Elliot Hans Johnson, L.A. native and designer of Literature Noir, with wife Kaya leaving Maestro's in Beverly Hills - Alexander 'Silver Fox' Davis

Elliot Hans Johnson

 
Occupation: Owner of Literature Noir
Birth Place: Turlock, CA, grew up in Los Angeles
Living in: West Hollywood
High school: West Mark, Los Angeles
Favorite accessory: Gloves
Fashion influences: Film noir

Q: What are you currently most excited about for fall/winter?
A: Camel colored wool pea coat by Doir Homme with black leather driving gloves

Q: When was the last time you wore a suit – and who made it?
A: Nov 27 09, Doir Homme, for MOCA 30th anniversary party

Q: Favorite designers?
A: Hedi Slimane (old designer for Doir Homme)

Q: Favorite store in the world?
A: Church

Q: Favorite magazine?
A: French vogue

Q: Favorite L.A. memory/moment?
A: MOCA 30th anniversary party

Q: Worst fashion trend right now?
A: Ed Hardy

Q: Most recent clothing or accessory purchases?
A: Leather driving gloves from Causse in Paris, same place Karl Lagerfeld gets his gloves custom made.

Editor’s note: Elliot is my cousin by marriage. His father’s sister is married to my dad. But that is not how I know him. I met him through several different avenues before realizing the relation and now I am excited to be able to call him my cousin. Elliot’s world is like a photo shoot, every time I see him I get sooo excited because he always has so much cool stuff. Recently he had his birthday at a REAL castle, and he had a magician! I was over at his house recently and I also saw his latter on wheels he built from mahogany for his library. His house, thanks to his equally amazing wife, has one room they call the orange room that must have at least 400 Hermes boxes in it – in every shape and size!! Their pool out back has a smoke machine next to it to make it look like we are in a snowy palace in Gstaad and there is steam rising from the pool! Most importantly!, his bathroom floors are crocodile! Yah! He is MY cousin and You Cant Have Him!

Darren Romanelli, Dr Romanelli aka DRx

Darren Romanelli
Occupation: Dr Romanelli aka DRx
Birth Place: San Francisco, CA, grew up in LA
Living in: Beachwood Cyn
High school: Brentwood and Montclair Prep
Favorite accessory: IWC Portuguese
Fashion influences: Vintage Americana
Q: When was the last time you wore a suit – and who made it?
A: My wedding …Prada

Q: Favorite designers?
A: Junya Watanabe : Comme Des Garcons

Q: Favorite magazine?
A: Free and Easy : Japan

Q: Favorite L.A. memory/moment?
A: Dodgers World Series Victory 1988

Q: Most recent clothing or accessory purchases?
A: Visvim boots

Editor’s Note: I grew up in Los Angeles with the great Dr. Romanelli, who first made waves when he rehab-ed the Looney Tune’s characters. Darren makes incredibly thoughtful new designs for old brands. You can see his latest invention for Fraggle Rock right now; we will have a full report from his launch party this Wednesday at Kitson. Stay tuned …

Duncan Quinn

Duncan Quinn
Occupation: Recovering attorney/ Owner of Duncan Quinn boutiques in NY, LA, Dallas, Miami and Chicago soon…
Birth Place: London
Living in: London & West Hollywood
Favorite accessory: Ducati
Fashion influences: Life, the universe and everything. Right now: Get Carter, Mona Lisa, Long Good Friday, Gangster No.1 and Eastern Promises.

Q: What are you currently most excited about for fall/winter?
A: Our new gangster tattoo ties…they are an amazing combination of elegance and edginess.

Q: When was the last time you wore a suit – and who made it?
A: Every day

Q: Favorite designers?
A: Leonardo da Vinci, Mother nature
Q: Favorite magazine?
A: The Economist

Q: Favorite store in the world?
A: Our new 6,000sf pop-up experience in Miami’s Design District

Q: Favorite L.A. memory/moment?
A: Henry Hargreaves exploding a bottle of champagne all over Lucien Etori in a £5,000 bespoke suit the first time they ever met face to face at the afterparty to our LA opening on the terrace of the penthouse at Chateau. The containment of rage and the look on Lucien’s face was quite incredible.

Q: Worst fashion trend right now?
A: the Pee-wee Herman suit

Q: Most recent clothing or accessory purchases?
A: A belt hand made for me as I watched and discussed by an Italian artisan named Roberto in the south of France. All he does all day every day is cut and hand make belts.

