FashionEtc.com April 19th, 2024

Lisa Fine gave her annual holiday dinner on Wednesday night, and what a dinner it was!

The Irving and Fine designer looked stunning in a maroon and black embroidered silk caftan of her own design. The crowd had a little bit of everything, from the worlds of fashion (Hamish Bowles, Alexandra Kotur), business (George Farias, Jack Swain), photography (Jonathan Becker), philanthropy (Carol Mack), and literature (Ivana Lowell).

I had the good fortune to be seated next to Hamish Bowles, and we speculated about who would be designing Kate Middleton’s dress. Hamish had heard that the odds are on Bruce Oldfield, but we both agreed we’d rather see the house of McQueen or Galliano do the honors.

The brilliant and charming real-estate developer Will Zeckendorf was on my right, and the talk turned to collecting. Hamish collects vintage clothing—no surprise there—and Will has an extensive collection of music, dating from the 1950s to the present, and prefers vinyl. Who knew? Add a comment

The Fighter has been getting lots of pre-Oscar buzz and for good reason: The performances are raw, honest, and in the case of Christian Bale, there was massive weight loss involved. Not The Machinist–level weight loss but a marked difference nevertheless.

Friday night’s Cinema Society screening was co-sponsored by Men’s Health, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Bale had followed some Eat This, Not That advice from editor in chief Dave Zinczenko.  

The movie deals with two brothers, both fighters, one a wasted crack addict on the decline from his glory days, the other an up-and-coming talent mismanaged by his mother, brilliantly portrayed by Melissa Leo.

There’s lots of tension, romance, love, abuse, and trashy big hair. Amy Adams and Mark Wahlberg give some of the best performances of their careers. Add a comment