Dr. Thomas B. Ferguson, in his office circa 1960′s

Dr. Thomas B Ferguson, who went to the spiritual hospital in the sky last month at the age of 90, was a big deal in the world of thoracic surgery. Not that I would know. I know about as much of the world of thoracic surgery as Dr. Ferguson knew about the world of high fashion. (But my mother explained it this way: Uncle Tom, as I called him when I was a little boy, was the Tom Ford of heart surgery. Does that clarify it for you?) The reason why I was so moved by his recent passing, however, had nothing to do with his highly decorated, internationally acclaimed career. The reason was that I would not be doing what I’m doing today, I would not be living in New York, chasing my dreams around the world, surrounding myself with creative people – I would not be the person I am today without him. And I don’t know if I ever told him that.

A bit of biography on TBF: He was born on May 6^th, 1923 in Oklahoma City, OK. His interest in medicine was sparked by a grandfather who was a horse and buggy doctor in Boggy Depot, OK, at the turn of the century.  He attended Duke University and Duke University School of Medicine. At Duke, he met Elizabeth Shanley; they were married in 1948, and stayed married for 65 years.

My mother worked in various capacities for Dr. Ferguson for 42 years. She started a young lady as his secretary and ended a grandmother as his managing editor at a series of medical journals. I didn’t see much of him when I was little, but because of his relationship with my mother we always spoke of him, we always sought his approval, and I was always told to be on my best behavior when he was around. (I never did. Which is why I think he liked me.) When I moved to New York, he always asked after me, always checked in on me. He would write me motivational emails when I felt things weren’t going my way, he always told me I could do whatever I wanted. I knew he was in my corner and I never wanted to disappoint him.

Polaroids of Dr. Ferguson and my mother, early in their professional relationship

The last time I saw Dr. Ferguson was three weeks ago in New York. I had flown back for a few days amid the middle of the Cannes film festival and he was in town for a heart valve procedure. My parents were in town from St. Louis too, and so was his son, Dr. Bruce Ferguson, another thoracic surgeon. The five of us met for dinner the evening before he was admitted to the hospital. It turned out to be one of his last meals. Thinking back on that meal is surreal and bittersweet. Ferguson didn’t order the steak that night because he thought it was too expensive, which I remember poignantly because it was the last time he ever ordered a meal. (Let that be a lesson for us: Get the steak if we want it.) At dinner I asked him about hiring my mother and what she was like as a young person, and I’m happy I did. It was the first time, as an adult with pasts of our own, we could talk about adult things. He teased my mom for being pushy and bullheaded, and she loved every minute of it.

What will stick with me forever about that dinner was when he said how proud he was of me for moving to a city where I knew no one and carving out a life for myself. I had earned his approval. It was something. I didn’t tell him at the time, which I will always regret, but it was his encouragement — both to me and my parents — that convinced me to move to New York and chase my dreams. Like most overly confident people, beneath my exterior of ambition lies a deep core of insecurity. I wasn’t sure about moving to New York, and neither were my parents. It was Ferguson who told me I could do it, and told my parents to let me. And I will be thankful for that for the rest of my life.

The two of us created an interesting paradox, an unlikely relationship: He didn’t understand my world and I certainly didn’t know much about his. But I’d like to think there was mutual respect and admiration. He was a great doctor, but more importantly he was a wonderful man.

My mother, flanked by Dr. Ferguson, Sr., and his son, Dr. Ferguson, Jr., the last time I saw him, at dinner in New York City in 2013

I have subscribed to a bunch of fashion blogs. And I have unsubscribed to a bunch of fashion blogs. But one that I have been a loyal supporter of, one who has a newsletter that doesn’t go immediately to my SPAM box is WhoWhatWear.com. They give me what I want: Basically, who wore what fabulously. The two lovely ladies behind that site, Katherine Power and Hilary Kerr, seem to be building an empire as their stylish online tentacles have recently spread into the interiors realm with their site Domaine. On a recent trip to LA (did I mention I had a birthday recently, har har har?), I sat down with them to talk about Domaine.

So the Who What Wear empire expands: Tell me about Domaine. When did the idea pop into your head?
Shelter magazines and interior design are two of our long-standing obsessions, so creating a site dedicated to home decor and stylish living was always in the back of our minds. Plus, we felt like our WhoWhatWear.com readers were ready for it. We’re lucky enough to have a very long-time, loyal following, and our readership has really grown up with us.

