July 2009: Editors' Blog: Wmagazine.com

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July 2009 Archives

Five minutes with Bravo's inside man

On his blog, on the Real Housewives reunion shows, and now, on his new Thursday late night talk show on Bravo, Andy Cohen gives voice to the shock and gall we all experience while watching Housewives, Millionaire Matchmaker and Rachel Zoe. What's especially fascinating is that Cohen, the SVP of Programming and Development at the network, is the very person responsible for Bravo's deliciously appalling reality lineup. He is both the man behind the curtain and the obsessive fan in the first row, and we had a few burning questions for him.

You're in front of the camera more and more now. Did you always want to be on air?
You know, originally I did. But then I kinda got sidelined by some amazing jobs behind the camera—I spent ten years at CBS, and then I was in charge of programming and development at Trio for five years, and then Lauren Zalaznick brought me with her to Bravo. This whole thing just happened so organically, with me just waxing unpoetic about pop culture on my blog and then hosting my online show and then doing the reunions.

Would you ever star in a reality show?
It depends what the show was. But I don't think so.

Cohen with the cast of the Real Housewives of New York.

What do you say when people complain that shows like Real Housewives are dumbing down culture and corroding society?
I don't pay it any mind. I know a lot of people who are smart and valid contributors to society who also happen to be fanatical about Flipping Out or Top Chef. Bravo has the most affluent, upscale, educated audience on cable TV.

OK, choose sides: Danielle versus Dina and Caroline?
Oh, I am not getting into that fight.

Kelly versus Bethenny?
No way.

Do you think at least think the feuds are accurately represented? Will you admit that certain people become victims of the editing, while others are great at manipulating it?
I don't subscribe to the theory of people being victims of editing or winning at it. Ultimately their true selves come out. We almost always wind up not using the first few weeks of any show we tape because the people are still so self-conscious and trying to control things, but then everyone's real selves find their ways.

In that case, is Tom Colicchio as lovable as he appears to be?
It depends on the time of day.

Please tell us that the camera subtracts ten pounds from Top Chef Masters host Kelly Choi.
No, that camera gives a pretty good characterization.

Who's your favorite New York Housewife?
It changes every minute but I do get a kick out of Ramona.

Favorite New Jersey Housewife?
Theresa puts a smile on my face. I mean, they all bring something different to the table. And then one of them flips the table over.

Photos courtesy Bravotv.com.

By Danielle Stein

July 31, 2009

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Five minutes with Isaac Mizrahi, gallerista

From the aisles of Target to Bravo's The Fashion Show, Isaac Mizrahi seems to have a finger in every pie—literally, now that he's announced he'll be selling baked goods on a new QVC show of his own this fall. The art world isn't immune to his charms, either. Recently Mizrahi teamed up with friend and gallery owner Julie Saul for his curatorial debut, the group show Summer Pictures, which is on view at the Julie Saul Gallery through September 12. We caught up with the fashion world's favorite mench to get the back story.

So now you're a curator?
I have a hard time using the term "curator"—the process felt more personal than that. I just wanted to put together a show based on things that inspire me, in this case the artists who have influenced me. I suggested the idea to Julie and then the exhibit just kind of came together.

Tell us a little about how you picked the artists.
It's a group of artists that I have collected or am influenced by. Like Lisa Sanditz, who demonstrates the "silver lining" quality, and Wayne Thiebaud whose use of irony really speaks to you. And I am just awed by Julie Sherman. My "Candy Store" collection for Spa 2010 was influenced by the colors in her work.

Julia Sherman canvas; Mizrahi's "Candy Store" collection.

What was the inspiration behind Summer Pictures? Is there a central theme?
I don't like themes, except in retrospect. If I could rename the show now I would call it "Silver Lining." The collection demonstrates a way of looking at things in a new light; colors, irony and happiness all in juxtaposition.

Did you have any great revelations along the way?
Well, there are great lessons to be learned about life from assembling a show. I learned a lot about the process of editing and setting a meaningful tone.

And finally, tell us how you're planning to spend your downtime the rest of this summer.
Cook way too much and eat way too much! I could never lose my lust for appetite. I actually never lose my passion for anything I do—it just builds and builds.

