Parties? They’re still happening, but opposed to the good old days (last year), where it was three or four fashion events/private views/store openings/dinners/etc per week. This year, it’s just one(ish) - and its always a bun-fight*.
At a recent soiree, there was a strict one tipple** per guest rule. Call it the the English Revolution - Let Them Drink Water, and tap water at that. Sadder still, VIP guests were passed secret cards and shuffled to back rooms, where the hosts meted out drinks at one per hour. Oy.
A fed up guest, now inured to the “New Deal,” had a mickey of vodka in his breast pocket with a straw ingeniously threaded through his lapel, just to be able to maintain a buzz. In London, one of the cities hardest hit by the global financial crisis, financial pundits tell us the dire conditions are going to last another eighteen months. Better stock up on straws.
—CHARLEY B
*Bun-fight: British-English for “a very crowded party where people jostle around”.
What I saw/heard at the Convenience Store pop-up shop at the St. Martins Lane Hotel last night:
- Designer Hannah Marshall weighing in on a raging debate about who started the “shoulder” trend (said Marshall: “I did that shoulder two or three seasons back - I’m pretty much over it now).
- Racks of show stopping pieces from off-the-beaten-track designers like Felder and Felder, Camilla Skovgaard, and Rick Owens, all stocked by Convenience Store’s owner, Andrew Ibi, who easily runs the most adventurously edited shop in London.
- Hannah Marshall telling a story of the world’s most loyal customer ever: “There was one lady who just arrived from Miami, went straight from Heathrow to the shop, let the cab idle outside, bought my jacket, and in a space of three minutes, was gone. That’s the kind of loyalty that I hope to continue to inspire.”
- Richard Mortimer of Boombox, Camilla Skovgaard (the woman, not just the label), Kei Kagami, and rock star Cherish Kaya from Ipso Factor, all cooing over the pieces like a leather harness dress fit for Britney’s comeback.
The store, which is normally located in the seediest, greyest part of West London amongst the projects, will be at the luxe hotel for just three weeks. I suggest snagging the stuff while it’s still easy.
V Magazine is in search of a few great photographers to take party photos. Photographers MUST have a keen knowledge of key industry figures, impeccable taste level and most importantly, a quality digital camera (please no 5.0 megapixels, etc).
We need real photographers with an interest in the industry, tireless professionalism and a high level of availability for any events that may arise. Those selected for an interview MUST bring their camera and portfolio. There is no compensation but you will gain entry into the most exclusive industry parties and receive a V Mag by-line.
Please note, the “from” e-mail is where you should send your info to… Luck!
Fact: Even though people think Fashion Week parties sound “fabulous” they almost always aren’t.
So we’re very pleased that V Man and Ford are throwing a party we don’t think anybody’s going to miss, to celebrate their upcoming Spring issue and this year’s dual winners of their annual model search contest, CJ Hancock and Jake Madden (click).
The event will be held at the Chelsea Piers’ Sky Rink tomorrow night, so just picture everybody you know drinking and ice skating to Diskokaine, and you can understand why we put this one in bold on our schedule.
Also, there was a last minute event addition: An 11pm performance by an actual figure skater, Johnny Weir.
Alexander Wang will not be hosting his crush of an after-party after his show at the Roseland Ballroom on Valentine’s Day (same day as Swaim and Christina Hutson’s new line debuts), which lets him off the hook from topping that surprise Foxy Brown performance from Spring 09.
In the meantime, enjoy this video of Foxy’s performance, along with Alex bopping on stage to her side. So cute.
Last month, some geniuses came up with an online directory of PR/stylist contact information, which has already proven itself to be useful in our office.
This month, a whole different set of amazing people launch TheFashionList.com, an online directory of every upcoming fashion/beauty event/show/presentation/party, complete with location, and contact information for the people in charge. You can even check the list against your own party planning to make sure there aren’t any conflicts.
Seriously, this is incredible. We’re loving this trend of people making the lives of assistants and editors everywhere that much easier. But will this override Ruth Finley’s Fashion Week calendar? Because, in a weird way, that would be kind of sad.
Every other party invite we get these days is actually for a sale.
But how can this be?, you might ask.
But it’s true. When an invite says something like “and the designer’s line will be there. And it’ll be 30% off!” you know it’s not just white wine and crumbs, but a last ditch effort to hopefully sell what they have to those most likely to like the line (and to those most likely to be tipsy.)
We’re not saying we don’t appreciate discounted clothes and booze, we’re just saying this says a lot about the current state of things when you have to remind even fashion editors to shop.
Not to mention the recent onslaught of severely discounted clothes masquerading as samples, even though everybody there knows it’s really more like a clearance sale.
We love the cheaper stuff, but here’s to hoping for bluer skies in 09.
The annual bash, which is more over-the-top than a Bollywood extravaganza, is usually at the Rainbow Room, which we guess was just too much money to swallow considering Robert Duffy said the cancellation was, “due to the financial climate”.
The news comes just a couple weeks after Hearst’s own announcement of no holiday party plans, though you have to figure - if companies like Hearst don’t have the cash, and designers like Marc can’t pull in the sponsors, what kind of situation is everybody else in?
We know these are just holiday parties, and of course everybody wants to avoid the photographic evidence of major AIG-style bashes during what is a tough time for most, but it really says a lot when even the major companies cut back in major ways.
Guess we’ll never know what Marc’s costume for his Rock and Roll Circus theme (which, oddly, was announced less than a month ago), would have been - we were hoping Mick.
That rumor we spread about Mark Fast doing a line for Topshop? It's true. And it's in last week's Sunday Telegraph magazine which means it was true before we even said anything and we've had it in our lap since... Read More
Meet Blue Logan, if you haven't already. A couple of years ago a friend dragged the soft-spoken Brit to a show at London Fashion Week, Aquascutum he thinks, and he started to draw the models as they walked down the... Read More
Parties? They’re still happening, but opposed to the good old days (last year), where it was three or four fashion events/private views/store openings/dinners/etc per week. This year, it’s just one(ish) - and its always a bun-fight*. 