People like me!
We hope so. Now they’re at the point where they are buying their first homes, or moving into their first adult apartments, and are interested in creating a living space that’s just as stylish as their closets.

 When I was young I was always sort of embarrassed about the way I lived: I would put so much time and effort into an outfit, but my place looked like a college dorm. Total mess. Nothing on a hanger. My mother would have died. What do you think is the relationship between fashion and decoration?
Home decor matters so much less when you are younger—figuring out your personal style is usually more of a priority—but once you’ve mastered your wardrobe, it’s the next area people tend to focus on because it’s another way of expressing yourself. Just like your outfit communicates who you are, the space that you live in should really reflect your aesthetic and sensibilities. Plus, it’s important to get it right; your home is where you should feel happiest and most content! Now, more than ever, it’s easy to find incredible decor inspiration (Pinterest! Instagram! Shelter blogs!) and execute your own take on those looks with affordable, on-trend stores like West Elm and CB2. In many ways, the changes going on in home space is exactly like what we saw with fashion seven or eight years ago.

I never thought about it like that, but you’re right: Years ago people would go on street style blogs to hone in on their wardrobe choices, and now people are doing that for their home styles.
Today, no matter where you live, you have access to these beautiful images and trends, and you can shop from anywhere. Domaine is just another way to bring great style and access to anyone, anywhere.

 How long did it take you to put it together?
It probably took us about six months to staff up and get the site up. We looked long and hard for the right person to run it, and ended up finding a genius Editorial Director in Mat Sanders (formerly of Domino and Apartment Therapy). He is truly a perfect fit and is doing an amazing job. It’s not easy to execute magazine quality content on a daily basis for the internet; it takes the right recipe, but we found all of the key ingredients.

 Was there someone that was really helpful, or was there someone you HAD to have as your first feature?
We brought on the incredible celebrity stylist and interior decorator Estee Stanley as our contributing editor-at-large early on, and started coming up with a list of homes to feature. She introduced us to Lea Michele, and Estee and Mat did a makeover on Lea’s home in just two days! Also, Jessica Alba was our first celebrity shoot and we thought it was interesting that she did her house completely by herself, with most items from Craigslist or vintage items she refurbished herself.

Recent features: Lea Michelle and Jessica Alba

The site isn’t just for observers, though. I’m obsessed with the wallpaper at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and here on the site it says where I can get it. Is that something you learned from Who What Wear: Being able to like and then buy it is important?
Yes! Everything on Domaine is shoppable, from the exact item featured to something similar, and often more accessible or affordable. If we didn’t give that to our readers, it wouldn’t make sense to us. Our stories are as much about service—finding the perfect resources, explaining how to do so something, giving alternative ideas—as they are inspiration.

 How do you find spaces to feature on the site? 
Primarily through our own contacts and social circles at first—happily we know a lot of people with good taste!—but the Domaine team brings a whole other perspective and group of people to the table. We are always looking for interesting spaces, all over the world to shoot. So if you know of anyone, send them our way.

 Sadly, my house isn’t ready yet. Soon, though, I hope it will be. I’ll keep you posted.
In the meantime, let us know how the Beverly Hills Hotel wallpaper works out.

 The Beverly Hills Wallpaper, as seen on the Domaine website. (Click here to be directed to the story featuring the Beverly Hills Hotel decor.)

For me, Old Navy will always be an American institution. In fact, I can’t think of my high school wardrobe without some of my Old Navy classics. (Let me remind you I went to a public high school in Missouri, where khakis were worn to formals and I rented a tuxedo for prom.) Old Navy launched their active wear line recently, and they asked me to help them show off some of their chic, affordably priced gym gear. So, we figured, what else is an American institution? Boxing. Me and my buddy Jessica Hart got our punch on in Tompkins Square Park in New York City’s East Village with fitnessman extraordinaire Eric Kelly. The lesson I learned right from the start? It’s almost impossible to fix one’s hair whilst wearing boxing gloves. Check out our video above.