Issac's very own strawberry rhubarb pie.

Gallery photos: Helen Klisser During; pie photo via Isaac Mizrahi's blog

By Sara Gartman

July 30, 2009

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President Sarkozy loves his truffle-stuffed pasta

Parisian chef Eric Frechon is on a roll. Earlier this year, the 45-year-old earned his third Michelin star for his restaurant, Le Bristol, a few months after being awarded the legion d'honneur by Nicolas Sarkozy. (The French president, a regular at Le Bristol, is known to splurge on truffle-stuffed pasta). Frechon, who's run the Bristol's kitchen for 10 years, is known for a style of cooking that's technically skilled yet restrained. And the chef himself is discreet and rather shy. But with his brand new third star, his celebrity is on the rise. In September he'll open the Bristol's new restaurant, the less formal 114 Faubourg.

How does the third star change your life?
Besides the great emotion it procures at the beginning, it does not change much. I just do my best every day. But other people look at you differently.

Do you have fans?
Actually, I do. There is this guy in Belgium who did this blog about me. He sends me emails all the time. It's weird!

Is there a product you don't like?
Tofu, I deeply dislike tofu. You will never see it on my menu.

What have you got planned for 114 Faubourg?
It's basically a brasserie-rotisserie, but with a new concept that will offer diners the opportunity to choose their own cooking style. They can have their fish grilled one day, poached or fried the next day. It's a fun project where there will be a lot of surprises. It reminds me the days when I had my own bistro, ten years ago.

What bothers you most when you eat at a restaurant?
I hate it when people come to the table every two minutes. They want to please me, but with all the pressure I have, I like to be left alone to enjoy my dinner with my chérie.

By Chantal Goupil

July 30, 2009

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Paris

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A family, interrupted

Four years ago, award-winning documentary filmmakers Dana and Hart Perry experienced the unimaginable as parents. Evan, their 15-year-old son who suffered from bipolar disorder, committed suicide. To help them comprehend the experience of losing their eldest child, the Manhattan couple turned to what they knew best, documentary filmmaking. Working with family home videos and photos, they created the incredibly moving film Boy Interrupted, which had its debut at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. It airs on HBO on August 3. We spoke with Dana Perry.

Boy Interrupted is obviously extremely personal and very emotionally transparent. Did you, as parents, hope it would give you some closure?
I think attempting closure is something that's misguided for a suicide survivor because there will never be closure. It's such a profound loss that you can't even conceive of closure. But is making the film a way to begin to process the grief? Absolutely. I liken it often to an ocean full of tears, and what you have is a teaspoon. You can scoop a few spoonfuls at a time, and maybe you'll make some progress. I think that's really all we can ask for.

So this film, it's a little spoonful for you?
Absolutely. This has been a significant moment in my personal journey to try and find an identity beyond a suicide mom. I began to see myself as just "the mother of a suicide" and became totally consumed by that. But I know I have to be able to, at some point, come back to life.

Was there a point at which you consciously shifted from filming for family memory purposes to documenting Evan's struggle with bipolar disorder?
No, we never shot home movies for any other purpose than shooting home movies. We were filmmakers and we were just playing. There was never a shift when when we said, "We're going to document this child," because he seemed really well, especially the last four years.

At what point did you and Hart know that you wanted to make the film?
I started to do the interviews a few months after Evan's funeral. It's a little bit hard to remember, but I recall wanting to do something and talking to Hart about how no other family should have to go through what we're going through. The general impulse was, "Let's do something. I don't know what, but we have to do something."

Did you feel that people were judging you when you filmed Evan's funeral?
I know what you mean. After he died, we asked two family friends to film the funeral, just because it was something that was so strange and wrong and surreal. At that point, I wasn't sure if we were really making a movie or not, but it was something like, "Would you mind bringing your cameras and shooting?" And it turned out to be this extraordinary day of course.

It's said that losing a child almost always negatively impacts a marriage. How have you two been affected as a couple?
Yes, that's a hard one. Our marriage, like any other, has been deeply challenged by our experience. Even though we're going through the same experience, we're not the same person, so those differences come out. I think it takes a lot of strength and a lot of commitment. I think we have that.

