The September Issue opened in New York this weekend, and unlike fashion magazines these days, it raked in a heap of money. The movie grossed $240,078 in six theaters, for an average of $40,013 per screen. That makes it the second-best per-theater average of any 2009 release, according to indieWIRE. It also makes it the fifth-best documentary debut in history, behind 1995 IMAX featurette Across the Sea of Time, Davis Guggenheim’s An Inconvenient Truth, Michael Moore’s Sicko, and Paul Provenza’s The Aristocrats. But this is just New York. Will our friends in the middle of the country share the same appetite for La Wintour when it opens in other markets after Labor Day?
And even though Anna Wintour herself has probably seen the movie several times by now, with all the premieres and whatever private viewings she's enjoyed, the editor–cum–movie star waited in line like a normal person to buy a ticket and see the movie in the theater. Gawker has a picture of her waiting in line, wearing cropped skinny jeans, beige flat loafers, sunglasses, and her perfectly tailored Fashion's Night Out T-shirt. Anna Wintour: queen of fashion, borough visitor, and now guerrilla marketer! Maybe she'll hand out Fashion's Night Out flyers in Times Square during her lunch break? Twitter? She really is one of the people.
I need to find out when this is coming to DC so I can catch it in the cinema! Now, now if Anna Wintour is going to stand in Times Square handing out flyers, I would definitely love to be there! Hah!
Here's a clip on the upcoming Fashion's Night Out on Sept 10.
Also, a little more detail on the event:
>> The roster of events for Anna Wintour's international shopping extravaganza on Sept. 10, Fashion's Night Out, has been rolled out, and as Anna put it in the press release: “Little did I think when the idea of Fashion’s Night Out was first dreamed up this past March during the Paris collections that we would have over 700 and counting retailers, designers, and brands joining us on the night of September 10. There is so much planned that we could shop till dawn and still not see and do everything.”
Wintour kicks everything off, along with Michael Kors and "a surprise celebrity guest," at Macy's Queen Center location at 5 pm and will sign t-shirts for the first 50 customers. That event just so happens to be ten minutes away from a US Open tennis match Roger Federer will likely play that same day at 7 pm (and thus Anna will likely attend).
Vogue has sprinkled its editors all over town that night — from 8-9 pm at Bergdorf Goodman, Andre Leon Talley is hosting a game with teams led by Donna Karan and Linda Fargo; Grace Coddington is set to "tell an extraordinary visual story" throughout the Fifth Ave Prada store; Hamish Bowles will be "performing Noel Coward and other favorites" at Juicy Couture's Fifth Avenue store; and Lauren Santo Domingo will be popping by Alexander McQueen, Lord & Taylor, and Versace.
Models, too, are contributing: Arlenis Sosa, Jessica Stam, Karolina Kurkova, Angela Lindvall, Adriana Lima, Stephanie Seymour, Julia Stegner, Caroline Trentini, Cindy Crawford, Erin Wasson, Caroline Winberg, Carmen Kass are all slated to make appearances (at currently unknown locations); DKNY is boasting of a "special performance by Coco Rocha from 9-11 pm"; Lily Donaldson is contributing music at the Burberry between Madison and Fifth Ave; Sasha Pivovarova is exhibiting her work at Henri Bendel; Daria Werbowy will be on hand at the Times Square Sunglass Hut, where guests can take photographs with her while trying on sunglasses; Chanel Iman, Hana Soukupova, and others will be at Versace; and Daria Strokous is hosting a cocktail party from 7-9 pm at Salvatore Ferragamo to celebrate the launch of her photo exhibition, a backstage visual diary of her New York Fashion Week experience.
In addition to Lauren Santo Domingo, a fair share of it-girls will be on the circuit, hosting parties : Harley Viera-Newton is DJing at Tom Binns; Margherita Missoni is hosting at Missoni; and Alexandra and Theodora Richards are hosting and DJing at French Connection.
Last but not least, the designers: Roberto Cavalli will personally host the ten-year anniversary of his boutique, featuring ten archival gowns; Manolo Blahnik is holding a meet-and-greet; Oscar de la Renta is planning to sing a few songs at his Madison Ave boutique; and Brian Atwood is playing his favorite music as DJ at Bally.
Other events of note (the Olsens are bartending, meet Steven Klein):
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are bartending; Alexander Wang is giving runway lessons; Juan Carlos Obando is teaching salsa dancing; and Rodarte have conceived a "special performance"; also expected for the festivities are Rag & Bone, Waris Ahluwalia, Narciso Rodriguez, Proenza Schouler, Isabel Toledo, and Thom Browne.