They say New York is the city that never sleeps for a reason. I took solace in knowing that on any given evening in this town, there’s an open bar somewhere. Last night was a doozy. It was one of those times when, as the party gods would have it, everyone picked the same time to do their thing. Perhaps there are just too many fabulous people in New York doing fabulous things? Case in point: This was a random Tuesday and my schedule included a 7pm dinner celebrating Chloe’s new store and designer Clare Waight Keller in Tribeca, then the launch of a denim line from my good buddy Karlie Kloss in the Village, a 10 year anniversary dinner for those great guys Jack and Lazaro from Proenza Schouler, and finally an after party for Sofia Coppola’s film The Bling Ring.

I’m an ambitious young man, so I tried to do it all. How did I fare? Well, I was the first person to the Chloe dinner. The room was almost empty when I got there, which was good because I didn’t have to wait at the bar for a drink. (Only Diet Coke’s though, to start the evening. The trick is to pace yourself.) I sat with my pal Dree and her boyfriend and we had a giggle, and then it was off to Karlie’s dinner, which was feting her new Forever Karlie jeans line, which is in collaboration with Swedish denim giant Frame. Things were in full swing when I got there, but I was happy to sit down and have some food. (That’s my second tip: You can’t forget to actually eat at these things.) I was sat next to Karlie, so I knew that when I snuck out with Giovanna my seat wouldn’t be empty for long.

Samantha Boardman is the absolute chicest. I say that because not only is she fabulously dressed, but because she’s also fabulously educated and informed. A born and bred Upper East Sider, she avoided becoming merely a lady who lunches in favor of a psychiatrist who scrutinizes. (Though, she does the occasional lunch too. I’ve been to them. They’re divine.) With already one MD degree and a job as a psychiatrist at Cornell Medical College, this year she received another master’s degree in Applied Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. All that, and a closet full of Giambattista Valli. Recently, she launched a website called PositivePrescription.com, which is a wonderful resource for those of us intrigued and inspired by scientific breakthroughs. We sat down to talk about mental health (which is, as I discovered, much different than mental illness) and all the cool things that she is packing into her new site.

Samantha Boardman and her husband Aby Rosen in St. Barth’s and, below, the homepage of her new website.

Let’s start with how you came up with this site. When did the idea come to you, why did you think it was important to spread the good word on mental issues?

As a psychiatrist, I used to spend the majority of my time focusing on mental illness. But in recent years, I have become increasingly interested in mental health.

Oh, I’ve never heard someone make that distinction. That’s interesting.

I care about the simple tweaks and changes that can make a big difference and PositivePrescription.com is a way for me to share information that may be of interest or relevant to those who care about their well-being. It’s so easy to get lost in our crazy, busy lives that we literally forget to look up.  I think of PositivePrescription.com as a “To Remind” card to slow down and to reconnect with the things that matter. There are fascinating studies in science journals about behavior that is directly relevant to our lives but they’re accumulating dust on the shelves of a library. Unless you are an avid reader of The Scientific American Mind, chances are you might miss them.

I like that. I like knowing I’ve got someone scanning the science glossies on my behalf. And don’t worry: I’m reading UsWeekly for you.

Many of the posts on my site are based on these studies and why they matter. I am especially interested in the way psychology, fashion, appearance and style collide, so there are a lot of posts on that type of thing. How we choose to present ourselves to the world is the most intimate form of self-expression and as studies illustrate, how we dress really does affect the way we feel. And as tempting as it is, I promise to resist my inner nerd impulse to share algorithms or boring data.

Talk to me about being a psychiatrist. What drew you to that field?

My favorite part of medical school was getting to know patients and listening to their stories. It’s one of the reasons I chose to specialize in Psychiatry. Psychiatry, however, focuses mostly on mental illness and on what’s wrong with someone. I felt like I was missing an important piece of the puzzle—an approach predicated on mental health. I then learned about the field of Positive Psychology, which focuses on human strengths and well-being. I spent this past year getting a masters degree in Applied Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.

What I love about some of the observations that you’ve passed on to me is that while they’re medically involved, they’re interesting to someone outside your professional community. Like that study you sent me that found that dudes who carry guitars getting more numbers from ladies than dudes who didn’t. Can you recall any other studies like that which have such a broad appeal?

Like the one about how wearing certain colors impacts the way we feel? That study found that red boosts confidence and blue has a calming effect. Or the one about how posture affects stress levels and helps put things in perspective? My favorite: Staring down at your cellphone can give you what plastic surgeons call “Smartphone Face.” It isn’t pretty!

