District L

Last night, the Metropolitan Pavilion was buzzing with anticipation for New York’s third season of IvanaHelsinki. Ivana’s powerful SS11 debut had earned her a devoted following of fellow artists and industry insiders.

The showing opened up with a short video projected onto the wall – images of young girls in an open coastal plain, tiptoeing the line between playful and otherworldly. An acoustic, folksy rendition of R.E.M’s “The One I Love” began as muted reds, blues, dusty auburns, and tribal prints charged the runway. Models, adorned with paint on their faces and hands, presented Paola Suhonen’s signature motif of seasonal inspiration -- a “balance between white arctic summer nights and endless winter sadness.”

“I design for the ones who love moonlit fields, pirates, dark forests, crummy motels, champagne states of drunkenness, fragile butterflies, passionate relationships, cowboys and guardian angels,” Suhonen proclaims.

IvanaHelsinki... you had us at "pirates."

Post by Amanda LaMela

We have it on good authority that the above statement is true.

So this is how committed we are to you, dear readers. I have my trench buckled and ready to go, Amanda is literally about to open the front door, we are like SO READY to head out for another fabulous Saturday night yet we are STILL BLOGGING. You can thank us later, we're RL busy.

EFFEN was kind enough to send us a bottle of their stupid awesome vodka, which inspired us to whip up a few EFFEN concoctions of our own this evening. Below is our favorite, inspired by this unseasonably warm weather we've been hit with - light, bouncy, and vivacious, this one is a great way to salute these last vestige of summer.

District L's Indian EFFEN Summer -

-1 part EFFEN Vodka (Original)

-1 part prosecco

-1 squeeze lemon juice

-A few sprigs of mint

-Thinly sliced cucumber

- A lil' bit of crushed ice

In a white wine glass, lightly mash some mint with crushed ice. Add EFFEN Vodka followed by prosecco, stir lightly and squeeze a sneeze of lemon juice into the mix. Garnish with a slice or two of cucumber.

Summer is drifting away, but putting up a great fight; don't let F/W tell S/S what to do - think about how you would feel. So swizzle up one of these bad boys and let's keep summer alive a little bit longer, shall we?

Post and Recipe by Nicolas Sera-Leyva