Life of the Party
Kelly Wearstler and Brad Korzen have had four birthday parties for their son, Oliver, who is 4 1/2 months old. “We like to have a good time,” Korzen says.
Wearstler, who is becoming as well known for her party acumen as she is for her interior design abilities, has a formula of sorts. “You need good people, good music and good food, but not heavy stuff that will weigh people down and make them tired and want to go home,” she says.
Oliver’s last party was in France. “We couldn’t find any cake or even a cupcake,” Korzen says. “So we bought a huge loaf of bread and stuck candles in it.”
Oliver also will be in his parents’ wedding, the guest list for which is reportedly spinning out of control. Wearstler and Korzen are not ones to stand too firmly on formality. “If they like you, they include you,” says children’s clothing designer Stacey Zinman, one of Wearstler’s friends. “They are two of the sweetest people you will ever meet.”
And two of the most game, since scant days before her wedding Wearstler seems not the least bit interested in curbing her impulse to throw people together. What you see in the following pages is not the rehearsal dinner; it’s not even one of the official wedding week parties. No, the stylish gathering
in the bar of Santa Monica’s Viceroy Hotel is vintage Kelly Wearstler and an en pointe example of a new trend in entertaining: a last-minute, casual gathering.
Five days before her wedding?
She laughs. “You know, I really didn’t think the wedding would be as complicated as it’s turned out to be. It’s a real production.” The social doyenne in the making laughs at her own naivete. “Sometimes I wonder if we should have eloped.”
Wearstler is an effortless socializer, introducing people, building conversational bridges and moving on as people gel. She grew up in Myrtle Beach, S.C., which may have something to do with the “get-on-the-bus” spirit that her gatherings have. “It was a really quaint little town when I lived there,” she says of the now-teeming East Coast resort. “We used to have beach parties and keg parties all the time.” Which may be why calling her parties and her circle “chic” is doing them a disservice. They’re more than chic; they’re fun. And Wearstler seems to know that fun is what makes people want to come back. What’s more, she’s beautiful and petite, with a mane of thick auburn hair and cheekbones you could cut ice on. Korzen, in turn, is lean and pale in that Romantic Hero way, with an equally impressive mop of curly brown hair.
Hate them yet? We’re just getting started.
At 38, real estate developer Korzen has created a series of smart boutique hotels, including the Viceroy, the Avalon and Maison 140 in Beverly Hills, and Estrella in Palm Springs. He is also currently developing the Mobil Oil property downtown as a living/work loft space. So far he has cultivated a reputation for creating design-sensitive projects that also make money. At 33, Wearstler heads up KWID (Kelly Wearstler Interior Design), a company whose projects have included the interiors of Korzen’s hotels and a handful of apartment buildings. Her work--most simply described as eclectic--has received international attention. She also has a book coming out this spring from Regan Books called “Unexpected Style.”
The two are renovating and restoring a modernist home in Trousdale Estates that they bought from the original owner. “It hasn’t been touched since 1956,” Wearstler says. “We were so lucky.”
Not bad for two people who arrived here--he’s from Chicago, she was living in New York--just eight years ago. They met when Korzen hired her to do the interior design for his house. “We were friends first,” he says.
Wearstler is sitting on a sofa in the lobby of the Viceroy. Seated next to her is Zinman, owner of the Bloomlove children’s clothing line, who is holding forth on how Wearstler helped her start her business. “You know, nobody ever thought I could do anything,” says Zinman. “Kelly just opened her book and said, ‘Let’s see who can help.’ She’s that kind of person. And look at her!” she says with a laugh. Wearstler, who is deep in conversation with another friend and unaware that Zinman is remarking on her style, perks up and asks, “What are y’all laughing at?” She follows up with a query regarding whether her outfit, which includes a Merry Widow from Agent Provocateur (she pronounces it “Agent ProvokaTOOR”), is compromising her modesty.
She poses the question, however, in a much more direct way, which is unprintable in this magazine. The effect, though, is funny and endearing--someone with a bawdy sense of humor who is happy to laugh at herself. Korzen arrives at the party a little late, looks her over and says, “Darling, you look stunning.” Wearstler replies, “Thank yew, honey.” And Korzen runs off to take care of some hotel business.
These are two people who seem to feel no need to be glued at the hip, but over the course of the evening, whenever they do find themselves together, Korzen quietly takes Wearstler’s hand. Their social circle is drawn from business (him) and art, design and fashion circles (her). He is still close with friends from college (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) and law school (University of Miami), but tonight, says Wearstler, they have decided to invite “people we like and want to get to know better.”
Among those present: David McCauley and Natasha Esch, both of whom have their own interior design firms; architect Felix Pfeifle of Dean Larkin Design, who is also McCauley’s nephew; hairstylist Andy Lecompte, who is doing Wearstler’s hair for her wedding; Michael DiCarlo, who is an executive assistant to a producer; event producer Tony Schubert, who is producing the wedding; Gina Salerno, who sells real estate and is co-owner of MediaRiot PR; fashion designer Trina Turk, who hired Wearstler to design her Palm Springs store; and David Serrano, co-owner of the Downtown furniture store. Missing is a Hollywood contingent.