You mention in the documentary that you have no choice but to go forward. Where have you and your family found the strength to do that?
We have two living children, thank God, and honestly if it wasn't for that, it would be much more difficult. But they're wonderful children, they give back so much, and they're alive. They have their whole lives ahead of them and that gives me some comfort.

How did you end up working with HBO?
I forget who called who, but we had lunch with Sheila Nevins and Nancy Abraham from HBO. They asked, "What can we do?" And I said, "Well, I'm making this film." And they just said, "How can we help?" I've never experienced that in my whole career; it was that simple. It's so hard to get movies made, especially ones that are so personal, but they not only supported it, they 1000% supported it.

What's your next project?
I'm working on a film for HBO that has nothing to do with my family, or suicide, or illness—it's a film about the monks in Austria who made the record called Chant: Music for the Soul, which became a top seller all over Europe. It's interesting because they were minding their business for 900 years and then suddenly the monks are on TV. So it's this very sweet little film, and it's been a great distraction. I'm just about to hand in my second cut today.

Photos: Meghan McElheny (top); courtesy Dana Perry/HBO

By Meghan McElheny

July 29, 2009

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Five minutes with fashion beast Patrick Wolf

British singer-songwriter Patrick Wolf is cultishly revered in the UK for his romantic techno-pop music and thoroughly avant-garde style. On his latest album, The Bachelor, he even convinced Tilda Swinton to lend her voice. (She provides narration as the mysterious “voice of hope” on four tracks.) Backstage at a recent New York City show, Wolf—whom fashion fans might recognize from a Burberry ad he did with Agyness Deyn a couple years back—sat down with W.

With Deyn in a Burberry ad.

Tell us about your musical influences on The Bachelor.
I guess it was more of a personal influence of just wanting to return to my English folk music roots and Irish family roots. My father was ill at the time and I was somewhat of a teenage terror up until my twenties so I wanted to re-establish what my father was into musically.

You’re obviously obsessed with fashion. Who are your icons?
John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Karl Lagerfeld and Vivienne Westwood, who’s been my obsession since I was eleven years old! If only McQueen’s menswear was as great as his womenswear—that’s the thing with a lot of menswear out there. And that’s why I tend to work with people who design womenswear. I get them to make one-off menswear versions for me.

Wolf performing in New York City.

You were all over London Fashion Week this year.
Three of my very close collaborators got their first shows there this season! Fred Butler, an amazing costume and prop designer who did basically all the accessories on my last tour two years ago, has now crossed over into accessories. Craig Lawrence, who made my outfits two years ago and still continues to, had his first show. And Ada Zanditon, who’s done my whole wardrobe for this tour and for all my videos and my artwork, also premiered her line.

You got really dressed up for those shows.
Yeah, I wore couture. I used to go to Fashion Week when I was seventeen and I know that if you’re gonna turn out you have to go and steal the show! I guess that’s why a big deal was made out of it.

Your outfits can be pretty provocative.
Every day I become more myself and more confident about showing my natural behaviors. I did a video recently, the “Vulture” video, where I’m naked in a jock strap and I’m just becoming more myself for a moment, you know?

So that’s your natural behavior?
Any of these people who are made out to be provocative—like Madonna or Britney or Lady Gaga—they’re they’re just showing the world what a natural human being is. They’re showing the secret parts of being human, not the freaky parts. People think that being provocative is being freaky, but a lot of the time the most provocative thing is when you’re a natural human.

Photos: top and bottom, Nick Thornton-Jones and Warren Du Preez; live, Ali DiEmidio.

By Ali DiEmidio

July 28, 2009

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Burberry,
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The other naked chef: Graham Elliot Bowles

Fresh off his appearance on Top Chef Masters, Graham Elliot Bowles, the much-lauded chef/owner of Chicago's Graham Elliot restaurant, is preparing to cook for a very different crowd: the revelers and performers at Lollapalooza, running August 7 through 9 in that city's Grant Park. The oversized, heavily tattooed 32-year-old who's known for serving culinarily sacrilegious combinations like foie gras and Pop Rocks chatted with us about his food philosophy (and bravely shared a couple of recent photos).

