I can’t say this was the most polished event at the New Museum this year.
It was one of the more colorful or eclectic gatherings on the Bowery. Jamison Ernest was on hand trying to inform the ladies in control of the door list through the front window to let his guests enter. It was a bit difficult to speak through two inches of glass with hand movements pointing to his guests to be “let in”. It wasn’t very effective, but then when everyone’s +1 becomes more like +3, I can see why they held the door.
However, Jamison was one of the smarter dressed gentlemen in the room with his sleek and chic nouveau tuxedo-ish threads (above in black). We also bumped into a nice uptown crowd (all three formerly from London but slumming it on the Bowery for the evening) led by Catherine Long, Founder of LBD Models (below on right).
For those who don’t know what the event was put on for: “The goal of CNNCTD+100 is to showcase a cross-section of New York City culture that highlights the multidisciplinary connections of contemporary culture. Music inspires fashion, street art inspires fine art, youth inspires establishment. CNNCTD+ founders and New York City natives Roman Grandinetti & Bibi Cornejo Borthwick and their team selected 100 creative leaders from various disciplines to participate in the project. Each participant in CNNCTD+100 is using a Playbutton—a wearable pin that doubles as an MP3 player—as the canvas for their audio and visual designs. Participants include Cindy Sherman, Narciso Rodriguez, Pharrell Williams, Katz’s Deli, the Meatball Shop, Ricky Powell, Mario Sorrenti, Miss Lily’s, Mark Borthwick, Zero + Maria Cornejo, Andre Saraiva, Lola Schnabel, Michael Avedon, Bubbles, Curtis Kulig, Legs Media, Hugo Guinness, Johan Lindeberg, and Jake Davis. In creating the project, CNNCTD+ enlisted the help of top creative and cultural engineers: from HBO’s Broke Mogul, to Half Gallery’s Bill Powers, to advertising guru George Lois.”
But a downtown event could not be complete with out Waris Ahluwalia (Punjabi: ਵਾਰਿਸ ਸਿੰਘ ਆਹਲੂਵਾਲੀਆ – had to put that in there, a little international flavor writing style). I actually thought he was primarily an actor but Wikipedia’s profile states he is also a jewelry designer. I would have guessed Guru or Yoga Master to the super stars. Either way, he brings good Karma where ever he goes. It used to be Vikram Chatwal running around town in the Sikh Turban but these days I think Waris is the only guy in the “scene” representing his BRIC country (and he is much more polite and sober).
