Diane von Furstenberg

 

This morning, American Express announced that fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg will be the new face of the company’s major forthcoming advertising campaign. The commercial, which was directed by Bennett Miller (Capote), is scheduled to air during the Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb 24. Accompanying the television spots will be a print campaign photographed by Annie Leibovitz.  read more »

At some runway shows, the style of the tall, blow-dried fashion editors in the front row eclipses that of the actual models, who wear severe hairstyles and clothing that, for all its value in advancing new silhouette(s) for fall, is often not anything you’d actually want to wear.

Diane Von Furstenberg’s packed show at the Tents on Sunday, Feb. 4 was a notable exception, full of skirts and jackets in bright patterns and chunky textures, elbow-length gloves, and cool retro hats, all exuding a kind of sexy-librarian-in-Rio vibe.  read more »

Remember Daniel Vosovic from the second season of Project Runway? Well, the 26-year-old budding designer has been keeping very busy since his successful stint on the Bravo reality show (he won five design challenges). He may have lots of balls in the air, but when it comes to starting his own fashion label, Mr. Vosovic is nothing but slow and cautious.

“Right after the show, I really had to make a decision of what to do,” he told us, before recalling a conversation he had with himself. ‘“Do I want to start a collection or work for someone else? No, I need more experience.’ So I’ve been working on the foundation of what my future company will be. I’m working with my management team now on the launch for my signature line,” he said, adding that the line should launch in about a year and a half. In the meantime, he’s been collaborating with a new hotel chain called NYLO, designing a collection of uniforms for the staff.

Continue reading after the jump.  read more »

Marie Antoinette  read more »

Marie Antoinette    read more »

The two West Village townhouses that had served as the flagship boutique and residence of Diane von Furstenberg can now be had for $22.5 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.

That's $2.75 million less than they were being offered last January, as reported in The Observer. Also, the listing has changed hands too: It's now being offered by Peter McCuen, of Peter McCuen & Associates, rather than Brown Harris Stevens.  read more »

Of course, Ms. Von Furstenberg hasn't owned the properties since October 2004, when she sold them for $21 million to Coalco International, which is run by Vassily Anisimov (father of tabloid-mainstay, Anna). However, the West Village downzoning thwarted Coalco's plans to develop the site.

- Michael Calderone

Remember Western Beef? Well, after they moved out of 401 West 14th Street, the building was given a makeover. Of course, with fashion retailers like Stella McCartney, Diane von Furstenberg, Carlos Miele, Puma and Scoop in the neighborhood you have to look your best.

Now, Taconic Investment Partners has purchased the 60,000-square-foot development in the Meatpacking District, and has some big plans, according to a release.

Taconic has received approval from the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission for a complete renovation of the property, including a new 8,000-square-foot penthouse, which will also have approximately 4,000 square feet of terrace space. Taconic has hired architects Cook + Fox to manage this restoration.

Not surprisingly, Robert K. Futterman--who recently bought his own pied-a-terre nearby--was hired as the building's retail leasing agent.  read more »

And speaking of retail space in the Meatpacking District, the New York Times has plenty more today on the subject.

- Michael Calderone

According to this week's Villager (article not yet online), Diane von Furstenberg forgot to go before Community Board 2 in her quest to combine and renovate two buildings--at 444 and 446 West 14th Street--before she went before the Landmarks Preservation Commission this past Tuesday.

While community boards serve in a strictly advisory capacity, the L.P.C. (and other city agencies) do listen to their input. The L.P.C. told Ms. von Furstenberg to go before the board before applying for a certificate of appropriateness again. Because the two buildings are in the Gansevoort Market Historic District, the L.P.C. must approve the plans.  read more »

Ms. von Furstenberg bought the properties in 2004 from meat wholesaler Gachot & Gachot for $10.5 million. She intends to convert them into a complex with theaters, event spaces, offices and an enclosed roof space, according to The Villager.

-Matthew Grace

Will Bloomberg Buck the G.O.P.?    read more »

Yesterday, the Board of Standards and Appeals gave the go-ahead to continue construction on an eight-story residential development at 163 Charles Street in the far West Village.

The neighborhood was recently down-zoned after a concerted push by area residents and activist groups, most notably the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.

GVSHP executive director Andrew Berman has been at the forefront of many battles around the nabe; after the down-zoning, he's been trying stop projects that were conspicuously started right before the height limits went into effect. But with limited success.

Artist Julien Schnabel just received a pass to continue construction on his 12-story tower on West 11th Street; Diane von Furstenberg's former studio and residence at 387-91 West 12th Street, which was sold for $21 million to Coalco, a Russian-owned development company, was slated to be the site of a 150-foot Christian de Portzamparc-designed glass-box tower. That project is in limbo.

