Yesterday was payback time for furrier Dennis Basso. The designer is known for his yearly Pierre Hotel extravangzas. In addition to a parade of his signature customer-pleasing chinchillas, broadtails, Russian Sables, minks, and ermines he has traditionally ended the event with a celebrity model (last year, for example, he had Joan Collins swathed in sable). What to do for an encore? The smart and savvy Basso, who rubs elbows with many of the city’s rich and famous (or should I say infamous….Denise Rich, Jocelyn Wildenstein, and Sydney Biddle Barrow are all customers, and were all present at Monday’s show) made the white fur coat that Liza Minnelli wore to her highly publicized theatrical wedding. He actually nabbed the legendary singer to don a white lynx coat (see photo above) for his finale this time. Quite obviously, the wedding fur was a ‘gift’, and Minnelli was just reciprocating the gesture.
Needless to say, the Pierre was mobbed, with many in attendance having to wait for seats. Of course, Liza did not actually sing (what do you expect for a freebee?) but she did put on a little show, walking down the runway to the strains of her taped “New York, New York”. Oh, and by the way, there was more botox and collagen at the Pierre than furs. I started to feel as if I was the only one present who had not yet submitted to any plastic surgery.
