Daily Front Row

2013 May 22

Lorenzo Martone Takes Us For A Ride

Comments | | Print

Lorenzo Martone
Billy Farrell Agency View Gallery

If those Citi Bikes don't strike your fancy, Lorenzo Martone has come to the rescue with his infinitely chicer line of wheels, Martone Cycling, celebrated last night with a party at the Paramount Hotel. Martone's loyal posse of friends coming to toast him included Marjorie Gubelmann, Douglas Friedman, Marc Jacobs, Peter Som, Jonathan Cheban, Simon Collins, Ariel Foxman, Cory Bond, Mark Silver, Nate Berkus, Claude Morais, Brian Wolk, Dustin Patrick Smith, and Luis Fernandez. Already featured in Vogue, Vanity Fair and your Daily, the line of men's and women's bikes come in black, white, red, gold, and silver with a signature red bike chain and go for $899. Hunky Brazilian not included. 

Read More »

2013 May 22

Naomipedia

Comments | | Print

Naomi Campbell Through the Years
Getty Images View Gallery

It's a cause for celebration today because Naomi Campbell turns 43! We checked out her Wikipedia page earlier today to brush up on all things Naomi and found some fascinating facts about the legend. Here's what we learned... (*Please note that since this is from Wikipedia so there is a very good shot that some of this was made up by a man on his computer in Virginia.)

1. Her first public appearance came at the age of seven in 1978 in Bob Marley's "Is This Love" video.

2. Naomi was dubbed a part of the "Trinity" with Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista.

3. She appeared in Madonna's racy book Sex with rapper Big Daddy Kane. (Where'd he go?)

4. Her novel Swan about a supermodel dealing with blackmail was released in 1994 to poor reviews. It was ghostwritten by Caroline Upcher, with Campbell explaining that she "just did not have the time to sit down and write a book." (Note: Loooooooooooooove!)

5. Former South African president Nelson Mandela has referred to Campbell as his "honorary granddaughter."

6. In 1995, she and Claudia Schiffer and Elle Macpherson invested in an ill-fated chain of restaurants called the Fashion Cafe.

7. In October 2001, she appeared with Sean Combs on the cover of British Vogue, with the headline "Naomi and Puff: The Ultimate Power Duo."

8. She has never married, but has dated Mike Tyson and Robert De Niro. She was engaged to U2 bassist Adam Clayton.

9. In 2009, she was awarded Honorary Patronage of Trinity College's University Philosophical Society for her charitable and professional work.

10. In August 1988, she became the first black model to appear on the cover of French Vogue, after Yves Saint Laurent threatened to withdraw his advertising from the magazine if it continued to refuse to place black models on its cover.

Read More »

2013 May 22

Exclusive! THEIA's Don O'Neill Is Engaged

Comments | | Print

The proposal!
View Gallery

Aw alert! THEIA designer Don O'Neill celebrated 20 years with his partner, Pascal, by jetting down to Miami and popping the question. Here's the play-by-play... 

"South Beach, Miami. It's the morning of Sunday, April 28th, our 20th anniversary. I woke up all a flutter. Today I was going to propose to Pascal. Everything was planned. The airplane banner would fly over South Beach between 10:15 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. The photographer due to nonchalantly pretend to be a sun bather next to us was arriving at 10 a.m. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. 

At 9 a.m., we set up on our beach chairs soaking up the sun when Pascal decided he wanted the umbrella up, obliterating the view of the sky. Concealing my panic, I played cool for all of five minutes before convincing him to close it. The beach was filling up and I'm thinking, 'I should have planned this for 9:30!' I fidget and fuss as Pascal tells me to relax and enjoy the sun because it’s our last day here. Sonia (the photographer) arrives and sets up a few loungers down from us. I coyly acknowledge her.

At 10:15 a.m., my heart is racing: 'What if the plane doesn't come? What if they mixed up the dates!' 

