Last night, East Londoners, who usually party in gritty bars, met West Londoners, who are all about posh venues, at Movida, the ultra chic club in the heart of the city. The force behind this union was none other than 24-year-old Henry Holland, designer-of-the-moment who has taken the fashion industry by storm with his fun, irreverent label, House of Holland. The event, which he's titled Fash Bash, naturally attracted his group of famous East London friends including accessories designer Katie Hillier, stylist Sam Ranger and shoe designer Atalanta Weller. His main girl and muse Agyness Deyn was not in attendance. Luckily, she'll have another chance, since this was only the second in a series of parties Holland is hosting at Movida. I dragged him into the back office of the club to chat about sponsors, education and the inspiration behind his party.

Zandile Blay: So what made you throw this party?
Henry Holland: Well Movida supported my show. They sponsored my venue and a lot of things, so this is an extension of the relationship. It's my pay back and my thank you.

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1. In case you missed both of their New York shows this week, you can catch the brilliant L.A. art/punk duo No Age at the South Street Seaport on July 11. And it's free! "They thrill by purposeful happenstance." - New York Times

2. Shepard Fairey is not going blind. The artist, who is diabetic, has had multiple surgeries to repair damaged blood vessels in both eyes and says he's now "all good." (via animalnewyork.com)

3. The Red Hook IKEA opens June 18.

4. Hudson Terrace, the $3 million nightclub that was set to open last fall, is apparently ready to go. Sean McGarr and Michael Sinensky's 4,000 sq. ft. space at 621 W. 46th St. is previewing tonight. We heard last night that another long awaited club, Santa's Party House, is opening for a very private party this week.

5. Seven Nevada high school students shot a documentary about New York rockers Sonic Youth and it's screening at the 10th CineVegas Film Festival in June. (via dailyswarm.com)

6. We love the new Rogan store at 330 Bowery. It's in the old Bouwerie Lane Theater where they have uncovered all the windows on the south side, painted everything black and hung a lighting grid with 20 pin-spots from the center of the ceiling. They wanted to mirror all the windows, but couldn't because the building is landmarked.

Zhang Huan, “Blessings”

Chinese artist Zhang Huan, best known for his controversial -- oft labeled masochistic -- performance pieces, presents “Blessings,” a multimedia exhibit at PaceWildenstein marked by two sizeable centerpiece installations. At the 22nd Street gallery, find a structure of compacted ash from Chinese Buddhist temples topped by an image on its back of people -- thought to be migrant workers -- in a field. Perch on scaffolding to view the piece from above, and during the first three weeks of the exhibition, watch as a studio assistant suspended from a dangling chair carefully fills the paintings with ash. Find more Buddhist ash paintings, with Chinese military themes and human skulls, lining the gallery walls. At Pace’s 25th Street location, the main gallery features a sizeable sculpture of a pregnant woman constructed with animal hides, and in the side gallery, check out new works from his “Memory Door” series featuring photographs imposed on antique doors collected in China.

PaceWildenstein, 534 W. 25th St. and 545 W. 22nd St., (212) 421-3292. Opening reception May 8, 6–8 p.m. Through July 25.

Daido Moriyama, “The 80s, Vintage Prints”

Moriyama, one of Japan’s most celebrated photographers, is known for snapping everyday subjects with a lightning-fast speed that he has compared to a machine gun going off. This exhibit -- his first of vintage prints in New York -- displays more than 80 black-and-whites taken in the ‘80s. These prints have immediacy to them (he rarely even uses the viewfinder) and the spirit of the Japanese wabi-sabi -- beauty in imperfection.

Steven Kasher Gallery, 521 W. 23rd St., (212) 966-3978. Opening reception May 8, 6-8 p.m. Through June 7.

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Last night I went to see the musical-comedy duo Flight of the Conchords at Town Hall and my cheeks still hurt from laughing. Their folky-jokey songs are never my favorite part of the New Zealand duo's HBO series (also called Flight of the Conchords and about their band) so I wasn't sure how much I would like them live in concert, but somehow on stage the songs were funnier and they still had the silly banter they have during their show that I became addicted to during its first season last summer. There was a sign on the box-office that said the show was beyond sold-out and the crowd was an interesting one filled with hipsters and business-types alike. I also heard more than a few New Zealand accents. If you can somehow charm you're way in they are playing again tonight and believe me their show made for a great mid-week lift. Of course it didn't help that I have a huge crush on both of them! You just can't beat funny and cute, and these boys are capitalizing on it!

