Ryan Seacrest is airing live
Rev up your shopping engines. Divine Design, the holiday bazaar where you can empty your wallets for a good cause -- Project Angel Food, which provides daily meals to people in Los Angeles County living with HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses -- is back. The annual event is open at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, with discounts of 50% or more off housewares and clothing items ranging from a $45,000 diamond and sapphire Maurice Lacroix watch to $2.50 Hello Kitty pink foam toe separators (used during the polish phase of a pedicure, in case you were wondering).
The bargains were bountiful at the kickoff gala Wednesday night, but the scene was curiously low-wattage. Last year’s Man of Style honoree was Sean “P. Diddy” Combs; this year’s was Ryan Seacrest, the DJ-turned Dick Clark heir apparent, turned ... fashion designer? Yes, Seacrest has his own T-shirt label, the R Line, and the graffiti-spattered and screen-printed designs were modeled for the dinner crowd during a runway show.
In the past, the gala has been held in a tent adjacent to the bonanza of boutiques, and cocktails and shopping occurred before the auction and the awards ceremony. But this year, guests sat inside the hangar sipping vodka martinis, nibbling on grilled salmon and listening to actor Eric McCormack beg for silent auction bids while the goods lay in wait around them. Kimberly Williams-Paisley of ABC’s “According to Jim” arrived late, just as she was being called to the podium to complete her announcing duties. It was a far cry from the 2004 gala, when Gray Davis mixed it up with Arianna Huffington and Woman of Style honoree Jessica Lange.
It’s true, the event was scaled back, said Project Angel Food Executive Director John Gile, partially for financial reasons. About 1,600 guests were invited last year compared to this year’s 500. “Part of it is trying to properly convey the times we are living in, with floods, hurricanes and war,” he said. As for the celebrity turnout, “This year we looked to people who really volunteer and have a connection to the organization.”
It didn’t help that the event followed a similar fashion fundraiser (last month’s Seventh on Sale) in New York chaired by Vogue Editor in Chief Anna Wintour. Held for the first time in more than a decade, that event, which benefits the Council of Fashion Designers of America/Vogue AIDS Fund, made it difficult to get donations for the West Coast event, Gile said. (Some of those who did contribute to Divine Design include Trina Turk, Nicole Miller, Michael Stars, Chip and Pepper, Cynthia Vincent, L.A. Eyeworks and Ralph Lauren.)
There may be charity fatigue among donors, Gile said, “but there is no fatigue with our volunteers. We have 600 showing up and a great turnout from our corporate sponsors, and we expect to meet or exceed our numbers from last year.”
Last year, Divine Design made a net profit of $890,000. The event continues at Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Air Center today through Monday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. For more information, log on to www.divinedesign.org.
New York Paper
to hit L.A.’s streets
Paper magazine, New York City’s South-of-14th street style bible, is headed to L.A. next week, inviting photographers, designers, nightlife personalities, artists and musicians to celebrate the yin-yang relationship of the East and West coasts. Co-editors and publishers Kim Hastreiter and David Hershkovits are setting up shop Wednesday in a storefront on Melrose Avenue and La Brea for a week of cultural high jinks open to the public. Fashion wrestling (yes, designer-clad wrestlers will hit the mat), DJs, musical performances, gallery exhibits and photo shoots are promised.
Things kick off Wednesday at noon with drag queen aerobics, followed by an appearance by artist and designer Bettina Hubby, who will revitalize guests’ ripped and stained clothing on the spot. At 4 p.m., Paper’s Mickey Boardman will host a chat with Phyllis Diller. On Thursday at 6:30 p.m. the panel “L.A. No Brow: The Ascension of Transgression” will be moderated by Paper senior editor Carlo McCormick with artists Shepard Fairey, Camille Rose Garcia, Mr. Cartoon, Jeff Burton and others.
Daily art exhibits will feature the work of Alexandra Grant, Matty Byloos, Karen Kimmel and others. And, of course, there will be plenty of cocktails and parties every night.
Events are scheduled from noon to midnight Wednesday through Sunday at 7018 Melrose Ave. near La Brea. The week will culminate in a special L.A. issue created on-site to be published in February 2006. For more information on Paper Project in L.A., go to www.papermag.com/paper _in_la or call (914) 434-4438.
‘Runway’ glossy is on the runway
Can’t get enough of the reality TV show “Project Runway”? Elle magazine is publishing the first of two issues of “Project Runway” magazine to coincide with the Bravo series’ second season, which begins Wednesday at 10 p.m. Distributed as a gift-with-purchase through Banana Republic stores, the magazine will profile cast members past and present and dish on all their catfights. Look for such features as: “Vintage Whine: Season One Designers on Why They, and Not Jay McCarroll, Really Should Have Won.”
Surfing to success with design award
And finally, Trovata, the Orange County-based menswear collective, won the Council of Fashion Designers of America/Vogue Fashion Fund Award earlier this month, which includes $200,000 and a year’s worth of business mentorship for surfers-turned-designers Sam Shipley, Josia Lamberto-Egan, John Whitledge and Jeff Halmos.