163 Charles is just east of the three Richard Meier-designed towers that started the rush to build--and limit the height of--new buildings in the neighborhood.  read more »

(City Realty)

-Matthew Grace

Julian Schnabel, Diane von Furstenberg, and downtown developers Ira Druker and Richard Born are crossing swords with Greenwich Village preservationists (and possibly the city) over plans to build tall, luxurious condo buildings. What if the MTA's bid to float bonds to cover new projects like the Second Avenue Subway fails again? Experts think 30 percent of the vote on Election Day, statewide, will have to come from New York City for the act to pass, since everyone upstate will vote against it. “We’re concerned about the fact that if the Mayor is so far ahead, maybe people won’t come out to vote, period,” A.J. Castelbuono, who spent $3 million on the last failed bond-act measure, told Matthew Schuerman.  read more »

On Wednesday evening, Sept.  read more »

On Wednesday evening, Sept.  read more »

Midway through New York’s Olympus Fashion Week, it seems that no one cares any longer to tell  read more »

A very mild show at Diane von Furstenberg's studio this evening ended with a big bang when overhead lights fell from their supports, missing the model currently parading but smashing into the crowd.

At least two people, preliminary reports indicate, were injured.  read more »

No word yet on whether show attendee Paris Hilton was among the injured.

The Transom ran into Ms. von Furstenberg at St. Vincent's hospital after the show. She expressed her shock and dismay at the incident.

The New York Times reports that a judge failed to block the sale of 2 Columbus Circle yesterday to the Museum of Arts and Design. Preservation group Landmark West has been fighting the sale and trying to get landmark status for the Edward Durell Stone-designed building for some time now. We've got a feeling that this won't be the end of it. The Sun reports that the new owners of Diane von Furstenburg's two Greenwich Village buildings will meet next week with neighborhood groups to try to get their support for a variance to new zoning laws. Russian heiress and former model Anna Anisimova purchased the buildings on West 12th Street last year on behalf of Coalco International, a company owned by Vasily Anismov, her millionaire father. Reps are set to meet with Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, and members of Community Board 2 to discuss the possibility of support for an upzoning to the property. Under the new zoning, which is due to go into effect later this year, a building can't be over 80 feet; currently, a building can be up to 15 stories tall. The GVSHP has been fighting for this rezoning tooth and nail, so Ms. Anisimova's reps better have silver tongues. Newsday picks up an AP wire story that belies the real-estate-bubble-burst talk we've been hearing so much of lately. Toll Brothers Inc., a national luxury-home builder, had earnings double in the third quarter of 2005. - Matthew Grace  read more »

What could possibly bring a crowd of straight men to a lingerie fashion show?

Research, of course! According to Heather Patt, senior account executive for Tracy Paul & Company, Inc., such men desire to become familiar with these sort of products so that they might later purchase them as gifts. For their wives.

"Men buy a lot of lingerie," said Ms. Patt, whose company organized the Felina and Jezebel fashion show and a party afterwards at Frederick's Bar and Grill on West 58th Street last week.

Guests were hesitant to discuss their motivations for attending the underground party. A staircase carpeted in red led the way down to the subtle dirtiness. The drinks were very much not free—the bartender responded to a request for a glass of water with a definite "no".

One PepsiCo employee seemed slightly offended when it was suggested that he might have come to the event to see half-naked women. Instead, he said, he was "just here to have a little fun."

He then encouraged the Transom to make the acquaintance of his friend, claiming that such an introduction would be greatly pleasing to said friend. The friend seemed wholly uninterested, but: "You just made his night," claimed the fellow.

A woman in a sky-blue sheath dress said she worked in "real estate." She did a little grinding with a man lingering by a Lehman Bros. briefcase. The deejay spun some fairly earthy tunes for their dirty dancing; Earth Wind & Fire's "September" and Ludacris' "What's Your Fantasy?".

A suited fellow approached a delicate blond woman. He said, "You're very beautiful." She thanked him. He said, "Can I take you home tonight?" She declined the invitation. After he walked away, she sighed. "He cut right to the chase, " she said. "At least that was over quickly."

Only one individual stood out in the sea of suits and silk camisoles, and that individual was Willy Mrasek, a designer for Felina and Jezebel. His all-black ensemble, complete with combat boots, set off his Kool-Aid-red hair. He introduced himself as simply "Willy". When asked to spell his name, he specified that it was with a ‘Y'. Silence. "You don't want my last name, do you?" he asked.

Mr. Mrasek described the Jezebel spring/summer 2005 line as "Betty Page meets Ann-Margret." The vaguely pin-up, very push-up bras in pink and black, often trimmed with ribbons and/or rosettes, did suggest a meeting of the bondage enthusiast with the go-go girl. Felina's new line, Mr. Mrasek said, was, however, inspired by "Diane von Furstenberg circa 1980."  read more »

Mr. Mrasek referred to a photo of the queen of wrap dresses on a bed in the Seychelles, describing the feeling of the picture as "luxe but casual." The brunette model they chose for the front cover of the Jezebel mini-catalog is, in fact, absolutely reminiscent of Ms. von Furstenberg herself, circa the libidinous mid-70's; eyes set wide, defiant, all sass and chest forward. —Anna Lindow

Wednesday 28th Fashion Week nips at our heels like a terrier, and it don't look pretty, sister girlf  read more »

"Sex is good! Sex is really, really, really good!" the actor William H. Macy said. "Sex?  read more »

When the lights came back on, everyone in Manhattan suddenly realized with a shock that tennis is gr  read more »

The phone rang as I struggled to suck down a cup of coffee.  read more »

Fashion week was just getting started, but the models in Diane Von Furstenberg's West 12th Street ca  read more »