Is anyone still rocked by Balenciaga’s notorious ad campaign from 2022 featuring teddy bears in harnesses? Seemingly not Kim Kardashian, who was “re-evaluating” her relationship with the fashion house in the wake of the scandal those ads caused, only to be named an ambassador for the brand this week.
Nor is Patricia Field. Ms. Field, 82, a merchant, costume designer and lifelong champion of funky alternative style, is a star of Balenciaga’s new “closet” campaign alongside Ms. Kardashian and Nicola Peltz-Beckham.
Looking formidable in a black leather trench and toting an updated version of the label’s Neo Cagole city bag ($3,100), a smiling Ms. Field appears in an ad posing against shelves full of freshly minted versions of the house’s top-selling bags.
“When I was first approached, I thought they wanted my services as a stylist,” she said. “But I was elated to discover they wanted me as a model. My reaction was like, ‘Really? Me?’”
Pat, don’t be shy.
Zac Posen Dresses the “Swans”
Ryan Murphy, a creator of “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans,” has described the TV show’s highbred protagonists — Babe Paley, Slim Keith, C.Z. Guest and other Park Avenue types whom Mr. Capote called his “swans” — as the original “Real Housewives.” But there was nothing remotely domestic about them, certainly not their garb.
The show, which will have its premiere on FX on Jan. 31, is focused on Mr. Capote’s betrayal of his closest society confidantes. A highlight is an episode based on the writer’s fabled black-and-white ball held in 1966, which features costumes whipped up by Zac Posen.
In creating them, Mr. Posen aimed for verisimilitude. “These women were style icons at the time, so I wanted to honor their looks but with a Ryan Murphy twist,” said Mr. Posen, 43.
“I tried to find the music that was played at the gala and video of the swans in their full looks,” he added. “But we weren’t recreating history. We were reimagining history.”
Did he hit his mark? Judge for yourself when the episode airs on Feb. 7.
One Pricey Spray of Tulle
It’s staggering what some people will pay for a bit of froth. In case you haven’t heard: The tutu Sarah Jessica Parker wore in the opening credits of “Sex and the City” was recently on the block at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills, Calif.
It fetched $52,000 — an eye-popping sum considering that the tutu was purchased for $5 by Ms. Field, the show’s costume designer, who said that she found it inside a remnant bin in Manhattan’s garment district.
A Knight at the Brooklyn Museum
“Where do you put the chevalier, before or after the name?” Dianne Brill, the fashion designer known for her coifed bouffant, asked with a perfectly straight face at the French Consulate in New York late this month.
Ms. Brill, a former fixture of the New York club scene, was referring to the French title for knight. The distinction had just been conferred on her friend Matthew Yokobosky, the senior curator of fashion and visual culture at the Brooklyn Museum, during a ceremony at the consulate. Mr. Yokobosky, who was named Knight in the National Order of Merit, is known for putting on extravagant exhibitions that have highlighted the work of French designers including Christian Dior, Thierry Mugler and Pierre Cardin.
He received the honor for his “contributions that helped shape our culture” and for his “forward thinking,” said Damien Laban, the acting consul general of France in New York. Guests watched from gilt chairs as Mr. Laban pinned a gold medal — the ultimate high-end bauble — on the curator’s lapel.
Mr. Yokobosky said his investiture sent him back to his childhood in southwestern Pennsylvania, when his piano teacher rewarded successful lessons with French postcards. The gesture ignited in Mr. Yokobosky an enduring passion for Gallic culture, and especially for French style. “When you’re in Paris you often do feel as if you are in a very chic movie,” he said.
For the record, he and Ms. Brill determined (via a Google search) that you may address him as Chevalier Yokobosky, or, more simply, as monsieur.