What's your plan for Lollapalooza?
We're going to have a booth serving things like lobster corn dogs, truffle parmesan popcorn and buffalo wings with micro celery, blue cheese foam and PBR bubbles. And then on the last night of the festival our restaurant will be cooking for Jane's Addiction.

You're a musician yourself, right?
I play guitar. I do record some of my own music and play it in the dining room but it's never, like, announced. It's always intermingled with other songs. I always say if you hear some really sad and depressing Morrissey-sounding shit at the restaurant it's probably mine.

What was Top Chef Masters like?
I was nervous. I don't want to speak for any of the other chefs but I think we were all a little scared that somehow we would come across looking poorly but it was a great time and I couldn't ask for anyone better to be paired with than Wylie Dufresne.

There's a short film of you online called Made in Merka which ends with a close-up of you in a g-string. What was that about?
We were asked to submit a movie for a film festival and I thought it might be 20 people seeing this thing but it was held in a huge theatre with, like, 500 people and I was mortified. But I will say we like to do things a little differently around here. This Monday I'm going to be a guest bartender at a place called Pops for Champagne and my sous chef and I are going to dress up as Chris Farley and Patrick Swayze from the Saturday Night Live Chippendales sketch.

Bowles channeling Chris Farley

So clearly you're comfortable taking off your clothes in public.
If needed. We'll do whatever it takes.

Where do you like to eat in Chicago?
On the high end, my favorite place is Alinea. I'm a huge fan of Grant Achatz. I also love Hot Dougs, Black Bird, Urban Belly and Avec.

Any culinary guilty pleasures?
I love ramen noodles, Cheez-its, candy... all the stuff that's just bad for you, nothing organic or local or sustainable or anything like that.

And you work some of that junk into the food at your restaurant too, right?
We like to kind of laugh at that whole idea of "We just use the most seasonal, farm fresh stuff." Everybody uses that stuff. Try something different. I've always viewed cooking as an art and so I look to someone like Andy Warhol making art out of soup cans and sort of mocking the whole art world in the process. I don't think it's any different putting Cheezits and Pop Rocks into a dish and charging $20 for it and having people say, "You're a genius!"

So does the sacrosanct Alice Waters wing of the food world annoy you then?
Oh yeah! The soapbox kind of thing...Everybody has their own issues that motivate them through life. I'm very much into politics and everything that comes with that. But once it turns into preaching, I'm not a big fan.

Photos: top, Bill Milne; in costume, Jim Colombo.

By Jenny Comita

July 28, 2009

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This Week’s Model: Freja Beha Erichsen

With her rocker hair and androgynous style, Freja Beha Erichsen, 21, isn’t just another pretty face. Since walking the Prada and Miu Miu shows in fall 2005, she’s become a cool-girl favorite of designers and stylists alike. (Look for her in a fashion portfolio by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin in our upcoming October issue.) We caught up with the dark-haired 21-year-old Denmark native as she prepped for vacation.

Where are you off to?
I’m going back to Denmark to hang out with my family and friends, and then I’m going on a West Coast road trip with some mates. We’re going to L.A., San Diego, the desert, Las Vegas and Burning Man. I’m not the one making the plans—I’m going to let my friends decide and just follow. I just want to chill.

Beha Erichsen in Chanel's fall couture 2009 show.

You just got back from couture; how was the Chanel show?
It was a beautiful, beautiful show. It was good to see Karl again. There’s a special feeling that you get from Chanel that you don’t get from any other show. And they’re famous for their food backstage.

Really?
Yeah, at most shows, they don’t actually feed us that much, but at Chanel there’s a full buffet and everything is really good.

Did you do anything special to prepare for the show?
We practiced for five hours the night before the show because they wanted us to walk a specific way. Plus there were seven stops where we had to pose full-out.

In W's 2006 Art Issue, shot by Mario Sorrenti.

