Mad Night in Paris
(PARIS) Dinner schedules, sleeping goals, and driver relationships were all strained last night, thanks to a man that almost no one has ever met. The Daily brings you a breakdown of a very draining, entertaining, and frustrating tale of three shows that experienced the kind of delays that could only be perhaps rivaled by the torrential downpours on the grounds of Wimbledon.
6:47: Maison Martin Margiela show (with a 6:30 start time) is located somewhere in the middle of the nowhere. Today happens to be one of those happy occasions, when traffic intensifies, horns blare and cell phones beep in agony.
7:15: Rick Owens arrives to the show with a friend and is greeted by the usual posse of plastic white lab coats and plastic cups. He greets Gareth Pugh. They've both been to each other's shows, and now they are spreading their front row portfolios.
7:22: Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough arrive for their first show in years. "I wish we actually had time to rest, but we don't," Hernandez said. "It's been work, meetings, and work for us in Paris so it's nice to actually catch a show." They take seats in fear that the show might start any second. It doesn't.
7:33: Dust is settling. Seating assignments are almost complete at Margiela: Glenn O'Brien and Anne Slowey are entertaining each other in the second row, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld text messages friends in third, Joann Pailey, in a gold top, is in the fourth, while Booth Moore sits in the first.
7:45: There's a small panic outside of Vivienne Westwood's show (7:30 start time). Nearly a hundred ticket holders are standing outside and booing. No one is let in.
7:48: Margiela finally begins, and for his 20th anniversary show, the company takes its time. The show finale consists of a parade, a marching band, a four-legged cake and a confetti galore. Carine Roitfeld can't stop smiling, while another top American editor (we'll never tell...) runs out while uttering the following in her cell phone: "I don't care how many virgin girls he used to make those hair jackets. He's abusing all of us today."
8:05: No one is let in to Vivienne Westwood show just yet. Katy Perry and Tracy Emin are waiting, too. "I'm playing a concert tomorrow in Paris actually," said Perry. "But this sets the atmosphere up really well."
8:27: Cars are furiously en route to Westwood. Blackberries have never been used this much. Bill Cunningham is in the front seat of a Mercedes, carpooling with Eric Wilson and company.
8:44: On the other side of Paris. Yohji Yamamoto (with an 8:30 start time) is nowhere close to beginning. Joann Pailey is a lone editor at her seat. Ken Downing opts for a quick coffee at Café Soprano across the street. "We might be here for a while," he wisely concludes. He's right, of course.
8:54: Westwood finally begins. Drivers are on call for another speed race across town.
9:07: Back at Yamamoto, backstage looks a serene heaven. No catering, no cameras, just models and neatly organized clothes. "Sorry, there's no one allowed backstage. We don't wanted to get crowded," said one Japanese organizer to a modeling executive. Crickets could be heard in the background.
9:25: L'Officiel's Evelina Khromchenko arrives. She's speediest editor, having conquered all three shows. Never discount the Russians.
9:44: Yamamoto starts emotionally with a piano tune and finishes with a standing ovation from the Japanese section, 19 minutes later.
10:10: The strolls to the cars are more casual this time. Dinner reservations have, for the most part, been downgraded to bistro house salads.
VALENTINE UHOVSKI
