Vivienne Westwood fetes her first U.S. store with dual parties in Los Angeles

Vivienne Westwood, the punk rock grande dame of British fashion, was in town Wednesday night to celebrate her new shop on Melrose Avenue with a night of parties.

The first, at the store itself, saw celebs including Christina Hendricks, Dita Von Teese and Malin Ackerman squeeze into a throng of colorfully outfitted guests at the not-so-small boutique.

The second, a private dinner at the Chateau Marmont, was more restrained but equally spirited.

Before being seated for dinner Zoe Saldana, dressed in a gold Westwood cocktail dress, and Heidi Klum, in a black facsimile, chatted and smoked ciggies in a dark corner while Hendricks, decked out in a Westwood bustier top and pants, sat down for a long chat with the designer, and Ackerman and Dita Von Teese, looking phenomenal in a Victorian-style black draped gown with a feathered hat, circulated amongst the clutch of standing guests.

Westwood, clad in a mermaid gown made from a large white eyelet material, her acid-orange coif charmingly mussed, said her idea of a good dinner party is "the food," and added that restuarants and hotels that play loud music aren't her cup of tea. "Maybe it sounds very puritan, but I like to talk to people. It's like people are nervous when there's a pause in the conversation and they want music to be interjected into the situation. I don't like it."

When asked if she was happy with her new L.A. shop, the designer was equally candid: "I would like to make it better," she said. "It should have a black ceiling and I'd like to get rid of some of the mouldings that are a bit tacky. There's also too much product. I have four women's-wear lines, and you don't need to have four — especially when the Gold Label [the brand's high-end collection] is what I really like. I want less product."

Westwood's penchant for less-is-more also surfaced in her advice for women's wardrobes. "I always tell people, don't buy clothes for a bit. Buy less but choose well."

-- Emili Vesilind

Photo: Vivienne Westwood with Christina Hendricks. Credit: Donato Sardella