Abigail Lorick’s First Fashion Show

Last night the lucky guests of LWALA got to see designer Abigail Lorick’s first fashion show, to launch her new line debuting this spring. She’s been on Gossip Girl already of course, as well as done an interview with us. Last night, she showed off her summer collection where each piece had yellow in it to represent L.W.A.L.A. (Living With A Life-long Ambition) and to remind women to ask themselves, “What’s my life long ambition?” The clothes look beautiful…

A Lot Of Hot Air(Aer)?

[Aer Lounge]

Our readers are confirming it, and it seems to be so. Kiss and Fly will be opening in 2 weeks in the spot of the old Aer Lounge. Don’t worry if you don’t remember Aer lounge, you can join the rest of us who easily forgot this unmemorable spot.

It seems like nightclub reincarnations are in vogue these days with Touch being the revamped Temple Bar/T/Float, and now Kiss and Fly. But then again, there are no more liquor licenses available in the meat packing, so proprietors have no choice but to set up shop in a previously failed spot if they want to be in meat packing.

Meat Packing? Yes, we know what you’re thinking, it wouldn’t have been our first choice either. But we have faith in Randy Scott. His track record has no blemishes, and he seems to strike gold everywhere he goes.

[Aer Lounge]

Madewell Makes Music

Pop up stores are popping up everywhere it seems.  Here are some pics from inside the new Madewell store from Jcrew.  Cool thing about Madewell…in keeping with the girly theme, the store has some great female DJ events planned.  This Saturday, DJ duo Kiss & Tell are spinning there from 3-7 pm…The pair hosted parties for nearly every indie-rock band who came through Atlanta from 2003-2005 including The Futureheads, Bloc Party, Maroon 5, Phantom Planet, Junior Senior, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Interpol, The Cure, The Rapture, Muse, Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, The Raveonettes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and She Wants Revenge.  DJ Elhaam (one half of duo) has a weekly show on East Village Radio.  On December 8th the store will host DJ Ultragrrrl.

[Madewell store]

Kiss and Fly

[Photo from NY Times]

Randy Scott, pictured above on the right, is one of the city’s leading “Bottle Hosts”. Yeah it’s an actual job, and one that today will determine whether or not your club will sink or swim. Jaime Mulholland knew this all too well, which is why he picked up Scott from Marquee when he decided to open Cain. Pink Elephant also scouted him when they decided to open up shop in Southampton over the summer. You can read more about the career of the bottle host in an article from last February in the Times. This is what they had to say about Randy:

“Mr. Scott, a tall man with chiseled features in a custom-made black pinstriped suit, glided through the club’s V.I.P. area that night with the commanding air of Sirio Maccioni presiding over the dining room at Le Cirque. He paused to chat up old clients with the practiced calm of a cardiologist, and placed his hand on the shoulder of new ones as if it were a benediction. “

Knowing that Mr. Scott will lead us to a fun time, we got excited when we heard of the new club “Kiss and Fly” that is opening soon and that he is set to work at. Located on 13th street between 9th Avenue and Washington….a surprising location choice considering the state of meatpacking these days. Or maybe the area is in for a revival? Everyone’s been so caught up in 1Oak and Touch news that this seems to have gone off the radar, which is actually a sign that it may be decent. Only time will tell. Until then, stay tuned for more info on Kiss and Fly.

Dannijo Jewelry

The LWALA benefit was last night at the Battery Park Gardens and we hear it was a success. The acroym stands for “Living With A Lifelong Ambition” and is a foundation that has been getting a lot of notice, especially after Natalie Portman started supporting. In this weeks’ issue of NY magazine, the lovely Ms. Portman was interviewed along with Dustin Hoffman to promote their new film “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium”. Here’s what she said:

What are you going to give this year? “One of my friends got his twin sister cooking classes, and she got him D.J. lessons. I thought that was pretty cool. Some friends of friends started this medical clinic in a village in Kenya, Lwala. They make beautiful jewelry that they sell at Lwala.org, and all of the proceeds go back to this medical clinic.”

