Brad Walsh

Kiss My FFANY

Yesterday was a day for giving in to predictable cliché and admitting aloud that I genuinely like both Banksy and Jenny Lewis. His new animatronic pet store installation on 7th and her new album Acid Tongue are both really good and different.

Kathy and I went to see the pet store, where he has little moving chicken nuggets dipping themselves into sauce, a vain rabbit filing its nails in front of a mirror, hot dogs in cages drinking and rolling around with each other, and fish sticks swimming circles around a giant bowl.

I think the coolest thing at his “Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill,” though, was the cheetah resting on a branch in the window. From the outside it looked like a curled up cat whose tail moved every now and then. From the inside of the store you saw that it was actually a very well-positioned fur coat. By far the creepiest part of the place was the molting Tweety in a hanging cage. Click that link above and scroll down for video; it’s worth watching them all move!

Then last night Christian and I joined Mariah (who I love) at the Waldorf Astoria for a black tie dinner and presentation for FFANY “Shoes on Sale,” a multi-million dollar-raising annual event for breast cancer research put on by QVC. Christian was one of the presenters and gave remarks, and they raised a holy ton of money, which was excellent. Ruth Ann Swenson performed beautifully; her first song stopped all conversation in the room. I got to share hometown stories with Michael Fink and Jeff Charney, both of whom are from Ohio as well and were really great to talk to. It’s always nice to meet fashion players who have something to say other than “nice shirt.”