New gangster ties from Duncan Quinn

Editor’s note: I met Duncan through my darling friend Tracy Bjelland while he was opening up the new location of his L.A. store on 3rd street. I was sooo taken by his Duccatis sitting inside the store, and the cool helmets for sale along side the bespoke suits and gangster ties. I was just sold! I wanted to bring my brother to the store right then and there and dress him up in everything! I was so excited to have such a habadasherie on little 3rd street right here in L.A. It reminded me of the Duncan Hill house in London or The Shave in Beverly Hills and I thought to myself – some people just make life so much better to live. Duncan also has an amazing blog I pull from sometimes that is truly luxury at it’s most knowledgeable. He also started a mini Gumball Rally with his friends in New York with amazing cars. What I would give to be a guy in this group of friends!!

Maxime Jacquet

Maxime Jacquet

Occupation: Interior designer for celebrity home and store, just started personnal ligne of clothes, design for parties, personal shopper

Matt Donnelly

Matt Donnelly

Occupation: Writer, The Los Angeles Times
Birth Place: Philadelphia, Pa.
Living in: Bronson Canyon, Hollywood
High school: Strict and catholic but the ties were good

Favorite accessory: Band of Outsiders cable knit bow tie
Fashion influences: JFK Jr.

Q: When was the last time you wore a suit – and who made it?
A: Jason & Stephanie Scoppa’s wedding, Thom Brown seersucker
Q: Favorite designers?
A: Alexander McQueen, Scott Sternberg
Q: Favorite magazine?
A: Vanity Fair, V Man
Q: Favorite L.A. memory/moment?
A: Chanel Cruise Show 07/08 at Santa Monica Airport
Q: Most recent clothing or accessory purchases?
A: Steven Alan mohair cardigan
Q: Favorite store in the world?
A: Right now, Steven Alan Outpost in Los Feliz, Mister Freedom
Q: Worst fashion trend right now?
A: I’m over the headband
Editor’s note: I met Matt while we were both working at E! Network, I as a story producer assistant, and he as Mark Malkin’s attache. Before Matt, I had never thought of celebrity news as honorable reporting, but what Audrey Hepburn did for the little black dress, what Valentino does for elegance, and what Grace Kelly did for Celebutantes, is what Matt does for celebrity news. I was so happy to have someone like this in this industry and in L.A.
Hillel Aron
Occupation: USC grad student, Journalism
Birth Place: Los Angeles
Living in: Los Angeles
High school: Oakwood
Favorite accessory: Sunglasses
Fashion influences: Old men, hipsters, Jacques Brautbar

Q: What are you currently most excited about for fall/winter?
A: I hope to buy another white American Apparel t-shirt, my last one got stained blue from the laundry detergent, how the f*ck does that happen anyway?

Q: When was the last time you wore a suit – and who made it?
A: I wore a suit to some wedding I went to, and it was made by Valentino. I bought it at Barney’s warehouse sale for 75 percent off ($800). It’s brown, and I wear it with a pink tie and all-white Nikes.

Q: Favorite store in the world?
A: I guess I’m more of a book store kind of guy, if anything. That giant used book store in New York called called Strand

Q: Favorite magazine?
A: Slate. It’s online. Does that count? If not, I guess the New Yorker.

Q: Favorite L.A. memory/moment?
A: I love seeing people I know from my car, when we’re both driving.

Q: Worst fashion trend right now?
A: Ponchos. I’ve seen a few hipsters wearing ponchos, and it makes me want to cry. I mean, what happened?

Q: Most recent clothing or accessory purchases?
A: I bought a black sweatshirt at American Apparel; I wanted to go with gray but my buddy Jaqcues already had one, and I didn’t want us both to be wearing them at the same time, you know how that is.

 

Update: Nav. 15, 2009: We now have a report from the MOCA gala here

The headlines read:

But my friends – allow me to break it down for you step by step:

 

From Vogue UK website:

WHEN IN ROME WEAR VERSACE

Donatella Versace designed costumes for Courtney Love, Milla Jovovich, Benicio Del Toro and Helen Mirren for the trailer of a remake of Gore Vidal’s 1979 masterpiece, Caligula. The trailer, presented on Friday at the Pavillon at the Venice Biennale, is the result of a collaboration between Versace and artist Francesco Vezzoli who has attempted to create a hypothetical remake of what is one of the most controversial films of the last 30 years. As explosive as the original director Tinto Brass’ version, the new film will star Milla Jovovich as Drusilla, the sister with whom Caligula has a passionate affair, Del Toro as Macro and Mirren as Tiberia. It will also feature cameo appearances from Vidal himself and Adriana Asti, who starred in the original film. And Donatella was the perfect choice to dress them. “The challenge,” she said, “was to make the ancient Roman togas modern, rendering them more proportioned, sophisticated and sensual while still in tune with the times. I choose simple opaque jersey for the costumes and inserted the classic Versace symbols such as the medusa and the gold metal chain to give them that contemporary edge.”

