NEW YORK — The Accessories Council Excellence awards and the accompanying gala sure have become hot tickets. Just ask Suzy Menkes.
The fashion critic of the International Herald Tribune took her prize for receiving the Marylou Luther Journalism Award back to her table, only to discover it missing 10 minutes later.
“Maybe I can find it on eBay tomorrow,” she lamented later that evening at a party for L’Wren Scott of her crystal-encrusted minaudière enclosing a hand-engraved silver plaque created by Leiber especially for the 10th anniversary of the awards.
“I’ve always wanted an excuse to carry a Judith Leiber bag,” said Tom Ford, as he received the Accessory Brand Launch Award for his new eyewear collection.
“It’s like a goddess award,” said Rachel Zoe, who was lauded as this year’s Fashion Icon.
The ACE gala attracted 650 guests, including Jennifer Lopez, Naomi Watts, Michael Kors, Jane Krakowski, Bridget Moynahan, Zac Posen and Narciso Rodriguez.
Lopez arrived cuddling with her favorite accessory, Marc Anthony, while others went for their own handsome accents, from the Michael Kors python clutch that Moynahan paired with her off-the-shoulder gold minidress to the Alexander McQueen ivory satin scarf Posen draped over his tux.
And the talk, naturally, centered mainly around accessories. Menkes issued her own challenge to designers to create accessories under more ecologically aware guidelines in the future, but her green message was tinged with some black humor of her own.
“Tom Ford,” she asked, “wouldn’t it be a great idea to reuse your blow-up dolls from your latest photo shoot to make accessories? Couldn’t Michael Kors take all those clothes he rips apart on ‘Project Runway’ and make them into something new?”
Kors, who was lauded as Designer of the Year, also begged the audience to think of a different world, but one devoid of accessories.
“Just for a second try to imagine Grace Kelly without her Kelly bag and her scarf or Ali MacGraw without her skullcap and her shoulder bag,” Kors said. “Accessories are the punctuation that makes a woman memorable.”
Jeweler Gerard Yosca remarked that the ACE awards have consistently turned up the volume year after year for the industry.
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“Tonight you are witnessing the power of accessories,” he explained. “And I don’t think you will see that changing anytime soon.”
Amy Gross, editor in chief of O, The Oprah Magazine, which was lauded as Magazine of the Year, agreed, saying during her speech, “Accessories are the most fun you can have with your clothes on.”