Styles & Scenes

Leo gets Stoned, Kirsten and Orlando get Frenched

Maybe you can’t judge a book by its cover.

But you can judge a film by its premiere party star power.

Tuesday’s night party in New York for Martin Scorcese’s  “The Departed” drew a Hollywood icon (Lauren Bacall), a music legend (Billy Joel) and  two Rolling Stones (Mick and Ronnie).  Listen for some classic Stones tunes in Scorcese's return to his "Mean Streets" beginnings. Along with the cast, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson, this party was a pretty big bill to top.

But writer/director Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette” party – sponsored by Chanel - at the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood came in a close second.

The reigning queens of the night were definitely Sofia - in a Chanel Spring '07 pleated chiffon dress - and her movie muse, Kirsten Dunst, in a Christian LaCroix halter gown.

Penelope Cruz came glued to her “Volver” director Pedro Almodovar. Geoffrey Rush caught up with Angelica Huston, who later chilled on the patio with her husband and Jason Schwartzman. Will Ferrell was there and so was Courtney Love, who is starting to do a Thanksgiving Day Parade float imitation again (shock!).

I think I saw Samantha Mathis (where the heck has she been anyway?) in the crowd. Mike White and Robin Tunney seemed to be in good spirits.

One of the first to arrive was Maria Bello, followed by LA’s ultimate cool trio Donovan Leitch, Kristy Hume and Ione Sky and famed fashion photog Ellen Von Unwerth.

Also in the party: Mischa Barton, Drew Barrymore, Milla Jovovich, The Strokes, and Bow Wow Wow.

Dunst kept close to her patio table for most of the night, closely guarded by her PPP (Protective Personal Publicist) Steven Huvane.

No sign of a hot date for the "Marie" star. But guess who arrived late and snunk in under the radar? Her rumored on-again/off-again beau, Orlando Bloom.

Perhaps now that Bloom’s ex-girlfriend Kate Bosworth has dieted down to bare bones, his eyes are back on the slightly meatier Dunst, who at least has a BMI that might permit her to model in Madrid.

Much like  “Marie Antoinette,” the most impressive aspects of the party were not the actors but the astonishing set, costumes and props.

The Chateau was transformed into a tiny Versailles with a ballroom, crystal chandeliers, Louis XIV chairs, period rugs, huge gilded mirrors and  bouquets of pink roses/ gardenias.

Perrier Jouet was flowing and a decadent dessert banquet was piled with white chocolate boxes containing tiny berries, pastel-colored French macaroons, meringue, tarts, pink and lavender cupcakes and petite cotton candy.

The only thing missing was a few white powdered wigs, which, come it think of it, would have looked better on Bloom than that wierd flat hat.

This isn’t the first time the Chateau – which was actually inspired by a Loire Valley chateau -  has been cleared out and transformed.

“I remember we cleared the lobby out for our very first party,” recalled Marmont’s owner Andre Balazs. "It was for Sofia's 17th birthday party."

How tres, tres appropriate.

By the way, the mystery of where those pink Converse shoes came from has been solved.

Seems Io Bottoms, who plays a lady-in-waiting in "Marie," bought the pink Chucky's in Paris for Kirsten to wear during rehearsals and down time on the set.

"They cost about 80 Euros," she explained, "They were a gift for Kirsten."

Then Sofia's bro, Roman Coppola, slid the funky modern shoes into that shot of Marie Antoinette's fancy French period footwear.

So now you know.

Photo Credits: Mick, Leo and Ron get satisfaction at the New York premiere of "The Departed."
Jamie McCarthy/WireImage.

Photo Credits: Long live the Queens! Kirsten and Sofia party hearty at the Chateau Marmont.
Eric Charbonneau/WireImage
Photo Credits: Penelope Cruz, a buzzed about Oscar possibility, makes the scene at the Marie Antoinette party at the Chateau.
Eric Charbonneau/WireImage
Photo Credits: Better than her 17th birthday party? You betcha. Sofia's table awaits her at the Marie post party.
Eric Charbonneau/WireImage

Forget the cake. Let them wear pink sneakers!

