With the Shops at Target selling dresses inspired by Laure Heriard Dubreuil's lust-inducing closet—all at less than $50—the talk at last night's preview party was naturally about clothes. "I'm totally trying to get in the spring mood," said Theophilus London, who was one of the performers in a lineup that included a surprise set by Wilson Phillips. London was wearing a tropical fish-print Reyn Spooner shirt and a "Sade" logo hat in keeping with Target's bargain ethos: He bought it for $2 in San Francisco on a recent trip. Emma Roberts walked the red carpet in a cardigan sweater by The Webster for Target, Heriard Dubreuil's shop-in-shop. "It's always fun to inhabit the wardrobe of a character in a movie," said the actress, whose next film is Adult World. "I like to add some of my own pieces too, to make it come to life." January Jones knows a thing or two about character development. Her Betty Draper on Mad Men recently experienced a weight gain courtesy of prosthetics and a real-life pregnancy. "She's not fat, just fuller, to be clear," Jones told Style.com. "I was very nervous about the reaction, not because she gained weight, but that she look realistic." She looked every inch the off-duty starlet last night. "I'm wearing Madewell, J.Crew, Chanel, and Jimmy Choo," she said. "I dress myself."—Bee-Shyuan Chang
Posted 2 weeks 6 days ago - 05/02/12 - Full Story

"For those of you who don't know how to pronounce our slogan, it goes like this: You. Never. Leave. Parsons," Simon Collins, the dean of the School of Fashion, told the crowd at Pier 60 last night. Collins' words turned out to be the theme of the school's annual benefit, with plenty of alums returning for the event, including guest speaker Narciso Rodriguez, Chris Benz, Ashleigh Verrier, and the evening's honoree, Donna Karan. "I didn't graduate Parsons, actually," said Karan, as she accepted her award. "I also failed draping, which I'm sure all of you know." Turns out, she wasn't the only one who struggled during her time at the university: "Some of our designers, when they were at school, like Narciso Rodriguez and Lisa Mayock, they weren't very popular; people didn't actually like their work," revealed Collins. The benefit's student show certainly turned a few heads. Checking out Menswear Designer of the Year Christy Jeehyun Lee's hefty coats and oversize briefcases, Number:Lab designer Luis Fernandez said, "I need to find some of these kids, but I bet they don't come at intern prices anymore."—Kristin Studeman
Posted 2 weeks 6 days ago - 05/02/12 - Full Story

It wasn't only pundits getting into the election spirit last night. At the Top of the Standard, where Downtown for Democracy and OHWOW Gallery were celebrating the Pocket Guide to Politics launch, politics was indeed the hot topic. There was even a table laid out for voter registration. "It's so easy to register," Girls' Lena Dunham told Style.com. "There's really no excuse." Just moments earlier, Dunham's close friend and one of the evening's hosts Audrey Gelman took the mike to champion voter activism. Later, the Virgins banged out a couple songs on a baby grand piano. It wasn't your usual indie band music, but the guests didn't seem to mind. Mos Def, who took time to throw a couple thumbs up for the camera with Terry Richardson, and Mia Wasikowska, in a printed midriff-baring bustier top, hung out late into the night.—Bee-Shyuan Chang
Posted 2 weeks 6 days ago - 05/02/12 - Full Story

—Marina Larroude
Posted 2 weeks 6 days ago - 05/02/12 - Full Story

Posted 3 weeks 1 day ago - 04/30/12 - Full Story

—Jessica Minkoff
Posted 3 weeks 1 day ago - 04/30/12 - Full Story

—Nicole Phelps
Posted 3 weeks 1 day ago - 04/30/12 - Full Story

"Anyone who can raise this kind of awareness and make me know so much about blood cancer is a big deal," Vera Wang said last night at the sixth annual DKMS Linked Against Blood Cancer Gala. The designer was talking about her friend and the benefit's host, Katharina Harf. "I've been coming to this thing for years because it's such a good cause," Wang went on. "I'd be happy to donate blood, but I'm not sure they'd be able to use it." The cause, and Harf's hard efforts, lured an impressive group to Cipriani Wall Street—Carolyn Murphy, Anja Rubik, Arizona Muse, and the evening's emcee, Nate Berkus, included. (At one point, Kate Moss even made an appearance via video feed to promote her limited-edition Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick, a bid to "kiss blood cancer goodbye." "Is she not like the coolest person ever?" Berkus asked the crowd. "Ever.") Heidi Klum, who was being honored along with Alejandro Santo Domingo, might have had something to do with the good-looking turnout, too. "I've never met her before—I'm really excited," Dakota Fanning told Style.com before dinner. "I'm a fan and a Project Runway fan; I guess I'm just an overall Heidi Klum fan." Nelly and Ashanti, who arrived together, also seemed hot for Heidi. "I was going to say she's gorgeous, but I didn't want to say it first," said Nelly, turning to Ashanti. "Oh, watch it! She's gorgeous, but I don't know if I would do the nude thing," the songstress said, referring to Klum's latest Allure spread. "I'll leave that to the high fashion models." It was the supermodel who lifted spirits after the crowd watched an emotional first meeting between 6-year-old blood cancer survivor Gregory Bibb and his mother, and the bone marrow donor, Katelyn D'Entremont, who saved his life. "What we all witnessed here today on the stage was very, very special. You see these kinds of video clips on television, but when you actually see it live for the first time, it really changes things," said Klum. "I met Katie and thought, I want to do something fun with her. I said, 'The only thing I can really do for you is give you a makeover—I want to see you strut your stuff!' "—Kristin Studeman
Posted 3 weeks 4 days ago - 04/27/12 - Full Story