The jewelry she is talking about is that of sisters Danielle and Jodi Synder (pictured above). Their company Dannijo jewels features semi-precious stone, handmade jewelry and accesories (though they claim “Confidence” as the “accessory of the season”). You can purchase off their website for unique holiday gifts that also support a good cause.

Gossip Girl…every character has a disorder show.

Sorry it’s has taken me so long to post on last night’s episode.  I think part of the reason I put it off is because I though it was kindof boring.  It was their Thanksgiving episode complete with flashbacks from the previous year.  However, Chuck didn’t even make an apperance and most of the episode focused around the “adults” which is always lame.  So anyway, not my favorite episode but watch-worthy as always, here’s what I have to say:

This was the episode when everyone’s habitual “disorders” were highlighted.  First, they picked the wrong actress to have the “alcohol problem”.  Blake Lively sucks at portraying a drunk highschooler…maybe it’s because she looks like she’s 27.  On to the next disorder, Blair’s bulimia.  I really just love Leighton….she maybe inexperienced on all things marijuana but the girl knows how to binge!  Then of course Nate’s bang’s father OD’d on some pills, and there was even the subtle suggestion that Lily (Serena’s mom)  had an alcohol abuse problem.  While it may seem like they are searching for material by giving everyone some kind of disorder…I am smart enough to know that this is how real life is and therefore, I’ll buy it.

Everytime I see Allison I hate her more and more.  Seriously, you just LEFT your husband and family and are upset that he shared an innocent kiss with someone he cares about?  Also she was in what I think was a Rebecca Taylor dress which is very unfitting if they really have no money.  Or maybe it is, a woman that leaves her family probably doesn’t care about spending $500 on a dress even though they are living in an apartment in DUMBO.  Nothing more I really want to comment on…was ho hum throughout the episode.  Excited for next week when the focus will be off the gay adults and it seems clothing will be optional.

Update

Curbed went inside the museum this morning and actually took some good photos.  We like the john.

The New “NEW” Museum

[Photo from Racked]

Last night was quite eventful.  First there was the party to celebrate the opening of the new Fortunoff store (pictured below).  Dior celebrated the 60th anniversary of the House of Dior at their store, Hermes on Wall street hosted a cocktail party, and the charitable folks over at Operation Smile had Socialista rented out for the evening.  But the big event of the night was the debut of the “New Museum” on Bowery.  The New Museum of Contemporary Art is a seven-story structure designed by Tokyo-based architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa.  Located between Stanton and Rivington Streets it is the first art museum ever constructed from the ground up in downtown Manhattan.  Not officially open to the public until December 1st, several lucky New Yorkers got a sneak peak at last night’s “Calvin Klein Collection’s ‘First Look’ of the new museum” event.

Racked solved the case of the mysterious billboard on Houston and Lafayette (pictured above).  It was of course, just a clever marketing scheme by the New Museum…now we know just how clever: They chose a Calvin Klien Ad to paint on….very fitting considering the designer hosted the first event there.

[the new Fortunoff store, from the NY Times]

Margherita Missoni “Over” New York

[photo from PatrickMcMullan]

So far, things are looking up in Gotham city. The MTA found some money lying around, which should calm people’s fears of a fare hike down for another year, Broadway is BACK! which means we can continue to make a small fortune off tourist’s love of entertainment once again, and the Rockefeller Christmas tree is SPECTACULAR! (and eco-friendly!)…though we have yet to see, no one could PAY us to go close to that midtown vicinity last night. With all the good going on in our city, there had to be something off. There’s always something. Today’s “something” has to do with one of our favorites, Margherita Missoni.

Margherita is of course the famous socialite from Italy, and heir to the Missoni fashion empire (and a fashion stylist herself). Over the last four years she has paved her way into the hearts of many a New Yorker, and now, we fear she is done with us. Last night at the Snowflake Ball to benefit UNICEF, Miss Missoni told NY Mag that “I’m not in love with New York right now,” she said. “I’m thinking of moving back to Europe. I’m not sure if I’ll go back to Italy. Maybe London or Paris. I long to be back in Europe.” Sad. Not only is she stylish and hip, she’s also nice….here she is pictured above on the right with Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos at the “Wrap 2 Rap” charity event weeks ago where she helped wrap presents for New York foster children. Thank god we will always have the Tins.

