Dark
Horse Candidate Has Some Dapper Donors
By Peter Hyman
Brian Ellner looked at home as he made his way through the
crowd of fashion designers, style editors and various
trendistas sipping mulled wine at Kevin Carrigan's sprawling
Chelsea loft last December. Dressed in what appeared
to be the male uniform of the evening—an elegant black
velvet blazer and designer jeans—he charmed old friends
and new acquaintances with equal aplomb. Mr. Carrigan,
the creative director of CK and Calvin Klein, had invited
a hundred of his most fabulous friends to support Mr.
Ellner is his latest venture. But was he launching a
new line of men's moisturizers, or perhaps opening yet
another overpriced boutique in the meatpacking district?
Not
exactly.
As
it turns out, the 34-year-old lawyer is one of a handful
of Democratic candidates running in the crowded 2005
race for Manhattan Borough President, and the party was
designed to raise money and build awareness with a constituency
not known for its rabid interest in municipal affairs:
the fashion industry.
Tapping
friends in highly fashionable places and a fund-raising
invite list that reads like a fall issue of Vogue , the candidate is hoping to make politics the new black,
stitching together a politico-fashionista patchwork with
the precision of a Prada loafer.
Mr.
Ellner, an openly gay attorney who works in the litigation
department of O'Melveny and Myers, is a true native son.
He grew up in rent-stabilized Stuyvesant Town and attended
public city schools before heading to the more private
bastions of Dartmouth and Harvard Law. His entrée into
politics came with an appointment to Community Board
5 in 1997. And like a miniaturized version of the Hollywood–Capitol
Hill axis that Bill Clinton nurtured, Mr. Ellner has
been utilizing the attraction that people feel for political
power to create big-name alliances.
He
now cites fashion P.R. powerhouse Ed Filipowksi and Peter
Arnold, the executive director of the Council of Fashion
Designers of America, as close advisors. And just as
Richard Nixon turned to Henry Kissinger on matters of
foreign policy, Mr. Ellner has Jeffrey Kalinsky, the
owner of Jeffrey New York, for equally crucial guidance.
"The
political part is not my forte," said Mr. Kalinsky,
who has offered to help Mr. Ellner with wardrobe refinements. "But
Brian looks every bit the part of a U.S. Senator in training.
He almost evokes a modern-day Kennedy."
Like
J.F.K., Mr. Ellner is a charismatic and debonair liberal.
And, given the sartorial limits of civil servitude, where
a gray Brooks Brothers sack suit is considered chic,
being well put together is certainly a differentiator.
Still, it's hard to see what style has to do with making
sure the borough's garbage gets collected.
But
while Mr. Ellner may be overdressed and inexperienced
relative to the rest of the field of career politicians
vying for the Beep's office—his highest elected position
was the presidency of the District 2 School Board, though
he did work briefly for former Public Advocate Mark Green—he
is passionate about issues ranging from civil rights
(he supports the legalization of same-sex marriage) to
affordable housing (he fears Manhattan may soon become
an "outdoor mall for millionaires").
And
despite an affinity for what Mr. Kalinsky calls "modern
classic" suits, the dapper candidate claims to be
a fashion novice, more interested in his weekly pick-up
basketball game than this season's couture collections.
Whether this is true or simply a man-of-the-people pose,
his boyfriend Simon Holloway, a senior design director
of the women's collection at Ralph Lauren, brings a closetful
of insider influence to the endeavor.
"Before
I met Simon, I didn't know the difference between a Manolo
and a Mombasa," said Mr. Ellner. In addition to
teaching his boyfriend to distinguish iconic Italian
footwear from rare Yves Saint Laurent handbags, Mr. Holloway
provides a crucial point of entry into the city's fashion
elite.
These
connections have helped attract A-list star power to
the campaign, including Diane von Furstenberg and culture
czarina Ingrid Sischy. The two will host an "Ellner
for Manhattan" fash bash for 600 guests at Ms. von
Furstenburg's meatpacking district studio in late March.
And on March 13, some supporters are throwing a fund-raiser
at the salon of Sally Hershberger, the style impresario
known for her $600 haircuts and $1,000 jeans.
Whether
the constituency that can spot a DVF wrap dress and reads Interview magazine will trudge out to vote
on primary day remains to be seen, but they have been
generous with their pocketbooks.
According
to the New York City Campaign Finance Board, as of Jan.
18, 2005 (the last legal filing deadline), Mr. Ellner
had raised just under $170,000. Among the more fashionable
names on his donor list are downtown darling Zac Posen;
Mark Lee, the newly installed president of Gucci; designer
Lela Rose, a red-blooded Texan who, ironically, has created
several outfits worn by First Daughters Barbara and Jenna
Bush; and Project Runway star Tim Gunn, the fashion director
of the Parsons School of Design.