What’s a particular case that has blown your mind?

I love the one about how volunteering or doing things for others expands our sense of time, which you can read here.  Who knew that by giving away time we actually gain time?

I love that. Sometimes, working in fashion, I think I’m a part time shrink myself. Are there any tips or suggestions you have for someone who works in a stressful environment?

If you work in a stressful environment, make sure you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day.  Shape your job around your talents and implement ways to use your strengths on the job.  This is an important predictor of health and well being in the long run.

As a friend, you’ve given me some fabulous advice when faced with a crisis. (I guess I’m considered your pro bono work.) Is there one piece of advice you find that you are giving people often? 

Excellent question. “We all admire the wisdom of those who come to us for advice” is one of my favorite quotations.  I would say that the single most important thing to keep in mind is that other people matter. But that doesn’t mean sacrificing one’s own well-being.  On the contrary, it is predicated on taking care of oneself. Well-being is a verb. Don’t wait for weekends or vacations.  Be actively engaged in taking care of yourself every single day. It’s the little things that can make a big difference.

Samantha with the artist Francesco Vezzoli and, below, her friend and the iconic writer Bob Colacello.

For the most recent issue of the Wall Street Journal Magazine, I profiled cover star Natalia Vodianova. I first met Nata, as she’s often referred to, when I was still a college student, living in the dorms at New York University. (She had slightly nicer digs: She lived in a Tribeca manse with a water feature I once fell into at a masked ball she organized at the house.) So us meeting together again at the Paris apartment she shares with her boyfriend Antoine and her three kids was a full circle moment for me. Her address may have changed, but that’s about it: She is still as sweet, smart, driven and, yes, as beautiful as I always remembered.

DURING FASHION WEEK this past March in Paris, Natalia Vodianova maintained a schedule that would test anyone’s stamina: She was the guest of honor at a surprise party for her 31st birthday, hosted by her boyfriend, Antoine Arnault, son of LVMH founder Bernard Arnault. The next night she hosted a party to launch online retailer Net-a-Porter’s sale of a shoe collection she designed for Russian retailer Centro to benefit her Naked Heart Foundation, a charity she founded a decade ago to help disadvantaged children in her native Russia. That Sunday she woke up at 6 a.m. to run the Paris half-marathon, also in support of the Naked Heart Foundation; did a Givenchy fitting; came home to feed lunch to her three children; and then headed off to get into hair and makeup to close the Givenchy fashion show at 7 p.m. Among the front-row onlookers were Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Jessica Chastain, Arnault, Vodianova’s 11-year-old son, Lucas, and her Russian grandmother, who clapped wildly as she watched her granddaughter sashay down the runway for the first time.

That Vodianova is still landing prime modeling jobs now that she is on the far side of 30 is surprising. That she simultaneously established herself as a philanthropic force even more so. Historically, supermodels have waited until their bookings diminish to turn their efforts to charity and other second careers. Vodianova still has lucrative contracts with Guerlain and French lingerie brand Etam, for which she also designs her own collection. It’s a wave she could ride until she washes up on fashion’s more obscure shores, but instead, Vodianova has always sought to establish herself as someone with interests and ambitions above and beyond the runway—or as her friend designer Stella McCartney puts it, she’s been “well-rounded” from the start.

This spring, her efforts were acknowledged with the Inspiration Award at the annual DVF Awards—an honor that designer Diane von Furstenberg has previously presented to Íngrid Betancourt and Elizabeth Smart, both women who have “demonstrated extraordinary strength and courage in the face of adversity” and use this “experience and influence to effect positive change.” Von Furstenberg met Vodianova when she was 19 years old, during her first season modeling in New York in 2001, when the designer snapped her up to open and close her catwalk presentation. “I immediately loved her. She was never like a young child, always a grown-up,” says von Furstenberg. “Very early on she took her life in her hands and decided that unless she controlled it, she couldn’t succeed.”

