Saturday’s Loden Dager show at Bungalow 8 was a laid-back affair, attended by a soggy crowd of menswear buyers and editors who had ducked in from the minor hurricane outside. The clothes were preppy and pastel, featuring suits cuffed at the ankle, and the models looked vaguely glazed, like they’d been spending too much time in the Bungalow bathrooms. LCD Soundsystem blared.
Then, suddenly, we glimpsed them, tucked into a polka-dotted booth at the head of the makeshift runway: Laura Dern and Ben Harper! Authentic celebrities, not Fashion Week celebrities, like Sophia Bush, The MisShapes, or Jessica Szor from Gossip Girl.
And wait, was that—it was! Courtney Cox Arquette and David Arquette, cuddled in next to the Harpers, unmolested by photographers and assuming the wide-eyed, interested affect of Fashion Week virgins on a double-date.
“It looked awesome!” said Ms. Dern afterwards, enthusiastically. Her hair was glowing blonde, and she was wrapped in a black rain jacket, though she didn’t look as though she’d actually encountered rain. “We’re big fans of his, really,” she said, of Loden Dager designer Paul Marlow, looking toward her husband, who nodded, his arm draped protectively around his wife. They had yet to attend any other shows this week, said Ms. Dern—who showed up later that day with Ms. Cox to Elise Overland—but “I’m going to the one my husband’s doing with these two gentlemen!” she said.
Come again?
The couple explained that Mr. Harper, who was dressed in “head to toe” Loden Dager, was starting an organic clothing line called Propr—misspelling intentional—with his friend of 10 years, Mr. Arquette, which would be rolled out Monday, Sept. 8, on Mr. Arquette’s 37th birthday.
“I’m really fortunate to be working with these two guys, who are the two best dressed guys in the room at all times,” said Mr. Harper diplomatically of Mr. Arquette and a third friend and partner, David Bedwell.
And what does Mr. Harper think is wrong with the way most men dress? “It’s about to be right!” blurted Ms. Dern supportively, and her husband smiled.
Mr. Harper was unaware of being part of a larger recording artist/clothing designer trend that also includes Justin Timberlake’s William Rast and Andre Benjamin’s Benjamin Bixby. “I haven’t seen a stitch,” he admitted, making an unintentional fashion pun. “But Andre’s one of the best-dressed cats out there.”
