Koreatown Cool

There was something unusual about the bar at fashion designer Cliff Fong’s recent cocktail party: The server was offering only clear alcohols--first shaking white cosmos and caipiroskas (like caipirinhas, but made with vodka instead of cachaca), then pouring Pol Roget Champagne and an unusual Chateauneuf-du-Pape white wine. Considering the scene at the late-night affair--a refined mix of fashion and art aficionados--you’d think the clear cavalcade was some sort of conceptual highbrow statement.

Well, maybe not so much. “Things spill,” Fong shrugged, glancing at his 19th century carpets.

Much like his line, Chatav Ectabit--a handmade, unisex collection carried at Maxfield on Melrose and Colette in Paris--the designer’s Koreatown condo is immaculate, subtle and stylish. With its magnificent views of downtown L.A.’s twinkling cityscape, the 3,000-square-foot space in a 1926 French Normandy-style building provides a picture-perfect backdrop for the salon-style gatherings Fong often hosts. “This feels like a Parisian apartment in a way,” said Lisa Overduin of Hollywood’s Overduin and Kite gallery.

By 10 p.m., the party was in full, perfectly understated swing. Amid low lighting and hip music--Alex Gopher, Richard X--guests such as Polish model Malgosia Bela and jewelry designer Lynn Ban (who owns one of the largest collections of vintage couture in the country) were talking art. The pieces stirring up conversation: a Paul Klee above the fireplace, a sculptural pile of gray bricks by William Anastasi in the corner and a Warhol, Fong said, pointing to a small drawing on the living room wall.

Also milling about were photographer Mark Segal, who was about to jet off to Paris for French Vogue; jeweler Bill Hermsen, whom Fong met at a party for Jade Jagger; and Fong’s design partner, Sandy Dalal (the two got to know each other at an event thrown by former Dior Homme designer Hedi Slimane and, in 2003, decided to launch their own label). “Everybody wants to be introduced by Cliff,” said Bela, adding that she became instant friends with Fong in Paris in 1999 “over three bottles of red wine and six desserts.”

All the while, Fong’s purebred Great Dane, an impeccably mannered rescue dog named Ox, sniffed the air with interest, as servers offered hors d’oeuvres--melt-in-your-mouth crab cakes with aioli, beef satay skewers and delicate zucchini fritters--fresh from Joan’s on Third.

As midnight approached and guests started to say goodbye, Fong contemplated moving the party to a nearby bar to keep the festivities going. “If I sense that things are waning, sometimes we will all take a walk down to this special little place I know, R Bar, and drink there,” he said. “You can only get in if you know the password.” But this time, he decided to call it a night, perhaps halted by one too many caipiroskas.

In fact, for anyone who may have over-imbibed, the expert host has you covered. Fong walked down the hallway to a bathroom cabinet, revealing a full range of Kiehl’s products, a new toothbrush and even fresh contact-lens solution. “My guest room and guest bathroom are always fully stocked,” he said. *

--

Fong’s White Cosmo

Serves 1

1 ounce premium- brand vodka

1/2 ounce Cointreau

1 ounce fresh lime juice

1 ounce white cranberry juice

1/2 slice lime, for garnish

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a highball glass. Garnish with lime slice.

Cliff’s Notes: “I don’t like martini glasses because they are too messy and feel a little feminine. But I do like the really tiny Asian limes with thin skins. They are so much prettier to cut up.”