DEPT Pop-arazzi
AUTHOR Olivia Ouyang
ISSUE FALL 2012
A peek into the brilliance of Harold Koda, Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, who has curated exhibits Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations and Poiret: King of Fashion.
Harold Koda
AUDREY MAGAZINE: You have curated numerous critically acclaimed fashion exhibits throughout your career. Is there one show that stands out in particular way to you?
New York Fashion Week is here! Here’s some of our favorite looks from the first day – of course, featuring our favorite Asian models!
Sui He & Chiharu Okunugi – BCBG Max Azria Fall 2013
On an unseasonably warm and gorgeous October 5th evening, many of New York City’s Asian American young professionals came out to support the annual Plate by Plate tasting benefit held at the historic New York Public Library. Plate by Plate NYC is the premier annual food and wine charity fundraising event thrown by the New York City chapter of the national volunteer organization, Project by Project.
In it’s 15th Year, this event still managed to surprise and delight the 500 guests that came out to support the benefit . Decked out in their cocktail best and ready to eat, drink and be charitable, these urban professionals tasted treats from 30 of the city’s finest restaurants and beverage purveyors.
The participating restaurants offered up innovative fare that included lobster katifi pumpkin bisque, smoked lamb ribs, foie gras a la shabu shabu, artisanal ice creams (honey vanilla, fresh mint or Nutella) served with homemade shortbreads, and so much more.
Second year participant, Chef Toshi Nukui of Pranna served a red chicken curry with vegetable samosa sticks because he felt it best represented Southeast Asian cuisine. Mark Lee, general manager of Spot Dessert Bar, returning for a third year, said they chose to serve kabocha brulee cake because they wanted to share some Asian flavors that were not common in desserts.
Chris Jaeckle, a Michelin star chef formerly with Ai Fiori, debuted his new restaurant, All’onda, at the event. Attendees got to sample his restaurant before it officially opens in November in Union Square.
The thoughtful menus of all the participating restaurants impressed the well-dressed crowds, as many lined up again and again for the creative delicacies. Sake and wine flowed freely as the hallways overflowed with these foodies, mingling and dining for a good cause.
A special chef’s tasting demo emceed by longtime supporter, MSNBC anchor Richard Lui was held in the main hall. Lui has hosted the Quickfire Challenge (a cooking competition) for the past two years. First up was Chef Justin Antiorio, this past season’s Hell’s Kitchen runner-up, who cooked up a charred octopus dish with white bean puree in under ten minutes. He took the dish out to the audience and even the finickiest eater was pleased. Celebrity taster, Tom Keene, Bloomberg Radio Host, declared it delicious.
Founding Plate by Plate Chef Kerry Heffernan of Top Chef Masters who has supported the benefit from the very beginning, put together a pasta dish featuring clams, bacon and kale, with the help of CNBC Reporter, Seema Mody and all under 8 minutes He stressed how easy it was to find the ingredients locally and that anyone could make this dish at home. It was another crowd pleaser.
In addition to the tastings, there was a silent auction featuring over 70 items donated by merchants, organizations and individuals. There were a great variety of items (posh vacation packages, stunning jewelry, tech gadgets, etc) with something for just about everyone’s liking. Some of the hot “priceless” treasures included an autographed Michael Jackson Thriller record, a Justin Bieber autographed poster, Asian American activist Corky Lee’s framed poster, and a signed Jeremy Lin Knicks jersey. Figures will not be out for a few weeks but are expected to bring in over $10,000, according to Project by Project’s NY Marketing Director Anne Lee.
Each year, Project by Project partners with a community-based organization and tailors a year-long campaign to help its fundraising, community outreach, and public awareness efforts. In commemoration of Project by Project’s 15th anniversary, net proceeds from this year’s benefit will go toward further developing and strengthening the organization’s overall infrastructure, so, that they can continue providing support for future partners and the community. Project by Project NY has partnered and helped 14 organizations to date. The organization and event is 100% volunteer based and 165 volunteers helped to make the evening a success.
Louis Ozawa Changchien and I met almost 8 years ago on one of Louis’s first jobs out of grad school – a Nokia commercial. Having maintained a close friendship since, we do an occasional “catch up.” I thought I’d share this “catch up” with the Audrey Magazine readers. Who wouldn’t want to enjoy an intimate “hang” with one of the hottest Asian actors of our time!? Read on for part two of Di Quon’s conversation with the actor!
Courtesy of the J. Arts Group
Louis Ozawa Changchien and I met almost 8 years ago on one of Louis’s first jobs out of grad school – a Nokia commercial. Having maintained a close friendship since, we do an occasional “catch up.” I thought I’d share this “catch up” with the Audrey Magazine readers. Who wouldn’t want to enjoy an intimate “hang” with one of the hottest Asian actors of our time!? Read on for Di Quon’s conversation with the actor!
Photo courtesy of The J. Arts Group
When the only choices at the box office are a hot tub that takes you back to the ‘80s and a Greek tragedy (poor Beebo!) on CGI steroids, thank god for film festivals. The urban film festival for the masses that is Tribeca kicks off today, and while you may wonder, what the heck does Tribeca have to do with an AA pub like ours? Tribeca is host to several Asian and Asian American films, not to mention the festival’s director of programming has been David Kwok, who’s been in that role since the festival was founded in 2002.
Tribeca kicks off today. Asian American/Asian films screen starting tomorrow.
Though there are signs of a recovering economy, like so many crocuses poking their colorful petals out of the frozen ground, as a certain overweight rodent tells us, it’s still pretty blustery out there. Everything tells me to pull the covers over my head and stay in bed for a spell longer. But, if I were in New York City, I just might be persuaded to grab a few gently used items from my closet and head on over to Asian Women Giving Circle’s fundraiser, “Sip, Shop and Swap.” Held together with Circle of Sisters for Social Change of the New York Women’s Foundation, the idea is to shop your — or as in this case, someone else’s — closet for a good cause.
The “cause” can be any number of worthy efforts — all Asian American women-led. Proceeds from the fundraiser go into one big pot of cash that AWGC then awards to a community-led social change project. Since its founding in 2005, the nonprofit says it’s awarded about $270,000 to Asian women. Now that’s a stimulus we can all get behind.
DETAILS: March 17, 2010, 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Bridge Gallery at 98 Orchard St. RSVP deadline March 12.
