Glitterati and Bling-Bling

Braving the torrential downpour last night, I decided to don my glam best (including my cute new powder blue leather jacket) and hit the Julian Schnabel sculpture opening at C&M Arts temporary outpost in West Chelsea. Was I there for the art? Heck, no! And, looking at the crowd, I don't think I was alone.

This wasn't an art show, folks. It was a people show. Schnabel's exhibit was simply an excuse for the celebrated and celebratory to congregate with flutes of champagne in their hands.

The usual cast of characters were there: the guy who likes to inappropriately fondle the art, to see if he'll get caught; the guy who desperately craves attention and thinks that he can give off an uber-hip mystique by wearing a ridiculous rice paddie China-man hat; the full-lipped babe wearing a patent leather jacket, giving everyone - male, female and in-between - a piercing glance that all at once says "You want me. You can't afford me."; mature collectors with bulging wallets and well-heeled skinny wenches on their arms, etc.

Oh, yes - almost forgot - joining us was Sean Penn, Lou Reed, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Christopher Walken, P. Diddy and the Olsen Twins (unbelievably short gals - could they be Munchkins?).

Same old scene.

Thankfully there was a decent supply of the bubbly to really keep us entertained. But, you know how it is - a few flutes into the stuff and you really need a cocktail to keep the buzz on track. Alas, no bar to be found in the gallery space. Discussing the conundrum with a dapper fellow, I couldn't help but notice that his bling-bling out blinged P. Diddy himself. I was particularly taken with a large ring on his right hand that featured a sizable orange-red gemstone (picture above). He grinned when I asked about it and admitted that he had the ring designed to match his usual cocktail - a Maker's Mark Manhattan.

How come I never thought of that? Matching your fashion statements to your imbibing statements - cocktailian couture! I predict that with all of the hooplah surrounding "bar chefs" and the rebirth of the cocktail culture, that drink-inspired design will be the next big thing.

Forget the glitterati. In the end art won out after all - the art of "the pour."

Comments

[Cat]

Really fantastic site! Will read you often.
Cheers-
Cat

[Dr. Biggles]

That is quite impressive, cocktailian couture. Although, having it roll off my fingers isn't quite the same as when you do it.
I don't EEven want to know what my fingers would be adorned with. Sigh.

[DavidZ]

If you only knew the mean green that bling bling cost me!