Everyone’s been buzzing about the jaw-droppingly gorgeous  gowns in "Marie Antoinette" designed by Oscar-winning costume designer Milena Canonero (“Chariots of Fire, “Barry Lyndon”). And with good reason.

But for weeks, I’ve been trying to find out more about the pink Converse tennis shoes seen for a split second in a shot of a batch of French period shoes lined up in Marie A’s closet.

I kept my eyes peeled at an early screening and sure enough, there was a pair of pink Converse sneakers hiding among Manolo Blahnick’s  stylized reproductions of 18th century French footwear. Then I saw a photo in W magzine of Kirsten Dunst wearing pink Converse sneaks under her "Marie" costume on the set.

But repeated calls (I was officially pestering) to a publicist kept drawing a big fat blank.  “I've asked but the studio keeps saying the shoes aren’t in there,” my source kept insisting.

But they are there. Or they were there. At a Q&A earlier this week, someone asked director Sofia Coppola about the pink tennis shoes and she explained that it was her brother Roman, her second AD on the film, who put them in the shot.

So why won’t anyone at the studio talk about it? Will the tennis shoes be cut out? No! Say it isn't so!

My theory is that if the studio IDs the shoes as Converse it may cause a product placement issue. Maybe it would ruffle Blahnick Co's fur, who may been told they would receive sole shoe credits for their work with Canonero to create what looks like period 18th century footwear.

Whatever. I love the pink Converse tennis shoes hiding in Marie's closet. And I couldn't have been happier to hear just now that the shoes are still in the film, which premieres next Tuesday in LA.

The modern pink footwear creates a funny, girly, rebellious moment in a frothy film about a young girl who just wants to flirt, shop and party in 18th century France. And the sneaks also work with the film’s punky pink ads and the pink-themed court parties, pink champagne, pink wigs, and pink pastries.

More importantly, the shoes are also an bright pink emblem of Sofia's creative and independent spirit. You go, girl.

Long live the pink Converse tennis shoes!

Photo Credits: Kirsten Dunst stayed comfortable wearing pink Converse tennis shoes under her royal gowns. You never see them on but there is a funny shot of the tennis shoes that remains in the film.
Leigh Johnson/courtesy of Sony

Kirsten strikes poses in Vogue, Sofia gets Vanity Fair's royal treatment

Kirsten Dunst graces the cover of September Vogue wearing a towering white powdered wig and ballgown from the upcoming “Marie Antoinette” and a sly smirk.

Inside are more shots of the actress in more regal high fashion gowns designed by Alexander McQueen, John Galliano and Milena Canonero, the film’s costume designer.

Judging from the… oh, let’s be polite and call it “mixed”… reactions to the film, which premiered at the Cannes International Film Festival, this is probably more than most will want to see of Dunst’s petulant pubescent queen act.

Dunst’s “Antoinette” director, Sofia Coppola, is also profiled (“Something About Sofia”) in the September issue of Vanity Fair.

Coppola, who won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for the screenplay for her 2003 “Lost in Translation” and - more importantly - has had a Marc Jacobs handbag named for her, is dubbed “Hollywood Royalty” in the piece.

But at least the profile (fleetingly) addresses  her “controversial” new film (dubbed "a shallow film about shallow people" by one reviewer on IMDb) which did win an award or two at Cannes. Coppola’s movie revises/updates the historical tale by portraying the 14-year-old royal tart as a Paris Hilton-like party girl and the French court like a decadent Chateau Marmont penthouse party.

And the alt-pop score – songs from the Strokes, Gang of Four, the Cure, and Bow Wow Wow – also ups the film's hipness quotient and gives it a thoroughly modern MTV video feel. Which is just what every revised historical film needs.

Enough with cake. Let them eat pop music.

Photo Credit: Kirsten and Sofia party hearty at the "Marie Antoinette" Cannes premiere. But will they still celebrate after the movie opens?
WireImage/Richard Lewis

Karl Lagerfeld shows his face in Hollywood

Was Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld's recent appearance in Beverly Hills designed (sorry) to boost the house’s sagging image in the aftermath of the 2006 award season dress debacle?

