Swide Magazine by Dolce&Gabbana

After looking at my Zara pumps in the cold light of day, I just couldn’t do it and so pulled out a pair of Dolce wedges and a box of painkillers. Got to the office only to find a little love note in my inbox. Turns out the journalist who thought I was ‘kind’ at the Katy Perry press conference had got in touch??? I never even gave him my email address, which means scarily the guy had done his homework.

From: stalker@lowendmagazine.com
Subject: Katy Perry
Date: 24 September 2008 17:48:43 GMT+02:00
To: xxxx@dolcegabbana.it

How are you?
We met the other day at Katy Perry press conferensce (sic). I wonder if we can meet again and have some more talk.
I hope you gonna have a good evening
Ciao!
Riccardo

There is definitely “no more talk” for that one. But, enough of this nonsense when THERE IS AN A-LIST SHOW TO TALK ABOUT!!! The show was scheduled to start at two…so went backstage (yes backstage and with authorisation this time) at eleven to see the lovely models get primped and preened. The backstage was awash with fabulous names…Lily, Chanel, Mariacarla, Anouck…and all were lovely and even more miraculously willing to be interviewed by me. Filming was cut short as upstairs in the saletta vip the A-listers had arrived. It’s quite a feeling to walk into a darkened room at lunchtime and see the subjects of US Weekly perched on a sofa.

First up was the very cute Dita von Teese who looked amazing and revealed she had quite the collection of corsets all the while checking on our very young (and very cute) cameraman in case he ran off after Ms. Schiffer. Next was Petra Nemacova, very, very jolly and smiley and looking very English in her tweed suit. She’s the type of girl you could sit and chat too for hours if of course the celebrity PR didn’t ask me to move on in the very clever way only he can. Perhaps I can hire him to fend off my scary journalist? Next was Eva Herzigova, and believe me as someone who is desperately trying to master some/any/a line of Italian how humbling it is for a supermodel to inquire whether the interview would be in English or Italian, in Italian. Some girls really DO HAVE EVERYTHING. She looked breathtaking in lace and passed on some Italian travel trips…cultured as well… now at this point the room was starting to feel a little packed, and J-Lo, Marc Anthony and Naomi hadn’t even arrived. THE LOVELY DAVID walked in and perched himself on the sofa next to Dita and excuse me, but how educated does this man sound???? No estuary accent for this one, but a very sexy upper-class English drawl that complemented his flat-cap leather jacket ensemble beautifully. I was sadly not required to interview him but must remember to make this a priority for next season.

Rosin Murphy was looking in her words like a “school teacher from Suffolk” working the intellectual librarian look and very kindly offered to chat to me despite really wanting to eat from the canapé table that nobody else apart from an eccentric English journalist was taking advantage of. After humouring me she ran off to sit next to her friend Dita – who definitely appears to be the popular girl in the A-list playground, and friends with everyone. Claudia arrived looking fresh as a daisy and I made yet another vow to stop drinking wine, eating pizza, and anything else that may hamper my attempts to look just like her if of course I had her genes/cheekbones/hair…

Matthew was at the other end of the room with his lovely girlfriend Camilla but I never got to talk to them…well not until later but more in a bit (or scroll down now if you’re impatient), likewise with J-Lo as I had to flee to secure an optimum position at the show. Turns out I never got to see the show as it was too packed when we got to the seating area and after walking several flights of stairs with a throbbing ankle the cameraman and I accepted defeat and headed backstage. A very successful move as it happened as we even got Mariacarla to say a few words (pleasing the cameraman immensely). Post show I toasted Mr.D & Mr.G (with a few hundred others obviously) with a glass or three of Dom Perignon – got a bit pissed and wobbled back to the office. Quite a morning. Cheeky cameraman managed to get a pic of him and Mr.G!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sat and stared at my screen blankly for two hours in the office and then went back to the show venue to pick up my suit for this evening. Declined hair and make-up as I was so desperate to go home and put my feet up. Got home and regretted it instantly but as I cannot AFFORD ANY MORE CABS I had to make do with the top tips I picked up from Pat McGrath earlier (!!!). Love a bit of name-dropping. Read Grazia and Hello to calm down a bit (hate to admit it but they’d scarily lost their lustre after this morning), had a bath, thought about cooking, and took a nap.

Woke up (after setting three alarms), had a glass of wine followed by a coffee (definitely not what Claudia would do in this situation) and put on my new suit. Took a painkiller, put on my heels on and headed to the Principe de Savoia, (dear readers…it’s one of Milan’s best hotels and the fashion press hang-out during fash weeks) and the evening’s location for Mr.D’s birthday party!!!!!!! Outside, it may have been only ten p.m. but the venue was already packed with security and pap’s as we took our place on the red carpet to await the boys who were dining at Gold. Oh to have been a fly on the wall there.

It was very funny to watch certain “guests” arrive (and you know who you are, shame on you) and PRETEND to be other people to get in??? The theme of the party was “The Golden Age” so needless to say the glamour stakes were high (apart from one of the poor limousine drivers who crashed his car into a waiting police car as he was too busy watching the hotel entrance!!). Cue lots of Italian waving of arms and the driver having to get out of his car to clear to the debris before the carriages arrived…yes, carriages.

Like a scene from another time in another land that I have no idea where or what it is, the boys arrived in Cinderella style coaches. Mr.G was sporting a NEW look and a very cute red bow-time and new glasses and was sandwiched between the blonde bombshells Eva and Claudia – although it was difficult to tell having been temporarily blinded by very annoying photographer who chose to stand in front of the cameraman and I whenever an A-lister appeared. Dita followed and then finally J-Lo and Marc Anthony. It was ever so slightly scary to be at end of the red carpet waiting for an A-lister to approach and be ready to capture them with a question. Matthew and Camilla were very obliging despite my asking if “it” referring to their baby was in town…(completely forgot if they’d had a boy or a girl…). And my big scoop boys and girls? It turns out Matthew thought the rain was refreshing. There is definitely a future in this for me.

Meanwhile the lovely DAVID arrived and I got to listen to his dulcet tones yet again as he joked that he was finally has some clothes on. How we wish he hadn’t bothered…and was the thought that kept me occupied as J-Lo and Dita flew past without me uttering a word.

The most amusing part about being at the party sober (and I can’t honestly remember when this has EVER happened unless I was on antibiotics and even then I’ve been known to have a shandy or two) was watching the guests gradually getting drunk and heading outside for a fag. Quite weird to be sober whilst celebs were hanging onto their glasses of bubbly trying to blag a cigarette from another A-lister. Was obviously very discreet, if only because the security men were very scary and didn’t even respond to a smile.

Monica Belluci, Mariacarla, Mischa Barton, Lily Donaldson, Carine Roitfield, Jefferson Hack with Anouck Lepere, Chanel Iman all hurried into the darkness (and heat) of the Savoia. I did however console myself with listening to Diana Ross sing her heart out to Mr. D inside. Definitely golden.

At around two a.m. and after the Marilyn look-a-like had been escorted inside we decided to call it a day for fear of losing our minds. Before bed it was a final visit to the Metropol, for like Cinderella I had to return my suit before 3.a.m or my fairy Godmother (a.k.a overdraft) would be getting another little deduction that would hurt.

post show comfort required at behindtheseamsgirl@gmail.com



 

TAGS: monica belluci mariacarla mischa barton lily donaldson carine roitfield jefferson hack with anouck lepere chanel iman dolce&gabbana david gandy roisin murphy katy perry metropol domenico dolce party a-list claudia schiffer dita english dom perignon mariacarla matthew camila ives behind the seams mr.g stefano gabbana