The Chanel boutique at 15 East 57th Street will have a Customized Handbag Studio, where customers can: "Enjoy sipping on champagne while collaborating with our specialists to design your personalized bag. Choose your favorite lambskin color, lining, hardware, and chain — and be among the first in the United States to own a customized, monogrammed Chanel classic bag."
From 5-6 pm, Zac Posen is painting "one-of-a-kind" creations available for sale; from 6-7 pm, Peter Som, Cynthia Rowley, and others are going at it in a designer cook-off; Steven Klein, Annie Leibovitz, and Pat McGrath will all be on hand from 7-8 pm for a showing of Vogue's most provocative beauty images, and from 8-9 pm, Andre Leon Talley is hosting the aforementioned game show. Marchesa's Georgina Chapman is also making a personal appearance.
Kirna Zebete is celebrating its tenth anniversary with hosts Narciso Rodriguez, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler, Thakoon Panichgul, Jason Wu, and Peter Som, who will all be there in person to debut exclusive items: Peter Som limited-edition aprons, Proenza Schouler print tote bags, Thakoon one-of-a-kind dresses, Narciso Rodriguez photo collages, and Jason Wu fall 2009 fashion sketches.
Opening Ceremony is going block party, transforming its store front into a collection of sidewalk shops. For the occasion, vintage cars have been customized to each participating designer's aesthetic — a classic convertible low-rider for Rodarte, a black van for Alexander Wang, a Volkswagon minibus for Proenza Schouler, a Thai truck for Scott Sternberg of Boy/Band of Outsiders — Delfina Delettrez Fendi is also among those involved — and goods made exclusively for the occasion will be sold out of them.
Marc Jacobs and Marc by Marc Jacobs stores are participating in Fashion's Night Out, but the designer himself told us on Saturday at the after-party for My One and Only in East Hampton that he was unsure of his Fashion's Night Out plans. The event occurs on the first night of Fashion Week, which only adds to the typically massive Fashion Week stress. Was Jacobs looking forward to Fashion Week? "No," he replied. Was he looking forward to seeing any shows? "No." Does he enjoy Fashion Week at all? "Enjoy? Enjoy is a weird word. It's work — work is more what it's about." So it's not fun? "No."
But fun things are on the horizon! Such as his wedding to Lorenzo Martone, which he promised will happen "soon." Don't expect a big affair: "[The wedding will be] very quiet, just the two of us. We're keeping it very simple." Jacobs added that no friends or family will attend the ceremony in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Unlike many in his industry, he doesn't frequent the Hamptons. "I haven't been here for years," he said. "We just got here today, so we're just hanging out at Larry [Gagosian's] house. It's just me and sunshine and good times."
I truly wonder what the designer was thinking when he designed this bag and to have it executed like that. They say penny for your thoughts but I would give a dollar for the designer's thoughts on this outrageous purse! But hey, I hope it brings laughter to you. Maybe that was the intention of the designer. Hah!
On another note, the Chanel store on East 57th St, NYC will be participating in the Vogue Fashion's Night Out event on Sept 10. To find out more about the event, click here for the website.
Now back to the participation of Chanel in the event. There will be a VIP (by invite) event from 10 am till 6pm. After 6pm, the doors will be open to public till 10pm. There will be a cocktail party but most importantly, fellow lovers of Chanel will be able to order a custom-made Chanel bag.
There will be no premium price on the custom-make bags. The bags will be the same price for the Medium/Large size ($2695 + tax) and the Jumbo size ($2875 + tax) of the classic flap. Options for customization:
5 colors of lambskin will be available
Choose your trim and lining of the bag
Silver or gold hardware
Monogram on the inside of the flap above the cc logo
The catch to getting this custom-make bag however, is the fact that you will HAVE to be in the store on that day to get customize the bag (and pay for it, of course!).
A similar event was held in Japan a couple of months ago and apparently the colors available were Black, Red (brick red), Orange (Hermes orange!), Navy, and Grey. The estimated time for the custom-made bag available for pick-up was between 4 to 6 months.
Now, this sounds great to many Chanel lovers who missed out on getting some hard-to-find bags especially for those who waitlisted on some of the bags but didn't get a chance to buy the bags. I think its an ingenious way by Chanel to spur their sales in this economy, that's for sure. I envision throngs of ladies in a long lines resembling the Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving) sales queuing up to get their hands on a customized Chanel bag. That is, unless of course you have all the right connections enabling you to score a VIP invite to the event.
If the chain of the bag can be customized, then yes I would love to get one of these customized bags (although goodness knows where I would find the money to pay but heck, we'll figure that out later!) as the bijoux chain is just delectable. But since it isn't an option, I don't think I am missing out at all. Besides, I think the lambskin bags are a tad too delicate so my preference is the caviar for classic Chanel flaps. So, amen to that as I will sit back and enjoy the show.
