Fashion Week Spring 2012: The Scene, Starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, Tavi, and More
Photos: Patrick McMullan
Maggie Gyllenhaal and Alexa Chung attend Mulberry's 40th birthday party.
Mulberry celebrated its 40th birthday on Monday by partying like a teenager, with a rock band that was so loud the police were called. “I could hear the music six blocks away,” said one partygoer at the rooftop bash at Skylight Studios on West 36th Street. The band, Kasabian, managed to pull off a fairly long set before being forced from the stage.
Over the din, FashionEtc chatted (or shouted, really) about accessories with some of the guests. Rose Byrne goes for simple, delicate necklaces, but occasionally likes a chunky ring. “Like a big ring that you could knock someone out with,” she said. Gentlemen, take note: “I don’t like a man in jewelry,” Byrne declared. “If he’s got jewelry, I need to reassess.”
Maggie Gyllenhaal found it easier to say which accessory she cares about least. “Because I’m so tall, I’ve never been really into shoes. You know, I don’t wear really high-heeled shoes, I don’t spend a lot of money on them.” Sensible!
Fashion trendsetter Alexa Chung says she’s a fan of men’s bags. “Carrying all my stuff in men’s briefcases is a favorite. Or just accessories that are a bit more unexpected; vintage finds or granny bags, things like that,” she said. “And, of course, my namesake, the Alexa,” she added, showing us the Mulberry classic on her arm.
The Mulberry bash featured displays of handbag-shaped foil balloons, but certainly the décor was bumped up a notch when True Blood’s Alexander Skarsgard drifted off the elevator and nonchalantly strolled across the rooftop.
On Tuesday, young blogging phenom Tavi co-hosted a party with Advanced Style’s Ari Seth Cohen, and the crowd was something you don’t see often during Fashion Week: delightfully decked out senior citizens! Fabulously dressed people of a certain age lined up down the block, waiting to enter the packed party at Liberty Hall in the trendy Ace Hotel. Tavi sat on a couch, and seniors plopped down to have their photos taken with her, but when Iris Apfel, Grande Dame of older fashionistas arrived, Tavi dashed over to her. Respect.
Polaroid made this neat little mobile printer that allows you to print photos right from your phone, and they had a bunch of notables create works of art, auctioned off on Wednesday to benefit Free Arts NYC. At the Clois du Bois-sponsored auction at Phillips on Wednesday, Brad Goreski described the piece he created: “I have all of these photos on my phone of runway shows from New York, Milan and Florence, and we stuck them to the wall, made a collage, and blew it up to 25 times its size.” Sting and Serena Williams were among the bidders who stopped by to show support.