C’mon, you remember that style scandal: Chanel gave Reese Witherspoon a so-called vintage frock to wear to the 2006 Golden Globes that had been previously worn by Kirsten Dunst to a 2005 Globes party? Ouch.

But apparently Herr Karl is above all that mundane mortal stuff. He was here Friday night strictly to unveil and celebrate (er, publicize) a champagne, Dom Perignon Rose Vintage 1996, with ads photographed by Lagerfeld. And you thought all he could do was design dresses! He also shot the ads for 1998 vintage uncorked last year. Yeah, I know. I don’t much care either.

Anyway, the party was held high in the hills in a private home and yes, A-list stars came out dressed in Chanel attire: Eva Herzigova, Jessica Simpson, Maria Bello, Thora Birch, Kelly Lynch and Pierce Brosnan. Suffice to say that Lindsay Lohan looked none too pleased about being forced to pose with Lagerfeld and her nemesis Paris Hilton who giggled throughout pal Brandon Davis's recent video rant about Lohan's genitalia. (I'll show you Fire Crotch, you little -------!)

Non A-listers Brittany Murphy, Courtney Love and Mickey Rourke were also there, no doubt invited for the unpredictable edgy frisson of self destruction they bring that every good party needs.

Both Love and Rourke have taken self-improvement too much to heart. Or rather, face.

Rourke’s distorted kisser – a seriously surgical work in progress -  is starting to look even more cartoony than that of his “Sin City” prosthestic palooka.

Love, meanwhile, appeared to be staying on the straight and narrow. She didn’t even bare her breasts once!

But judging from her painfully immobilized kisser, she may have seriously ODed on Botox in the past few weeks.

LA designer Jennifer Nicholson, Jack’s daughter also showed up to see Karl. And is it just me or does she not look just like her dad in drag?

Hey, if her fashion career flops, she could always get a job starring in a traveling tranny production of "The Shining" or "Five Easy Pieces."

Finally, can we talk about the incredibly shrinking Lagerfeld?

A vaporous mist of his former self, we suspect the designer has been receiving text messaged diet tips from Nicole Richie, who was noticeably not at the party but was probably not home eating dinner either.

Photo Credits: A sullen Lindsay Lohan poses with Karl Lagerfeld and Paris Hilton. Man, I'd hate to be in Karl's place, sandwiched between those two hissing kittens. Pfft, pfft!
WireImage/Eric Charbonneau

Photo Credits: Mickey Rourke looks so surgically altered, he could star in a Witness Protection Program.
WireImage/Lester Cohen

Photo Credits: Heeeere's Jack's designing daughter, Jennifer Nicholson, arriving at the Lagerfeld/Dom Perignon party.
WireImage/Lester Cohen

Can a Sk8er Girl wear Chanel?

The House of Chanel has officially moved on after last week’s très embarrassing Reese Witherspoon/Kirsten Dunst Golden Globes dress debacle.

And who cares about zee upcoming Oscars? Chanel has fresh flesh to fry.

Punk princess Avril Lavigne, now 21, attended her first Paris couture show Tuesday, showing up at Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel couture collection held at the Grand Palais in the Louvre.

I know she's all grown up but gosh, it's kinda sad to see the end of our little grungster’s carefree Sk8er Girl wardrobe: self-ripped jeans, plaid minis, baggy cargos, safety-pinned Ts, suspenders, vests and that vast collection of men’s neckties, some swiped from her dad.

Seated in the prestigious front row, Lavigne was all chic and polite in a black Chanel couture dress (from the Fall collection, dahling) and carried a signature Chanel purse from the “Luxury by Chanel” collection.

Does this couture appearance mean Ms. Lavigne may sport Chanel if she attends the upcoming Grammy Awards? Hey, anything’s possible. Or maybe she’ll wear some Chanel stuff when she performs during the closing ceremony of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy on Feb. 26.