Here they are in a scene from their show which I hear starts filming again in September! (l-r) Bret Mackenzie and Jermaine Clement

1. Knitting Factory founder Michael Dorf plans to open a new music venue called City Winery this fall. Set to take over the old El Diario building across the street from S.O.B.'s on Varick, the large space will include a winery and event space.

2. There is a great installation show currently up at Ad Hoc Art (49 Bogart Street, Brooklyn) that runs to the end of May. It's called "The Threat of Chance" and is the work of Josh MacPhee, Billy Mode, Chris Stain and the Polaroid Kidd.

3. Sad to hear that fab Brooklyn store Bark (495 Atlantic Ave.) is going out of business after 12 years. The last day is May 18 but there's a big sale running on the last four days.

4. According to eater.com, Serge Becker is opening a branch of his La Esquina in Miami at the upcoming Mondrian South Beach Hotel.

5. Cablevision's Rainbow Media bought the Sundance Channel for $496 million. They already own AMC and the Independent Film Channel.

6. Brit singer Duffy is appearing on Monday (May 12) at the Apollo Theater here in New York. Her album Rockferry has been #1 on the European charts for three weeks and is out soon in the USA.

Booty Call, PAPER's back of the book section filled with items we're currently gagging over, is crossing the pond as it were, and heading into the blogosphere! Along with items culled from the 'zine, us web editors will be introducing our own favorite objéts into the mix. So check in every Wednesday, aka Hump Day, for your weekly Booty Call!

Our first item is an armchair from David Weeks' new furniture collection Sculpt. It goes for $6,720 and is available at Ralph Pucci, (212) 633-0452.

A new French bistro is rarely cause for celebration, especially one that looks like a poor man's Pastis with its wine bottles-as-decor accents. But what makes Pomme de Terre stand out is not only its food pedigree -- the latest project from the duo behind nearby The Farm on Adderley (Gary Jonas and Allison McDowell) and Jimmy Mamary, the owner of Patois -- but also the location. The Ditmas Park space was previously home to a grungy bodega and in February, a crime scene (two men shot at each other but neither died). Now it's a place where butter is churned in house, and the meat (for that classic steak frites, $19) is dry-aged on site. The quintessential French dishes are the most impressive, like a charcuterie plate piled high with four types of cured meat and country paté ($8), and a perfectly crisped, whole-roasted branzino ($17). The more creative stuff is less worth a 45-minute trip from Manhattan. The pastry-crusted ratatouille ($13) more closely resembles a burrito than anything to inspire a Pixar movie. Roasted tomatoes mask the duck in the smoked duck sandwich ($9). This is a place that's meant to breathe some new life into its 'hood, but don't expect the crowd to be as cool as the waitstaff just yet. 1301 Newkirk Ave., Ditmas Park, (718) 284-0005.

I am curious how much tongue-in-cheek thought was put into having Agent Provocateur's Let Them Eat Kate affair at Milk (and cookies?) Studio? In any case, let me wrap things up for you, stream-of-consciousness style:

The super-fine Kate Moss casually seated in one corner of the penthouse; intriguing Lake Bell; Vogue’s movie star and fierce redhead Jessica Joffe; Damon Dash (he told me his baby is due next week); rappers Jim Jones and Chink and the Misshapes all at once stepping off the drive-in elevator; later, Zoe Kravitz in a golden-yellow bra/halter top slightly reminiscent of Gaultier’s famous cone-shaped bra made for Madonna, dancing to DJ Jauretsi Saizarbitoria’s fabulous tunes; and Vivienne Westwood’s son, Agent Provacatuer’s principal Joe Corre at this hot, cool, sweet, fly, fashionable, swell, sexually-charged, fresh and dope party!

