 |
| Inès de la Fressange and Bruno Frisoni |
My friend Sylvia (Finding Noon) loves shoes. More specifically, she adores Roger Vivier's exquisite creations. This explains why I wasn't too surprised that the code to the front door of Sylvia's apartment building mysteriously didn't work when I went to pick up the invitation for the Roger Vivier cocktail party that she had generously offered to give me. I secretly suspect that Sylvia, who was busy packing for her ski vacation in the French Alps, inadvertently told me the wrong number for the code so that she could hang onto her invitation for as long as possible, just in case she had a last-minute change of heart. If she had, I would have totally understood. Having been to soirées at Roger Vivier in the past, Sylvia knew that she was going to miss out on a fabulous evening. But like a munificent fairy godmother, she kissed me good-bye on both cheeks and graciously told me to go and have a wonderful time.
 |
| Cheers to Roger Vivier, both the book and the house! |
While brand ambassador Inès de la Fressange and creative director Bruno Frisoni host cocktail parties several times a year, this particular soiree was to pre-launch Roger Vivier, a lavish book tracing the history of the historic house. With 300 color photos and sketches by Vivier and Frisoni, the tome includes Vivier's creation of the first stiletto heel for Dior in 1955 and the pilgrim-buckle pump made famous by Catherine Deneuve in the 1967 movie Belle du Jour.
Deciding to arrive fashionably late rather than too early, Kate (Mais Oui Paris) and I missed seeing Scottish actress Tilda Swinton and Catherine Deneuve, who stopped by before going to the Saint Laurent show. We were, however, happy to be there when Inès de la Fressange and Bruno Frisoni blew out the sparklers illuminating a three-tiered cake topped by a sugar-coated book with "Roger Vivier" emblazoned on it. Suspecting correctly that the lanky fashionistas in attendance would shun dessert in lieu of the red lollipops being distributed by the waiters, Kate and I graciously accepted huge slices of the sweet confection.
In between sipping glasses of Ruinart champagne and admiring the garlands of white paper flowers hanging from the ceilings, we spent most of our time looking down. It's not that Kate and I are shy and didn't want to interact with the other guests, it's just that we preferred to admire all of the glamorous Roger Vivier creations, including the beaded Indian slippers worn by Inès de la Fressange. Absolutely gorgeous!
Roger Vivier will be on the bookshelves in April.
Please click here to see additional photos from the soirée posted on "Out and About's" Facebook page.
 |
| Roger Vivier's boutique festooned with flowers for the fête! |