Vodianova’s rags-to-riches life story reads like something only a screenwriter could imagine: One day she was selling oranges at a fruit stand; then she was signing an exclusive multimillion-dollar contract with Calvin Klein. Born in Nizhny Novgorod, an industrial town 260 miles from Moscow, she started skipping school at the age of 11 to help support her single mother, Larissa, and autistic younger half-sister, Oksana. (Vodianova’s father walked out when she was a toddler, leaving her mother to work three jobs, including selling fruit at a local market. At first, Vodianova helped her before taking over the duties completely.) “I used to sell fruit on the street in minus-25-degree Celsius weather, outside in the open air, for 12 hours straight. I would come home and scream in pain as my fingers and my toes were literally defrosting,” says Vodianova, now amid much plusher surroundings in a Paris apartment overlooking the Invalides she shares with Arnault. Resting up the day before the marathon, she’s curled on a couch wearing a cap-sleeved sweater and black-and-white-striped trousers. Flipping open her agenda, she shows me a photograph from her childhood. “I always had big black circles under my eyes, which were swollen. You can literally see that burden in my face.”

Vodianova was determined to make a better life for herself, and in 1999, when she was 17, a boyfriend suggested she attend an open casting call. The model scout immediately recommended her to an agency in Moscow. At first, her mother was reluctant to let her go because she was suspicious of the scout’s intentions and depended on her help at home. According to Vodianova, “We didn’t have the time to dream. I remember having English lessons in school and thinking, Why on Earth would I learn another language?” Yet Vodianova’s grandmother was encouraging, and the family decided she could give it a try.

From Moscow, Vodianova was immediately sent to Paris. Her agency gave her a weekly advance, which she sent to her mother, who by then had a third child, daughter Kristina. “It was quite a lot of money for my family, like a month’s salary,” says Vodianova. It helped her mother come to terms with her daughter’s decision to leave. “She started to realize that this could be good.” Meanwhile, it was the first taste of freedom from an angst-ridden existence for the young Vodianova. “It was such a beautiful time, just having that chance to be a different person. For once, I was a normal girl and completely anonymous in a new place and had an opportunity to start a new life.” That new life began in earnest when she met the Honorable Justin Portman, a dashing English property heir, at a Parisian dinner party. They married in 2001, when she was 19 years old and pregnant with their first son, Lucas.

Her career took off immediately. Among a crop of leggy Russians, Vodianova stood out for her chameleonlike acting abilities, intense work ethic and sense of humor—not to mention her wide-set, expressive eyes, thick brows and pouty lips. Photographer Juergen Teller shot her for a 2001 Marc Jacobs campaign. The following year, Tom Ford cast her in a Gucci campaign. She became a favorite of Vogue, starring in the title role of a now-famous Alice in Wonderland–themed editorial shot by Annie Leibovitz and styled by Grace Coddington in the magazine’s December 2003 issue. And then, at the age of 21, she signed an eight-season, seven-figure contract with Calvin Klein that changed her life.

“When I met her for the first time, she took my breath away. She is beyond superficial beauty. This is a beauty that is from the inside and comes out,” Klein says. Vodianova was the last girl Klein personally put under an exclusive contract before he retired, catapulting her into the ranks of a Kate Moss, Christy Turlington and Brooke Shields. “She was very sexual, seductive, she was all those things that I wanted to represent. I used her for everything I could… Too often, models are flat. They have good bodies, but you can see in their faces that there’s not a lot there. But Natalia has such a great spirit.”

A year after her first Calvin Klein ads appeared in 2003, when larger-than-life images of her posing seductively loomed over New York’s SoHo, Vodianova decided she needed to pay back some of the good fortune she was enjoying by forming her own charity. The impetus was the school hostage crisis in the Russian city of Beslan in 2004, which ended with more than 380 dead, many of them children. Vodianova was in Moscow at the time of the crisis and witnessed firsthand how her countrymen were shaken by the tragedy. “It was everywhere. The whole country stopped,” Vodianova remembers. Lucas, her eldest child, was 3 years old at the time—the same age as some of the children who were killed. “I was wrestling with how I went from the bottom of society to the top of financial security. That feeling of unfairness upset me.”

