At Dennis Basso on Monday afternoon, one woman wandered the runway greeting people cheerfully and clutching a flute of Champagne. We have no idea how she got it, where, or why no one spread the wealth. The show opened with a moment of silence for Basso’s good friend, customer, and QVC colleague Joan Rivers (a moment of silence Jada Pinkett Smith only vaguely observed, by the way, perhaps because she knew Joan would have hated her sheer shirt). Frankly, we think Joan would have preferred it if we had ALL been sloshed.
Hoda Kotb also almost missed the moment of silence because she was on the tail end of what looked like a funny story, but once she realized, she bit her lip and stared at her lap, blushing a little. We think Joan would has been okay with THAT, too; if anyone understood soldiering forth toward the punch line, it was La Rivers. Hoda looked great, and as if she does not age; nearby, Beverly Johnson looked youthful as well, Star Jones looked exactly like Star Jones, and Ivana Trump was at the apex of Ivananess in a giant blonde beehive, huge 80s-looking sunglasses, and leopard print. Former Real Housewives Countess LuAnn and Kelly Bensimon ducked in as well, all of them swarming past a bemused and out-of-place-looking Colton Haynes from the CW’s Arrow. He looked very sleek and varnished, as if he meant to go to Tommy Hilfiger and just got in the wrong line. Then again, given that he used to be on Teen Wolf, maybe attending a fur-heavy show isn’t so bizarre. More like Old Home Week.
Lisa Rinna, another celebrity who looks EXACTLY as you expect her to, was having the best time. She spent the whole show chair-dancing and singing along to Beyoncé and Pharrell on the soundtrack along with Kotb and Garcelle Beauvais, whom Rinna greeted with a squeaky “SHUT UP!” and a hug. Beauvais was in a super-froofy strapless gown and chatting animatedly with reporters about her wardrobe. By which we mean, the actual one in which she keeps her clothes. “My shoes are a big deal. They have their own closet where I display them, with chandeliers,” we heard her saying. “They’re crystal.” Of that, Joan definitely would have approved.