Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

Jay McInerney's latest book, How It Ended, was feted at the 21 Club on Wednesday night. On hand for the occasion: McInerney's wife, Anne Hearst, Brooke Shields, Candace Bushnell and Charles Askegaard, Gay and Nan Talese, Morgan Entrekin, Nina Garcia, Pamela Fiori, Bob Colacello, Richard Johnson and Sessa Von Richthofen, Peggy Siegal, Muffie Potter Aston, Bettina Zilkha, Cornelia Guest, Debbie Bancroft, Valesca Guerrand-Hermes, Nina Griscom, Somers White Farkas, Patrick McMullan, Robert Couturier, George Farias, Tatiana and Campion Platt, Kimberly Rockefeller, Pamela Gross, Harry Slatkin, Dana Hammond, Harry Benson, and Deborah Norville. [PMc, VF, P6]More

• Jack McCollough's orange Oakleys couldn't cover up the scratch left behind by Kiefer Sutherland's headbutt the other night, although thankfully the Proenza Schouler co-founder wasn't seriously injuried in the incident. McCollough's rep said today he was the victim of a "vicious, violent, unprovoked assault." And the NYPD seems to agree. Sutherland is expected to be charged with assault tomorrow. [People, NYP]
• You may have thought Azzedine Alaïa was having a lousy week what with the plot by Anna Wintour to snub him at the Costume Institute gala. But he appears to be rebounding nicely. Michelle Obama wore a lovely Alaïa number to the Time magazine party last night. [FWD]
• Speaking of the gala, it raised $2 million less than last year. [WWD]
• Derek Lam's first boutique opens tonight. [Style.com]More

• How much did Topshop's insane publicity blitz cost the company? Let's just say a lot. [FWD]
• It looks like Anne Hathaway won't be Marc Jacobs's next muse after all. "Marc and Annie are good friends, but there are no plans of her appearing in our ads," says the designer's rep. [SW]
• Good news, Roberto Cavalli fans: It seems Just Cavalli won't be disappearing after all. [NYM]
• Gisele wore a John Galliano gown to her bullet-riddled wedding last weekend, just in case you were wondering. [SW]
• For the second time in a week (and despite a bit of backlash the first time around) Oscar de la Renta is still complaining about Michelle Obama's fashion preferences. [WWD, Fashionologie] More

GQ held its second annual "Best New Menswear Designer in America" competition last night in conjunction witht he CFDA. Finalists like Andre "3000" Benjamin, David Mullen, Alex Carleton, Robert Geller, Sam Shipley, Jeff Halmos, and Yigal Azrouel were joined by guests like Tommy Hilfiger, Fern Mallis (left), Thom Browne, Jim Nelson, Kelly Cutrone, Phillip Lim, Derek Lam, Peter Som, Rory Tahari, Chase Crawford, Steven Kolb, Ally Hilfiger, Fonzworth Bentley, David Chu, Ryan Leslie, David Lauren, Katie Lee Joel, Glenn O'Brien, Steven Alan, Calvin Klein mens creative director Italo Zucchelli, GQ publisher Peter Hunsinger, and last year's winner, Daiki Suzuki. [PMc, NYO, FWD] More

A bevy of models turned out on Wednesday night to celebrate Australian photographer Russell James' new book at the Stephan Weiss studio. Host Donna Karan and guests like Alan Cumming, Desiree Gruber, Ally Hilfiger, Douglas Hannant, Veronica Webb, and Josh Bernstein mingled with models like Alessandra Ambrosio (left), Angela Lindvall, Erin Wasson, Doutzen Kroes, Brooklyn Decker, Noemie Lenoir, Julie Henderson, Zuzana Gregorova, and Oluchi. [PMc, Wireimage, FWD]More

Things just get better and better for fashion designer Derek Lam. In July, Lam sold a majority stake in his label right before the market collapsed, he's now at work on his first freestanding store in SoHo, and he continues to earn praise as creative director of Tod's. Plus, he just got back to town after a blissful Thanksgiving weekend spent on the beach in Turks and Caicos, which means he's well-rested. And now he has a new weekend home, too. Lam and his longtime partner, Jan-Hendrik Schlottman, have paid $2.15 million for a three-bedroom, oceanfront home—with pool and hot tub, of course—on Ocean Walk in the Fire Island Pines.