It’s an interesting choice of people in a town where success is often seen as a zero-sum game and Hollywood is assumed to be a part of that equation.
McCauley explains it this way: “When she gets something, I’m happy. When I get something, she’s happy, and we help each other. We all share resources. I don’t know why everyone thinks there’s not enough success to go around.” Esch met Wearstler at an Elle magazine event, where, she says, “I think we were the two youngest people there.” Says McCauley, “She’s not intimidated at all by other people’s success; she’s incredibly supportive.”
While one of Korzen’s best friends from college is a producer, he says, “Hollywood is really peripheral to our lives.”
And that may be the beginning of a sea change in the way Los Angeles is perceived both by the people who live here and the people who don’t. In the last century, conventional wisdom held that Hollywood was the whole point of Los Angeles. And while it remains a driving force in the city’s cultural, social and economic life, the city is gaining more and more respect as a breeding ground for important innovations in art, design, fashion, literature, technology and culture apart from the entertainment juggernaut. What else to make of two successful, attractive young people who don’t depend on Hollywood for their living or social life?
Salerno appears in the lobby wearing a hotel bathrobe to hoots and catcalls. “What’s with the bathrobe?” yells Pfeifle. “I’m freezing,” she yells back, but off comes the robe, revealing a show-stopping, up-to-here beaded gold dress. The crowd goes wild. “Oh, Gina, you look awesome!” exclaims Wearstler.
As the party dwindles, L.A.’s Smart Young Things gather on the sofa with Wearstler and Korzen in the middle. Everyone is clowning around, which leads to a situation that would be highly unlikely were the hostess one of L.A.’s social Old Guard--be it on the Westside or in San Marino.
Andy Lecompte is upside-down leaning over the sofa. “Andy!” Wearstler yells. “Turn around! How can we talk to you when you’re down there?”
Lecompte does as he’s instructed. Even hipster hostesses have limits.
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Styled by Bobette Cohen/Art Mix; grooming: Tena Bernard/Celestine; food stylist: Christine Masterson; prop stylist: Yolande Yorke-Edgell
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Resource Guide
Page 6: Roberto Cavalli trousers, $1,600, and blazer, $3,200, at Neiman Marcus, Beverly Hills, (310) 550-5900, with Kenneth Cole shirt, $78, at Kenneth Cole, West Hollywood, (310) 289-5085; Kangol hat from a selection at Fred Segal Hats, Santa Monica, (310) 393-2216, and from a selection at Urban Outfitters stores; Gucci glasses from a selection at Gucci, Beverly Hills, (310) 278-3451. Sunny yellow platter from a selection at Bloomingdale’s, Los Angeles, (310) 772-2100; Iittala “Teema” bread-and-butter saucer, $8, at Fitzsu Society, Los Angeles, (323) 655-1908; Joe Colombo glasses, $75 each, at OK, Los Angeles, (323) 653-3501; Annie glass emerald dish, $54, at Barneys New York, Beverly Hills, (310) 276-4400. Page 20: Agent Provocateur Princess corset, from a selection at Agent Provocateur, Los Angeles, (323) 653-0229; Hamish Morrow skirt, from a selection at Henri Bendel, New York, (212) 247-1100. Prada tie, $118, at Prada, Beverly Hills, (310) 385-5959. Page 21: Van Cleef & Arpels ring, from a selection at Van Cleef & Arpels, Beverly Hills, (310) 276-1161; martini glass with lapis silver stem, $50, at Gearys of Beverly Hills, (310) 273-4741. Page 22: Joe Colombo glass, $75, at OK. Page 23: Cristal Saint-Louis Omni tumbler, $65 each, at Gearys of Beverly Hills; Wirkkala “Dew Drops” glass coaster (part of a vintage set of 5 coasters, 2 bowls and 1 plate), $150, at OK. Sunny yellow platter from a selection at Bloomingdale’s; Iittala “Teema” bread-and-butter saucer, $8, at Fitzsu Society; Joe Colombo glasses, $75 each, at OK. Page 24: Christina Perrin gown, $1,240, at Christina Perrin, New York, (212) 997-4497. Van Cleef & Arpels earrings, from a selection at Van Cleef & Arpels. On Felix Pfeifle: Shanghai Tang jacket, $498, at Shanghai Tang, New York, (212) 888-0111, over Roberto Cavalli shirt, $650, at Neiman Marcus. Lloyd Klein jacket, $2,600, available by special order at www.lloydklein.com; Shanghai Tang scarf at Shanghai Tang. Page 25: Tuxedo jacket, $296, and pants, $180, at Trina Turk Boutique, Palm Springs, (760) 416-2856; Van Cleef & Arpels necklace from a selection at Van Cleef & Arpels. Dolce & Gabbana dress, $1,370, at Dolce & Gabbana, with Bianca Nero skirt, $319, at Alhambra, Seattle, (206) 621-9571; Fred Paris earrings, bracelet and ring from a selection at Fred Paris, Beverly Hills, (310) 278-3733. Lloyd Klein dress, $3,200, available by special order at www.lloydklein.com; Eric Javits hat from a selection at Neiman Marcus; Van Cleef & Arpels earrings from a selection at Van Cleef & Arpels; Aerobleu crystal martini glass, $32, at Barneys New York.
