When the night begins with a screening of The September Issue and ends with a summer blowout bash including champers, barbecue, and cotton candy, it’s one of those few and far between iconic New York City summer nights.
Modelinia began the evening at the Bryant Park Hotel, ensconced with a bevy of bloggers and fashion writers, for a viewing of the much talked about documentary. R.J. Cutler, fresh off his monumental premiere at the Museum of Modern Art the night before, stopped in to intro the film. “People talk about a fly on a wall?” said R.J. “I don’t believe it. I want to be a person that everyone at Vogue is comfortable with. We spend time and get to know each other, and over time we gain their trust. I dare say they were sorry to see us go.”
As we predicted, there was no lack of models in the film. To count would have been endless, but three highlights came from Coco Rocha, Raquel Zimmermann, and Caroline Trentini. And there’s even a comment about the influence that models have on celebrities. “What the supermodels did is they trained a generation of celebrities to want to be supermodels.” Too true.
While we don’t want to give away too much, you’ll see Coco at Jean Paul Gaultier’s studio in Paris, Raquel suffering in couture corsets while dying for a pie, and Caroline exhibiting her masterful jumping known all too well. The editorial with Caroline included cameraman Bob Richman, who earns a bit of disapproval from Anna on his weight, but Grace refuses to have it retouched. “It’s enough that the models are perfect,” she said.
As a whole, The September Issue is a masterful piece of art, which can be appreciated by even those not in the fashion industry. Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington let the cameras see it all—from raw emotions and attachments to editorials, even their day-to-day life: breakfast with Bee Shaffer, and a glimpse inside Grace’s apartment, decorated with her modeling pictures.
Once we recovered from the astonishing film, it was off to the Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers for an overload of pink, thanks to Charlotte Ronson’s bash for her new JCPenney line. In the mix of editors like Valerie Boster and Mickey Boardman, and celebrities Mischa Barton and Hilary Duff, we spotted High Heel Boot Camp grad Ataui Deng enjoying the pink cotton candy, and Ronson front-row fixtures Kemp Muhl with boyfriend Sean Lennon. A pink grill served up mini burgers in the form of turkey, lamb, or beef, as well as an entire Southern menu: corn fritters, fried chicken, and mac & cheese. Pair that with a perfect evening at the cinema, tunes from Mark Ronson and Samantha Ronson, a stunning view, and it was an amazing summer night.