With
New York City's public matching-funds program, this figure
could translate into almost $500,000. By law, candidates
for Borough President can only spend $1.289 million.
Mr. Ellner has some work to do, but he's off to a robust
start. This is partially due to his aggressiveness at
throwing fund-raisers, most of which have had a distinctly
fabulous feel.
High
fashion and politics are not the strangest of bedfellows.
But while P. Diddy encouraged citizens to "Vote
or Die" and designer Marc Jacobs donated his talents
to Downtown for Democracy, they were canvassing on the
national stage. Mr. Ellner's fashion partnership is unique
at the local level, where fixing potholes is often the
most glamorous item on the agenda.
"Historically,
fashion people have not been at the front lines of politics
in New York City," said Mitchell Moss, a professor
of urban policy and planning at New York University's
Wagner School. The irony is that the city's apparel industry
generates nearly $35 billion in revenues annually and
employs 150,000 people, making it a sector well worth
embracing.
And
in New York City, where participation in municipal elections
hovers at about 25 percent of registered voters, enlisting
new voters can tip the scales. Moreover, because the
Manhattan Borough Presidency is often decided by a crowded
Democratic primary and not a general election, a candidate
can win with a relatively small percentage of the vote.
For Mr. Ellner, victory could mean a critical mass of
as few as 35,000 well-dressed supporters who pull his
lever on primary day.
There
are, however, risks involved with relying on the ultra-fashionable
as a base of support.
"I've
never voted for Borough President, and I'm not proud
of that," said Michelle Giuliano, an executive at
Burberry. She did reveal her own rationale for why tapping
the fashion crowd made political sense: "We may
not be curing cancer, but we are some of the most fun
people in the city. And we look fabulous."
This
latter fact was evident at the recent holiday-themed
Ellner fund-raiser hosted by Mr. Carrigan.
"I
admire the causes Brian is fighting for," said Mr.
Carrigan, "even though I cannot actually vote for
him." Mr. Carrigan is British, so he showed his
support by donating the use of his sprawling Chelsea
loft, a modernist's paradise awash in earthy hues and
mid-century furnishings.
Some
of the guests who were eligible to vote shared Mr. Carrigan's
admiration for Mr. Ellner, even if they didn't understand
the specific nuances of the office for which he's campaigning.
"It
sounds as if [Borough Presidents] follow up on agendas
and make sure promises are being kept," said Beth
Mayer, a vice president of merchandising at Ellen Tracy.
A born-and-bred Republican, Ms. Mayer confessed that
she was planning to cross party lines to vote for Mr.
Ellner. However, as election laws would have it, only
registered Democrats can participate in the Democratic
primary.
Michael
Giannelli, a vice president of design at the Gap, was
more vocal about his uncertainty. "Borough President?
What is that?" said Mr. Giannelli, who matched a
chocolate-brown velvet Paul Smith blazer with Adriano
Goldschmied jeans. "Do they go to fashion shows?"
According
to the office of current Manhattan Borough President,
C. Virginia Fields, the role has more to do with serving
as an advocate for the needs of Manhattan and its more
than 1.5 million residents than it does with mingling
under the white tents of Bryant Park, though the semi-annual
shows do fall within the Borough President's geographic
purview.
Despite
the confusion of some of his supporters regarding the
office he seeks, Mr. Ellner is outspoken, especially
on the one issue that promises to dominate the 2005 citywide
elections: the proposed $1.4 billion football stadium
for the New York Jets on the West Side of Manhattan.
As it turns out, so are several of his fashion-world
supporters.
"I
know I'm a lone wolf on this, but I think the stadium
would be good for urban renewal," said Mr. Giannelli,
between servings of mulled wine at the Carrigan affair. "I
mean, just picture Madonna under a retractable roof.
It's breathtaking!"
Mr.
Ellner, an avid Jets fan, disagreed, citing quality-of-life
issues and more beneficial possible uses for the funds,
such as education and keeping Manhattan safe. "The
Jets played in Flushing, Queens, when I was young," said
Mr. Ellner, who was also dressed in a dark velvet blazer
and jeans. "I am more than happy to take the 7 train
to home games." But if his fashionable friends
come through next September, Mr. Ellner's attentions
may soon be focused on the borough due west of Queens. Peter Hyman's first book, The Reluctant Metrosexual: Dispatches
from an Almost Hip Life, was published in August by Villard.
Copyright, 2005, The New York Observer
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