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Paris Fashion Week - Louis Vuitton SS 2012

Today at 10AM, Paris time, Louis Vuitton, with Creative Director Marc Jacobs, presented the most spectacular show (in our opinion) during Paris Fashion Week.  As the curtain rose, the audience was presented with a huge white carousel; models dressed in delicate pastels and whites side-saddling the pristine white horses.  The carousel spun around a few times before the first angelic model dismounted and walked the circular runway.  

Of course, there were a few familiar faces including Jordan Smalls, Anya Rubik and Jessica Stam.  Kate Moss was the final model to walk the runway and gave a sweet spin showing off her white structured minidress.  

From the structured, cutout dresses to the translucent monogrammed bags and steel-toed heels...we want it ALL!

xoxo KING

Roger Webster

He was a cut-above most because he was always gentleman in his behavior toward everybody, and it wasn’t a businesslike act; that’s who he was. – David Patrick Columbia

Photo courtesy of Guest of a Guest

When you meet a great man, you tend to remember everything else that happened in your life that day.  I met Roger Webster over a brunch arranged by Jake Bright on the Upper East Side about two years ago.  He was 64; I was almost 32.  The table had six yellow tulips in a white vase in the middle.  It struck me as odd because tulips don’t bloom in the winter.  Over on Third Avenue in a grill-fire pizza and wine spot, Jake, Mia Morgan, Roger and I mulled over the important planning of Zelda Kaplan’s 90-something birthday.

I was struck by Roger’s class and presence from the first moment.  Our discussion from minute one flowed so seamlessly and naturally; he was an immediate godfather of sorts to me.  I feverishly took mental notes; Roger spoke with true conviction and illuminated a deep passion Manhattan life.  Adorned in a Thomas pink cuffed shirt and cufflinks which were most likely from Scully & Scully, Roger smiled his big white perfect smile that first day we met, while intently locking eyes when I made a point.  He was one of those rare people who seemed to get me from the start.

The restaurant Jake picked for our meeting with Roger Webster wasn’t a fancy place, but it was perfect for the company in which we kept.  After saying our first farewell to Roger, Mia and I would go on to the W Hotel that day were we would drink Manhattan’s and finalize party plans; then on to a jazz performance at The Blue Note downtown, which Susan Shin invited us to attend; and a final stop at the opening of the elite private club Norwood, where we would also meet Sean Westley for the first time - and a boy named Nick.  I would drink Veuve Cliquot champagne and see Randy Udell and Casey Stern in passing; sitting there in front of a winter fireplace amidst champagne glasses and red velvet couches from ABC Carpet & Home.  Mia in her white dress from Zac Posen, I in my black, angular mini-dress from Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair, not knowing that day would be forever engrained as The Day We Met Roger Webster.

Roger was very taken by Zelda and loved her dearly.   Roger was also a bit taken by me; not that I deserved it, but he was.  He made me feel a social responsibility to carry myself well; to earn respect and to be successful.  He always wrote about me when I attended his events; not because I was a celebrity, but because Roger wanted me to be noticed.  He once made a photo of me the lead story on Hamptons.com; this at an event where Lydia Hearst and Gillian Miniter and Emma Snowdon-Jones were also present. He chose to lead with me.

At that time, I thought Upper East Side Manhattan was old and stuffy, but Roger and Jason Grant (whom were rarely seen apart), taught me something different.  One warm Spring evening, they took me to Swifty’s for dinner, where we met Douglas Hannant, Robert Caravaggi and Stephen Attoe, and even a former Prima Ballerina from Swan Lake, I think.  At that time, I was already teetering on the edge of being “accepted” at Swifty’s; after all, I had hosted the Fete de Swifty itself for Mayor Michael Bloomberg and I started to become a regular at Le Cirque and Entre Nous.   Still, that stretch of land in the upper 60s and 70s all seemed so preposterous to me, an immigrant from Long Island by way of the downtown Manhattan fashion scene.  Roger and Jason taught me that New York is actually a familiar and loving place; it is for insiders sometimes, but often you just have to let it all in, to be an insider.

The earth is a bit calmer today, and the sky a bit cold.  Maybe it is because I haven’t looked at the sky much these days.  Maybe it’s because I am sad.  Maybe it’s because we lost Roger Webster.  I’d like to say that the world lost a great man; but in essence, most of the world doesn’t know him anyway.  But the world that matters to me now, thanks to Roger, that world cares that he is gone. The same crowd that dines at Michael’s and Swifty’s; the crowd that reads New York Social Diary (which I have grown to write for and for which I completely need to read daily); the crowd I once deemed shallow, stuffy and moth-ball scented; those wonderful characters miss him today.  The people who spent time with the real Elaine at Elaine’s before a nightcap at The Carlyle; they are the ones who know Roger.   The guys like John Sterling and Jack Welsh and Mario Maccioni, all of whom talk about the Yankees over mini croque-moiseurs at Le Cirque on Monday evenings; they know about Roger. 

Last month I gave birth to two wonderful people at Lenox Hill hospital.  I received a message from my good friend Jason that day, congratulating me and telling me that he and Roger had a little gift for my twins, but that Roger was in Lenox Hill Hospital.  I don’t know why it struck me so hard, but the thought of Roger, a gallant man who seemed to take care of us all with great conviction, in that very hospital just didn’t fit.  Roger wasn’t fulfilled; there was a hunger in him that drove him to the masses of Manhattan each day.

Roger made me love New York City.  Maybe it’s because Roger always seemed to be

a man of no past and no present; his home and virtual life was the landscape of this metropolis.  And in essence, we all come to New York to start over; no memory.

I am sorry he died in a place where I gave birth just a few weeks ago.  I am sorry my infant son will never meet him and be able to look up to him.  To try on his cufflinks, maybe.

Perhaps the sky looks different because I have forgotten recently to look up. I’ve been a bit overwhelmed by the size of the heavens; the mass of life opening toward us, beckoning for change.  It’s too much for a perfectionist like me to face.  But Roger told me once that it is okay not to be perfect; that what matters most in work and life is to continue to be intrigued, even if not fulfilled.   My twins will know a different side of Manhattan and they will love it, because of Roger.  So he got to give them his gift, after all.

I will always remember you Roger; and the tulips at our table the day we met, juxtaposed in the backdrop of my memory next to the tulips you bloom on Park Avenue when the sun comes around each April.  I can’t wait to visit you there next Spring.  

Jason Grant and Roger Webster, photo courtesy of David Patrick Columbia

Marc Jacobs Resort 2012

Well...it certainly caught our eyes!

Jason Wu next in line to collaborate with Target

Target has for a long time been very forward when it comes to collaborating with other brands, and the list of previous collaborations includes celebrity favorite designers like Rodarte and Zac Posen, as well as well-known brands like Mulberry and Calypso St. Barths. The latest collaboration was however with Missoni, with products ranging from clothing to home decor to travel accessories, and sold out within hours.

Today Target announced their new collaboration: designer Jason Wu. Wu first launched his ready-to-wear collection in 2006 and has since then had a great career and a fast rise to fame. Admirers include First Lady Michelle Obama, who also chose a gorgeous white dress for the Inaugural Ball back in 2009.

First Lady Michelle Obama wearing Jason Wu (photo courtesy of People.com)

Designer Jason Wu (photo courtesy of nymag.com)

Several of the previous collaborations have caused an extreme hype and have been sold out in hours, also causing the Target website to crash. Even though the expectations aren't as high for this new line, mostly due to the fact that Jason Wu isn't as well-known as for example Mulberry or Missoni, KING is very much looking forward to see what this designer will come up with.

xo KING