What was the most difficult part?
It’s hard when people ask me to walk in a different way than I would naturally. I don’t think my walk is particularly elegant if you compare it to other girls, but it fits my personality.

What is your daily uniform when you’re not modeling?
I’m always in an Alexander Wang t-shirt or tank top and Acne jeans. I can just throw that on and be myself.

You did the new Gucci campaign—that was shot in London, right?
Yeah, that one was so much fun because there was a lot of downtime in between shots. We hung out, played the guitar, sang and danced.

Chanel's fall ad campaign.

And what about the fall Chanel campaign? How was that one?
That was so peaceful. We shot it at a farm in Vermont. Heidi [Mount] and I ran around with horses and picked up chickens. A llama even spit at us. It was pretty cool.

"This Week's Model" appears every Tuesday on the Editors' Blog.

Photos: runway, WWD Staff.

By Priya Rao

July 28, 2009

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The Skinny

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Keep your eye on this hot shot

Danish tennis champ Caroline Wozniacki, 19, recently signed on as the new face of the Adidas by Stella McCartney tennis collection. The leggy blonde with the killer backhand (and her own line of organic hair and body products in Denmark) will be debuting these two McCartney looks at the U.S. Open in September. She'll wear the dusty pink ruffled dress and dark purple asymmetrical-zip warmup jacket (above) for her singles matches and a two-piece gray version (below) for her doubles matches.

Read Sarah Taylor's exclusive interview with Wozniacki HERE.

By W Magazine

July 28, 2009

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Five minutes with hair star Ted Gibson

As the hairstylist to a galaxy of celebs (including Angelina Jolie, Keira Knightley and Anne Hathaway), and the whiz behind many a runway coif and magazine cover, Ted Gibson is an industry rock star. But the Texas-bred charmer also has a head for business, and is expanding his budding empire with a product line, salons in three cities and numerous television appearances. Last Friday night, he made his debut as the new co-host of TLC's What Not to Wear.

How will you be switching it up on What Not to Wear? Will you give input on clothes, too?
No, it's mostly just hair. But I think hair reflects fashion and fashion reflects hair. And I really think women should change their looks seasonally, or even more often. They should change their hair color and length on a regular basis.

What's the rationale behind all that change?
I think women don't realize how important it is to keep your look fresh. It's not just to keep your husband interested. Especially in this economy, when women are looking for jobs, I think it's important to change your look.

Since when did you have a salon in Washington?
It's in Chevy Chase. It opened on Inauguration Day. We have a lot of clients already. It's pretty big—about 27 chairs—nestled in between Barneys and Tiffany.

And then you're also opening a salon in Fort Lauderdale? So spring break-y!
Not anymore. Here's my theory: Gay people move to an area, they make it really cool, hip, chic—that's what it was like in Miami. And then it gets gentrified, or too expensive, and they move to the next area. Just like in New York City, when it was first the Village, and then Chelsea, and now Hell's Kitchen.

So in your mind, Fort Lauderdale is—
I think a lot of the gay culture has moved north from Miami to Fort Lauderdale. So it's completely changed. They don't allow the spring-breakers any longer. We're partnering with the W Hotel, and we should open in October.

You're on fire. So with all these salons and the TV gig, what's up with your editorial career?
I'm still doing a lot. I just shot the cover of Harper's Bazaar last week and I've been working with Tina Fey and Paula Patton. And I'm still doing Annie Hathaway and Gabrielle Union.

I'm always jealous of your Facebook status updates because it seems like you're forever nipping off somewhere fabulous.
It's mostly work. Like I was in Morocco recently working with Marion Cotillard. But this summer, I've been trying to take little three-day jaunts upstate. There's this fantastic place we just discovered called the Emerson Resort, right outside of Woodstock. The facials and massages are great.

By Dana Wood

July 27, 2009

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We heart jewelry designer Pamela Love

... and we’re not alone. Zac Posen, Yigal Azrouël, and the costume designers at HBO’s True Blood are among those taken by Love’s edgy, at times feral, jewelry. Before the New York-based designer started casting claw cuffs and bird skull pendants under her own label in 2007, she dabbled in set design, styling and painting. While the 27-year-old has whipped through many jobs, she’s long run with fashion’s in-crowd, including Julia Restoin Roitfeld and Francesco Clemente. We talked to her about tough chic, burning bridges and hot vampires.

