Star Voguers Hit Runway and Dazzle Aficionados

For vogue-ing fans in Los Angeles, this was the summer of our discontent. The East Coast dance craze never found a home here. Or a house.

Houses are groups of voguers under the leadership of a fashion designer usually, like “House of Chanel” or “House of Patricia Fields.” In New York, there are dozens of houses. On the runways in Paris and Milan, vogue-ing is the ne plus ultra touch that has made the collections of Jean-Paul Gaultier, Thierry Mugler and Patrick Kelly something to watch. Voguers spin, dip, dance, pose, sneer, whirl down runways, wearing the latest designs.

Vogue-ing hit Los Angeles in early July, and, by August, there must have been about six people who still wanted to learn how to vogue. By September, there appeared to be two: Club owners April La Rue and Christian Farrow still featured vogue-ing at the Love Machine.

Is vogue-ing dead in Los Angeles? Is Los Angeles not cool? Not fashionable?

“Vogue, vogue, vogue, vogue,” the crowd in the VIP mezzanine of the Hollywood Palladium was shouting at the empty stage Saturday night. Rock impresario Malcolm McLaren had gathered up some of Europe’s and New York’s top voguers to perform his new album, “Waltz Darling.”

The event, a benefit for the Rainforest Foundation, featured the fashions of L.A. designers Michele Lamy, Squarewear, Richard Tyler, Modern Objects, Rozae, Body Glove and Pepito Albert. It was nearly sold out. The crowd, about 5,000, was dying to see how the professionals do it.

How do they do it?

Well. And certainly better than anything we’ve seen in Los Angeles so far. Star voguer Willy Ninja left the VIP mezzanine screaming for more. The screamers included Madonna, Billy Idol, actors Billy Wirth and Steve Antin, the Fashion Patrol (fashion photographers Matthew Rolston and Paul Jasmin commenting on each and every ensemble), designers Jocelyn Winship, Diana Hammro and Jef Huereque, restaurateur Mario Tamayo, stylist to the stars Raymond Lee, and make-up maven Gale Hayman.