Messing and Lim last night: She’s still big; it’s the
sitcoms that got small.Photo:Patrick McMullan
Phillip Lim — fresh off his CFDA womenswear triumph and busy collaborating with everyone from Uniqlo to Birkenstock — is hot. And so was the opening party for his first store, the 3.1 Phillip Lim boutique on Mercer Street, last night. The stylish crowd loves the endearingly bashful designer and his ridiculously adorable wares — the less-than-designer prices don’t hurt — which meant there were throngs in his Soho space last night, overwhelming the air conditioning. The only solution? Quaffing plenty of the chilled bubbly, generously provided by Veuve Cliquot. Even so, perhaps the only person whose hair didn’t wilt in the humidity was Anna Wintour — but that’s because Lim immediately escorted the editor and her perfect bob downstairs and away from the crowd. Designers and social girls and fashion assistants were all there, as was Debra Messing, who had never met Lim before and tried to stay cool by the bar. The actress was adorable in a pouffed black Lim dress, though overaccessorized with a distracting headband also from the designer. Even with beloved Phillip, there can be too much of a good thing. —Nan Wolfe