Posted 3 weeks 4 days ago - 04/27/12 - Full Story

"It's easy to raise money for the hospital," Tory Burch told Style.com last night during cocktail hour at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center's fifth annual spring ball. The designer, a gala chairman along with Muffie Potter Aston, Jamie Tisch, and Caryn Zucker, wasn't lying. The evening, which was sponsored by Gucci, raised $1.8 million for a gene-targeted cell therapy program for pediatric-resistant leukemia. During dinner, auctioneer Jamie Niven asked for $50,000 donations and six hands shot up. "This is good," he said. "That's $300,000 more than we had a minute ago." Matchbox Twenty's Rob Thomas followed Niven onto the stage for a trio of songs that in one way or another touched on his mother's cancer. "Something about an acoustic three-piece makes you want to play the saddest shit you know," he said. But he ended on an up note, singing his hit "Lonely No More," and when DJ D-Nice took over, there was no going lonely on the packed dance floor.—Nicole Phelps
Posted 3 weeks 5 days ago - 04/26/12 - Full Story

—Brittany Adams
Posted 3 weeks 5 days ago - 04/26/12 - Full Story

If the paparazzi was especially thick at Chanel's Tribeca Film Festival dinner last night at the Odeon, blame new couple Kanye West and Kim Kardashian. KK said she donned double Cs for the occasion and professed deep admiration for Coco Chanel. "As a businesswoman, I love her," Kardashian said. "When we visited her apartment in Paris, we heard about how she sold her name, and how during the war she found the guy she sold it to and bought it back. She's an inspiration."Not that the room lacked for celebrity wattage. Robert De Niro, co-founder of the festival, held court at one table, and Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber were the center of attention at another. Also in attendance: Leelee Sobieski (a festival juror), Camilla Belle, Val Kilmer, and Kellan Lutz, as well as a roster of art stars. The annual dinner celebrates the festival's artist program—instead of statuettes, the winners will receive work from the likes of Kara Walker, Walton Ford, and Nathan Sawaya. Cindy Sherman donated an untitled double portrait from 1980. "I don't get to choose who it goes to," she said, "but we're rooting for the Ethiopians." The Ethiopians in question are two teenage track hopefuls who star in director Jerry Rothwell's documentary Town of Runners. "Win a Cindy Sherman?" said Jon Patricof, the festival's president and COO, who professed to having a few favorite docs of his own. "It kind of makes you wish you took up filmmaking, no?"—Nicole Phelps
Posted 3 weeks 6 days ago - 04/25/12 - Full Story

—Marina Larroude
Posted 3 weeks 6 days ago - 04/25/12 - Full Story

"I'm looking at the cardboard cutout over there and thinking that's Bill," Gayle King said last night at the Waldorf Astoria, where the legendary Bill Cunningham was being honored with the Carnegie Hall Medal of Excellence. "I feel stupid with two Os. I was thinking, 'Wow, he's taking pictures at his own party.' " In fact, that's exactly what the real Bill Cunningham was busy doing. Surrounded by some of his favorite subjects, including Sarah Jessica Parker, Linda Fargo, Mercedes Bass, and Annette de la Renta (all of whom had come "dressed for Bill"), the shutterbug snapped away with his camera. "Bill is like a war photographer. If he's talking to you and sees something going on, he'll leave mid-sentence," Paper's Kim Hastreiter told Style.com. "Bill used to run after me on the street and photograph me because I used to dress crazy back in 1976 and we just became friends," Hastreiter went on. "Then one time the photo ended up in The New York Times—I remember I was wearing this coat made out of a Hudson's Bay blanket." Many ladies last night were musing over the thrill of their first Bill photo: "There's really nothing like the first time; you can't compare anything to that," said Alexandra Lebenthal. When Cunningham finally took the stage, the crowd was on its feet applauding him. "Well, what can one say?" said Cunningham. As it turned out, the usually taciturn photographer had plenty to say, surprising his audience with a nearly 20-minute acceptance speech. "You know, 30 years ago I used to photograph women going to lunch at Le Cirque and before that it was at the Colony restaurant, and now I jump out of bed in the morning and I rush down to Fifth Avenue to photograph women going to work," he said. "Between 8:30 and 9:30 is fabulous!" After the tenor Vittorio Grigolo serenaded the audience, the tireless Cunningham went back to work with his camera in hand. "He's a visionary," said Hastreiter. "And when you're a visionary, you never stop doing what you do."—Kristin Studeman
Posted 4 weeks 15 hours ago - 04/24/12 - Full Story

Posted 4 weeks 1 day ago - 04/23/12 - Full Story