Daily Front Row

2013 May 3

Sergio Says! Musings From Cosmo (and Beyond...)

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Sergio with Tom Odell, at long last!
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Music makes Sergio Kletnoy's world go 'round, and the Cosmo gatekeeper to EIC Joanna Coles has had a week positively packed with audio gems. Whip out those earphones, darlings, and get listening! 

Monday
After work I dashed over to Brooklyn Diner with my friend and Bieber’s publicist Melissa. Over mouth-watering chicken noodle soup (for her), almost as good as my mom’s borscht (for moi) and lobster grilled cheese (with cheddar, Gruyere and parmesan) big enough for four people, I made fun of Melissa’s “sunglasses at night” look, which she blamed on the recent Lasik eye surgery. Topic of conversation: me, because if I don’t admire me, who will? We didn’t realize how quickly an hour passed and rushed over to The Cinema Society premiere of Scatter My Ashes At Bergdorf's at the French Institute Alliance Française at East 59^th Street. The theatre was getting filled with N.Y. fashionistas; most of them were major do’s, sprinkled with a few very loud don’ts. I took so many mental pictures and can’t wait to arrange them in order of ghastly to hideous in my mental photo album! Melissa and I ended up sitting between the Hiltons (Kathy, Rick, and Nicky), Hilfigers (Tommy, Dee, and Ally), and Madonna’s former love and Lola’s daddy Carlos. Of course, people watching isn't as fun when your partner-in-crime’s vision is completely blurred. Melissa kept asking if there were any hot guys around, so I decided to just point at everyone as if they were David Gandy’s of the world, ooh’ing and ahh’ing over everyone… Just to mess with her. Onto the film: the story behind Bergdorf’s 111 years in the biz is fascinating, and there's lots of behind-the-scenes about the store's parties, windows, buyers, and shoppers, plus cameos from Armani, Candice Bergen, Manolo, Tory Burch, Georgina & Keren of Marchesa, Cher, Dolce & Gabbana, Patricia Field, Proenza’s Lazaro & Jack, Marc Jacobs, Kors, Lagerfeld, Susan Lucci, Louboutin, Malandrino, Mendel, Mizrahi, the Olsen’s, Thakoon, Oscar, Nicole Richie, Joan Rivers, Narciso, Streisand, DvF, Vera Wang, Rachel Zoe & Jason Wu made the flick a must-see. The two hours flew by! All that’s missing was a cameo from me…  

Tuesday
My fave food in the world, apart from Bloody Mary’s, is gazpacho. If I could, I would sleep, bathe in and eat gazpacho six-times-a-day-seven-days-a-week-365-days-a-year. Today on my search for healthier junk-free lunches, I discovered Blue Dog café’s chilled tomato gazpacho. I instantly knew that the rest of my summer will be a happy one. It was out-of-this-world good! My only wish is for a big cup of bloody with my bowl of chilled goodness, on a daily. The cherry on top was a visit from model and John Legend’s fiancé Chrissy Teigen, who wanted to discuss everything pop culture. We dished music (everyone from Kanye and Beyoncé to Chris Brown and her main man John), reality shows (Married To Jonas) and her upcoming wedding. Plus, I always feel better about myself when taking photos with models. They make me feel pretty…

Wednesday
Met with a stellar new singer-songwriter Jillette (Just like Gillette razor but with a 'J') Johnson. She’s 23, lived in N.Y. most of her life, and has been performing since the age of 12. (Show off! At 12 I watched cartoons and dreamed of meeting Madonna.) When I first heard a song of Jillette’s called “Torpedo”, I was blown away by her voice and immediately added her to my must-meet list. Jillette cites Carole King as her inspiration. But for me, she’s the best of what Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, and Adele have to offer. Melancholy and powerful, poetic and whimsical, her voice is a powerhouse. I got to catch Jillette perform at Rockwood Music Hall on the Lower East Side, where she was able to do something very few have done before. She made me blush by dedicating “Torpedo” to me with a wink… So sweet! Jillette’s excellent debut album Water In A Whale is out June 25^th, A must-own for everyone! P.S. May 1^st is also Patsy Stone aka Joanna Lumley of Absolutely Fabulous’ birthday, so for the rest of the night I celebrated with many shots of bolli stoli… 

