Wait, he’s not a maitre d’?Patrick McMullan
Yesterday, in a room full of ladies who lunch, couture’s darling, Alber Elbaz of Lanvin, was honored with the FIT Couture Council’s second annual award for artistry in fashion. Celebs and fashionistas made an impressive showing at the Rainbow Room: Eve rocked the now-ubiquitous alcohol-monitoring ankle bracelet, Demi Moore stuck close to Bazaar’s Glenda Bailey, Iman and Linda Evangelista looked just plain glamorous, and Chloë Sevigny seemed to have forgotten her bra.
Simon Doonan opened the ceremony — dropping Fergie’s newly coined “flossy flossy” at least three times — bemoaning a blown budget and, subsequently, the decision to use local (!) girls in a small-scale New York showing. (Said local girls worked out: Tara Reid types were transformed into “Left Bank intellectuals” through Elbaz’s “magical” creations.) Elbaz finally took to the podium for an “aw”-inducing thank you, calling himself a dream maker (okay), a dressmaker (true), and a maître d’ (huh?). —Rachel Wolff
