Daily Front Row

2010 September 15

Catching Up With Bibhu Mohapatra

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Bibhu Mohapatra
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We heard you were in a Bollywood movie!
My friend was producing a movie called Tenn Patti, and I was told, "Oh, come to the set---you'll get to see all these movie stars." I got there, and then they asked me to stand in the background, but I actually had to say lines! I never thought I would get starstruck, but sitting next to Amitabh Bachchan, I was in awe!

You work in the CFDA incubator. What's that like?
It's the best step my business could have taken. My old studio was on 73rd and Broadway. I did three collections out of there, and it was a little tight on space. We made patterns on the floor.

What's your best dish?
I do mostly Indian or Indian-influenced cuisine. I make everything from scratch. I make my own curry paste, which has to be soaked for about two days beforehand. Growing up, my mom never allowed me to cook, but once I was 24 and moved to America, she gave me wher whole box of tricks so that I could be on my own.

Which restaurants do you like?
I love Café Luxembourg. I've been going there for years.

Drink of choice?
If it's a really hot day, then I like to relax with a beer in the apartment. A nice glass of red wine is great too. Also, I like vodka. I can't drink a lot of other kinds of liquors. I never drank in India, so New York spoiled me!

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2010 September 15

The Daily Wonders...Would You Pose Nude?

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Anne Slowey and Joe Zee
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Marc Jacobs stripped down for his new Bang campaign, so when Chic got to Monday's show, we had to ask: What would it take to get you to pose naked? We asked, you dished!

Courtney Love: I posed nude for Mert and Marcus, and I used to perform topless.

Lucy Yeomans: If Lucien Freud asked.

Anne Slowey: I just did, for my baby portraits! But I was discreet. I wasn't wearing millions of dollars of borrowed jewelry. I was covered by my two puppies!

Sasha Iglehart: Depends on who'd be doing the retouching.

Ingrid Sischy: There's an expression that works well here: "Not for all the tea in China." If Karl asked? But Karl would never ask!

Anne Christensen: World peace, and a lot of money.

Jody Quon: Same here!

Robert Duffy: I'd have to be 20 years younger. If you look hard, maybe there's a thing or two on the internet.

Armand Limnander: Seven figures and Inez and Vinoodh. They've been doing a great job on our covers...

Nacho Figueras: Not happening!

Stephen Gan: I'd rather just make others do it.

Bryan Boy: A cool $10 million.

Joe Zee: Nobody around and no cameras! If Testino asked, sure. But Testino wouldn't want me to pose naked.

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2010 September 15

Models "Bore" Tom Ford

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Tom Ford
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Sure, Tom Ford's uber-exclusive presentation on Sunday night boasted slews of A-listers (Beyonce, Rita Wilson, Julianne Moore...) as Ford's personal models, but he also had a few girls for whom catwalking and mugging for the camera is what pays the bills. Of course, not just any old models would do. "He didn't want models; he said they bored him," dished Carolyn Murphy to Chic last night at Saks' W fête. "Except for us! I'm glad that Tom Ford brought women with personality back. It was all about fun, and we had a good time. Every woman was individual and we were celebrating that. Yesterday we did a shoot for all the clothes and each one of us was really definitely different."

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2010 September 15

What Courtney Wore

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Courtney Love, in Narciso Rodriguez
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Chic caught up with the Hole frontwoman-turned-style blogger backstage at Narcisco Rodriguez, where she revealed that her sleek Rodriguez look was actually a bit troublesome---fitting, considering Rodriguez himself described his most recent collection as "complicated simplicity." "I love Narciso," gushed Love, "But I think I wore his most difficult look tonight. I was very hard to figure out. It took about an hour just to figure the knot out!"

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2010 September 14

The Weather Report with Ruben and Isabel

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Isabel and Ruben Toledo
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It was raining last night---all the more appropriate for celebrating Ruben Toledo's brand-new book, The Fashion Almanac. The illustrator extraordinaire (and one half of fashion's most adorable couple, along with his lovely wife, designer Isabel) chatted with Chic about the weather...but this was no small talk!

Tell us about your new book!
Ruben: It was my take on a Farmer’s Almanac. You know, how nature changes constantly, and this kind of thing is what fashion’s all about. You don’t expect it, and then, bam, wow, there it is!

How long have you been reading up on the Farmer’s Almanacs?
R: Oh, since I was a little kid! I live for that kind of stuff. I’m a real sucker for that. They’re so wise, you know? They always, always get it right, no matter what. Plus, I married a country girl! Isabel is so in tune with nature. She’ll be like, “Oh, the door’s squeaking---that means that a storm is on it’s way,' and so on.

Do you have any other intuitive tricks?
Isabel: I know many! It’s more of something that just comes to me at the moment. Ever since I can remember, and the same with my mother. But Ruben, he can always smell snow.

Before it snows?
I: Yes! He’ll be outside, and he can smell it in the air before the first snowfall. He always knows when it’s about to snow. It’s so important to feel the nature here, even in the middle of New York City. No matter where you are. We really make sure that we feel that connection. We look at the sky, we take a guess as to what the weather is going to be. Sure, you can turn on the TV to get the report, but there’s nothing like looking up at the sky and knowing.  
R: Oh yes, absolutely. There’s that feeling of looking over the horizon when the sun is setting over the Hudson River, there’s nothing like it. It’s an unbelievable feeling; it changes everything, you know what I mean? And you bump into nature in New York so easily! You come out of the subway, walk up those stairs and the first thing you see is the sun.

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2010 September 14

The Daily Wonders...What Were You Like at 25?

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Rebecca Romijn
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In honor of Tommy Hilfiger's big anniversary, we had to ask the slews of chicsters partying on Sunday night: What were you like at 25? Behold their answers!

Brett Ratner: Much skinnier!

Rebecca Romijn: I'm pretty sure I was working for Tommy. I had it together, baby!

Candice Bergen: I was touring around Europe a lot, sunbathing in the South of France and enjoying myself tremendously.

Kimora Lee Simmons: Married! But when Russell was 25, he was probably smoking something or other.

Russell Simmons: I was high on some drugs, but not all the time. And not all at the same time!

Steven Kolb: I had a lot more hair and I was thinner. I was more carefree, but I was always a bit of a mama's boy.

Tyson Ritter: At 25, I was losing my mind. Let's just say there was a lot of experimentation---they call it the quarter-life crisis. I'm 26 now, and I've lived to tell the tale. I'm a new man.

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