The History of a Night Club, no Big Secret After All

Funny thing, the history of a nightclub….Just when you thought you found your spot, the place that you knew all the doormen by name and you always got a VIP table, they go and leave you. The question we are here to ask you though is does a nightclub ever truly end? Today we are here to present the rather interesting case of the space formally known as Float at 240 W 52nd St. Here goes:

[Temple aka T-bar]

You see Jeffrey Beers designed the space and was one of the original owners of Float, the club that had a large following and impressive run. Then comes along Muhamet Nikezi, Nick Nezaj, and Jimmy Celaj who together decide to dump millions into the space to open up Temple Club, which later on they try and revamp as T Bar (pictured above). Thus MGN LLC is formed.

Now comes the fun part. For months, people have been talking about this new club named “Touch” opening up in the old float space. The owners have yet to come forward, though many have claimed millions of dollars have been dumped into the joint to resurrect it. Some are stating upwards of $8 million dollars. They are hoping to bring back the nightlife to the Times Square Area, hoping to compete with 1Oak to “change the face of nightlife”, hoping you’ll go there for New Years, and are opening TOMORROW. Well secret no more. After some digging we sniffed out that the “joint owners” are really know more than the ‘T’ loving MGN LLC group from earlier. Here’s how we know…the domain registrant of their website touchnewyorkcity.com is the same as their old website one for temple/t bar (tnewyorkcity.com)….the guy Muhamet Nikezi is the administrative contact (same owner). Here is the info for touchnewyorkcity.com:

Domain Name: TOUCHNEWYORKCITY.COM
Created on: 11-JUN-07
Expires on: 11-JUN-09
Last Updated on: 20-AUG-07
Administrative, Technical Contact:
Nikezi, Muhamet gavin@tnewyorkcity.com
MGN LLC
240 West 52nd St.
New York, NY 10017
US
212.489.7656 ext. 15
212.489.7656 ext. 15

Now compare that to Temple and T’s website registration information:

tnewyorkcity.com
Registrant:
Muhamet Nikezi

Temple
240 West 52 St
New York, NY 10019
US
917-402-7102

Domain Name: tnewyorkcity.com

Even the PHONE NUMBERS and extensions are the same as T!

We recently just called and spoke with “Gavin” (who also use to be involved with Temple/T) who offered us a “no-can-do” attitude when we pressed for the names of the owners. So why the secrecy?? Maybe they are taking the cue from Cafe Bari’s Upstairs and are realizing how people take to that sort of thing. Or maybe because Temple and T were a bomb, they don’t want to stress their past track record?

Their official press release states that “After a multimillion-dollar renovation by a top team of seasoned industry veterans, Touch nightclub and event space is primed to open November 15, 2007. It seems this time they have some bigger players involved in the design, sound, and lighting….but can an old dog really learn new tricks? We shall see tomorrow night when John Legend, Wyclef Jean and May Anderson will celebrate the wrap of “The Source” starring Francesca Cecil.

Be & D

[photo from Purseblog]

So all this talk about handbags got me thinking about how I haven’t ever mentioned my favorite clutch desiger, Be & D.  Created by Be Inthavong (a former monk from Laos) and Steve Dumain (ex-screenwriter from upstate NY).  Launched out of their loft in Greenpoint, Brooklyn in 2004 the line is distinguished by exotic skins, rock chic metal studs, and custom hardware; and immediately took hold with fashion insiders and celebrities.  Now we hear they are debuting a new art-and architecutre-inspired bag collection based on works by Klimt, Miro, O’Keeffee and others; as well as a new e-commerce site, set to go live December 1st.

The Fashion Informer sat down with Be and Steve to get the low down on the really intimate stuff (from everything to what hair products they’re using to what they would as God if they ever meet him to here).  I will tell you one thing, I thank God for the black clutch I scored from their line over a year ago.  This thing has been thrown down steps, across rooms, and on bathroom floors and is still as shiny and sturdy as the first day I used it.  Check out their website for the latest in all things Be & D.  I also just found out about this sample sale going on today and tomorrow.  Go here for details.

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