Lincoln Center

Betsey Johnson to Show Runway Dresses on Real Girls

Last year, Marc Jacobs grabbed headlines when he picked a couple of girls off the street to walk his runway show. He just loved their style, much to the envy of wannabe models everywhere. This year Betsey Johnson takes it a step further. How much further? Luxist has the scoop.

We spoke to the amazingly down-to-earth designer at the Diet Pepsi lounge at Lincoln Center this morning, where she stopped by for a brief meet-and-greet. Dressed in her lucky studded New York belt, a draped Alexander McQueen scarf, and quintessential red lipstick, Betsey Johnson was full of a shocking amount of energy after her long week leading up to the tents.

Tags: alexander mcqueen, betsey johnson, diet pepsi, Fashion Week New York 2011, lincoln center

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Alain Ducasse, Marcus Samuelsson and Other Chefs Create NY Philharmonic Musical Suppers

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Events

The New York Philharmonic has announced a second season of its Musical Suppers Series. Former New York Times restaurant critic Mimi Sheraton plays host to the events which take place after New York Philharmonic performances on Friday evenings at Arpeggio Food & Wine in Avery Fisher Hall. This year's dinners will feature Kurt Gutenbrunner, André Soltner, Alain Ducasse, Marcus Samuelsson and Michael White as guest chefs.

Philharmonic musicians and guest artists, President and Executive Director Zarin Mehta, Music Director Alan Gilbert (at the suppers that follow his concerts) and the chefs themselves will all join the diners. Sheraton will introduce the chefs and discuss their menus with them. The Musical Suppers series runs from December 10 to June 10, 2011. Seating is limited to 70 guests per supper and tickets are $225 each.

[via Luxury Daily]

Tags: avery fisher hall, lincoln center, musical suppers, new york city events, new york events, new york philharmonic

The Fashion Statement: Top Ten Trends for Spring 2011

by Kristin Young (RSS feed) —

Filed under: The Fashion Statement

New York fashion week at Lincoln Center is a wrap and we've tallied up the results. In a word? '70s. Want more words? Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver.

Fashion weeks in London, Paris and Milan have yet to dictate the top ten trends of Spring of next year, but here's an early take.

SHORTS: Everyone, and we mean everyone, showed shorts in their spring collections. Whether short and roomy at Badgley Mischka or long and blouse-y at Thakoon or almost Capri-length at Ralph Lauren, shorts are going to be the get for spring.

STUDIO 54: There were so much '70s and early '80s references this week, I could hear Charlie commercials in my head. Halston, famed in that era, showed drape-y colorful maxi dresses and caftans that could have been lifted straight out of the archives. Marc Jacobs showed brightly colored pantsuits and full-length halter dresses.

PRINT MADNESS: Spring is traditionally all about florals. Jason Wu's breezy blouses had cut-out posies. DNKY had tiny flower prints on youthful dresses. Michael Angel went the painterly route with a collection of beautiful multi-colored frocks.

FEMININE VERSUS MASCULINE: Jill Stuart typified the feminine push/masculine pull with high-water tuxedos followed by flouncy, frilly dresses accessorized with masculine belts. The juxtaposition was stunning.

CANDY COLORS: Michael Kors trotted out fuchsia and green. Rebecca Taylor favored orange. Cynthia Rowley went for yellow. Candy colors ruled the day.

Tags: Cynthia Rowley, Derek Lam, DKNY, Edun, Halston, Jason Wu, Jill Stuart, L.A.M.B., Lincoln Center, Mackage, Marc Jacobs, Marchesa, Michael Angel, Michael Kors, New York Fashion Week, Ralph Lauren, Rebecca Taylor, Suno, Tommy Hilfiger

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The Fashion Statement: NY Fashion Week Gets Underway

by Kristin Young (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, The Fashion Statement

New York Fashion Week has officially begun here at the Lincoln Center, marking the first time in 17 years the main hub has been anywhere else but Bryant Park.

Yesterday, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg kicked off the week, declaring the city the capital of fashion and noting that the Lincoln Center location was appropriate given that fashion is art. He even renamed a subway stop nearby "The Fashion Line."

According to Bloomberg-the wire service, that is-this is the biggest Fashion Week ever with more than 325 designers showing around town through the end of next week. At Lincoln Center, 97 designers will show, up from 75 one year ago.

