24 Hour Party People
By Kate MacLennan
Fashion parties always trickle to a minimum under the August sunshine, but by the first week of September, the bulk of the style community has happily bid sayonara to its summer threads and is eagerly embarking on the important mission of building a new autumn wardrobe. So if there’s one event you don’t want to miss, it’s fall’s first fashion fête, bound to be a gawk-fest of au courant clothing, not to mention a choice opportunity to network and dish.
In Vancouver, the prestige of hosting this seasons’s first soirée went to Michael Kors. The PR folk who organized Tuesday night’s event didn’t have to ask twice for RSVPs. In fact, I chanced upon Kors brass earlier that day at Wolford on Robson Street—she divulged that the guest list was officially closed; they had reached capacity.
Capacity? An understatement, to be sure. The event, to celebrate the opening of Vancouver’s first Kors shop in Oakridge Centre, was a veritable reunion for those of us in the media, PR, television and rag trade. And I spotted more than a few of Vancouver’s style cognoscenti departing with new, buttery leather Michael Kors handbags tucked beneath their arms. Everyone left with a bottle of his new fragrance, Hawaii.
Heading from the Kors store to Cin Cin’s annual red-carpet launch bash for the Vancouver International Film Festival was a lovely way to wrap a fancy, fashiony day. After all, many of us at Kors had turned out for breakfast that morning at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver (think: warm scones, pastries, teeny sandwiches with the crusts cut off, and tea in china cups—bliss) to launch B.C. Fashion Week (on now through September 29).
Its lineup is one you won’t want to miss, with catwalk presentations from Evan & Dean, Christina Darling and Jacqueline Conoir, among others, and what promises to be an impressive “Gen Next” show with Mia Melon, Nicole Bridger and Elroy. If you can’t get down to the shows, it’s all going to be streamed live on ye ole Internet. Go to bcfashionweek.com for a peek at the schedule, then log on to arc2.tv to watch the entire event live from your living room. If you do manage to snag a ticket, look for a treat from local dermatology label Linacare in the swag bag. (Stay tuned for more on the goodies in future blogs.)
A digression here to finish: I bopped on down to Fluevog on Granville Street last Sunday to see Perry Farrell—yes, the Perry Farrell of Lollapalooza, Jane’s Addiction and Porno for Pyros—play an acoustic set with his band, Satellite Party. (And yes, he dug into the Jane’s vault and pulled out “Been Caught Stealing,” an eternal hit with fans.) Always the chatty sort—for a smile and a bit of brain candy, Google some of his more infamous quotes—Farrell divulged that it was his gorgeous wife and back-up vocalist, Etty, who got him visiting our beautiful city. At the time, Vancouver was the only place to purchase products by local bath goodie company, Lush. These days, it’s the snowboarding in Whistler that keeps him coming back. Farrell, in Fluevog, in Fluevogs. Love it.
