Helena Bonham Carter

Vivienne Westwood Red Label Show and Collaboration with Chivas Regal Unveiled (exclusive with video)

Vivienne Westwood is a busy Dame. Dame Vivienne, that is. The iconic London-based fashion designer is one of the rare few who shows her collections in various cities, including Milan, London and Paris. When Luxist had the opportunity to experience her work up-close on Sunday evening when she unveiled her Red Label Fall/Winter 2011 collection, it was on the third day of London Fashion Week. Earlier that day, her Austrian-born husband, Andreas Kronthaler, Vivienne Westwood's Creative Director, noted, they did a fitting with Helena Bonham Carter for the Academy Awards. A busy day, indeed.

Vivienne West's show was larger than life (see video below). It was presented at the grand Royal Courts of Justice at London's Strand, a gothic cathedral-like setting that was befitting for a designer of Dame Vivienne's stature. The inspiration behind her "Red Label" collection show was Lewis Carroll's "Alice through the looking glass" which evoked a feeling of British society and change. Models wore tartan prints, dresses with mis-matched seams, fantastic oversized hats (designed by Prudence Millinery, some were crowns), over-the-top makeup (including gold-painted faces) and hair styles that seemed to defy gravity. A video of the entire show can be seen on Vivienne Westwood's website.

Bold face names at the show included Jo Wood (ex-wife of Rolling Stones Ronnie Wood), singer Paloma Faith, Boy George, former tenns pro Boris Becker, Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes, and contemporary artist Tracy Emin. All were wowed by the show which was as magnificient a production as the Red Label Collection itself. "I am a big fan of Vivienne's, so I enjoyed the show," Nick Rhodes told Luxist backstage after the show. "She always has a few surprises. She is remarkably good at cutting things. So it has always reminds me of the Japanese, but I think they took it from Vivienne. I thought some of things were really exquisitely beautiful. There was one skirt and blouse toward the end that was quite classical. It was a black skirt with a white blouse that I thought was just exquisite---beautiful."

Former pro tennis player Boris Becker was equally impressed with the collection. "I thought, as always, she was spectacular with the different designs and the makeup--one girl was golden," Becker told Luxist. "Her creativity never stops. The Royal Court of Justice is a unique location with a very long runway. The girls did have to walk a long time, but nobody faulted and everyone did a good job."

Gallery: Vivienne Westwood's Red Label Fall 2011 Collection

Vivienne Westwood Red Label Collection Fall/Winter 2011

Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran backstage at the Vivienne Westwood Red Label Collection show

Chivas Regal 18 Year Old by Vivienne Westwood

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RSVIP: Celebrating the SAG Awards

by Jeffrey Slonim (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Events

Saturday night, Cara Buono, right, Faye Miller on "Mad Men, " ascended the carpet-covered cobblestone that leads up to the Chateau Marmont hotel in Hollywood wearing stilettos to attend an Entertainment Weekly fete honoring SAG Awards nominees, presented by L'Oreal Paris. Chunky jewel-tone stones by David Yurman dangled from her earlobes. Her voluptuous figure was highlighted by a sparkly black dress by Oday Shakar with a broad V-neck. "I have to tell you, I was ready," she said of her ability to march up the steep driveway in heels. "It's just getting out of the car."

Sophisticated beyond her years, Ariel Winter, of "Modern Family," had just celebrated her 13th birthday. One didn't expect the tween to have caught "No Strings Attached" to celebrate. "I'm a very big fan of Natalie Portman," she told Luxist. "I recently met her at the Golden Globes. She's pregnant, and she's beautiful!"

Upstairs at the Chateau, a notorious hangout for Hollywood bad boys (Dennis Hopper in the 1960s) and fun-loving starlets, the back garden, reminiscent of a hilltop cloister in the north of France, had been tented with clear plastic. The five women who played the Ward and Eklund sisters in "The Fighter" were tressed like sirens, not like the bleached and teased 1980s throwbacks they played onscreen. Bianca Hunter, Cathy "Pork" Eklund, said endured a "double-process platinum blonde" coif for the film and a "gray tooth." Jenna Lamia, Sherri Ward, said her "Fighter" wardrobe consisted of "a yard of acid-washed denim."

