On September, Spiders, and Silk

A lover may bestride the gossamer

That idles in the wanton summer air

And yet not fall; so light is vanity

-Romeo and Juliet

Friar Lawrence may have been warning Juliet Capulet, but I was equally giddy in my shimmering silk Chocheng dress and could have bestrode countless gossamer across Central Park to get to the West Side. I was in love with September, this city, and the magical invitation to drink champagne and discuss silk in the American Museum of Natural History. . . after hours.. Perhaps it was the margaritas at Café Frida (a favorite haunt in my Columbia College days) but indeed I felt like I was floating as Maggie Rizer, Charles Darling V and I linked arms and walked the dramatic gold carpet entrance for Heather Graham’s intimate reception honoring Simon Peers and Nicholas Godley’s silken victory: a one of a kind fabric made from the silk of over a million Golden Orb spiders from Madagascar. For the textile industry, the feat is historical; the creation of a silk untouched or treated seems worthy of being mounted only on Athena’s loom.

Heather Graham with Godley and Peers

Inside, Peers and Godley surprised Tinsley Mortimer by letting her wear a thin, golden shawl made from spider silk, making her the first woman since Empress Eugenie to wear the fabric. The fabulous Phillip Bloch deftly reached for it and wrapped it around Maggie, and soon many of the lovely ladies were given a chance to feel the airy, dreamy shawl.  Valentino’s Carlos Souza imagined a dress “made entirely of gossamer” while interior designer Geoffrey Bradfield spun visions of silken drapes and cushions.  Indeed it felt as if Queen Mab were in the room.

Tinsley Mortimer

Donna D’Cruz was spinning some magic of her own as guests continued to spill into the palatial space, and Veuve Clicquot was bubbling and frothing in everyone’s champagne glasses. The chic set included Anthony Todd, Nicole Miller, Lara Meiland-Shaw, Waris Ahluwalia, Phillip Bloch, Coralie Charriol, Alistair and Blair Clarke, and many others.  The always immaculately turned out Eric Villency made me laugh as he exited, confessing, “I have U2 tickets.”  For Bono, even silk can wait!

Carlos Souza, Donna D’Cruz, Eric Villency

The evening was of course flawlessly orchestrated by Susan Shin, the original Golden Girl of glamorous galas in Manhattan.  Who else?

Susan Shin

The gold carpet led us back into the wanton September night, speeding downtown to the Thompson Hotel where a party beckoned. The evening ended with a nightcap at Bruno Jamais’s sexy, unmarked townhouse on the Upper East Side and then finally to bed in silken dreams. So light was our vanity.

In Alvin’s Valley

Women were all smiles at designer Alvin Valley’s spring 2010 menswear presentation, hosted by Peter Davis, Luigi Tadini, Euan Rellie, and Anthony Todd at the HauteLook Lounge in the Bryant Park Hotel. The vibe in the room was electric as guests could essentially mingle with devastatingly handsome male models dressed in the designer’s collection.

Alvin brilliantly paired structured jackets with loose fitting shirts and cuffed pants, creating a look that was modern and stylish, but also with a dash of whimsy and youth. Indeed the latter spirit infused the HauteLook Lounge as Alvin posed with Tinsley Mortimer and the models, but charmingly took a cell phone call “from a dear friend in London” and caused everyone to laugh.

On the balcony male models shared cocktails and cigarettes with editors, reporters, and fashionistas, making the presentation feel more like a tableau in which guests and models all blended into Alvin’s vision.

“I would wear this whole look out on the town,” one model told me, pausing to take a long drag of his cigarette and glancing toward the New York skyline. “The fabric on the jacket feels amazing. You can touch it if you like.”