MOCA, Lanvin Host Events in Los Angeles

Milan-based Francesco Vezzoli described Los Angeles as “a city that has adopted me,” but judging from his latest oeuvre, “Cinema Vezzoli,” which opened at the city’s Museum of Contemporary Art on Sunday, it seems the relationship is reciprocal. Part of the artist’s three-museum series, titled “The Trinity,” (“Galleria Vezzoli” bowed at Rome’s MAXXI last year and “The Church of Vezzoli” will open in New York’s MoMA PS1 later this year), “Cinema Vezzoli” occupies four of MOCA’s galleries: one filled with celebrity portraits in star-shaped frames, another with embroidered portraits, a third with giant fictional movie posters and a fourth transformed into a screening room complete with vintage chairs.

On Friday, MOCA trustees Maria Bell and David Johnson, along with their spouses Bill and Suzanne, respectively, toasted the opening with a dinner at Hollywood’s oldest restaurant, Musso and Frank Grill. “It’s fitting that this place is on the Walk of Fame,” said Maria Bell. China Chow, Bret Easton Ellis, Liz Goldwyn, Eli Broad, Eugenio López, Scott Sternberg and Kate and Laura Mulleavy sipped martinis in the railcar-style bar before retreating to the main dining room, whose slightly musty air only seemed to add to the atmosphere.

Vezzoli himself appeared just in time for dinner, seated between Maria Bell and MOCA director Philippe Vergne. “Friendship is more important than art,” Vezzoli said as he greeted some old friends who flew in from Europe for the occasion. Fittingly, photographer Matthew Rolston said he had just shot the artist for Italian Vanity Fair, in the manner of George Hurrell. “It was great fun,” Rolston said. “Getting him dressed up like an Old Hollywood icon.” The following night, the Foundation for Living Beauty and its founder, Amie Satchu, threw its third annual fund-raiser, this year sponsored by Lanvin. The affair boasted a runway presentation of the house’s Hiver 2014 pre-collection, following in the well-heeled footsteps of Tom Ford shows the last two years.

The French fashion house’s touches were seen throughout the night, from the bevy of Lanvin-clad starlets including Emmy Rossum and Rashida Jones, to the glittering mannequins on display. A silent auction preceded the garden presentation, during which Rossum called out from her front-row seat and demanded the

opportunity

to bid on a private dinner party. “She’s shameless,” quipped Satchu of Rossum, who conveniently lives three doors down. She failed to note the irony (Rossum stars on Showtime’s “Shameless.”) Also occupying the front row were guests Olivia Munn (who was spotted leaving midshow), Ashley Madekwe and Emma Roberts. The show featured 27 looks and ended on a celebratory note with models tossing handfuls of confetti into the audience. “I want all of the gorgeous long black dresses that I’m just dying over. I love all of their collections and each one is just so different,” mused Roberts postshow.

“Once Upon a Time” star Jennifer Morrison also came to lend support, but admitted there would be no late-night festivities in store for her, noting that the next day marked her first day on set as a director for the short film “Warning Labels.” “This will be a very in-control evening for me, but it’s a great cause,” she said. “We start filming tomorrow at 1 p.m. I can’t wait to say, ‘Action.'

Dior and Elle Host Dinner at Cannes

High above the hustle and bustle of the Croisette, guests including Harvey Weinstein, Zhang Ziyi, Adèle Exarchopoulos and Paz Vega mingled on Sunday night at a poolside cocktail and dinner hosted by Dior and Elle magazine to celebrate the Cannes Film Festival. Dior had decked out a section of the Club Costes by Albane on the rooftop of the JW Marriott hotel with a mix of exotic blooms and fake foliage inspired by the hanging garden set of its spring 2014 catwalk show. Fresh from the previous night’s

screening

of “Saint Laurent,” one of 18 films in competition for the coveted Palme d’Or prize, Jérémie Renier said he was globally pleased with critics’ reaction to the movie, the second about Yves Saint Laurent to be released this year.

“I think the film is bound to split opinion a little because it takes a stance. It’s a real film d’auteur, it’s a Bertrand Bonello movie, so he brings it his touch, his vision. I think at least it’s original. It’s not the kind of biopic people are used to seeing,” said the Belgian actor, who stars as Saint Laurent’s partner Pierre Bergé.

Renier said he played off his longtime friendship with fellow actor Gaspard Ulliel, who plays the late couturier. “I think our friendship means there is a bond that you can see onscreen and in the way I look at him,” Renier remarked. Aymeline Valade made the jump from modeling to movies to play Saint Laurent muse Betty Catroux, but she didn’t take any acting classes beforehand. “Bertrand wanted me to stay authentic,” Valade explained. “I try to be focused on what I’m doing and not to intellectualize or rationalize everything.”

The French model dyed her hair blonde for the part and has kept it that way since. “For the time being, it’s like a fetishist thing, I think, to bring the movie, I don’t know happiness? Luck?” she said. On the subject of hair, John Nollet said he was getting ready to launch a collection of haute couture hair accessories at Colette during Paris Couture Week in July. He revealed that the braid Nicole Kidman sported for the screening of “Grace of Monaco” on the opening night of the festival was actually a feather made of hair.

The one-of-a-kind pieces are handmade by couture ateliers including embroiderer Lesage and feather house Lemarié. “I want to launch this trend, especially since we have so little time to prepare actresses for the red carpet, so the more elements are prepared in advance, the more you can achieve a different effect. Otherwise, with only 20 minutes to work with, you always end up with similar looks,” Nollet explained.