Events: ‘Gossip Girl’ fashion guru Eric Daman hosts a dinner with Charlotte Russe

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‘Gossip Girl’ costume designer Eric Daman co-hosted an intimate dinner last night with teen retailer Charlotte Russe in West Hollywood. The occasion? Introduce the local fashion press to the retailer’s increasingly fashion-forward assortment of clothes and accessories.

When guests entered the private dining room at the Gordon Ramsey restaurant at the London Hotel, they found themselves face-to-face with mannequins dolled up in chic, sequined party looks -- Daman-styled ensembles used in the company’s holiday campaign -- and tables festooned with a huge array of glittering, colorful costume jewelry.

Even the most ‘over it’ style writers found themselves cooing over the ‘Dynasty’-worthy earrings, long, messy strands of pearls, chunky, silver-toned chains, studded leather-like cuffs and over-the-top cocktail rings. ‘The jewelry is ridiculous,’ noted Daman, ‘and the price is, like, two-for-$8. No zeros in it.’

The costumer designer and stylist, who worked under queen bee costumer Patricia Field on ‘Sex and the City’ (he even won an Emmy for his efforts), has been a style consultant with the San Diego-based company for the last year -- a collaboration he finds especially fitting because ‘I grew up in the mall culture [in rural Michigan], and I understand seeing things on TV and other places that were unattainable,’ he said, adding: ‘The fashion on ‘Gossip Girl’ was getting a lot of publicity, and I kept putting it out there that I thought it was important that people at home be able to dress like this. And Charlotte Russe heard me in interviews and thought it sounded perfect for them. They were trying to up their fashion.’

Mission accomplished.
--Emili Vesilind