Photo by ZACH HYMAN for PMc
Valentine’s Day at 1Oak for the La Perla fashion week party: Mannequin-esque models stand on an elevated platform with the red glow of the fireplace lighting them from behind, scantily clad in La Perla’s latest lingerie. They seem uncomfortable when you try and take a closer look at the line, staring you straight in the eyes with abashed boredom. Pink feather boas stream from chandeliers and the table centerpieces are scattered with rose petals.
DJ Jus Ske spun for most of the night, hyping up what was otherwise a very mellow atmosphere. The main room wasn’t too packed. In the far corner, plush pillows surrounded vacant stripper poles and there were plenty of tables to lounge around on. Most of the excitement seemed to congregate somewhere in the space between the floor-to-ceiling open bar and the mirrored wall of barely-clothed girls. Go figure. La Perla clearly wanted this event low key, keeping with the times.
Everyone seemed to either be a La Perla employee, a media person or 1Oak regular. "I'm single and would rather look at near-naked models than be on date," says my friend Ray, a 30-year-old freelance journalist. “Only problem is that one of my exes is right over there.”
“Um, yeah, I need a few more drinks before I can talk to Ray,” says the ex. “He only liked me because I voted McCain. I think he voted Nader, whatever.”
Slouched at a table by the DJ booth, Ravi Somaiya, 26, looks like a shipwrecked Brit pop star hiding behind a wall of a booze glasses. “Drinks are like $45 dollars here so I’m hoarding the free beverages for when the open bar ends,” says Somaiya. An intuitively good idea, seeing as how they stopped serving the Veuve almost immediately after our conversation.
As the event wound down, 1Oak’s usual crowd of rich guys and the models touting their affection filtered in, filling up all the available tables and stripper poles.