At last night's opening night party for the New York City Ballet's David H. Koch Theater, guest of honor David Koch and wife Julia mingled with Candace Bushnell, Sarah Jessica Parker, Alicia Keys, Al Roker, Debbie Bancroft, Lisa Falcone, Mary Alice Stephenson, Alexandra Lebenthal, Zani Gugelmann, Annie Churchill, Peter Martins, Veronica Webb, Mark Indelicato, Blythe Danner, Valentino, Rachel Roy, Derek Lam, Peter Som, and Vanessa Williams, who all ate, drank, and danced to inaugurate the new Lincoln Center venue. [Wireimage, PMc, Style.com]More

♦  Rihanna appeared in the front row at the Gucci show in Milan yesterday and said she plans to launch a clothing line of her own. [WWD]
♦  Robin Givhan reports on a Tod's dinner in Milan with Gwyneth Paltrow (the face of the brand), Derek Lam, and Thakoon Panichgul, who, reports Givhan, was "still giddy" from seeing Michelle Obama in his dress at the convention, especially since she had bought it herself and hadn't been "styled into it." [WaPo]
♦  The Comme des Garçons line for H&M, which is about to hit stores, kind of negates the point of a mass market-designer collaboration: one of the dresses is $350. [Fashionista]
♦  Jonathan Adler's retail empire will expand to Columbus Avenue by the end of the year. [WWD]More

Spotted | Naomi Watts doing some pre-baby shopping with a friend in Union Square ... Sarah Jessica Parker taking a walk downtown ... Petra Nemcova walking into the Diesel show ... Rosario Dawson crossing the street outside Balthazar ... Julia Stiles shopping in the West Village ... Bette Midler hugging her daughter outside the Bryant Park tents ... Betsey Johnson walking through the rain in Midtown ... Jessica Alba carrying her baby ... Mary-Kate Olsen sitting front row at the Proenza Schouler show ... Adrian Grenier having lunch outside with friends ... Jessica Simpson getting out of a taxi with pal Ken Paves ... Kanye West and Jay-Z making their way into the Marc Jacobs show ... Natalie Portman showing up to the front row at the Derek Lam show ... Martha Stewart leaving Bryant Park after attending Marc Jacobs' show ... and Marc Jacobs and Victoria Beckham leaving the Waverly Inn.

♦  At Betsey Johnson, the front row—Kelly Osbourne, Perry Farrell, Miss J Alexander, Bow Wow, Ugly Betty's Mark Indelicato, Jason Lewis, Mickey Boardman, Lynn Yaeger, and Patrick McMullan—sat at little tables festooned with frosted cupcakes and lollipops for a Peter Pan-themed show in which Liam McMullan played a pirate "throwing gold coins at the audience and pinching the models' exposed bottoms as they walked by." Betsey did her customary finale cartwheel, showed off her granddaughter (left), and went off on vacation with her boyfriend (an Italian decades her junior, of course). [NYO, The Cut, Fashion Wire Daily]

♦  Everyone's favorite Fashion Week mishap, the runway tumble, happened at Rodarte: Abby Lee fell off her extremely high heels, although a tired-looking Agyness managed to stay upright. Not that the show, which unveiled clothes even more unique and directional than we've come to expect from the Mulleavy sisters, needed the extra publicity: The presence of Anna Wintour, Bee Shaffer, André Leon Tally, Diane von Furstenberg, Michael Roberts, Simon Doonan, Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, Kim Gordon, and Miranda July sealed the label's white-hot reputation. [style file, Reuters, Wireimage] More

• The Obama campaign is marshalling the full power of the fashion industry to get ahead: A long list of designers—definitely including Derek Lam, Isaac Mizrahi, Tracy Reese, and Diane von Furstenberg and possibly including Beyoncé, Russell Simmons, and Vera Wang—will be creating official merchandise like totes and t-shirts. [WaPo]
• With T magazine's handy crib sheet, you need never again display ignorance of different countries' Vogue editors! [NYT]
• Converse for John Varvatos's fall campaign features Daisy Lowe shot by Ryan McGinley in now-closed Florent. [WWD]

• Seasoned jetsetter Diane von Furstenberg plans to take the angst out of packing with her new cruise collection La Petite Valise: "Packing is the key to everything. It can be painful to do it properly and keep it light, but afterwards you'll be so happy, so proud." It also helps if you can afford to travel with an entourage of eight assistants. [Telegraph]
• Ed Westwick aka Chuck Bass is in talks to design a clothing line. That'll silence the gay rumors. [Fashionista]
• Derek Lam sold a majority stake in his company to the Labelux group, which means expansion (and a freestanding store on Crosby Street) is in the works. [UK Vogue]