spikes and, of course, the brightest colors in nature. It was not an easy decision.

Each piece makes a resounding statement. Mr. Duquette, who passed in 1999 after five decades of influential creativity, believed in "more is more," and I took that credo with great reverence and chose a twinkling necklace, cocktail ring and hot pink clutch. (None of which are pictured here...a gal has to keep some surprises until it's time!) Most might figure on wearing one of those individually, but I intend on piling it on with my party look.

And Hutton agreed I should also do the hot pink velveteen Dior turban I got on eBay last month. "Don't even think about leaving that at home!" he exhorted.

The collab arrives at Coach stores February 1. But the party also marks the debut of ordering the collection online. 

Next up: the party coverage...of course!

Moore on Michael Schmidt

If brevity is the soul of wit, then today's feature on the talented Michael Schmidt by The Los Angeles Times fashion critic Booth Moore makes its point as brightly and condensed as a Swarovski crystal.

Of course, there's so much more to tell about the man with a history as riotous and colorful as the superstars he creates for now. But that story will have to wait until it's out in hardback. I promise.

Pink Martini+Pasta Fresco: Her Majesty Kim Hastreiter Holds Court in L.A.

By now, it should be no surprise, that if the inimitable Pink Martini is playing in Los Angeles or New York or even now Paris (more on that later), among the shifting ensemble of guest musicians and singers is one performer on the triangle who has become a near-regular: the equally inimitable Queen Bee of Pop (Counter) Culture and co-founder of Paper Magazine, Kim Hastreiter.

Pink Martini was on its annual New Year's Eve storming of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and so, too, Kim at her customary suite at the Hollywood Standard Hotel, home base as she juggled a slam-bam extended weekend of meetings for business and fun.

Kim hadn't seen Nina since our visit to the Paper Mag offices in New York in May, so we swung by after lunch at Food+Lab to catch up with her a few blocks over at Silver Lake's Sunset Junction. It was the day before the concert and, not surprisingly, we found her surrounded by a handful of cool kids in an art-filled loft with an enormous dining table, up the steps above Intelligentsia Coffeehouse. The space, along with this corner of real estate, including Cafe Stella, belongs to Gareth Kantner, who also joined the impromptu gathering. A supper for Kim's L.A. pals was quickly planned for a couple of nights later there, with Gareth promising to roast a porcetta.

But there would be no savory oink. No surprise, within the day, Kim's guest list grew beyond what the loft could comfortably seat. And so to Speranza, a neighborhood Italian restaurant nearer to my 'hood for the Monday night supper. And what a divine way to spend an evening it was, catching up with old and new pals alike over shavings of cheese, prosciutto and, later, a hot bowl of ziti all' Amatriciana which was worth blowing any aspirations of New Year calorie-cutting.

Among the new pals is baker Vanessa Lavorato, newly arrived from S.F. to L.A. and whom Kim has already put to work as a writer! Kim was especially excited touting the bon bons worthy of the White Rabbit made by lovely Vanessa, pictured above with performance art icon Joey Arias and Pink Martini's Thomas Lauderdale holding the beautifully boxed treats. 

I hadn't seen Joey since his show with Basil Twist shook up the RedCat in late 2010. A cameo player in Pink Martini, too, he spent New Year's Eve not at the Disney Hall with Basil, Kim and the orchestra, but bringing down the Chateau Marmont with his own cabaret show (had Andy and I not already planned on spending the evening with Barbara Bestor, who was also at the Monday night supper, I would've popped my gold turban-topped head at his gig). Two nights after the Chateau and sans drag, Joey made me dizzy telling me all he had going on for 2012, including a lengthy run of "Arias with A Twist" in D.C., recording with Pink Martini and—most exciting—the release of a film directed, costumed and produced by his longtime collaborator Thierry Mugler. Cannot wait to see that!

Another dinner guest with exciting news for the new year was Jeremy Scott. The project has not been announced yet, but suffice it to say, having been one of the first people who met the designer when he plopped down here in L.A. a lifetime ago, I'm so proud of him—especially the way he has managed to find sanity and success in this cuckoo fashion biz by writing his own ticket.

There were plenty of guests at Madame Hastreiter's table who are all about writing their own tickets—artist Adelle Lutz, publicist Jen Gross, photographer The Cobra Snake. Seated on Kim's right was Jeffrey Deitch who certainly keeps writing and selling tickets to the galas and exhibitions now under his care as the director of MOCA. He talked to me about the upcoming show on Rudi Gernreich that he's been madly collaborating on with Decades' Cameron Silver and inviting me to sit in on one of their rendezvous in the next couple of weeks. I just may take him up on it...

The invite I would so love to accept, however, is joining Kim in Paris come March when she and Pink Martini ring in the anniversary of the house of Lanvin. In that delciously dry way Kim has of retelling a story, she told us how she had to twist Alber Elbaz's arm to come see the band when they played Paris this last fall. He would only go, he insisted begrudgingly, to see her perform. Before the concert was over, Alber was apparently on stage singing his heart out with the band and a booking for the grand party this spring promptly followed.

Paris is likely not in my cards for March, so instead I'll make due with the parting gift from Kim that evening, a copy of PM's latest "A Retrospective." Get it.

Tangerine Dream for 2012

Every year, Pantone, that gatekeeper for any industry that relies on color, christens a new shade designated to reflect the aspirations of both the times and the trends. For 2012, that is a reddish-orange hue imbued with the real and imagined qualities of optimism, revival and energy and dubbed Tangerine Tango.

“Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, on the company's website.

The New Jersey-based company already began quietly touting the shade during the Spring 2012 collections back in September through the work of fashion designers and make-up artists (Tangerine Tango lipstick anyone?).

But with this official shot into the cultural zeitgeist, the color will no doubt begin popping up everywhere, whether intentionally or not.

After all, there is already a smattering of Pantone-branded products touting the newly minted shade.

X-mas Song, L.A. Style

Keep your carolers. The only songs I'm in the mood for right now are off the 1980 album "Los Angeles" by one of the greatest bands of all time, X. 

Excene Cervenka, John Doe, DJ Bonebrake and Billy Zoom performed the album in its entirety tonight at a show I unfortunatley had to miss due to my book signing. Yes, folks I was scribbling my finest John Hancock for the likes of Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband, Prinz von Anhalt, and other Beverly Hills locals instead of getting bashed around in the pit at an X show. Which brings to mind track seven of this masterpiece, "Sex and Dying in High Society"... 

The band is making the rounds as part of its somewhat annual "Xmas Traveling Rock & Roll Revival" tour. They're also promoting the reissue of their 1986 rockumentary "X: The Unheard Music." That DVD is definitely on my Santa list.

While there's no way I can make Friday's show at the Santa Monica Civic, I do have to admit that the December 28 show at Buck Owens Crystal Palace in Bakersfield could truly be an experience...

p.s. One of these days I'll dig up the 2003 Q+A I did for WWD with Exene on her seminal style.