P8 SUNDAY, APRIL 30, 2017 LATIMES.COM/IMAGE

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Spotting one celebrity in theparking lot of amotel in the rough-and-tumble stretch of HollywoodBoulevard east of the 101 Freewayseems tawdry, but seeing a dozenor more feels downright fashion-able.At least thatwas thecaseear-lier thismonth when a laundry listof famous folk includingactorsJoelMcHale, Ethan Peck and MattBomer and rapper Ty Dolla Signstopped by the Hollywood Pre-miere Motel to help luxury mens-wearsiteMrPortercelebrate its re-cently launchedMade inCaliforniacollection.

Itemsfromthecollection,whichincludes 145 California-focusedpieces by adozendesigners and la-bels (Rick Owens, Outerknown,the Elder Statesman, Stüssy, Si-monMiller, JamesPerse, JohnElli-ott, Mollusk Surf, Amiri, GoldenBear, Noon Goons and Second/Layer) were on display in the win-dows fronting the parking lot andmany of the designerswho createdthe exclusive capsule collectionswere in the house (well, motel) aswell. Among the ones we had achance to chat with were SimonMiller’s Daniel Corrigan andChelseaHansford (who told us thebrand’s handbag business is blow-ing up), the Elder Statesman’scashmerewunderkindGregChait,Outerknown’s John Moore, JohnElliott andAmiri’sMikeAmiri.

Other guests of note includedprofessional football player VictorCruz, soccerplayerRobbieRogers,modelDylanBrosnan, Stampdde-signer Chris Stamp, actor ChordOverstreet and stylist George Kot-siopoulos.

The parking lot of the motel —

where the bulk of the festivitiestook place—was filled with Insta-gram-worthy vintage cars bearingMr. Porter vanity plates, a seem-ingly endless supply of tacos andburgers (the former courtesy ofB.S.Taqueria, the latter In-N-Out)and the pervading smell of enthu-siastically consumed cannabis.Next to the motel pool stood aserve-yourself beer cooler fullystockedwith thehousebeerHouseBeer. (Seewhatwedid there?)

Additional attractions and dis-tractions were scattered through-out the interior of the motel, in-cluding one room filled with ar-cade-style video games, anotherset up for commemorative photo-taking and a “makers room”wherethe folks from Lot, Stock&Barrelwere hard at work hand-customiz-ingpatches.

Despite all the celebrity fire-power on deck and a blasting-from-the-balcony DJ set by MikeWillMade-It, the focus-pulling starof the evening turned out to be themotel theme, thanks to closetsfilled with embroideredMr Porterbathrobes, housekeeping cartsconverted into rolling mini-bars(complete with shots of Don Juliotequila), a front-desk-turned-gift-shop with take-home tchotchkeslikeashtrays,old-schoolmotelkey-chains, lighters, pens and retro-Americana-themedenameledpinsbyPintrill (our favoritewasthevin-tage front-loading ice chest pin)and a neon-topped “Night Win-dow”outfittedwithadoorbell-typebuzzer.

Many a curious partygoerjabbed a finger at the buzzer but-ton over the course of the eveningand waited for something to hap-pen. (Nothingdid.)

The breadth of the Mr PorterMade in California collection —from $35 T-shirts to $14,900made-to-order leather jackets studdedwith Swarovski crystals — can beviewedatwww.mrporter.com.

adam.tschorn@latimes.comTwitter:@ARTschorn

RAPPER Ty Dolla Sign presides over the festivities at the Hollywood PremiereMotel on Hollywood Boulevard that drew several big-name celebrities and designers.John Salangsang BFA.com

Where grit meets high fashionMr Porter’s Made inCalifornia campaign getsoff and running atHollywood motel soiree.

By Adam Tschorn

JACK BEDWANI, Mike Amiri and Dan Rookwood were onhand celebratingMr Porter’s Made in California collection.

Hagop Kalaidjian BFA.com

JOEL McHALE was in a fes-tive mood at the gathering.

OUTERKNOWN’S JohnMoore and Hannah Henderson, right, at theMr Porter party.Hagop Kalaidjian BFA.com

Hagop Kalaidjian BFA.com

If there’sone thingguestsat theApril 21 Los Angeles Ballet Galacould agree on, it’s the importanceof ballet — not just for all types ofserious dancers, but also for thecultural life of the city.

“Ballet technique is like a dic-tionary,” said Bruno Tonioli, ajudge on TV’s “Dancing With theStars.” “If youdon’t have a richdic-tionary, you don’t have words, andif you don’t have words, you’re un-able toexpressyourself.Foranyse-rious dancer, a knowledge of balletis indispensable.”

“What’s really great is thatwe’ve been teaching [ballet] on ‘SoYou Think You CanDance,’ ” add-ed show co-creator Nigel Lythgoe.“So now, the street kids are sud-denly realizing how important it is.They are learning they can controlfarmorewith a strong core.”

“Descendants” star Sofia Car-son was among those in attend-ance. “Supporting the arts andsupportingtheballet is instrumen-tal to our culture and important tothis city,” she said. “It’s a beautifulpart of living inLosAngeles.”

As a fashion aside, Carson, thisyear’shostof theRadioDisneyMu-sic Awards, looked chic in her

shoulder-baringDavidKomafrockand strappy black Valentino heels.“Fashion is a big part ofwho I am. Ilove fashion.”The event:Held at the Beverly

Wilshire Hotel, the gala honoredformer California Gov. Gray Davisand former First Lady SharonDavis as well as noted film pro-ducer Lawrence Bender (“An In-convenient Truth,” “HacksawRidge” and “PulpFiction”).

As the evening’s centerpiece,Los Angeles Ballet dancers per-formed excerpts from “Who

Cares?,” choreographer GeorgeBalanchine’s homage to Broad-way, set to the music of GeorgeGershwin.The crowd: Los Angeles Ballet

artistic directors Thordal Chris-tensen and Colleen Neary alongwith executive director Julie Whit-taker thanked the audience for itssupport following welcome re-marks by the night’s emcee, MarkL. Walberg of “Antiques Road-show,” and co-chairs Leslie Ka-vanaughandKirstenSarkisian.

Among those also appearingonstage were Ghada Irani and herhusband,Ray Irani, the formerOc-cidental Petroleum Corp. chiefexecutive.The numbers: The gala raised

nearly $1million for the Los Ange-les Ballet’s dance performancesand educational outreach pro-grams. Tickets for the 240 guestsbegan at $500 each, tables rangedup to $100,000 and a silent auctionandafter-dinnerappeal brought inadditional contributions.

One prize was a chance to jumpthe valet line at the evening’s endandbe the first tohaveyour carde-livered. Two guests couldn’t resist,paying $2,500 each.

EllenOlivier is the founder ofSocietyNewsLA.

SOFIA CARSON, left, and event co-chair Leslie Kavanaugh atthe Los Angeles Ballet Gala held at the BeverlyWilshire Hotel.

Photographs by Ryan Miller

PRODUCER Lawrence Bend-er, withMisha, was honored.

ROBBI andMark L.Walberg.Mark served as the emcee.

L.A. Ballet gets a liftBy Ellen Olivier

BRUNO TONIOLI of “Danc-ingWith the Stars” was there.