As temperatures climb during the days this month, it’s easy to forget the cool nights. I’m reminded each year during the evening matches at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Center and Fashion Week El Paseo — events that draw passionate souls to the desert even after the shiny Palm Springs International Film Festival and Palm Springs Modernism Week have run their course.
Fashion Week (March 20-28) will set your spirit in a bright direction. The event has all the popular features of previous years — a marquee designer (Colleen Quen), an edgy men’s designer (Jamie Paul Holahan), emerging designers, outfits fashioned from the tools of the interior design trade, runway shows, in-store events, and after-parties. A companion event, Fashion Food and Wine, adds an epicurean dimension this year. For tickets and more information, call 1-760-325-2333 or visit www.fashionweekelpaseo.com.
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With the desert’s globally infused film festival, international tennis and golf tournaments (LPGA’s Kraft Nabisco Championship tees off this month at Mission Hills Country Club), and world-class fashion, it’s worth noting the Virginia Waring International Piano Competition. Several Palm Springs Life editors recently attended the Waring’s Black & White Ball at Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa. We were awed by two young pianists — John Woo and Sarina Zhang — who performed pieces by Chopin and Liszt, respectively. The teens already boast worldwide performance credits, and we’re so fortunate to have this first-class competition in our back yard.
Clarification
In this space last month, I referenced the Lawford/Kennedy House as an Alexander design. In fact, William Krisel designed the Palm Springs house in 1957 for the Alexander Construction Co.