Armani’s Post-’Quixote’ Blow-Out Is Don to a T
Looking for a taste of la dolce vita ? Never turn down an Emporio Armani party.
It was the sweet life and then some for ballet buffs on Tuesday night following the premiere at Segerstrom Hall of American Ballet Theatre’s “Don Quixote.”
Joining principal dancers such as Cynthia Harvey and Wes Chapman, about 300 guests tipped tulips of fizzing Le-Groppa champagne, dived into a melange of pastas, pizzas and grilled veggies, and then converged on a dessert bar to savor everything from tiny glazed cakes sporting the E.A. monogram to strawberries and zabaglione arrayed in a chocolate box tied with a gold ribbon.
“Go ahead, live it up,” a male guest said to one waist-conscious dessert lover. “You only live once.”
When guests weren’t dining in the rag emporium’s contiguous
Armani Express restaurant, they were cruising the racks of the South Coast Plaza store or boogeying to the sounds of a Brazilian band (set up where the store’s shoes and jeans are usually hawked. “We’re the real thing from Rio de Janiero,” chirped a songstress. “Aye yi yi!”)
Guests who partied late--the bash didn’t die until 2 a.m.--got to watch ABT dancers form a conga line and execute a sensual lambada. (South Coast Plaza will never be the same.)
Savvy guests spotted actress/model Joanna Pacula, whose patrician looks have graced more Mirabella fashion magazine covers than any other model’s. Another of Pacula’s claims to fame was a show she did for Armani couture in Rome a while back.
“Giorgio Armani chose Joanna as the woman who most typifies the Armani look,” said Wanda McDaniel, a marketing executive with the Milan-based fashion house.
“We did a fashion show and I had to walk down the Spanish Steps in front of 2,000 people,” Pacula said with a shiver. “I was petrified.”
Emporio Armani didn’t miss the chance to do some merchandising during the fest. About 20 salespeople were on hand and cash registers were glowing. But nobody seemed to notice. Everybody wanted to dine or schmooze with the dancers.
Armani executive Nancy Lucas took a minute to chat about the look for spring: “Sheer dresses, short skirts and shorts for women and linen suits for men,” she said.
Added McDaniel, noting a glitzed-out hot pink blazer in the store window: “Notice that the playful pink blazer is paired with a denim skirt. We’re taking what were thought to be precious parts of a wardrobe and pairing them with something casual.”
McDaniel says Orange County can count on Emporio Armani becoming involved on a regular basis with the arts. “In New York, Giorgio Armani throws parties for cultural groups. And we plan to do it here. Armani loves ballet and opera.”
REVIEW: “Don Quixote.” F1
