Sue’s Soirée: Wong’s 10-Year Fashion Retrospective Launches the New Year
On New Year’s Eve 2015, internationally renowned celebrity fashion designer Sue Wong hosted 400 guests at her storied Hollywood palazzo The Cedars with a lavish party which featured a spectacular ten-year retrospective of her designs, marvelous live entertainment, and fabulous dining and drinking. The stellar 24-gown installation of Sue Wong’s designs served as a dramatic setting for the night’s merriment.
The gowns selected for the retrospective displayed the creativity and versatility of Sue Wong as a designer and creative muse extraordinaire. One simply became immersed in the lush array of fabrics, beads, feathers, and sequins and was awed by the creativity, style, and workmanship.
A standout, among standouts, was a red and gold velvet coat with a Chinese design, featuring a train and dolman sleeves. A truly operatic statement!
Another heart stopper was a red spaghetti strap gown with a feathered skirt and train. Still another stellar gown, in this constellation of stars, was a brown spaghetti strap gown adorned with gold beads complete with a diaphanous coat. The coat had a train and embellished gold beads, with fur-trimmed sleeves and collar.
And, what would a Sue Wong design be without a signature headdress and neckpiece? This time one may thank What A Betty for the gorgeous headdresses and Vilaiwan for the glamorous neckpieces.
Indeed, this was Sue Wong at her finest! What a memorable ten years! All superlatives apply here!
Stirring entertainment for the night was provided by Wong favourites Maria Elena Infantino, Michael Peer, Nick Palance, Jawn Star, Ronn Moss, Rob Math, Shannan Rene Parks, and Steve Cooke. There was a surprise performance by New York opera singer Oleksandra Hrabova, new to the Sue Wong theatre.
Attending this bacchanal were such notables as: Congressman Ed Royce; actor-musician Ronn Moss (THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, PLAYER); actress Alice Amter (THE BIG BANG THEORY); actress Sofia Milos (CSI: MIAMI); actress Bai Ling (WILD WILD WEST, ENTOURAGE); rocker Chris Pitman (GUNS N’ ROSES); former Director of BAFTA LA Sandro Monetti; former BAFTA Chairman of the Board Nigel Daly, OBE; journalist and actor Vida Ghaffari; actor and screenwriter Chuti Tiu; actor, screenwriter, and director Oscar Torre; celebrity psychic John Michael Calpadi; President of the Multicultural Motion Picture Association Jarvee Hutcherson; and, founder of E! Entertainment Larry Namer. Also in attendance were socialites Alexandrina Doheny and Jo Hilton, who joined other accomplished guests from the glamorous worlds of fashion, film, music, photography, and journalism to bring in the New Year.
Mr. Hutcherson presented Sue Wong with the Diamond Rose Award for her contributions in Fashion and our hostess also received awards from the City of Los Angeles and the County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors.
Sue Wong fashions embody the spirit of the Golden Age of Hollywood, paying homage to the legendary stars of the 20’s and 30’s such as Gloria Swanson, Greta Garbo, Norma Talmadge, Jean Harlow, and Marlene Dietrich. Wong espouses her philosophy: “Excellent design is like an epic love story, once you tap into an iconic mythological DNA strain and infuse it in your design, it transcends all time and speaks beyond all barriers. I am described as a hybrid designer, one that creates a hybrid language traversing all times and epoch periods.”
Wong’s mansion, The Cedars, in Hollywood is a palazzo built by silent screen director Maurice Tournier in the 1920’s, which she bought and painstakingly restored to its former elegance. The Cedars, as it is known, is certainly a palace of frescoed ceilings, lush furniture, gilded colonnades, and lovely period ironwork, and includes a solarium, library, sitting rooms, bedrooms, pool, and gardens. Over the years, celebrities such as Bob Dylan, Johnny Depp, and Jimi Hendricks have stayed here, and the so-called Jimi Hendricks room is certainly a favorite place for Wong’s guests to find repose. On this night, that very same Moroccan designed room played host to Toast Vodka and the tantalizing drink Purple Haze Liqueur. How appropriate!
Wong certainly has great taste in choosing party partners: the guests were served champagne supplied by Oskar Rivera, CEO of Rivera Productions; his company largely sponsored the stylish evening, saluting the SUE WONG Fashion Retrospective and ushering in 2016 with Moreno BHLV Champagne. Gorgeous floral arrangements for the party were provided by Zina of Four Seasons Flowers & Design. Other sponsors for the event were Hint Water, Kangen Water, and Downey’s Desserts. We have to make a special mention of Downey’s Desserts: they were appealing to the eye and delightful to the palate.
Oscar Torre and Alice Amter
Alice Amter (THE BIG BANG THEORY), commenting on the evening: “Sue Wong’s parties are an event not to be missed! A great atmosphere, harkening back to a bygone era to re-create old Hollywood glamour! Her fashion creations are visually stunning and the whole experience is a definite feast for the senses. Simply magnificent!”
Sue Wong has built a global fashion brand with her timeless designs, and has entered another venue with the launching of her online clothing boutique and perfumery. Her signature Eau de Parfum, Sue Wong, is new, and has been personally developed by Ms. Wong after considerable testing and research; it is fabulously sensual!
Sue Wong gowns and dresses are simply dazzling, with an élan only seen in high fashion. Her elegant fabrics and exotic embellishments lend an ethereal quality to her creations.
Thank you, Sue Wong, for a thoroughly entertaining, edifying, alluring, and creative New Year’s Eve.