tim gunn

The Fashion Statement: Farewell, Bryant Park

Fashion weeks gets underway here in New York today but, even before one model could place a stiletto on a crisp white catwalk, the mood was bittersweet.

That's because this week will be the final time the collections will be unveiled in the Bryant Park Tents. Bryant Park management had long been locking horns with fashion week producers, complaining that American fashion's biggest spectacle was growing too large and restricted public access to the park. In September, the shows will move to Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park, a venue that can better accommodate the twice-annual event.

The shows have been held at Bryant Park since 1993 catapulting more than a few designers' and models' careers and fostering many more memories. Several fashion insiders took the time to reflect recently and the Tents will be adorned with their quotes. Here, a preview:

"I began modeling in 1965 when there were only shows in Paris. When Bryant Park started, fashion became a world event. It was exhilarating." -Lauren Hutton

"Bryant Park became the beacon of what New York fashion stands for-an industry that's fearless, tireless, and always moving forward." -Anna Wintour, Vogue

"Bryant Park became the heartbeat of fashion twice a year... we will miss it!" -Diane von Furstenberg

"Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is when all of New York comes together to shine a light on its family of designers. We share a runway, a calendar, an audience-and of course, the spotlight. As a result, it has given us a world presence. There's no better way to support our industry than when we stand together as one." -Donna Karan

"I'll always have fond memories of the Tents in Bryant Park, it was one of the earlier highlights of my career." -Gisele Bündchen

"I propose that a plaque be mounted in the park as a legacy: 'The Bryant Park Tents 1993-2010 branded New York as the indisputable Fashion Capital of the World.'" -Tim Gunn

Tags: Bryant Park Tents, BryantParkTents, Diane von Furstenberg, DianeVonFurstenberg, Donna Karan, DonnaKaran, Lauren Hutton, LaurenHutton, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, Mercedes-benzFashionWeek, New York Fashion Week, NewYorkFashionWeek, Norma Kamali, NormaKamali, Tim Gunn, TimGunn

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Sunday Real Estate Round-Up, 04/26/09

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

From Berg Properties Big Time Listings:
--A home in the Hollywood Hills, shown above, that once belonged to Bette Davis has been listed for $2.295 million. The listing is here
--Libertarian radio and TV talk show host Larry Elder has put Hollywood Hills home on the market for $4.175 million.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--David LaChapelle has listed his Sunset Strip home for $1.65 million. We looked at this one on Friday.
The 1928 Spanish-style home of "Gossip Girl" producer Josh Schwartz and his wife, Jill in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles on the market for $2.395 million. The listing is here.
--Nicole Murphy, ex-wife of Eddie Murphy, has put her Calabasas home back on the market. We took a closer look on Saturday.
--Phoenix Pictures chairman and cofounder Mike Medavoy has taken his Beverly Park mansion off the market. It was most recently listed at $19.995 million but it was at $23.5 million when we checked it out as an estate of the day.

From Cityfile's Buyers and Sellers:
--Disney heiress Abigail Disney and her husband, Pierre Hauser, are paying $12.16 million for a 16th-floor apartment at 15 Madison Square North.
--Writer/director John Ridley paid $6.65 million for a condo at 15 Central Park West in July 2008, relisted it a few days later for $13 million and has cut the prices several times since then. It is currently listed for $8.5 million.
--via the NY Times, London-based investment manager Franck Ruimy has picked up five apartments since March through limited liability corporations, including four units at 400 East 67th Street, purchased for a combined $11.5 million.
--Hedge fund exec Apostolos Peristeris and his wife Alicia have sold their two-bedroom condo at 207 East 57th Street for $1.65 million.
--As we mentioned earlier this week, Leona Helmsley's former estate in Greenwich is now available for just $75 million. It was still listed at $125 million when it was our estate of the day last June.
--John Legend has reduced the price on his New York City apartment. We checked this one out earlier in the week.
--New York Observer publisher and Ivanka Trump snuggle buddy Jared Kushner has paid $3.225 million for a two-bedroom, seventh-floor condo at 21 Astor Place.
--New York Mortgage Trust founder Steven Schnall and his wife Sherri have put their townhouse at 2 North Moore Streeton the market for $33 million. Check out a video from The Real Deal here.
--Tina Fey has picked up a new apartment for $3.4 million, we checked it out earlier this week.
--Lily Lee Lee Wong has cut $4.6 million off the price of her 115-year-old townhouse at 21 East 84th Street. She bought the home for $12.1 million in June 2007 and re-listed for $24.5 million just a month later. The 22-foot wide home is now on the market for $19.9 million.
--Real estate agent Raphael De Niro, the son of Robert De Niro, and his wife Claudine paid $2.9 million for a three-bedroom condo at 497 Greenwich Street.

From the Real Estalker:
--One of our former estate of the day properties, 40 Beverly Park in Beverly Hills has been sold. It was last listed at $31.5 million but was at $39.9 million when we checked it out last November. The buyer is said to be Oksana Borzina, a real estate investor/flipper who owns several other properties in the area.
--Usher has been spotted checking out real estate on the Sunset Strip. His Atlanta home remains on the market.
--Nicolas Cage has another home in New Orleans on the market, we checked it out earlier this week.
--Producer Brad Grey has picked up a Bel Air home for a reported $22 million.
A Los Angeles home that once belonged to Dermot Mulroney and Catherine Keener is back on the market. Mulroney and Keener sold to an entity linked to a charitable organization in North Carolina that belongs to Dave Matthews (it may have belonged to Dave Matthews Band saxophonist the late LeRoi Moore). The home is now listed at $3.199 million. The listing is here.
--Serial house flipper Jeff Lewis hasn't been having great luck lately. He listed a house on Valley Oak Drive with an asking price of $3.195 million last May, it was reduced to $2.595 million and then went into contact but it has popped back up on the market for $2.695 million.

Tags: jared kushner, JaredKushner, madonna, rue mcclanahan, RueMcclanahan, tim gunn, TimGunn, usher

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