You use a lot of claws and bones and bird skulls in your jewelry. What’s the appeal?
I never liked jewelry growing up. My mom was a very feminine woman and she wore hearts and pink stones, but I was always sort of a tomboy. For me, the appeal is being able to wear jewelry but not having it be prissy.

Why do you think that other people are so into it right now?
I think fashion is definitely going through a very tough phase. The popularity of Alexander Wang and Rodarte really show that there’s a more gothic or rock and roll, more morbid sort of curiosity in fashion right now. I think that translates into jewelry as well.

From left: Alexander Skarsgård in HBO's True Blood; Love's piece on HBO.com.

Speaking of tough, one of your pieces has been a regular on HBO’s “True Blood,” this season.
Yeah. One of the costume designers bought it at retail and put it on one of the vampires [Eric Northman, played by Alexander Skarsgård]. I guess it became a really focal thing. When I finally saw season two, I was like, “Wow, he’s always wearing it!” And he’s always in that weird track outfit wearing the claw, which is totally strange. I think he’s the hottest guy ever.

And you’ve since been working with HBO?
The costume designer contacted us and was like, “We want more jewelry for next season.” Then the marketing department contacted us and said, “The necklace is really focal. We want to sell it [on HBO.com].” They’ve sold out, like, three times. Now we’re getting a lot of interest from different vampire type things. This vampire trend is really weird, but “True Blood” is the only one that I actually think is cool.

From left: Zac Posen's fall '09 runway show; Frank Tell's fall '09 presentation.

Last season you had a big presence on the runways with Zac Posen, Yigal, Frank Tell. Tell us about those projects.
Frank is my studio mate so that was easy. He used the daggers from the dagger rosaries and created a whole vest out of it. Yigal came to us with selected pieces from my collection and used those [for his runway show]. And Zac contacted me to develop pieces based on his ideas and my ideas. We know each other through mutual friends.

You have a history with Francesco Clemente.
I’m his painting assistant. The first guy I was seeing when I moved to New York was very close to his kids. At the time I was working a job I was unhappy with, so I was like, “Hey, do you need a painting assistant?” And [Clemente] was like, “Actually, I do. Can you start tomorrow?” I quit my job without giving any notice, which was probably dumb because it was for Barneys. I wonder if they’ll ever pick up my line. But I just was like, “I’m never coming in anymore.” I started working for Francesco and that was almost three years ago.

You share an office with Frank Tell, Julia Restoin Roitfeld and casting director Natalie Joos. How did that work out?
We’re all friends. Frank found a space that was big enough to be good for four people and none of us could afford it if it wasn’t four people. So we all just decided to go in together and split it. I’m actually in the process right now of trying to find a new space because we’ve sort of outgrown it. And we’re messier than everyone else. I think they’re all going to kill me because I have more interns than anybody now.

So you seem to know a lot of the right people. How?
I have no idea. You meet one friend and then you meet another friend and then you meet another friend. I went to NYU. So you meet a lot of people in college, and a lot of people who grew up in the city.

Do you hang out with all those people outside of work?
Sometimes. I try not to really leave Brooklyn if I don’t have to. I’ve been really working as much as humanly possible. Then when I come home, I have band practice and then I pass out.

Right. You play drums in a band.
Yeah, [it’s called] Scorpio Rising. I think we’re going to have to change it now.

Why?
Because I think Chrissie Miller [who designs Sophomore] did a line for Urban Outfitters called Scorpio Rising. I don’t know if it’s out in stores yet. I was like, “We have to change the name,” because Urban Outfitters could be, like, selling T-shirts that say Scorpio Rising! Also, there’s like a really weird techno band in Texas called Scorpio Rising. One of my bandmates got really upset because we were playing a show and the venue linked to their MySpace page instead of our MySpace page. And she was like, “Oh my God, all these people think we’re a weird techno band from Texas!”

By Jessica Iredale

July 24, 2009