Fashion Forward

The 92nd Street Y is a NYC venue that offers some of the best events, lectures and classes around. When I noticed that their Fall programming included a panel entitled "The Future of Women's Fashion," featuring such illustrious participants as Isaac Mizrahi, Ashley Olsen, Robin Givhan (fashion writer for the Washington Post), and Cindi Levie (Glamour's editor-in-chief), I knew I HAD to go.

I rallied my friends DG and SS (check out her fashion blog, HERE) and we had a wonderful time. To kick-start everything, we were seated across the aisle from Justin Bartha (Ashley's boyfriend and the star of "The Hangover") and Mary-Kate Olsen, who wore a terribly beautiful embroidered velvet jacket.

You can just make out MK's face in this photo.
(NOTE: I once read that the Olsens were taught to say "prune" when they smile, and years of practicing that posture certainly seems to have stuck...)

But back to the panel!

We were treated to a great mix of expertise and personalities.
Cindi and Robin (above far left and above left, respectively), are more in tune with consumers' needs and viewing fashion through the lens of hard numbers. This gave their opinions a lot of practical merit; perhaps even TOO MUCH for the dreamers in the audience like me, who wish only for fashion to be about art and beauty...which is where Ashley and, especially, Isaac come in.

Here are some gems from Isaac:

About being fearless with fashion: "If only we could be as brave about our own work as we are about, you know, playing Monopoly. That's what I always say."

About the role of the designer in dressing women: "Embracing that women look beautiful already, not that 'I'm gonna make you look beautiful' but 'You are beautiful already.'"

On determining the difference between fashion and design: "Fashion happens, but design is eternal. I don't know what fashion is supposed to be anymore: The red carpet? The cover of a magazine? But there's NO excuse for bad design."

On opportunities for entrepreneurs in the current economy: "Perhaps it's not a good time for greedy people to make a lot of money off of something that's not even good."

I adore Isaac, for obvious reasons. If you've never seen his documentary "Unzipped" you should run to Blockbuster or your Netflix queue and make it a priority! Among other simultaneously hilarious and wise tidbits he shared, he announced that he will be selling many new products on QVC, including CHEESECAKE ("it's a family recipe!").

Ashley Olsen was more sly, avoiding answering the question of which fashion trend she wishes would die ("I pass on this question!"), and omitting to tell the audience some major news that would be announced only a day later: that she and MK are launching a clothing line at J.C. Penney called "Olsenboye."

Robin Givhan made some interesting sociological commentary on the state of women's fashion, and even offered her theory of its biggest hurdle:
"People condescend to fashion because it's a woman's industry."
Hmm. Perhaps.

Like many panel discussions (and I recall numerous of these from my Princeton days), there wasn't much of an arrival at consensus or conclusion by the end. Nevertheless, all will agree that it was an entertaining and special occasion.

And don't forget to order your Mizrahi cheesecake...
Cxx.

Links to more info, insight, and better pictures from this event:
Glamour.com
The Huffington Post
Just Jared

Celebs Abound!

In the last few weeks, celebs seemed to be spilling into the streets. It doesn't hurt that I live and work in areas that are celeb-heavy, either because celebs tend to live or work there, or because many movies are filmed in these neighborhoods.

Recently I've seen the following people:

Chris Noth, aka "Mr. Big"
Jennifer Creel, former soap opera actress and NY socialite
Stacy London, host of "What Not to Wear"
Alexandra Richards, model and one of Keith Richards' (Rolling Stones) daughters
Caroline Kennedy, whom my cab almost ran over
Becky Newton, filming "Ugly Betty"
Michelle Obama and her motorcade leaving Gramercy Tavern:

Bill and Hillary Clinton, leaving the Peninsula Hotel (I snapped a photo of Bill's head; see that white pouf entering the car?)

Lily Cole, model
Mickey Boardman, writer for Paper Magazine

...and a slew of celebrities at the Broadway opening of Carrie Fisher's new one-woman show, "Wishful Drinking." The Bunny's friend is a big Broadway producer and offered us two comp tickets to the show and invited us to the after-party. As I entered the theatre, Martha Plimpton was getting her pic taken by photogs. On our way to our seats we passed Salman Rushdie, Debra Monk, Tovah Feldshuh, Jorma Taccone, Patti LuPone, Craig Bierko, and Justin Bond (the tranny I spotted singing for Rodarte at Fashion's Night Out). There were many other celebrities present whom we missed. I did, however, stand next to, received a smile from, and later snapped a blurry photo of Jane Fonda!

It's always fun to see a celebrity, and it reminds me that I'm really in the heart of one of the most exciting cities in the world.
What can I say? I <3 NY and I <3>