Kai modeling his newly arrived fall 09 bag (you’ll have to read about it and the rest of our date in Tuesday’s paper)
I popped by Kai Kühne’s studio in Manhattan’s garment district today for a sneak peek at his fall collection, which shows on Thursday, and discovered a few things.
1) He’s got a new man. “I’m the happiest man in the woooooorld,” he practically sings to me of his boyfriend, photographer Johnny Misheff. Considering Kühne’s notorious history as a “bad boy” of sorts, his healthy new relationship is a good thing. They’re planning to celebrate Valentine’s Day over a romantic dinner at the Central Park restaurant, The Boathouse. “This is my first Valentine ever. I don’t know why it took so long. It just didn’t happen until now. But he’s the best man in the wooooorld,” adds Kai, the former ThreeasFour designer, whose fans include the actress Chloe Sevigny and singer Björk.
2) His upcoming runway show isn’t the only production he’s got going on. Last season’s spring ‘09 collection is being featured in performance artist Rashaad Newsome’s show, “Shade Compositions,” at the legendary downtown performing arts center, The Kitchen. It features twenty black women giving all kinds of “cool attitude and strong voices,” he says. Funnily enough, I had already heard about it earlier this week as it’s turning out to be a hot ticket in the art world. Last, Kai’s creating a dress for today’s Barbie 50th anniversary runway extravaganza, which also features clothing by Diane von Furstenberg, Zac Posen and Donna Karan among others, created specifically for the iconic doll. “It’s funny because I usually do things that are connected with the art world. But then I find myself having to do things that connect me with this larger fashion world as well.”
Kai and I doing our “yay he’s going to get some V-day loving” pose