As she struggled to determine what she could do to help, she sought the answer in her own past. “I went back to my childhood and saw myself as a little girl who was very much in a difficult situation, growing up with my disabled sister. My childhood was very abnormal. I missed out on simple things.” Oksana was born with autism and cerebral palsy. “I was attached to her and [therefore] almost disabled myself because I couldn’t play with my own friends.” Vodianova’s eyes tear up as she tries to explain, “I felt ashamed sometimes. We spent all our time walking outside because she loved it, but we were always exposed to people being horrible to us. I remember thinking that what I lacked the most as a child was a place to go where I felt like I belonged.” Vodianova had found her mission: to build playgrounds in underprivileged parts of Russia in order to provide other children with the carefree joy she had missed.

To date, she has built 90 playgrounds in Russia through Naked Heart, and she has expanded her horizons, helping to build three in the U.K. She has hosted fund-raising Love Balls in Moscow, London and outside of Paris, which have raised millions of dollars and attracted the likes of Anne Hathaway, Kate Moss, Mario Testino and Daphne Guinness. This year’s ball, the fourth such extravaganza, will be held on July 27, at the Monaco opera house. Hosted by Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco, along with Princess Caroline of Hanover, the event will be Vodianova’s biggest ever: a 550-person sit-down dinner with a 1960s Riviera theme.

But while her foundation has grown exponentially, Vodianova faced a personal hurdle of her own: a separation and divorce from Portman. They were together for nine years and, after Lucas, had a second son, Viktor, 7, and a daughter, Neva, 5. The couple separated in 2011, and she soon met Arnault, now the CEO of Berluti, at a fund-raiser for her charity at the designer Valentino’s estate outside Paris, and began a new chapter. They now live together with Vodianova’s three children, and she has immersed herself in Parisian life, even taking French lessons. “I am very happy now,” she says of her love life, trying but failing to hide a smile.

It’s easy to refer to her life as a modern-day fairy tale, but for Vodianova, it’s a bittersweet comparison. “On the one hand, I don’t like it because my story was not defined by who I am dating, by some prince charming,” she asserts. “I married for love. I work hard on being a good mother, and a good partner and in my profession. Those successes cannot be attributed to chance.” But there is one fairy tale that she’s happy to be associated with: Alice in Wonderland. “She took what was given to her and went with it. Go down the rabbit hole and see what life gives you. I can definitely relate to that!” she says. “Besides, I never wanted to be Cinderella. I’d rather be Alice, and I’m happy I found my wonderland.”

Photograph by Alasdair McLellan; Styling by Anastasia Barbieri. Below, images from my archives:

I was a very lucky boy to be back in Venice for a second time in less than a month, this time for the Venice Biennale, the arts fair extravaganza that takes over the sinking city every two years. (I was in Venice a few weeks back with Louis Vuitton, which you can read about here.) But before anyone begrudges my fortunate travel plans, at least allow me to say that it was chilly and rainy nearly every day I was there. Though, as I tweeted, even when it’s cold and wet, Venice is still the most magical city in the world.

I was at the Biennale this year for a few reasons. The first is that my friends Milla Jovovich and Tara Subkoff had collaborated for a piece they called ‘Failure to Connect,’ which was inspired by Herbert Marcuse’s quote: “The people recognize themselves in their commodities; they find their soul in their automobile, hi-fi set, split-level home, kitchen equipment.” So, for six hours, Milla sat in a glass house that Urs Fischer had constructed in a small garden on the Grand Canal and ordered more and more materiaslic commodities, which were dumped on her. By the end of the installation, she was literally drowning in her purchases. “For me Milla embodies the ‘future’ as a woman who understands technology and the cyber world. This was a hugely important factor in this work as it is a depiction of the not so distant future,” Tara explained. “This was a dream of what the future might look like if we only live inside our glass house ordering online and having our lives turn into one big long live feed of what we are ordering. And advertising. Even advertising ourselves through tweeting and Instagraming. There may be no more authentic experiences.”

The other reasons for a Venice excursion? Well, I was already in Europe after the Cannes film festival and an opening for Francesco Vezzoli at the Maxxi Museum in Rome. I was excited for the Biennale, though I didn’t get to spend as much time there as I had hoped because it kept raining on me. (And there’s only one thing to do when it rains in Venice: Find the nearest café and eat some carbs.) I will say the most widely discussed piece at the Biennale was Ragnar Kjartansson´s S.S. Hangover, which consisted of a four piece marching band blasting jazz tunes on the back of a boat stuck in the Giardini at the Arsenale. Perhaps my favorite thing at this year’s Biennale wasn’t even part of the Biennale. Édouard Manet’s Olympia was back in Olympia, hanging next to Titian’s Venus of Urbino, which inspired the work. The Manet show was sensational. The Financial Times had a brilliant piece on the show, and seeing it in the flesh didn’t disappoint. And lastly, it’s Venice. Who really needs an excuse to go there?