Thursday
Once in a while you hear a song and it stops you dead in your tracks. For me it happens more often than for most, maybe because music feeds my soul almost as much (if not more) as a Landmarc Bloody Mary. Last year during my daily web-surfing I stumbled across “Another Love” by a British singer-songwriter Tom Odell. I was completely blown away by the beauty of his lyrics and the passion in his voice. It was the same feeling I got when I first heard Adele and Coldplay. After years of playing open-mic nights all over England, Tom was discovered by Lily Allen, signed to her label, and a year later received a Critic’s Choice award at the BRITs (U.K.’s equivalent of the Grammy’s). His sound was clearly influenced by some of the greats: Elton, Bowie, Cohen, Joel, Buckley, Dylan, and Waits, without really sounding like any of them. Tonight I was invited to watch Tom rehearse at Bowery Ballroom for his first big U.S. show and I finally saw baby-faced Tom in all his glory. It was an out-of-body experience. For two hours Tom, murdered his piano and sang his heart out, each take better than the previous one. He opened with Billy Joel’s “New York State Of Mind” and every hair on my arms (no, I do not shave) stood up. We got to chat after the rehearsal. I capped off my eve watching Tom with a wall-to-wall audience, smiling like a proud family member. Odell better clear out space on his mantle: the world is about to wake up, fall in love with and shower him with awards… Trust me! His long awaited debut album, Long Way Down, is ready for take off… 

Friday
Obsessed: “Safe And Sound” by Capital Cities; “End of Night” by Dido; “Axis” by Pet Shop Boys; “Broken Record” by Little Boots; “Tube Stops and Lonely Hearts” by Annie; “Look Around You” by Boris Dlugosh & Roisin Murphy; “Popular” by Mika and Ariana Grande; “Devil Or Angel” by Lou Doillon and “Just Desserts” Marina & the Diamonds & Charli XCX, which you can download for free on Soundcloud.

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2013 May 3

Things To Discuss: Courtney Love Rocks On

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They Don't Make Like Courtney Anymore...
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Courtney Love made quite the fashion statement in vintage Mrs. Roper last night at Interview mag's opening of "Lost Then Found" in the MePa. Court joined Ally Hilfiger, Tom English, Jeisa Chiminazzo, Serena Guen, and Hester Sunshine in viewing never-before-seen portraits of Andy Warhol by Steve Wood. The exhibition is open to the public until May 7th at 234 West 12th Street.

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2013 May 3

Amanda Seyfried's Givenchy Ad Suddenly Appears

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Will We See This Ad Come October?
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It's the moment we've all been waiting for...Earlier this week it was announced that Amanda Seyfried would replace Liv Tyler as the face of Givenchy's Very Irresistible fragrance. Now those sneaky internet kids have unearthed the first shot of the actress in the campaign that doesn't officially hit fashion tomes until October. Doesn't this leak (we think) seem extremely premature?

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2013 May 3

FIT Shows Us The Future of Fashion

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Model
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Just when your eyes could use a bit of runway action, FIT's annual The Future of Fashion show at their school in Chelsea comes along to show off the best of the best of their graduating class. On Wednesday evening, established designers such as Lisa Perry, Dennis Basso, and Rag & Bone's David Neville sat front row for a chance to watch the biz's future superstars put 90 looks on the runway for the first time. The categories were in sportswear, special occasion, knitwear, intimate apparel, and children's wear. Also included in the evening's program: a showcase of a capsule collection designed by graduating students who spent their final year at the college's Milan campus, at Politecnico di Milano. The professionally produced show is supported by a $2 million grant from alumnus Calvin Klein (and his eponymous brand, Calvin Klein Inc). Once again, the pint-sized mods in training walking in the childrenswear's section (this year impressively, the tiny duds were designed by Thaiana Cruz) stole the show. Check out our Gallery to feast your eyes on some highlights. The future looks good to us! 

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2013 May 3

Captain Vivienne Westwood

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Vivienne Westwood and Richard Branson
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Attention, passengers! Dame Vivienne Westwood is redesigning Virgin Atlantic's red uniforms for their 7,500 employees next year. The uniforms will be made using recycled materials such as polyester yarn that originated from plastic bottles and canvas from reused roadside banners and leather off-cuts. (We have no idea what that means, but go with it.) "What we don't want to do is work with anyone who comes up with a design and just dumps it on the cabin crew." Virgin's top dog Richard Branson told Vogue UK. "It's glamorous, it's stylish." Fasten your seatbelts...

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2013 May 3

Cara Delevingne Covers Miss Vogue's First Edition

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She Can't Hear You!
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Can you hear us, Cara? Girl of the moment Cara Delevingne becomes the answer to trivia questions eternally as the inaugural covergal of the UK's Miss Vogue. That's the British version of Teen Vogue that comes out across the pond on May 6th. The first issue includes Henry Holland interviewing Pixie Geldof, 21 style icons under 21, and an intriguing feature titled "Rainbow Warriors." Can anybody remember who covered Teen Vogue's first issue? We'll just tell you. Gwen Stefani's mug entered teen's hands in America for their debut issue in February/March 2003.

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