After a Fashion
Our Style Avatar charts a plethora of moving and shaking in the local scene.
By Stephen MacMillan Moser, Fri., Aug. 31, 2001
GILDING THE GUILD Saturday, Sept. 8, 8pm, brings the Designers' Guild of Austin's first anniversary fundraiser, the Favorite Figure of Fashion party, at Le Privilege, 912 Red River (formerly the Caucus Club). In addition to a silent auction, there will be prizes for outstanding costumes. Expect to catch glimpses of many favorite fashion stars, including a faux Lagerfeld, Galliano, and Anna Sui. Tickets go on sale next week at Pink on S. Congress and Vylette in Davenport Village. $15 general admission, and $25 for VIP. Costume or creative formal wear requested. Be there or be Cher. (Actually, Cher would be a great costume, wouldn't it, Deborah Carter?)
THE ANTHONY-NAK UPDATE The beat goes on for these guys -- or is it the beads go on? The presses keep rolling for this dynamic duo of jewelry design: They have pieces featured in the September Glamour, and will be featured on the cover of the October issue as well. They will appear in The New York Times' Styles of the Times insert on September 2, as well as in November's In Style (who should simply devote a page to them every month). Then there's the December issue of Town & Country, in which they will be prominently featured in an editorial on the 1920s concept of layering jewelry, and in addition, Barney's New York and the swank Brown's of London have picked them up. Sandra Bernhard wore their jewelry on her recent Politically Incorrect appearance and has selected it for her new series on A&E. Their roster of star clients continues to grow; they've recently sold pieces to Jennifer Lopez and Liv Tyler. And we're dying to see the $25,000 Tahitian pearl-and-diamond necklace that they've donated to the Junior League of Austin's holiday fundraiser. Who says fashion doesn't happen in Austin? (Showroom: 5101 Burnet Rd., by appointment only, 454-7029.)
NEWEST BOHEMIA It's out with the old and in with the new, as managers Brendan Bicksler and the lovely Louisa (aka Ruby Lamb) are continuing with the revamp of New Bohemia (1606 S. Congress, 326-1238). Anyway, the sizable former storage area in back has been remodeled into part of the sales floor, they are opening a 1950s furniture section, and they welcome Australian Jane Tyson with her high-end Fifties merchandise. And, of course, their First Thursday extravaganzas are becoming de riguer. Last month's Pin Up PJ Party was the hit of the chic SoCo strip, and September 6's Back-to-School Soiree with the Naughty Girls promises to entertain as well.
NEXT FIRST THURSDAY While we're on the subject, let's talk some more about First Thursday, which, duh, is the first Thursday of every month on South Congress. Spearheaded by Therapy's Jyl Kutsche and Antigua's Maya Krauss, this event, in which the merchants stay open until 10pm, is snowballing into a very hot ticket. A sampling of September's offerings include an up-to-50%-off sale at Steve and Lisa Dean's Under the Sun (hope you're feeling better, Steve!); an art opening at Aqua; sidewalk karaoke at Wet Salon; belly-dancing at Antigua; Will Sexton's band and a showing of the original Planet of the Apes at Jo's; a lights-and-music extravaganza at Pink Salon; the-band-formerly-known-as-King-Soul at Chimera (have you seen their line of locally produced cosmetics by Face It? Very cool); the unveiling of Laura Maclay's new handbag collection at Therapy; and an art fair at Güero's. Gossip says that Blackmail's soon-to-open SoCo location has been abandoned. I'm here to tell you that's patently untrue. Though their temporary sign is no longer up, owner Gail Chovan is currently on vacation, (also attending the MAGIC show in Las Vegas and the Telluride Film Festival) and we can look forward to the store opening toward the end of September. So, if you haven't been down to First Thursday yet, strap on your hiking stilettos and hit the street September 6.
