A MINGLE TO REMEMBER
Cleverley creative director and friend of the rake George Glasgow Jr, hobnobs with Hollywood royalty at Vanity Fair’s 2012 Oscar party.
It was just a week before the Oscars when I received an email from Vanity Fair. It was from the magazine’s editor, Graydon Carter — a man who needs no other introduction. The attachment was a personal invitation to the 2012 Vanity Fair Oscar party. It was all very top-secret.
I had received the email in New York and landed back in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon with just 36 hours to pull everything together. Since I hadn’t worn my tux in a while, I knew alternations could be in order. So my first stop was Brioni on Rodeo Drive, where I was having a bespoke suit made. The on-site tailor has been with Brioni for 15 years, and I knew he could make the adjustments my suit needed in just a few hours.
Afterwards, I headed to Turnbull & Asser in Beverly Hills to pick up a white tuxedo shirt. Now I just had to collect my tickets. Getting invited to Vanity Fair’s Oscar party felt a bit like joining MI5. Everything from the emails to the phone calls was on a need-to-know basis. To collect my ticket, I was taken to Vanity Fair’s suite at the back of the Sunset Tower Hotel 24 hours before the event. It only had some 10 people in it; all were on laptops and phones making sure the right people were going to be in attendance.
Pass in hand and ready for the show, I headed to the hotel at around 10:00p.m. Security was as tight as the White House’s — which, incidentally, I got a private tour of a few years ago. Cars were checked, the guests all showing identification before being allowed through each of the three checkpoints. I headed straight to the bar when I walked in, where champagne was flowing. Standing there were Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy, and Joan Rivers. Naturally.
Drink in hand, I walked towards the main room and brushed past Oscar nominee Kenneth Branagh. As regular readers will know, I fitted him with the Cleverley shoes he wore in My Week with Marilyn, in which his portrayal of Sir Laurence Olivier had received a nomination. He was wearing the shoes. “I’m pleased Terence Stamp introduced me to you guys. Say hello to your dad for me,” he said, before introducing me to his lovely wife. Elegant, well dressed, polite… Kenneth is a true British gentleman; a class act.
Just then, I saw that Tom Cruise was heading out. “I guess I’ll have to chat with him next time,” I thought. Walking into the main room, I felt like an eight-year-old entering Disneyland for the first time. I turned to my left and ran into Ben Stiller. Brushing past on my right was Tom Ford.
I was surprised by how small the gathering was: two or three hundred people, max. Unsurprisingly (although L.A. isn’t renown for stylistic prowess), it was clearly an event for which everyone had made an effort. People (A-list celebrities) seemed to be jockeying for a minute with Graydon Carter, who was talking in a corner with Bradley Cooper. The whole evening felt like an old-boys’ network where most people knew each other and had gone to such events for decades.
I was also struck by the fact that the majority of the celebrities had come alone — no security, no publicists, not even a ‘plus one’ in most cases. It was clearly a place where people felt at home and let their hair down, which was perfect for me to meet the people whom I have always wanted to have a few words with.
First up, Michael Douglas. “What do you say to Michael Douglas?” I thought, as I caught his eye. I asked him about his clothes in the Wall Street movies and he told me that New York tailor Leonard Logsdail had worked with them on his suits for the first film (in which he played opposite Terence Stamp, who is a life-long Cleverley customer and a man who has bought bespoke since his 20s), and that making the movie taught him a lot about clothing and bespoke items in general.
After 10 minutes with Michael, I felt my time was up, and I spotted Piers Morgan and his wife walking towards the bar. I joined them, asking Piers how Los Angeles and his new life, having replaced Larry King on CNN, were treating him. He said, “What’s not to love?” and added, “the British are doing very well in Hollywood and America at present.” Surveying the room, I spotted fellow Brits David and Victoria Beckham, Colin Firth, Chris Martin, Gerard Butler, Branagh and Jason Statham. All were clearly enjoying the evening, and all are doing exceptionally well. Piers was just promising to wear Cleverley shoes when Chevy Chase walked past. Piers grabbed him and said, “I would love to have you on the show.” Time to move on again!
Next up was Gerard Butler, who was sitting with Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs and Cameron Diaz. Noticing his empty glass, I said to him, “You look like you need a stiff drink.” “I don’t drink anymore,” he replied. Not a great start. Anyway, we happen to have a few mutual friends, so I managed to smooth the road and we started chatting about England and life in L.A. He was very well dressed and charming and managed to keep my attention, despite the fact that Fran Lebowitz and Martin Scorsese were sitting at the next table.
Catching Graydon with only a few people, I walked up to him and thanked him for his kind invitation. We chatted about tailoring — he favours Anderson & Sheppard and Brooks Brothers, since you asked — for a while before his assistant handed him another glass of rose champagne and off he went.
Before leaving, I couldn’t resist stopping at a Vanity Fair Oscar party institution: the photo booth. Given that the invitations were collected at the entrance, it would be the only lasting proof I’d have of attending the illustrious event. It was 2:00a.m. and the party was still in full effect when I made a move for the exit, having experienced the most memorable few hours of my life to date. I’ll be gazing at my inbox with bated breath come next February.