With a long-awaited chill finally in the air and bundled-up tourists ice skating in Bryant Park Wednesday night, the KnitWell Group’s “Holiday House” at GH on the Park somehow didn’t seem that premature.
Inside of the York & Sawyer-designed English neoclassical building, garland and trinkets were wrapped around the spiral staircase and Bing Crosby classics and other holiday tunes played. Starting at the third floor and wending their way down, 200-plus guests found interactive stations for wreath-making, charm bracelet-making, monogramming and other festive activities. KnitWell, a $6 billion entity, includes Ann Taylor, Chico’s, Haven Well Within, Talbots, Lane Bryant, Loft, Soma and White House Black Market and their holiday offerings were showcased in designated areas.
All of the holiday attire and accessories were not just for show and Instagram. Holidays sales are crucial for retailers with fourth-quarter sales accounting for about 25 percent of retailers’ annual business, based on U.S. Census Bureau data. That figure is often considerably higher for fashion stores that go all-out to entice shoppers. For many like KnitWell’s executive chair and chief executive officer Lizanne Kindler, the season can’t start soon enough. There are five fewer shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas compared to last year. “That’s something customers don’t count, but we do,” she said.
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Looking ahead to holiday sales, Kindler said there is some pent-up demand post-election. “The fact that the outcome is clear is creating some desire to just go. Now it’s done and we’re moving on.”
Some attendees trailed Jackie Tohn of “Nobody Wants This,” Bridget Moynahan of “Blue Bloods,” Ubah Hassan of Bravo’s “Real Housewives of New York,” and Mario Cantone of “Sex and the City” and “Sex and the City” for selfies or intel about their favorite shows. Camryn Manheim of “Law & Order” and “Brunch With Babs” Babs Costello were also on the scene. The extra attention is fine by Tohn, who started acting at the age of 9. After a quick licorice snack, she said, “It’s so rare as an actor — first of all — to get a job. But then to get on a show that everyone is watching and calling a ‘cultural juggernaut’ — which makes me giggle — is a joy. For something to break through in 2024 is extra crazy, especially with how many places there are to watch things and how much content there is.”
Tohn chalked that up the Netflix show’s appeal to being “really charming, well-written, well-performed” and its finding later-in-life love aspect. The 10-episode series has also signaled the return of the romantic comedy, she said. “People just need something feel-good. It’s a heavy world right now. I’m hearing from people that not only have they watched it three or four times, but when they’re cooking or running around the house doing laundry, it’s just on.”
For the yet to be released film “the Floaters,” Tohn plays a washed-up rock star, who reluctantly takes a job at a summer camp. Filmed at a Jewish sleep-away camp in upstate New York near the one that she went to years ago, Lakota, Tohn said of camp’s lasting memory. “It’s a full summer family. This is making me emotional in a way I didn’t realize. You can be someone else at camp than in your normal school life. I wasn’t really cool with boys at school, but at camp…it’s not that I was promiscuous. But I had a camp boyfriend and we kissed. I wasn’t this weird clown-y person at camp. I felt really understood at camp.”
Wearing a White House Black Market black-and-white bustier with white pants and a shaggy chubby, Tohn praised KnitWell’s labels. “It’s a lot cooler than people think it is. I have this brown three-piece Talbots suit — a matching vest, blazer and pants that I wear all the time with platform Doc Martens,” she said. “Every time people ask, ‘Where did you get that?’ and I’m like ‘Talbots baby.’ They’re like, ‘What? How?’ I love clothes and cherry-pick from brands like Ann Taylor and Loft. White House Black Mark is definitely doing a cooler, chicer hipper thing than they’ve done in the past.”
“Nobody Wants This” fans can rest easy knowing its writers’ room is at work on season two, and shooting starts in February. “I’m hoping we get to see more multidimensionality from ‘Esther.’ We’re going to learn a lot. We’re going to see what happens with ‘Sasha’ and ‘Morgan,’ and ‘Sasha’ and ‘Esther.’”
With the third season of “And Just Like That” set to debut next year, Cantone said, “Thank God there wasn’t a third film [for ‘Sex And the City,’ because this series wouldn’t have happened. This series is a gift to me, the fans and my coworkers. It’s just a great experience — working with those girls, and my boyfriend on the show Sebastiano Pigazzi, and Michael Patrick King.”
Wearing a John Varvatos blazer, black Givenchy shirt and dark pants, Cantone said, “People have to give me these things or tell me they look good because I didn’t get that gay gene. I have to ask my husband, ‘Does this look OK?’ That’s why I’m so happy to play a baker on the new show and not a wedding planner any more. I had to really act to be a wedding planner.”
His real-life at-home baking is no act. “I sell a banana bread to Stone Street Coffee on Ninth Avenue and 19th Street,” he said. “I was doing sourdough with my starter long before COVID-19. I don’t want to own a bakery, but I love baking.”
From Cantone’s standpoint, the secret to success is, “enjoying your down time and not being too driven. I like to travel to Italy — stay home, cook, sleep in with my husband, watch a movie. I’m a pretty simple dude. I don’t get out much,” he said before heading for the door.
Cantone added, “You know how they talk about intermittent fasting? I intermittent live. I get up at 1 p.m., then I eat and then I go to bed at 11 p.m. or 12. It’s good to sleep a lot. It keeps you young.”
Upstairs, before dashing off to find a robe among the racks, Hassan spoke bewilderedly about Bravo’s audience reach. After “RHONY” viewers caught a glimpse of her personal paintings, 1,000 people inquired about buying one. (That was not happening.) She also enthused about working with Talbots on a Dress for Success initiative. Taylor, a Talbots model for 11 years, was also in high spirits en route to the gloves station Wednesday night. “We’re family,” she said.
