Saint Laurent's Hedi Slimane and V Mag's Stephen Gan Host a Pre-Grammy Private Sessions

In Los Angeles, the four climatic seasons — winter, spring, summer and autumn — are more than often not properly defined. 

One may not have any idea what the current season is as the palm date trees are always green; the beaches are packed with surfers and beach bummers alike; and track suits — is Juicy Couture still in? — seem to be the official uniform for the city dwellers on daily basis. 

At any given times, fur coats is a common sight when the temperature is at sweltering 40 degrees.

The only visible sign that one season is over would be the moment when the visual merchandisers of Maxfield or Ron Herman start to redesign the store front decor, season-appropriate. 

However, there is one season that is obviously well-defined and exclusive to Hollywood. Yes, it is known as the award season. From January to February, every nook and cranny of the city will be filled with famous faces, from the poolside of the Art Deco Beverly Hills Hotel right to the Rodeo Drive, where stars will go for fittings. 

Prior to the main events, there will be a host of parties thrown and again, all you may see at the events are nothing but stars. And oh, don’t get me started on the pre-award show lounge where the swag bags are not the ones you would typically get post-event. Think jewelleries, designer items and even cars that could cost up to hundreds of thousands of dollars! 

Speaking of pre-award parties, recently, Hedi Slimane and Saint Laurent Paris hosted an impromptu pre-Grammy event at Good Times at Davey Wavey’s on El Centro. 

Co-hosted with Stephen Gan, the Editor-in-Chief of V Magazine, the event provided guests with an antithesis Grammy experience: no red carpets, no thronging paparazzi and no screaming fans - it was a pure hedonistic and rock and roll experience. 

In a carefree atmosphere filled with spontaneity, guests packed in front of a tiny stage to see sanctioned bands like the Sunflower Bean, The Garden, Mini Mansions, Bleached and singer Sky Ferreira performing rollicking sets. 

For the rock and rolling soiree, lead singer Julia Cumming from the Sunflower Bean took the stage in one of Hedi Slimane’s creation for Saint Laurent. 

The platinum-blonde Cumming, who has been an exclusive model for Slimane and Saint Laurent, wowed the crowed with her energetic performance in a leather shift dress with frontal studs detailing and a matching pair of booties. 

Strumming her metallic black electric guitar, the singer seemed to imbibe in the venue’s atmosphere while delivering tunes from the band’s repertoire.

Around the stage, the reveller mix was made of young Hollywood scions and stars on the rise namely Jack Kilmer, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Dylan Brosnan, Will and Nicola Peltz, Jeremy Irvine, Juno Temple and Saoirse Ronan; alternative rock mainstays (The Animals, The Black Keys, Queen of the Stone Age, Daft Punk, Mark Ronson, the Arctic Monkeys), the indies (DIIV, Allah Las, Warpaint, White Fang, Best Coast, Tobias Jesso, Jr.), emerging pop stars (Charli XCX, Actually Huizenga) and New Wave French musicians such as Moodoid, La Femme and Melody’s Echo Chamber. 

In between performances by the live acts, Jonny Pierce from The Drums and Ioanna Echo took the stage and spin the turntables, extending an invitation to the guests to stomp on the floor and dance. Of course, the crowd accepted it and revel in authentic punk spirit. 

Yet, one thing that would be considered as the cherry on top for the guests at the event was it was a photo and instagram-free affair. And thanks to the no social media approach, it allowed everyone to just enjoy the evening without being bothered by the nosiness of the world. 

*Photos courtesy of Saint Laurent