Show producers say the reason for the uptick is more space and better technology. Among the biggest techie changes are self-service kiosks to detect bar-codes on invitations that will do away with check-in lines and, along with them, probably more than a few catfights. It will also likely prevent show crashers.

Among the trends we should expect to see for Spring 2011? The color orange, maxi skirts, Yves Saint Laurent-esque pantsuits, hot pants and dressy shorts. If resort 2011 is any predictor, we'll also see looser silhouettes-roomy tops worn with roomy bottoms. (The old rule of slim on top, roomy on bottom and vice versa no longer applies). The season is expected to be very colorful, too, doing away with nudes, camel and beiges we've seen in the last few seasons. Finally, blazers sans shoulder pads will be there. Think Julia Roberts après makeover in Pretty Woman.

Tags: Anna Wintour, Blake Lively, Carolina Herrera, fashion week, gisele bundchen, Lincoln Center, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Tommy Hilfiger

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Billionaire David Koch Plans Pretty Fountains For The Met

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Charity, Big Givers

Like the fountains at New York City's Lincoln Center? Then you'll want to keep an eye on the Metropolitan Museum of Art where philanthropic billionaire David H. Koch plans to spend at least $10 million on dramatic new fountains for the cultural landmark. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Koch had said he pledged "at least $10 million" for the project.

The overall sprucing up of the exterior will include updating the museum's exterior lighting and the entire plaza as well as renovating the dormant oval fountains. Koch was inspired by the Lincoln Center's Revson fountain with its dramatic dancing display. That fountain was created by fountain architect Mark Fuller of WET Design. WET is best known for the fountains at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas. (The New Yorker had a fascinating piece on the details of the Lincoln Center Fountain back in January).

Koch knows a little something about the Lincoln Center. In 2008 he agreed to contribute $100 million toward the renovation of the New York State Theater. The gift put Koch's name on the door (it's now known as the David H. Koch Theater) and was the largest private capital donation in the Lincoln Center's history. He is the executive vice president of Koch Industries, Inc. and has an estimated net worth of $17.5 billion.

Koch's is the first major gift dedicated to the Met's exterior renovations. The fountains were installed in the early 1970s, a gift from Lila Acheson Wallace, a co-founder of Reader's Digest. The Wall Street Journal also points out that the fountains are designated landmarks and any changes must be approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Tags: david koch, fountains, lincoln center, metropolitan museum of art, new york city, philanthropy

A Taste of Jazz at the Time Warner Center

by Amy Cortese (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Events

Last June, a bunch of the nation's mayors got together and declared April 9, 2010 Jazz Day. April is already Jazz Appreciation Month (you knew that, right?), but the mayors designated a special day to encourage jazz related activities and programming.

Apparently, the folks at New York's Time Warner Center got the memo. On the first ever Jazz Day this Friday, the center's renowned chefs will come together to serve up a feast inspired by Bebop, swing and New Orleans jazz, and the cities that made them famous.

Called A Taste of Jazz, the evening will feature dishes from some of the hardest to get tables in town: Masa Takayama's (Masa) Jazzy Duck – marinated duck with foie gras inside of a mooshu skin, and Missy Robbins' (A Voce) Citrus Cured Sardines and Fennel, an homage to her hometown of Chicago. Michael Lomonaco (Porter House Steak) will cook up a NY strip steak and NY cheesecake, while Landmarc chef Marc Murphy explores his French roots with New Orleans-style shrimp gumbo. Thomas Keller's Bouchon bakery will contribute sourdough Parker House rolls filled with single origin chocolate custard.

That's just a taste of A Taste. There will also be slow smoked ribs with molasses bourbon BBQ sauce; 3 cheese mac & cheese, collard green quiche with lardon and micro kale, and more -- not to mention Bourbon-mint Iced Tea Bebops.

What about the jazz you ask? Leave that to the capable hands of Walter Blanding, saxophonist for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, who will be leading a septet in jazz standards.

Blanding will also discuss his selections and perhaps tell a jazz tale or two. He might, for example, tell the story behind "A Train," the famous composition by Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington, which was inspired by the directions given to Strayhorn for his first meeting with Ellington.

