vip in the city

Never let ’em see you sweat

Tonight, the launch party for “Gen Art Fresh Faces in Fashion” at D’Or, located below Amalia restaurant adjacent to the Dream Hotel .

M and I checked in at street-level, and descended into D’Or’s cavernous subterranean space by way of a candle-lit staircase. The lounge had the vibe of a swanked-up wine cellar: all secret, shadowy nooks, wax-dripped candelabras, exposed brick and stone, gilded mirrors and crystal chandeliers.

For the past dozen years, Gen Art has hosted this showcase for up and coming designers; past beneficiaries have included such now well-known names as Zac Posen, Rebecca Taylor and Chaiken. This year’s New York show will take place September 5, opening night of New York Fashion Week, and will feature the runway debuts of eight hot new designers: six womenswear and two menswear collections. Another four accessory designers will be showcased in installations during the show’s pre-reception.

But tonight: the party to build the anticipation for the main event. The clothes themselves were represented by designers’ sketches, hung up on walls around the lounge. M and I wandered among the pretty people, as we sipped on pretty p.i.n.k. drinks. The spirit is the brainchild of David Mandell, who in 2004, launched this plain Dutch vodka infused with caffeine and Brazilian guaraná plant extract, to capitalize on the popularity of energy drink and vodka combinations. Mandell’s end product is intended to produce the same energizing effect as a Vodka Red Bull without all the extra sugar; one serving of 80 proof p.i.n.k. contains about 80 mg of caffeine, or the equivalent of a small cup of coffee. Just the fuel to keep us partying through the night.

The fashion evening’s other sponsor: Botox. (And yes, I already made the joke about this being an event for “Fresh and Freshened Faces in Fashion.”) The company spokesperson on hand to deliver a brief presentation was quick to clarify that they were promoting the product not for its more widely known wrinkle-treating purposes, but to combat excessive sweating. Apparently, when injected into armpits (or other sweat-prone areas) Botox temporarily paralyzes a nerve that stimulates sweat glands, a use for which the drug was approved by the FDA in 2004. The condition is known in medical circles as hyperhidrosis, and while there was a young woman in attendance that night to testify how greatly she was helped by the treatment, I strongly suspect that the company has a target audience much wider than the 1-2% of the population truly afflicted. I couldn’t help thinking of those plastic surgeons so quick to point out the fine work they do mending cleft palates and helping burn victims, when most of their time is actually devoted to giving nose jobs to teenagers and performing breast augmentation.

As M dryly (ha!) observed, “Are there really now no other problems to treat?”

There are 2 Comments ... Never let ’em see you sweat

Qsoz
August 30, 2007

For the love of…please, no more puns.

vipnyc
August 30, 2007

Ah…
“The goodness of your true pun is in the direct ratio of its intolerability.”
— Edgar Allan Poe, “Marginalia” (1849)

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