A look from the Matthew Williamson collection shown at Soho House.
COURTESY PHOTO

Pool parties have been a hot ticket since the days of elementary school, and on Wednesday night Soho House hosted a grown-up version -- though at this one, nary a splash was heard.

As part of the club's Wednesday night "Skinny Dip" rooftop party, nattily attired members and their guests -- some reclining on chaise lounges, others eating supper at nearby tables -- watched as Matthew Williamson's pre-fall fashions were paraded down a poolside runway. But not before the dance duo House of Ninja performed a cross between a Tibetan warrior dance and Eighties-style voguing. (This was intended to tie in with the collection's "Tibetan warrior meets rock 'n' roll" conceit.) There was also a vocal set by Valerie Geffner, which began with some vigorous throat singing. However, a promised acrobatic burlesque troupe did not appear.

Betsy and Walter Cronkite in 1992.
Photo: WWD Archives

Sometimes a once-in-a-lifetime experience can leave a lasting impression. When journalistic icon Walter Cronkite died last week, the first thing that came into my mind was a brief encounter WWD had with him in 1992.

Dorothy McGowan
Photo by Melvin Sokolsky

Models aren't generally the most loquacious bunch. In fact, talking seems to be generally discouraged among their numbers: they are meant to be visual entities, whose mystique is only heightened by the lack of verbal insight they give. As such, it is usually assumed they don't have very much to say.

Fortunately, Sixties mannequin Dorothy A. McGowan was perfectly at ease last Friday evening when the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Harold Koda and historian Kohle Yohannan chatted with her before a screening of William Klein's "Qui êtes-vous Polly Maggoo?" in which she stars. (It was part of a film series in conjunction with the current "The Model as Muse" exhibit at the Met's Costume Institute. This Wednesday, Isaac Mizrahi will speak about his documentary "Unzipped.")

Fran Lebowitz

Fran Lebowitz and Diane von Furstenberg are long-time friends, so it was little surprise seeing the acerbic writer at von Furstenberg's store last Wednesday night for a party. The bash was for Gloria Vanderbilt and her new book "Obsession: An Erotic Tale" (which von Furstenberg confirmed was "very, very, very, very erotic).

The Grates: Patience Hodgson, John Patterson and Alana Skyring.
Courtesy photo

Fronted by the bouncy, effervescent Patience Hodgson, Aussie alt-rock trio The Grates took the stage Wednesday night at downtown spot Pianos and quickly made an impression with its edgy, catchy pop anthems.

'Girl's Make-up Room.'
Credit: Dan Graham and Hauser & Wirth, Zurich; London

Feelings of anticipation arose within as I crossed the threshold of a two-way mirrored pavilion, "Girl's Make-Up Room." It's one of Dan Graham's glass and perforated metal, large-scale pieces in the conceptual artist's first ever career encompassing show in the U.S., "Dan Graham: Beyond," which is up at the Whitney Museum of American Art. How would I see myself in the mirrored and metal reflective surfaces? How would I perceive other people? How would others see me?

Much as fashion and make-up afford ways in which people show themselves to the world -- and can be seen by others -- Graham's eye-popping sculpture-and-architecture as art tosses back images of one's self, images of others milling about the Whitney's expansive fourth floor gallery, and the occasional look at another visitor looking back at themselves in the pavilion's facade.

Civetta Ristorante
Courtesy of Civetta Ristorante

Fans of Sfoglia's critically lauded Italian cuisine, but not its month-long reservation wait or locale on Manhattan's Upper East Side have a new boite to frequent.