At 10:25 Pascal declares he is going for a swim to cool down.........PANIC!!! I tell him he has two minutes as my dad is calling us at 10:30 a.m. to wish us a happy anniversary. As he strolls down the water, Sonia mouths to me: 'Where is he going???' Suddenly in the sky behind Sonia I see in the distance a plane with two love hearts on the banner. OMG, panic. I yell at Pascal to get out of the water. Dripping wet, I don't give him time to towel off, and ask him to sit down. I yank his anniversary card out of my beach bag, rip it open, and thrust it in his face to read quickly. He asks me what's wrong. 'Just read the card,' I tell him. Pascal admires the outside. 'Aw, how cute is this!' he says. 'Just open it, and read it,' I bark! I hear the plane approaching behind me. In the card I had written everything I wanted to say, like how special he was to me, so I wouldn't forget. But it was too late, so I started to tell him as I reached behind me into my bag for the ring box. My emotions got the better of me as I tell him how much I love him in tears. He thinks something is terribly wrong. Then in tears, I tell him to just look up at the plane, which was flying behind me, its beautiful banner announcing 'Pascal Je T'aime! Will you marry me?' As he reads it, I open the red leather ring box and presented him with the ring. Then it all becomes slow motion, a blur of emotion. Pascal said yes with tears streaming down both our faces, and everyone on the beach around us erupted in cheers. Suddenly the photographer comes into view to take pictures as the plane continues to circle South Beach and the cheering continues—both of us literally float high above all the excitement to take up residence on cloud 9."

Read More »

2013 May 22

Heath Ledger Levi's Sell For Big Bucks

Comments | | Print

Heath Ledger
Getty Images View Gallery

In random news of the denim-sphere...Last night, the Nate D. Sanders auction house in Los Angeles sold a pair of 501 Levi's worn by Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain for a whopping $21,013. The weathered trous, sized 34 x 36 inches, came with a pair of faded yellow workman gloves with "Ennis" (Ledger's character in the film) written in black marker on the inside. Coincidentally, the jeans sold exactly 140 years after Levi Strauss invented his iconic 501s.

Read More »

2013 May 22

Rachel Comey Heads To The Hamptons!

Comments | | Print

Rachel Comey
Getty Images View Gallery

Downtown doyenne Rachel Comey is hitting the East End with a new retail partnership, thanks to Montauk's Surf Lodge. The designer is expected to open a shop-in-shop July 12-14 and July 19-21, housing RC swim, coverups, sandals, bags, and accessories. Plus, watch out for Rachel Comey x The Surf Lodge, the hospitality brand's first in-house collection featuring casual, limited-edition tees and sweatshirts for men and women. The beachy collab will be sold at The Surf Lodge as well as on RachelComey.com beginning Memorial Day Weekend. 

How did you hook up with The Surf Lodge, Rachel?
We were brainstorming a great place to experiment with retail as we're aiming to open a flagship at some point in the future. And we were thinking of our new swim collection and where it would find its best audience. Naturally, we thought of the Hamptons during July and The Surf Lodge is the focal point of quintessential weekend fun!

Where else will we find you this summer, besides the Lodge?
Probably The Poles or The Hideaway.

Where would we never catch you?
Having a fancy dinner out!

How “Hamptons” are you on a scale of one to ten?
Pretty low! I spend most of my time on the North Fork.  But high on the charts if you consider both forks since I try to go out every weekend.

What other surprises do you have in store this season?
We have special items for sale that will only be available at The Surf Lodge. We have a collaboration going with Sunsail Cabanas for custom sunglasses to shield you against the hot Montauk sun, and we have made some beach blankets from our original textiles. 

Describe Montauk in one word.
Utopian. 

Read More »

2013 May 22

Look of The Daily: Joan Smalls in Emilio Pucci

Comments | | Print

Joan Smalls
Getty Images View Gallery

Catch her if you Canne! Joan Smalls won over Hollywood heavyweights yesterday at the premiere of Cleopatra, walking alongside red carpet regulars like Adrien Brody, Jessica Chastain, Dita Von Teese, Milla Jovovich, and Rosario Dawson. The 24-year-old stunner posed for the paps in a white, plunging Emilio Pucci gown reminding us why she's still the number one ranked model in the world. Werk.

Read More »