Here are the deets for all you cats:

Time Warner Center
10 Columbus Circle, 2nd floor
Friday, April 9
6:30 - 9:00 pm
Tickets are available for $85 at www.circleoftaste.com
Directions: Take a taxi to 59th Street, Columbus Circle. Or better yet, Take the A train.

Tags: a taste of jazz, bouchon, jazz, jazz day, jazz events, jazz month, lincoln center, Masa, Michael Lomonaco, music, new york city jazz, thomas keller, walter blanding

$600,000 Violin left in NYC Taxi-Cab Returned to Korean Prodigy

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

"My Baby!" That's what acclaimed violinist Hahn-Bin reportedly exclaimed upon have his prized possession returned. The 22-year-old Korean musician was returning to his Chinatown apartment in Manhattan from the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and apparently left the 18th-century instrument, reportedly worth some $600,000, in the cab, along with his credit card. Hahn-Bin returned home, took a shower, and then realized what had happened. He called the taxi company, who used GPS tracking devices to locate the cab in which he rode, called the driver and woke him up to confirm that the instrument was in his possession. The violin was then returned to its owner, who is now preparing for his debut at Carnegie Hall in October.

Believe it or not, that's not even the most valuable instrument ever left in a New York yellow cab. Not by a long shot. In 2001, cellist Lynn Harrell left a $4 million, 328-year-old Stradivarius in her cab, two years after Yo-Yo Ma left his $2.5 million, 266-year-old cello in a cab as well. Like Hahn-Bin, their instruments were returned to them, and they probably never left them out of their sight again.

Source

Tags: carnegie hall, CarnegieHall, hahn-bin, lincoln center, LincolnCenter, violin

WET Revamps the Lincoln Center Fountain

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing, Art

This is a rendering of how Lincoln Center will look this summer! WET, a company who has designed fountains for major landmarks all over the world, has begun work on Lincoln Center's fountain to bring new light and splendor to New York's cultural Mecca.

WET's previous projects include fountains for the Ritz-Carlton hotels, the Bellagio, the Mirage Volcano, the Tokyo Dome, and they are currently creating the largest water fountain in the world for the Burj Dubai, the tallest building in Dubai.

WET was cofounded in 1983 by former Disney Imagineer Mark Fuller, who "envisioned a firm that would inspire water's capacity for bringing people together in a shared transcendant experience." His imagination has inspired and delighted millions with over 200 creations in 20 countries.

After seeing The Fountains of Bellagio, Steven Spielberg reportedly commented to Steve Wynn that the Fountains were "the greatest single piece of public entertainment on planet Earth."

We look forward to the exciting new fountain at Lincoln Center!

Tags: lincoln center, new york, nyc, WET

NY Fashion Week To Leave Bryant Park

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

It's the end of an era, no more fashion tents in Bryant Park. IMG Fashion, the organizers of New York's famous Fashion Week have said that as of 2010 the event will be held at Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center. The new location offers more room than the tents at Bryant Park and better parking but it is located further uptown nearly a mile away and much further from where some designers have their offices. Some say that the new location may cause even more designers to hold their seasonal shows elsewhere, a move that could further splinter the event which has been less centralized in recent years.

This season begins February 13 and will host around 70 shows. Shows have been held in Bryant Park since 1993 but recent years have been seen conflict over the use of the space. In 2006, the Bryant Park Corporation announced it would no longer allow the shows to happen in the park, because they were interfering with public use of the area but later relented. The events are fashion tourism bringing in hundreds of thousands of attendees and around $466 million in visitor spending each year, according to the New York City Economic Development Corporation and the NY Times reports that IMG pays $1 million to $1.5 million to use the space each season.

Source

Tags: bryant park, BryantPark, fashion week, FashionWeek, lincoln center, LincolnCenter, new york fashion week, NewYorkFashionWeek

3 Lincoln Center, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

It's a bit of a white box but what a lovely white box indeed. This home at 3 Lincoln Center is on the 42nd floor and has jawdropping views of New York City. The layout is a bit random, check out the floor plan in the gallery. The home has two kitchens, a main kitchen which is next to the family room, and clear on the other side of the apartment, a serving kitchen, wine cellar, dining room and living room. In between there are four bedrooms including a double master suite. You can buy it with all the white-on-white furniture if desired or add some color to the place. The building has a health club, lap pool, party room, garage and doorman and concierge. This apartment is listed at $8.5 million.

Gallery: Lincoln Center Condo