Fashion Wire Daily NY - Hip design-loving folk braved a downpour Tuesday night to fete Cooper-Hewitt's Fourth National Design Awards, to be presented in November. But although lemon drops and cosmopolitans made from Ciroc vodka were certainly enjoyed under the massive white rain-shielding tent, someone should have thought to do something about the wet grass underfoot.
"I'm not going to ruin these," exclaimed one partygoer, removing her four-inch gold sandals. "I'll just walk around barefoot."
Those who were wise enough to anticipate an outdoor event wore cork platforms, flat mules or Coach sneakers, in an ode to the design awards' title sponsor. "Saturday Night Live" alum Ana Gasteyer, baby in tow, made sure to point out her Coach Hampton tote to Coach creative director Reed Krakoff, fawning over it.
Krakoff couldn't have looked more pleased. "Coach used to be a place where people went to replace their standby wallets," he told FWD. "I'm trying to bring a more trendy approach to our styles and make it more of an accessory."
And in his six years with the 62-year-old company, Krakoff has done just that. The CFDA winner (for Accessories Designer of the Year in 2001) has brought new life to the once tame brand of leather goods. With the inclusion of canvas logo bags, hobo styles and crocodile clutches -- not to mention a full line of accessories for men, women and dogs -- to the classic line, Coach's net income skyrocketed 117 percent in the third quarter of this year, to $31.9 million.
One can probably expect Coach to add whimsical pillows with butterfly- and flower-shaped leather appliqués to next season's home collection, since they adorned the white bench seats scattered under the tent Tuesday night. Perched on one such resting spot was Isabel Dawson, mother to indie-film star extraordinaire Rosario, who patiently waited for her daughter to finish rounds of interviews, clutching a seemingly homemade tote that read "Supermom."
The younger Dawson looked fittingly hip in a short ruffle lace skirt, violet tights, ankle boots and eyeglasses that rivaled Elvis Costello's. Both she and fellow thespian Anna Paquin, dressed in a hot pink getup and sporting jet black hair, managed to keep their stiletto heels mud-free as they chatted animatedly together amidst the flashes of camera bulbs.
The National Design Awards are given out annually by the Smithsonian Institution's Cooper-Hewitt Museum to recognize American designers and inventors who have created innovative packaging, ads, products, or even architecture. Past winners have included Andre Balazs, Frank Gehry, Stanley Marcus, and the Whirlpool Corporation.
And if there was a culinary category, an honorable mention would certainly go to the creator of the mini cupcakes and lemon tarts that Maggie Rizer, Audrey Lindvall (Angela's sister and a Coach model), Eva Amurri and Michele Hicks happily munched on to the sounds of a crooning jazz singer.
