Wed 16th May 2012

Around 8 p.m. last night, Cipriani 42nd Street was flooded with a sea of ladies in red dresses who had turned out for El Museo del Barrio’s annual spring gala. “It’s a Latin event; everybody wears red,” explained one partygoer as he watched the likes of Carolina Herrera and Yaz Hernández parade through the entryway. Hernández was wearing a custom Carolina gown—in scarlet, naturally—and before dinner, Herrera presented her with the evening’s trustee leadership award. She wasn’t the only honoree at the fête; Julianna Margulies had already taken the stage to introduce Narciso Rodriguez. “He is the only designer I have ever known who knows how to cut for a woman’s body,” she told the crowd. “He really loves women.”

Over on the west side, the look was L.E.D., not red, at the Museum of Arts and Design’s annual gala. Each year, the museum selects a material as its theme, both for the dress code and to guide the contributions that artists make to its fundraising silent auctions. This year’s L.E.D. Ball brought incandescent items from Surface to Air, Jen Kao, and industrial design studios like Rich Brilliant Willing. Light-up fashion was less in evidence on guests like Nate Berkus, Sean Avery, Shenae Grimes, and Patricia Field. No matter. Those who wanted brightening up could step into the on-site “carma wash,” courtesy of performance art collective FCKNLZ, offering “aura scrubs” as DJ Chelsea Leyland’s tunes blasted in the background.

—Kristin Studeman
Wed 16th May 2012

Tue 15th May 2012

The Whitney American Art Award gala attracted collectors, artists, and admirers alike to a lofty far west Chelsea venue last night. “I’m not artistic. Well, you could say my art is on the tennis court,” John McEnroe told Style.com. The tennis ace chatted with Peter M. Brant, who was one of the honorees of the evening, before he did a quick browse of the work up for sale. One memorable digital print of a dollhouse landscape by James Casebere was tagged at $25,000. “I do love and collect art,” McEnroe said more seriously. “There’s this one guy that I think is pretty good. You might have heard of him: Vincent van Gogh?”

The casual atmosphere carried through dinner and a performance by McEnroe’s wife, Patty Smyth. The strong turnout, which included Diane von Furstenberg, Julian Schnabel, and Anh Duong, brought in more than $1.5 million. With teenage sons in tow, Stephanie Seymour Brant discussed modern art—one of her favorite periods. “That’s such a tough question,” she said when asked about her favorite artists. Although when pushed, she conceded, “I do love Urs Fischer’s work.” The artist was seated just nearby.

Brant, her husband, was perhaps more decisive. He has been an avid supporter of Jeff Koons’ oversize sculptures for some time. When he took the stage to accept his award alongside the Henry Luce Foundation and Ogilvy & Mather, he said, “I’m deeply honored. This fills me with great emotion I can’t express. Thanks to my mother and father, who taught me that this world had more to offer than war and sports.”

—Bee-Shyuan Chang
Mon 14th May 2012

At last night’s American Ballet Theatre gala, some guests went for the dancing, others for the outfits. “I wish we could make ballerina gear everyday gear,” said the TV host Wendy Williams, who was clad in a custom red gown with a bustier top by the House of Execution. “Everything good starts with crinoline.” Rachel Roy, walking the red carpet in a tea-length skirt with tulle underlining, was of a like mind. “My daughter Tallulah picked it out; it was her birthday today,” said the designer, holding the hand of her 4-year-old date-cum-stylist. “I gave her a choice of what to do and she picked the gala, which was great because it was my ideal pick.”

Honorary chair Michelle Obama was a no-show, but there was still ogling to be done. Taking the stage, Caroline Kennedy was joined by her son, who drew gasps for his fledgling resemblance to JFK Jr. “I know you share my pride and admiration of the ballet dancers,” said his mother, a longtime supporter of ABT.

Carly Cushnie and Michelle Ochs had dressed several of the ballerinas for the gala dinner. “We know some of them and we don’t know how they do it—the discipline!” said Cushnie. Ochs, herself, was having nothing to do with self-restraint. She had just returned from a trip home to Maryland for Mother’s Day. “We went to Chesapeake Bay and ate crab until we were comatose,” she said. “I have cuts all over my hands.” Amy Sacco had other cuts in mind. There was the plunging neckline on her black Theia gown and also the cocktail ring and statement earrings swaying from her lobes. As ever, the nightclub doyenne was ready to party. She said, “I brought BYO bling.”

—Bee-Shyuan Chang
Sun 13th May 2012

Actor, writer, director, student, and sometime model James Franco has added another line to his curriculum vitae: museum curator. His new show, Rebel, for which he enlisted Paul McCarthy, Ed Ruscha, Harmony Korine, Aaron Young, and Terry Richardson, among others, to riff on the complexities and legends surrounding the iconic James Dean film Rebel Without a Cause, opened at L.A.’s Museum of Contemporary Art on Saturday night.

Franco described the exhibition as a “collage of mediums, approaches, and different kinds of introspections.” But it’s no fan-boy project for the multitasking star. “It was more about finding a piece that could inspire many different kinds of exploration and projects,” Franco said. “Within the movie itself, there are so many interesting dynamics and portrayals and all the legends and iconography. It can inspire a show with many different facets.”

Lily Donaldson, Val Kilmer, Gia Coppola, and André Balazs wandered through the JF Chen contemporary space, designed so that each piece was rendered in its very own bungalow. The Chateau Marmont’s Bungalow 2 plays a central theme to the Rebel Without a Cause story. MOCA’s Jeffrey Deitch was pleased with the “fresh remix” of the 1955 film. “It’s one of our great Hollywood myths and it’s part of our shared culture. It was the perfect subject matter because everyone has seen the film.”

For Aaron Young, who created a digital short, Life’s a Drag, as well as an elaborate re-creation of a motorbike submerged in a pool for the project, the intriguing backstories and large legends of the film—and Los Angeles—continue to linger. “It’s not really about the movie, it’s about the people’s lives. It’s what that iconic film did to their lives and how it shaped them.”

Rebel (presented by Gucci) is open through June 23 at JF Chen, 941 North Highland Ave., Hollywood.

—Alexis Brunswick
Thu 10th May 2012