“She was asking for toiles!” said Surface to Air menswear designer Aldric Speer, during a fête at the label’s Marais store yesterday evening. The “she” in question is Sonic Youth front woman Kim Gordon. And the toiles were for her recently released collaboration with the cult French design collective. “It’s the first time we’ve ever sent toiles to someone. We were like, really? She was very hands-on,” raved the designer. But what else would one expect from the rock goddess, who’s known not only for her groundbreaking vocals and guitar riffs but for championing a young Marc Jacobs and briefly running her own lines in the nineties?
Along with Surface to Air co-founder Jeremie Rozan, who cites Sonic Youth’s nineties tour with Nirvana as a pivotal moment in his creative development, Gordon hosted not one, but two soirées in celebration of her fashion feat. The first was a cozy but jam-packed in-store event, where fashion and music folk, including Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti, sipped Champagne and previewed the graphic orange, white, and gray collection. “I think fashion really feeds off music and has a lot to do with attitude. And rock music is all about attitude,” said Gordon, looking rock star cool in a pair of leather pants and one of her printed Surface to Air silk tops. “We’re always inspired by music. It’s one of the specificities of our company. Music is every day for us, both professionally and personally,” said Rozan. (His favorite Sonic Youth song, for the record? “Sunday.”)
Later that evening, the likes of Julie Gilhart, who arrived with silver confetti still in her hair from Alber Elbaz’s Lanvin celebration, Pamela Love, and Irina Lazareanu packed into Silencio for the after-party, which featured a live performance by Gordon. Peering out from beneath her aubergine Maison Michel fedora, Lazareanu noted, “Kim’s obviously an icon. This is such an eclectic collaboration and I think fashion and music are always a good combination. They go hand in hand.” A musician in her own right, Lazareanu revealed that she’ll be playing a new single at the Purple magazine party on the 7th.
Around midnight, Gordon took the stage for a performance complete with a model crawling backward across the stage in one of the collaboration’s easy orange frocks, to a pit of screaming fans. After the show, a trio of admirers shared a cigarette and discussed Gordon’s on-stage antics. “That was epic! She’s legendary!’ yelled one boy between puffs. From the clothes to the show, Gordon’s definitely still got it.
—Katharine K. Zarrella
Photo: Courtesy of Surface to Air
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