Seated for dinner in an alcove to the right of the front desk, Mark Ruffalo and his wife joined Chevy Chase. "I tried to keep cool, but I had to drool on him a little bit," Ruffalo said of Chase while he and his wife made their way back to their room at the Chateau. "He's seriously cool."
Nearby, funny man David Spade carried two drinks with one hand.

Tags: alec baldwin, amy poehler, colin firth, eric stonestreet, helena bonham carter, justin timberlake, rsvip, sag awards, sofia vergara

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RSVIP: Three Days of Golden Globes Fetes

by Jeffrey Slonim (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Events

Over the decades, the Golden Globes got its kick-start as a boozy awards presentation where the Hollywood Foreign Press assembled to schmooze with stars. But the 68th Annual Golden Globes on Sunday was not only a giant TV production produced by Dick Clark and hosted by the acerbic comic Ricky Gervais; it spawned a cluster of starry events that made for a glamorous weekend in Los Angeles.

On Friday, at the 16th Annual VH1 Critics' Choice Movie Awards at the Hollywood Palladium, getting to my spot on the red carpet involved passing by a trailer kitchen along the back of the venue, where long tables were covered with confections decorated with tall sticks of chocolate displaying purple flowers. Yum.

At the Luxist position on the carpet, power cables crossed under the rug, acting like a de facto speed bump. Likely thanks to said cables, a well-amplified Maroon 5 jammed live in the background.

Rip Taylor, there to lampoon "The Black Swan," mentioned that to prepare for the event, he'd sent his wig out to be dry-cleaned. Onstage, he and the cast of "Jackass" would perform a skit about "The Black Swan." But, before the show, Taylor, who was holding my arm to remain steady on the bump, handed over a photo of himself in full drag as "the Black Swan" for the skit. For her part, a pregnant Natalie Portman, showing her own bump, claimed that the fun poked at the role "has actually been one of the fun things about the whole process. "'30 Rock,' 'SNL'--it's easily mockable," she said.

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Helena Bonham Carter Turns On The Christmas Lights In Historic London Shopping Arcade

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Shopping

Helena Bonham Carter turned on the Burlington Arcade Christmas Lights in Mayfair, on November 18 in association with The King's Speech and Save the Children. She plays Queen Elizabeth in the new film The King's Speech, alongside Colin Firth as George VI. Bonham Carter arrived in a sweet ride, the 1937 Alvis Vanden Plus Tourer, one of only twelve ever built. The car was provided by the Royal Automobile Club. She turned on the Christmas lights on behalf of Save the Children, the world's largest independent children's charity. The ceremony had her pulling on the golden rope, heralded by a trumpet fanfare by the Household Cavalry.

The shopping arcade first opened back in 1819 and is decked out for the season with frosted windows showcasing holiday gifts. All shoppers in the Arcade until December 6 will have the opportunity to enter a competition to win a pair of tickets to an exclusive preview screening of The King's Speech.

Tags: Burlington Arcade, Helena Bonham Carter, helena bonham-carter, London shopping mall, london shops

Helena Bonham Carter to Launch Lingerie Line

by Dakota Smith (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel

You'll soon be able to buy knickers from British actress Helena Bonham Carter, who will launch a line of lingerie with designer Samantha Sage. The Victorian-influenced collection will debut at Harrods on May 6, according to a press release. What inspired Carter to do lingerie? "I woke up on my 35th birthday and thought, 'I've got to do something other than act'," says Carter in a statement. Those who purchase her undies and camisoles will also be giving back--a percentage of proceeds from the line will be donated to United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Tags: Harrods, Helena Bonham Carter, Lingerie, Samantha Sage