Beyond the art, there is the social element of the Biennale. There are parties in nearly every palazzo, which can be fun but also overwhelming. Believe me, if my oft partners in crime Petey and Harry Brant think there’s too much going on, there’s just too much going on. Which isn’t to say we didn’t have fun. Francois Pinault did his annual dinner on the small island of San Giorgio Maggiore, which was decadent and surreal. And Purple Magazine had a party at a teeny, tiny palazzo near the train station. The highlight of that party? When Gavin Brown did his own mini-installation and stood up on a table and threw his plate of race across the room, smashing it against a wall. (See, packed schedules make people hostile.) However, when I wasn’t socializing or getting my art on, I spent a few hours at my favorite place in the world: The Cipriani’s Hotel in Venice. It’s a little slice of paradise.

The Manet exhibit is up until August 18th, and the Venice Biennale’s exhibitions will be on display until November 24th. (The New York Times did a fabulous review of this year’s Biennale, which you can see here.)

Captions, from top: In a shower of rose petals on the Grand Canal; Marc Quinn’s work on San Giorgio Maggiore, where the Pinault dinner was held; Harry and Milla at Tara’s dinner; Tara and Urs, new crushes; Lola Schnabel and Ginevra Elkann at Tara’s installation; Petey in repose; me and Chris Brenner; the ultimate host with the most, Chris Bollen serving drinks; Milla in her installation; a expectedly unexpected art piece in the street; my purchase in Venice: a gondolier’s hat, which I love; not quite clear skies, but still gorgeous; a Venetian traffic jam; Princess Gloria von Thurn and Taxis; me and Margherita Missoni; a couple of cute locals, Enrico and Mattia; Venice gives good ceilings; Manet’s ‘Olympia’; Purple’s Olivier Zahm; me with Milla’s daughter Ever, who was the most gorgeous work of art in all of Venice.

Hard to believe it’s already time for another best dressed list. But, hey, time flies when you’re judging what everyone is wearing! In the June issue of Harper’s Bazaar, I start by having two very nostalgic moments. The first is when I follow Hedi Slimane’s Saint Laurent show into my childhood fascination of grunge (which was followed by Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy and Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton), and then I have a flashback to the 1997 Golden Globe Awards when Kim Basinger wore a cropped full skirt to accept her award for LA Confidential, which is a silhouette we’ve seen more recently on the likes of Adele, Alexa Chung and Leelee Sobieski. And finally, I present to you my newest fashion crush: The Kosovo-born, London-based sensational Pop star in the making, Rita Ora.

PS. I’m working on next month’s column now, so leave any favorite fashionable moments in the COMMENTS! And to read my weekly Mr. Blasberg’s Best Dressed list, go to www.harpersbazaar.com/bestdressed

I’ve actually never been to the Oscars ceremony in LA, but I’m pretty sure it’s not as fun as the Council of Fashion Designers of America Awards here in New York. (And if you don’t believe me, you can ask the lovely and amazing Jessica Chaistain, who said as much last night.) Yet, that’s what the CFDA’s are called: The East Coast Oscars. They’re the most prestigious award in the fashion industry, which drew the big wigs out last night: Jessica presented Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy with the International Award, Linda Evangelista gave my former Style.com buddy Tim Blanks the Media Award for excellence in journalism (and it was clear to see how wonderful a writer he is with his touching speech), Ethan Hawke gave costume designer Colleen Atwood the Board of Director’s Tribute and none other than Ralph Lauren presented Vera Wang with the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award. But truly, the highlight was seeing Hilary Clinton take the stage to present Oscar de la Renta the Founders Award. I’ve never considered myself a die hard Hilary Clinton fan, but my opinion was tipped last night. She was self effacing and composed. She made jokes about her penchant for pantsuits, even suggesting a reality show called ‘Project Pantsuit.’ And when Oscar took the stage to say that she would be our president in 2016, she stood there graciously and with such composure I thought to myself that, yeah, I’d probably vote for her too.

