CHANEL. It’s such an iconic brand that putting the name in all-caps, it is at once subject, preposition, and modifier. That’s pretty major. Recently, the company chartered a handful of jets from New York (and more from LA and San Francisco), filled them to the brim with Les Fidèles de CHANEL (“the faithful ones” – CHANEL's brand ambassadors), fashionistas, stylists, editors, trustafarians, “It” girls, and a smattering of the fabulous folks who actually buy the clothes, accessories and jewelry; and flew them to Las Vegas. Once here, they were among the first in the United States to experience Numéros Privés, the House’s incredible interactive exhibition; on display at Wynn Las Vegas, from January 20th - 28th, taking over the space previously occupied by Alex Restaurant.
Why did CHANEL choose Las Vegas? Because (in addition to the re-launch of the company’s flagship boutique on the Via Bellagio), Las Vegas is, according to CHANEL, “…the ultimate city of excess and glamour.” Why Wynn? In a city of glamorous excess, where better? I mean, the property’s home to a nightclub called XS, for Pete’s sake! Why now? I’m sure the overlap with the Chinese New Year (which is one of the greatest annual draws of ultrahigh net-worth individuals to Las Vegas) was more than just a happy accident.
Seen on the scene were John Galantic (President/COO, CHANEL Inc.), Imelda May (the evening’s entertainment), Alexa Chung (Host, 24 Hour Catwalk) and Nick Cohen – who tag-teamed on the ones-and-twos, Carlos Mota (Editor at Large, Elle Décor; author, Flowers Chic & Cheap), Derek Blasberg (Editor at Large, Harper’s Bazaar; author, Classy: Exceptional Advice for the Extremely Modern Lady), Drew Elliott (VP of Creative Services and Marketing, PAPER Magazine), musician/model/actress Sam Quartin, gorgeous gallerist Nicola Vassell, Gia Coppola (Francis’ granddaughter), agent Jen Brill, China Chow, model Anouk Lepere, Haylie Duff (Napoleon Dynamite), hotel heiress Alessandra Balazs, model/actress Dree Hemingway, Geordon Nicol and LeighLezark (two-thirds of DJ-trio, The Misshapes), singer Sophie Auster, stylist Caroline Sieber, a trio of Gettys, Clara Bottoms (Producer, Top Chef and its spin-offs), George Kotsiopoulos (co-Host, Fashion Police), photographer Douglas Friedman, and event producer Nicholas Rytting. Sprinkled among the imports were local lovelies Elaine Wynn, Elizabeth Blau, Abbie Friedman, Judith Perez, JoAnn Sturm and her husband Richard, and Sheryl Goldstein with her husband, Rob.
Numéros Privés was a two-year labor of love, executed and overseen by Barbara Cirkva (Fashion Division President, CHANEL); and the opening party was merely the first of more than a dozen invitation-only affairs that would transpire over the coming week (to which I’d been invited to three, and of which I attended none, as a result of (a) being stuck in a blizzard in Seattle, then (b) oversleeping as a result of poor BlackBerry data input, and finally (c) having to wait for a FedEx delivery).
Not to worry… I was treated to a private tour of the exhibition, an in-depth description of which follows in Part 2 of this essay (so, you’ll just have to come back, and read it). Fortunately pour moi, my favorite pair of NY-based lensmen, Billy Farrell and David X. Prutting, were among those flown-in for the affair; so, thanks to the talented (and handsome) gents at BFA for the fantastic party pics!
Anyhoo – I finally got back to town on Saturday; whence I hightailed it over to The Barrymore, where power-publicist Nadine Johnson was hosting the only “official” off-property affair of the decidedly VIP all-inclusive weekend. I’m assuming that the after-dinner excursions to Sapphire Gentlemen’s Club (don’t ask) and SHARE Nightclubwere “un-official” – but, it is Las Vegas, after all; and in addition to the Chinese New Year and the Numéros Privés launch, it was also AVN Weekend, with all the miles and miles of beautiful smiles that entails.
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