Ready, Set, Launch
Coming-Out Parties for New Lines From Jamie Johnson, Alexander Olch, and Vanessa Traina
How many men can lay claim to both an HBO documentary and a fashion label? Well, two that we know of. Last night, designers/filmmakers/men-about-town Jamie Johnson (Born Rich) and Alexander Olch (The Windmill Movie) jointly celebrated their new collections at Bergdorf's—Johnson's Black Sweater line and Olch's latest round of spring accessories. Guests including Ivanka Trump and Olivia Chantecaille orbited a neat display of seersucker notepads, linen Harvard scarves, and a herringbone suit. Both designers have a patrician streak—wear them together, Johnson suggested, and you're "a real dude, in the most traditional sense of the term."
Nearby at Barneys, a who's who of young New York designers, including Alexander Wang, Joseph Altuzarra, and Proenza Schouler's Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough, gathered to fête their friend Vanessa Traina and her first capsule collection for the French contemporary brand Maje (rhymes with the French, not the American, pronunciation of cage). How did the stylist-turned-designer feel about showing off her wares to her more established peers? "They all encouraged me," she said. "So did my sisters." In any case, Traina has prepped herself well for her new venture; she's been studying one of fashion's greats for the better part of a decade. Estimating that the revealing Balenciaga top she wore under her Maje tuxedo dated to 2004 (she was right, by the way, it's Fall 2004), she said, "I've been wearing Nicolas Ghesquière's clothes since 2002."
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