Dim Sum

In New York to attend the celebration of the New AD100, I found myself with a pretty swell dress and pretty tired stockings so I cut a quick path to Bergdorf's.

Descending the escalator, I was dropped into cosmetics where I felt like an unsuspecting tourist in a 19th century opium den.  I tried to keep my head up and avoid eye contact, but my naked lips advertised my naiveté and the calls for "make-up freshen" and "free gift" came fast and furious.

A bolder soul stepped directly in my path.  "I need to show you something," she said as she grasped my right hand. She never broke eye contact as she held my fingers in hers, eased some elixer from a bottle and rubbed it on the back of my hand.  My bare lips forgotten, I stared at the raised veins and sunspots of my long and well-baked skin. She swirled the creamy substance in circles, pausing only briefly to hold her fingers just under my nose, "See,"she reassured, "there's no scent.  And see?" she coaxed," the redness is gone, the spots are gone. It's like porcelain. You wouldn't even need foundation.  Now, let's step over here..." she lured.  

Unable to break her gaze, I carefully extracted my now flawless paw from her grasp.   Anything this wonderful, I knew would be dear; worse, it could be addictive.  Forty dollars for tights suddenly seemed reasonable and I stuck with a vice I knew.  

I backed away, apologized profusely and made a clean escape.  And hoped for dim lighting at the event.

The January issue of AD is on newsstands now.  Pick it up to see beautiful rooms by: Bunny Williams, top, photography by Pieter Estersohn, produced by Howard Christian; Stephen Sills, next, photography by Francois Halard, produced by Robert Rufino; and, Daniel Romualdez, photography by Roger Davies, produced by Carolina Irving, styled by Robert Rufino.  The New AD100 list can also be found here.

Images from the event at the Guggenheim of the Maurizio Cattelan installation and Architectural Digest Editor-in-Chief, Margaret Russell, courtesy of Lee Mindel.