(October 16, 2007 - Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, CA) Event Report by Don RoseThe
Crescent Hotel, that classy overnightery/eatery/bar tucked away at the quiet corner of Crescent and Brighton in Beverly Hills, was the setting for a fun soiree Tuesday with numerous guests including fashion commentator
Steven Cocojaru, former Miss California
Candice Sanders, and many other fashionistas and LA Fashion Week attendees. Hotelier
Gregory Peck, owner of the Crescent Hotel, and designer/retailer
Katy Rodriguez, co-owner of the Los Angeles boutique Resurrection and also of her own namesake women’s wear line, co-hosted the party to celebrate hospitality and lifestyle. With the help of
10 Cane's hosted rum concoctions, and the hotel's delicious food (including mini curry burgers, boneless buffalo chicken strips, assorted cheeses and desserts), the guests all had a grand time (including yours truly). LA hostess
Audrey Bernstein and international photography lifestyle magazine
Big Magazine served as co-hosts as well, launching their latest projects
http://www.oh-audrey.com/ and Big Show.
Candice Sanders (from Oddsnark.com)Fashion parties, like fashion shows, are most successful and memorable when various key components, such as the venue, the guests, the drinks and the entertainment, share a similar vision and collaborate to form a collective theme full of energy, spontaneity and festive feelings of good will. This was indeed the case October 16 in Los Angeles, during the city’s twice yearly Fashion Week presentations that are quickly rivaling fashion weeks from other stylish cities across the globe such as New York, Paris, London and Milan. VIP guests comprising the "friends and family" of the hosts and of the honorees mingled on the Crescent’s outdoor patio terrace, as well as inside around the bar and in the cozy comfy-couch lounge area across the room.
About the Party HostsThe three hour event celebrated the launch of
Audrey Bernstein’s hospitality and lifestyle website (
http://www.oh-audrey.com/). Having already been featured on the cover of a recent Los Angeles Times Magazine as part of the city’s new guard of power and influence, Audrey Bernstein has the answers to the questions of people-in-the-know. In a short period of time, Audrey has run an eclectic gamut of activities that involve her internationally-known and sought-after social circle comprising of top talent in contemporary music, fashion and art. Originally from Maryland, Audrey moved to New York in her late teens and was quickly swept into the 80s alternative art scene, even modeling for a Sonic Youth album cover before eventually moving to Vermont, where with equal ease, she became involved in competitive snowboarding. Training both stateside and abroad, Audrey worked her way up until she was ranked seventh in the world. Eventually, she moved back to New York to resume her creative callings. Once back, Audrey, who had been planning parties and hosting dinners for her fellow athletes on the road, began catering independently and hosting intimate affairs, mixing New York’s bohemians, fashionistas and taste makers, which soon transformed into Mothra, a weekly party that attracted one of the most diverse and star-studded crowds on the East Coast.
Now, having relocated to Los Angeles in 2000, Audrey has been busy with new projects. After continuing her weekly parties at Le Deux Café for several years, in 2004, Audrey shifted gears again and opened the successful Bluebird Bakery in Culver City, which seamlessly blended the glamour of her celebrity nightlife with the warmth and intimacy of a small café. Now, Audrey has shifted her talents to the web and has launched Oh-Audrey, which she describes as a lifestyle website where crafts, cooking, fun and glamour are not mutually exclusive. The site includes weekly entertaining and cooking mini-shows offering advice from experts, many of them her friends. Oh-Audrey is accessible, organic and off-the-cuff, encapsulating the earthly glamour of her personal style.
Joining Audrey in receiving praise is
Big Magazine (
http://www.bigmagazine.com/). Launched in Madrid in 1993, and now based in New York, Big is one of the most admired and awarded magazines of its kind in the world. Big has an international circulation of 20,000 and is one of the most collected magazines in existence today. In the past ten years, the magazine has garnered over 30 prestigious awards from organizations such as The Society of Publication Designers and the Art Directors Club in New York.
Big is published four times a year and every issue is based on a theme or a different city in the world. Every issue also features a different star art director whose vision is a point of view regarding the specific theme. Free from the triviality and sound bite mentality that currently exhausts our media, Big is not just an editorial product: it is a unique phenomenon of contemporary print culture. No other magazine in the world produces each issue on a different theme/region, with different teams of contributors. Big collaborates with the world’s top art directors to give each issue a look and feel entirely its own. Though initially named for its size, the magazine’s title could now refer to its influence in the worlds of media, art, architecture, design and fashion.
Nearly two years ago, Big launched its fashion show themed issues. Big Show issues are photographically fresh and superior in the way they cover the designers, catwalks, backstage, paparazzi, stylists, hair, make-up, models and after-show parties during fashion weeks in New York, Milan, London and Paris. All three issues of Big Show, including the latest issue, were featured with projected images from the magazines at the Crescent event.
Helping to host the event at his Beverly Hills hotel was
Gregory Peck (
http://www.crescentbh.com/). Gregory is also the principal developer of a new hotel, now under construction, called the Cooper Square Hotel in New York City. Gregory is at the forefront of next generation independent hoteliers. He has a passion and talent for creating hotels with a relentless attention to detail, exceptional service and a strong sense of soul. He has been intimately involved for many years with the design, operation, acquisition and development of critically acclaimed hotel properties. He founded the Crescent Hotel Group in 2001 for the purpose of creating innovative and creative hotel properties.
The
Crescent Hotel, with its friendly staff, personalized service and discreet charm, is truly a home away from home in Beverly Hills. Originally built in the early days of Hollywood as housing for silent movie stars, this 1930’s villa has 35 modern fully-appointed and super comfortable guest rooms, an intimate lounge with a rare indoor-outdoor fireplace and the restaurant boé, offering creative new American cuisine in an al fresco setting. The hotel boasts a relaxing outdoor patio porch where most of the guest to the event will find themselves lingering in conversation.
Joining Greg as co-host was
Katy Rodriguez (
http://www.katyrodriguez.com/), the California fashion maven who owns the renowned vintage store Resurrection. She presented her own namesake line in 2005 and most recently presented her collection during New York Fashion week. Katy has been featured in top publications such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, W, New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Elle. She has also been recognized by Vogue on their annual Best Dressed list. A long-time resident of San Francisco and New York, Katy now lives in Los Angels with her longtime partner Tony Alva. Photographs of her latest collection which was recently shown in New York will be projected at the event as well as guests in attendance wearing her dresses.
10 Cane (
http://www.10cane.com/) is hand-crafted by the experts at
Moet Hennessy, the world’s premier luxury spirits producer. Named for its distinctive harvesting method- ten perfect sugar cane stalks, hand-cut and carefully bundled – 10 Cane represents the relaxed environment of Trinidad juxtaposed with the luxury and know-how of French distillation. A drinking experience simply unattainable with molasses, 10 Cane is rum’s redemption.
"Ms. M" (
Celebs attending the FFiF event on October 10 included the 
