September Issue

Anna Wintour plays out as a sole pair of eyes, her only protruding body part, which is always in business mode, thus explaining her icy demeanor. "The Devil Wears Prada" was just exaggerated anti-heroism. Anna is actually a detail oriented visionary. She calls her best trait "decisiveness", her weakness, "her children." She can turn on the charm when she wants, she kept rubbing the arm of an older buyer at dinner, guess that's how she got her kids? Only her knockout daughter is shown, openly dismissing the royal lineage of fashion and opting for law school at their Hamptons home. Incidentally, I was floored to find out Wintour is married, to a child psychologist. She seems like such a lone wolfess, but may have chosen to keep her fam out of the film.

Grace is Anna's sidekick, the dreamer, an ex-model, who before I saw the film thought was horrific, now I think she's beautiful. She is gifted not only at creative direction but tempering Anna to prevent her tyranny of decision. Grace gives the love of fantasy, play and mood to fashion, dressing up and shooting spreads, like her 20s inspired Paris shoot, which was sublime.

I was surprised to see them airbrush Sienna Miller's teeth and neck! I realized that Anna's pickiness and selection was based on the assumption that all the work was already frameworthy, only the most striking survived. There is a scene where muscular and bony Anna calls a cameraman chubby, but it is true, plus she lets some dude - whose name I forget - in her club who is a super-freak! He's the only one living up the the ridiculously excessive image of fashion, showing up to tennis in LV head to toe, but Anna's office and her top assistants are moderately humble and they seem quite simply, like workaholics.

I realized I don't know the slightest thing about fashion now, but I remembered why I once fell in love. Past the dress up games my girlfriends and I played in our teens and twenties (and some still now) it was my library in the attic, a place for the play of being seen. When I left the theater I let my hair out long, and stalked the streets like a moody cat, New York as my backdrop, a stage for the scene.

The Bizz

When I decided that I would cover last Thursday’s Fashion's Night Out, my heart started racing. The evening was equivalent to letting me loose in a 10,000 square foot shoe store and telling me that I have three minutes to find my single favorite pair. There just isn’t enough time to see everything being offered.
(Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron at Dior signing the September Issue of Vogue by Jakes)

Instead of playing meet-up with the girls and losing valuable time trying to find one another in the crowds, I decided to fly solo. The only partner by my side was my friend Jakes, Creative Photographer from Hamptons International Media (HIM Photo), who knows exactly how to get those unforgettable money shots. This was not a night for my burgundy-colored Coolpix camera.

Dior
Being that Jakes is originally from South Africa, our first stop was Dior where Charlize Theron (a South African beauty) hosted the evening as the new face of J’adore and signed the September issue of Vogue magazine whose cover she graces. The highlight was Anna Wintour’s appearance, walking up to Charlize, whispering something in her ear and then quickly drifting away.


(Charlize Theron and Anna Wintour by Jakes)

The Purple Event
Instead of continuing from store to store, although we did pop into Miu Miu for a few minutes to check out television personality, Alexa Chung, finding a party where several designers and personalities were all in one place seemed like the best option.

With that, we headed to the Sony Atrium for an evening of food and fashion to raise funds for The Anita Kaufmann Foundation’s Fifth Grade Epilepsy Education Program. More than sixty designers including Nicole Miller, Nannette Lepore, MaxMara and Elie Tahari were featured on the catwalk worn by stars like New Jersey Net Devin Harris, The Real Housewives of New York City, Alex McCord, and American Idol recording artist, Elliot Yamin. The evening was hosted by The Bachelorette’s, Jillian Harris.


( The Bachlorette's Jillian Harris wore Bibhu Mohapatra as she hosted The Purple Event, a benefit for The Anita Kaufmann Foundation, a public charity dedicated to raising awareness about epilepsy and seizures. Copyright Anna Thiessen)

(The Bachelorette's Jillian Harris and Pomp & Circumstance's Lori Bizzoco by Jakes)

I had the opportunity to go back stage and ask Jillian the burning, dying question on every women’s mind, “Where did you get those fabulous boots you wore on the show?” In her raspy voice she excitedly answered, “They’re mine. I got the red ones at Aldo and the brown ones at Frye.” She was so down-to-earth with such a charming personality, I could see why she had so many suitors on the show. In the matter of minutes, I wanted to be her friend too. Affordable wear in a style that’s her own, that’s what viewers want to hear. She even admitted some felt “too pageantry” so she brought in her own pieces too.

As Jakes and I made our way through the line of models waiting in line to go on stage, we noticed our favorite twin brothers were part of the show, Garry and Jason Clemmons. The Purple Event had celebrities and designers teaming together to bring guests the hottest purple-inspired fashion runway show of the night.


(The Clemmons Twins, Garry and Jason by Anna Thiessen)

(Jamie Paetz and American Idol recording artist, Elliot Yamin by Anna Thiessen)

(Retired-NBA player, A.C. Green by Anna Thiessen)

(The Real New York Housewives, Alex McCord ends the show by Anna Thiessen)

Malandrino
Our last stop on the runway trail was at our good friend Catherine Malandrino. We were greeted with open arms from Hope and the ladies. I splurged on a new belt. After all, the goal of the night is to boost our economy by shopping.

For eats: Almonds
We left the shopping districts and made our way to the Flatiron to pay tribute to Almonds, the Hamptons-inpired restaurant, which did a reverse commute this year by opening in New York City.

We said our final good-bye to summer as we opened our arms to Fall.

- Lori Bizzoco