She has already worn Chanel…

Photo Credit: Avril Lavigne wears Chanel couture (like, duh) to the Chanel couture show in Paris.
(Tony Barson / WireImage)

Chanel's double dressing disaster, continued

The fashion world is positively reeling, darling, over the Golden Globes' double dress debacle.

Can you imagine? Reese Witherspoon accepting her best actress Golden Globe in a Chanel dress worn by Kirsten Dunst to a Globe party in 2003?

Poor Reese. Instead of being featured as a Globe winner on the cover of People and Women’s Wear Daily, looking happy in her exquisite frock, her photo is butted against a shot of Dunst in the same dress, like one of those horrid “Who Wore It Best” tabloid-style spreads.

Dear Lord, the dress duplication was even reported on Access Hollywood! The horror, the horror....

Then came word that Globes presenter Natalie Portman was indeed wearing a Chanel dress that was worn by a then-skinny Debra Messing at a Glamour Women of the Year affair in 2001.

Calls to Messing’s publicist, Portman’s publicist, and Chanel’s New York office and to Portman's stylist Kate Young have still not been returned. Hmmm. But confirmation about Portman/Messing's mirror mode comes from a highly placed source in a fashion agency that works with Young, who also styles Hilary Swank.

After the Globes show, Young told New York Times fashion writer Cathy Horyn why Natalie went with a black Chanel rather than one of the two Rochas (say "row-cha") dresses (blue and pale green) made just for her by Olivier Theyskens.

Quel Scandale! Reese's used gown, Mariah's scary couture — Chanel's major fashion faux pas

Move over. Armani. Chanel made the bigger splash on the red carpet at Monday’s Golden Globe awards. Chanel dresses were spotted on hot young actresses Reese Witherspoon, Emily Mortimer, Natalie Portman and Vanessa Paradis as they strolled the red carpet.

But the House of Coco also made a couple of serious fashion faux pas.

Mariah Carey wore a gown especially designed for her by Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld — a skintight plunging neckline crystal-splattered gown that looked more Mae West than Maison Chanel.

So why was Carey’s name was left off of Chanel’s press release? "Was it left off?," asked Gretchen Gunlocke-Fenton in Chanel's New York fashion public relations office. "That could have been because we're never sure what the actresses will wear until the last minute. And she had several fittings in Los Angeles after she met personally with Karl in Paris."

Oh-kay.

And many in the fashion world are wondering why Witherspoon ended up in a Chanel gown previously worn (horrors!) by Kirsten Dunst. Reportedly, Witherspoon was excited to wear a "vintage" gown by her favorite designer, thinking that “vintage” meant a classic frock worn in some bygone era. She had no idea it was a Dunst redux.

It was only after the Globes that Witherspoon’s camp learned the dress was worn by Dunst to a 2003 Golden Globe Awards party, with her hair done just like Witherspoon's. Yikes.

Chanel issued this statement: "Chanel apologizes for the oversight that Reese Witherspoon's dress was previously worn to a Golden Globes after party three years ago. We are honored that Reese chose to wear Chanel and thought she looked beautiful. We congratulate her on her well-deserved win."

Witherspoon's publicist, Nancy Ryder, has told reporters that she and her other clients will boycott Chanel. And other star's stylists are horrified that this duplication occurred.

“A star in the best actress category should never be seen in a dress that’s been seen before anywhere, even on the runway,” sniffed a top L.A. fashion PR gal. “Most actresses today insist on a couture gown especially made for them."

But considering Carey's cheesy couture creation, maybe Witherspoon was lucky.

Photo (left): Mariah Carey, veddy scary in bespoke Chanel couture made specially for her by creative director Karl Lagerfeld.
(George Pimentel / WireImage)

Photo (right): Kirsten Dunst at a 2003 Golden Globes bash (left, with Sigourney Weaver) — wearing the same Chanel dress loaned to Reese Witherspoon for the 2006 Globes (right, with Ryan Phillippe).
(Weaver & Dunst: Steve Granitz / WireImage; Witherspoon & Phillippe: George Pimentel / WireImage)

Here — for all you fashion hounds who care deeply about such things (and I know you’re out there) — is a list of the 2006 Globes "Who Wore Who."