It was celebrity madness at the Diane Von Furstenberg show yesterday afternoon — Cathy Horyn and Racked have rundowns of all the luminaries, from Graydon Carter to Leighton Meester, J.Lo to Ray Kelly — but our heart skipped a beat later last night at the DVF after-party at 60 Thompson. When we walked in, we nearly smacked right into Whitney Port. Cameras on tripods were planted in the corners and aimed squarely at the Hills star, who was having what looked like a forced conversation with some suits. We were admiring her short gray dress with black lace detail when a MTV-ish fellow shoved a release form in our faces and asked us to sign. We obliged, obviously — the back of our head maybe appearing on The Hills would be a dream come true!
We immediately asked if L.C. was in the house. She was not, Mr. MTV informed us, but dear Olivia Palermo was! But it was Whitney, Whitney who we really wanted. We wandered to the lounge outside and found nine or ten people in a corner, looking at footage just shot at the party on tiny television screens. Whitney, now off-camera, was chatting with the crew. And THAT is how they create those Emmy-worthy Hills scenes? It felt like we’d unearthed a state secret.
Moments later, Olivia Palermo flitted out to chat with the crew. We asked her what she was doing with herself these days. “I work at DVF!” she said excitedly. “I’m in PR.” Is she an intern? Her expression soured slightly. “No, I’m actually on staff!” she replied. Huh. Interesting: Could Olivia be the new Lauren? She’s working at DVF with Whitney, she’s probably capable of conducting expository dialogue on camera, and she’s perky but turns sullen when an unsavory type (like us) says the wrong thing. Sounds like it could work!