Sita Sings the Blues is a rich, quirky, balls-to-the-wall love story based on the ancient Sanskrit epic Ramayana. Director Nina Paley uses cool, innovative animation techniques and interweaves the narrative of a modern American woman dealing with a troubled marriage and that of Sita, the main character from Ramayana. The whole film is set against the 1920s jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw. It’s the kind of thing where, you read about it, you pause, you think, “How’s this gonna work?” And then as you’re watching, it makes perfect, seamless sense.

Rebecca Carroll: I'm not actually a person who is so much drawn to animation -- it reminds me of cartoons, which immediately makes me think it's not to be taken all that seriously; how did you choose the medium?
Nina Paley: Animation is still the bastard child of cinema, unfortunately. Most people go to movies to watch movie stars. There's a voyeuristic thrill in watching a beautiful actress or Alpha male up close and personal, in ways we'd never get to see them in real life. Animation can deliver meaning, story, and ideas, but it doesn't satisfy the primate voyeur that drives most cinephiles.

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Lately, I've been trying to get out in a much less redundant manner. Let me explain myself: You can go to some fierce people-party any old evening and see the same five social types that are at all of those sort of gigs. You can go to Beatrice and get pushed around by a room jam-packed with hipstery fashion interns all night, any night; or Gramercy and guzzle champagne and bop your head to the beat of some track you've never heard. As I assume you can all deduce from my tone, this sort of "nightlife" gets, well, repetitive to say the least. So, in an effort to mix it up, I decided to try something (sort of) new. A concert. I know what you're thinking, 'ooooooooh way to break the vicious cycle,' but it turned out to be everything I expected it to be and more.

So last Wednesday night, my good friend, model -- and now actress. Um, Hello? Gossip Girl -- Lydia Hearst, invited me and room full of fun New York social types and friends from home to see her boyfriend, Joe Freimuth, perform live under the monicker Joe Barney at The Bitter End in SoHo. In attendance were Jessica Joffe, Leven Rambin, Francesco "Izzy Gold" Civetta and sister Christina, Jamie Korey, Nicole Hanley, Traver Rains and Richie Rich of Heatherette, along with a slew of college and high school friends of Lydia's and Joe's.

I was able to sit down with the couple of the night, right afterward for a quick interview:

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If you, like us, wish that Mr. Mickey was a more integrated part of your daily routine, now, thanks to nycvisit.com's big ol' "Just Ask the Locals" campaign, you're in for quite a treat. Mr. Mickey's smiling face and his favorite bars are featured prominently on bus stops all around the city, with quite a bunch in the East Village. Waiting for the bus has never been this fabulous!

Photos by Eric McNatt

1. Sir Kylie! Kylie Minogue was knighted yesterday in Paris by the French Minister of Culture. While handing the Aussie singer the medal, the minister accidentally dropped it.

2. Chrysler is guaranteeing gas at $2.99 per gallon for three years on new purchases of selected car models starting tomorrow until June 2.

3. My Bloody Valentine will appear at New York's Roseland Ballroom on September 22 and 23.

4. Find out how many five-year-olds you could take in a fight here. Our score: 17 (via Marc C.)

5. A British family has been ordered to take down a pirate (skull and crossbones) flag displayed in front of their own home. They face court proceedings after a neighbor complained when the flag was used for a child's pirate-themed birthday party. (via The Guardian)

6. Cool new music: The Chap (pictured above)

In this new comedy by the excellent playwright David Grimm (Measure for Pleasure, Kit Marlowe), directed by Eleanor Holdridge, the main character Steve’s life is going down the tubes. His lover leaves him, his work is going nowhere and even his friends are deserting him. And then, the ghost of General Idi Amin bursts through his window and makes a strange demand. The cast of five male actors has Grimm playing Steve.

Tom Murrin: What's it like acting in your own play?
David Grimm: It's kind of like swallowing your own vomit. It's been a long time since I acted. Rattlestick [the producers] came along and asked me to play Steve. I thought, "No, you're crazy," but I'm actually having the time of my life.

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Here are some cute pics from the madness and insanity that went down last Friday at the Studio B roof deck opening party. The Brazilian Girls played, as did Chester French and The Rub, Roxy Cottontail and 88-Keys tore things up in the DJ booth. We didn't go because we had an early flight the next morning to Myrtle Beach (a whole other story that you'll be hearing about soon), but looking at these photos, we seriously wish we had re-thought our decision. Anyway, enjoy.