Watch the trailer for a remake Gore Vidal’s Caligula (2005) here:

2. The second most important thing you need to know is the name “Dasha Zhukova,” MOCA gala co-host.

Dasha is the current reigning social Queen of the non-US territories. She is as well known as Paris Hilton or Beyonce in Moscow and London. She is currently pregnant with Roman Aboramavich’s baby – who is the wealthiest man in Russian and owns the world’s two largest yachts.

Dasha grew up in Los Angeles (Pacific Hills ’99) and moved to Russia and then London when she was tapped to edit Pop Magazine (think US weekly meets Rolling Stone). Dasha put herself on the map by turning an old bus station in Moscow into a gallery for modern art. It is called the Garage Centre for Contemporary Culture (GCCC).

Dasha is in and out of L.A. all the time with the likes of Andrea Casiraghi (heir to throne in Monaco) and they eat at Mozza Ostera and the Beverly Hills Hotel Polo Lounge. Dasha has a US-based clothing line called Kova & T.

The reason why Dasha co-hosting this event is so important is because she has a proven ability to penetrate the art world and make it exciting. She had NO background in art before she transformed the Garage. She had no experience with buying and collecting art before she recently started. The art world does not accept new-comers from Russia who are dating billionaires. But she is completely respected because her choices are impeccable.

IF Dasha returns to L.A. she will focus her energy on REDEFINING the art world for young people. Venice. Aside from street art – there is nothing at all interesting about the art culture in L.A. It’s boring and basically sucks. IF Dasha makes a move to focus her energies on Los Angeles once more, we will have an art culture BOOM OUT OF NOWHERE that will be on par with major film premieres, the Oscars, Laker’s play-off games, and other spectacular events L.A. is known for. Dasha also has a blog.

Celebrities wearing Kova & T:

November 6th, 2009 (Hollywood, CA)- Last week “New Moon” star Kristen Stewart wore the Kova & T “Audrey” cropped blazer while attending The Twilight Saga: New Moon cast tour

November 9th, 2009 (New York, NY)- Last night actress Demi Moore wore the Kova & T “Janet” tunic dress in black and gray to the 9th Annual 24 Hour Plays on Broadway

3. Listen how this all fits together:

The Garage Centre for Contemporary Culture (GCCC) has made possible the one-time preformance with Lady Gaga, the Bolshoi Ballet and Francesco Vezzoli (try to learn the name). Francesco Vezzoli is fabulous friends with Larry Gagosian. Larry was instrumental in helping Francesco pull off his elaborate hoax in London to lure patrons to his gallery to see the Eaux de Faux “Greed”. Dasha and Larry are friends because she now lives in London and helps the arts there.

  4. Learn the term”gallerina,” loose the term, celebutante, and watch for Los Angeles’ new society Queens.

This is a photo from the last great MOCA party – the Louis Vuitton/Murakami collaboration. Where there are celerbities, there are more sponsors willing to pay for more placement which make the parties better for everyone. Muccia Prada is a friend of Francesco Vezzoli (again, try to learn the name). Muccia is well-known for collaborations with architects, designers, filmmakers, artists and photographers worldwide -even L.A. based celebrities and party promoters like her friend Amanda Demme, who often handle invites and guest lists for her store parties on Rodeo (look out for the Prada book launch on Rodeo this Friday). Muccia is friends with all the L.A. coolies and is often in Los Angeles. Ergo, MOCA now has a formula. A community of incredibly hip, chic, and famous artists, designers, celebrities, art buyers and gallerinas are about to POP in L.A.Collecting, understanding and being involved in art is about to become as important as it is for ALL Angelenos as it currently is for certain social sets in New York. I am not saying Maastricht will have to move to the L.A. Convention center – I’m calling a new era in art and the way it’s handled in mainstream living, as exemplified by celebrities, films, parties and society in Los Angeles.

5. Why you as an Angeleno should care and what you can do about it.
Follow our blog. We will be tracking the progress of this and putting it into terms you can all understanding, connecting dots between people and explaining why certain things matter more than others. 

More things to know about ”Francesco Vezzoli”.

1. Vezzoli has trademark tears. Watch for them in his art, or on French Vogue covers.

 

Photos for this post from Vogue, Wireimage, Bauer media and Kova & T.

Related posts: 

• Were You at the MOCA Gala last night? All the stars agreed it was an important night in art for L.A. 
• L.A. Native Jared Najjar open New Gallery PRISM on Sunset Blvd with Austrailia “It” boy PC Valmorbida, fanning the flames for an art revolution in Los Angeles