Calvin Klein's Francisco Costa could easily pen the definitive guide to minimalism, yet this time around, he wrote the forward for the book of another minimalism devotee: fashion historian Elyssa Dimant's newest publication, "Minimalism and Fashion: Reduction in the Postmodern Era." Natually, a celebration was in order, so Costa and W Editor Stefano Tonchi hosted an intimate fete at Calvin's flagship store that brought out loyal fans like Melissa George and Nora Zehetner (both in Calvin); David Maupin; Eric Villency; Bridget Foley; Anne Christensen; Lisa Marie Fernandez; Italo Zucchelli; and of course Calvin's own Malcolm Carfrae and Nacole Snoep.
Eager to differentiate today's brand of minimalism from its 90s counterpart, Dimant counts Costa as a "pioneer of the more structured minimalism of today," which she says has loftier ambitions and takes a lot of its inspiration from other art forms, particularly sculpture. No surprise then, that George - clad in a cream-hued Costa ensemble - refers to Costa as an "architect" of fashion. I had not caught up with George since the Australians in New York Fashion Foundation party this August, and since then, she has kept herself busy filming in both England and Scotland (she normally splits her time between New York and Argentina). I told her how I had been thinking about splitting my time between here and L.A., and, as someone who has spent more than her share of time out there, she wasn't necessarily encouraging: "You should try it out for a bit if you really want to," she advised me, "but you know how long it takes to get from here to the Hamptons? That's about how long it takes to drive to the Coffee Bean. Not to mention just being outside there kills skin like ours." To be sure, we probably were the two palest kids in the room that evening. So I suppose that I will stay in New York for a while, start bringing out the black, and squeeze in some extra museum visits for some additional minimalist inspiration.