Photos by Collin LaFleche

Phew! Do the people at Opening Ceremony ever just sit still or stop to smell the roses? Well, we don't know about the sitting still part, but at the moment OC's definitely head over heels when it comes to roses, pansies and all things in bloom. Their latest cool offering is a collaboration with Nike: Liberty Dunks, high-tops covered in Liberty prints. All you OC fanatics and sneaker addicts will surely go ga-ga over these! These babies scream spring, sporty and flower-power in one pretty package and they'll be available starting tomorrow. And If you think you've walked too far and ended up at a flower shop next door, that would be understandable. "We wanted the store the look like those flower bodegas," says the co-owner Humberto Leon.

Clowns to the left of me, superheroes to the right, here I am wedged in the middle of a fashion fantasy! Andrew Bolton, Harold Koda, Anna Wintour, Giorgio Armani and other playful minds created a truly sensational gala at the Met last night. Swarming like bees, celebrity guests arrived on top of each other, forcing the press to make choices. “Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony are coming!! Get these B-list celebs to move on!” Rarely does New York host a celebrity mob scene like this. There was a take no prisoners attitude both in the costumes, accessories and attitudes of the guests and the press. Wham, bam, thank you, maam!

We got a package in the mail today from Caroline Weaver, a 17-year-old Minetta, Ohio native and aspiring headband designer, and thought her 'bands, which she designs under the name FROLIC, were quite cute and were very Gossip Girl meets Minnie Mouse. According to Weaver's website, the story of FROLIC goes something like this: "Once upon a time, a small town girl had a strange revelation. She arrived at the thought that it is nearly impossible to find a fabulous, kitschy and whimsical headband. After months of planning and many scraps of fabric FROLIC was born!"

"Since each are handmade," Weaver writes, if you like what you see, and want to get your hot little hands on one, "I would be more than thrilled to create a custom piece for you. Simply e-mail anytime and we will come up with an idea." Check out the photo above of PAPER's own Lysee Webb modeling one of Weaver's creations. Fun fun!

At the very posh press breakfast for the Met’s Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy exhibit, curator Andrew Bolton noted: ''Superhero imagery has suffused almost every aspect of popular culture." And slyly, Giorgio Armani pointed out he is most associated with wearable clothing but was thrilled to have made this exhibition possible and that he was inspired by it! He said, ''Fashion, like the superhero, allows you to dream and escape into a world of unfettered imagination.” Always comfortable in my own comic book setting, everything looked perfectly wearable to me!!!

1. The second floor of Brooklyn club Studio B opened on Friday, but not without a few surprises. Irate neighbors called the cops and the fire department because "we're tired of them being crappy neighbors and we're tired of stupid ass hipsters who just moved here screaming outside our window." (via newyorkshitty.com) Meanwhile inside the venue, the singer of the Brazilian Girls supposedly smoked a funny cigarette. (via brooklynvegan.com)

2. The "HEEL" posters plastered around NYC are ads for upcoming Disney feature Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

3. Stealth bomber: $2.2 billion. Gallon of paint: $29.98. A German inventor has created a radar-evading camouflage paint that, when tested in laboratories, works "for all military relevant frequencies." (via Der Speigel)

4. Cinco de Mayo cocktail chatter: The wholesale total of tequila sales in the US last year was $1.6 billion. 80,000 students spent spring break at South Padre Island, Texas. (thanks, Michelle)

5. Go here to select the artworks that will be included in an upcoming exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. The "crowd-curated" show called Click! opens June 27.

6. Gossip Girl's Ed Westwick appears in Brit comedy Son of Rambow.

Some of the best parties in New York seem to happen for no reason at all. We don't necessarily need charities or art openings as an excuse to party. Take this past Saturday night for example: Misshapes & Seven New York invite you to a night with Gareth Pugh and Tommy Saleh. I'm not sure exactly why we're spending the night with Gareth and Tommy, and I don't think anyone else at the Tribeca Grand knows either, but like I said, we don't need an excuse.