Those awards were given to people who knew they were getting them, but there were some competition awards too. I was beaming from ear to ear when Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez from Proenza Schouler, a couple of boys I’ve known for more than a decade now (scary! We’re old!), took home the top prize for womenswear. Thom Browne won the menswear prize, and accepted the award in a pair of tuxedo shorts, which is a look I was rocking with Louis Vuitton in Shanghai last summer. (Just sayin’, Thom! Haha!) Phillip Lim took home the award for accessories, and then the Swarovski newcomer awards went to Erin Beatty and Max Osterweis of Suno for womenswear, Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne of Public School for menswear and Pamela Love for accessories.

I will say this about the CFDA Awards: They are a marathon and not a sprint. Actually, in my case, since I had just gotten off a plane from London, it was more of an Iron Man. You have to be dressed and pressed at 630pm, and this year there were three post events. First was Vera Wang, who was nice enough to give us some food, in the Pool Room of the Four Seasons restaurant on 52^nd Street. It’s one of the most marvelous rooms in New York, which couldn’t have been more different from the vibe at the Westway, a former strip club turned sort-of-still-strip club on the Westside Highway, where Riccardo was having his after party. In between that was the obligatory cameo at the Boom Boom Room. Clearly. There were drinks and dancing and merriment. Because, as I said before, if there’s one thing that fashion people know how to do, it’s have fun. Jeez, you still don’t believe me? Check out some of this pictures:

Captions, from the top: Riccardo with Jessica, Marina Abramovic and Lauren Santo Domingo; Vera and Bee Schaffer; Jen Meyer and Nicole Richie; some handsome fellows, Dan Stevens, Andy Cohen and Douglas Booth (you can read my cover story on Douglas Booth from an issue of VMAN here); Michael Kors with his dates for the night, Karolina Kurkova and Cody Horn; Lauren, Lazaro and Jack; Tim and his partner Jeff; Hilary Clinton on stage with Oscar de la Renta; Adriana Lima not having it; Candice and Prabal; Lily and Alessandra; Erin Wasson and Alexander Wang; TeenVogue’s Amy Astley with J Crew’s Jenna Lyons; Cynthia Rowley with Lindsey Vohn; Tory Burch and Kristina O’Neill; Ladyfag and a bunch of boys outside Westway; Vogue’s cover girl Kate Upton and Riccardo; me and Jessica; the best posers of the past two decades: Linda Evangelista and Karlie Kloss.

“God saved my soul – you save the fucking rain forest.” Yes, I was listening to Kid Rock recently, which is where this lyric comes from. That line stuck with me, and I was thinking about it again yesterday when I came upon this video of the world’s largest ‘ice calving’ ever caught on tape. (And then I had to look up ‘ice calving,’ which I would have assumed had something to do with very cold baby cows. But it actually is the term applied to chunks of glaciers falling off and into the ocean.) The video is beautiful, a real spectacle of natural beauty: We see a chunk of ice the size of Lower Manhattan crack, splinter, shoot up more than 600 feet in the air, and then is carried away into a blustering, freezing abyss. Sick, right?

When the arctic action finishes, some academic type comes on the video to say how this particular slide has been dangerously, frighteningly accelerated. “It’s a miracle and horror,” he says. In the past 10 years it retreated more than it had in the previous century, apparently. That stuck with me too. Look, I’m one of the last people to talk about environmental issues. I’m a lazy conservationist. I was born on April 22nd, which is Earth Day, so I’ve always felt an obligation to Mother Nature and do my best to recycle and reuse.  But I’ve been naughty. I print more things off than I need to and waste paper. I’m always bound to leave a TV on or the lights on when I leave. When I’m home i Missouri,  I go on joy rides with friends and waste gas. Let’s just say I feel my Earth Day guilt often, like when I use my aerosol hairspray.

These habits are hard to break. (One of the things I miss most about living in New York is car culture.) But Kid Rock and this video have stuck with me, and I hope they stick with you too. I know the video is long; at nearly 5 minutes it might as well be an internet eternity. But it’s a work of beauty, and a work of greater conscious. And if we all start being just a little more considerate about our waste and the world’s depleting resources, I’ll feel like this ice didn’t calve for nothing. And for the record, even Kid Rock started recycling.