It was an eventful Fashion Week for designer Joanna Mastroianni, with style icon Zelda Kaplan passing away in the front row at her runway show and the death of her friend Lillian Bassman the same week. We caught up with the Mastroianni at the opening of Roxanne Lowit’s photo installation at Parlor New York on Wednesday.

NYM: Do you mind if I ask you about Zelda Kaplan? How did you react to that, personally?
A: Oh, I was beyond shocked. First of all, I had no idea what was going on backstage; I didn’t even find out about it until we were — not only was the show over, but we were out of Lincoln Center. I had no idea. And I was speaking with the director, Maysles, who did Grey Gardens, and I’m telling him how cool she is, and if he had a chance to speak with her he would enjoy speaking to her. So I promised him I would introduce him, officially, to Zelda, not knowing any of this. It was quite a shock. But I have to tell you, if a fashion girl ever decides to go, this is the way to go.

For sure.
Gideon [Mastroianni's husband] was sitting literally right next to her, and everybody thought she was just  feeling a little warm and fainting a bit. She was amazing! What she said to me is, “I would never miss a show of yours for the world.” She wasn’t kidding.

Wow.
She was absolutely incredible. And she was very supportive of women. And you know, she would always say one of the things she attributed this amazing long life of hers to was she never saw doctors. So ironically or not, there were two doctors in the audience, at my show, who ran over to save her. 

So you had a relationship with Lillian Bassman as well?
Oh, big time. Gideon and I had her 90th birthday party in my studio, and last year. There’s always somebody that inspires a collection for me, and last fall’s collection was inspired by Lillian Bassman. And on the day of my show Mayor Bloomberg declared February 17th Lillian Bassman day. That was the day of my show. It’s awesome.

Related:
Socialite Zelda Kaplan Dies After Collapsing at Fashion Show
Slideshow: Remembering Zelda Kaplan, Beloved Party Animal   
From the Vault: Life Lessons From Zelda Kaplan 

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Back when she was a fledgling model, the Cut TV correspondent had to be very resourceful. “When I stared modeling, I knew nothing about makeup, like, I could not do anything for myself,” she said at the Viva Glam campaign launch on Wednesday night. “And especially for a dancer, you have to do your own makeup for theater; I couldn’t, I’d have to ask,” said Rocha, who was discovered at an Irish dance competition. “But my first modeling gig test shoot, I went to the MAC counter and asked them to do my makeup for my photo shoot,” she said. “No joke, there was no hair, no makeup, but I went to the MAC counter, and, you know, you’ve got to buy one thing, so I did that. They were like, ‘Why do you need makeup at two in the afternoon on a school day?’ And I was like, ‘I have a photo shoot. And you’re my makeup artist.’”

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The label just announced the return of its Ruffian Red lipstick in a new MAC Cosmetics line coming out in June, but the designers also promise a secret new product in a totally new area. “We can’t talk about it,” said Brian Wolk at the Viva Glam campaign launch last night. “It’s a new category for MAC. I can say that,” partner Claude Morais added. Wolk says the product will be for women, and something that MAC has never done before. “It’s revolutionary. It’s going to revolutionize the makeup industry,” he teased. The pair said they brought the idea to MAC’s John Demsey, and have been working together on the project for a year. They also kept mum on what the rest of the upcoming line will entail. “We can only talk about the lipstick,” Wolk said.

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Most of the spreads in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue are shot in exotic locations, like private islands only accessible via helicopter or at Victoria Falls in Africa, so we were surprised to hear that Bar Refaeli did hers in a studio this year.

“I was shot with Rafael Nadal, Chris Paul, and Michael Phelps on three different occasions, because their schedules are so hectic that I had to travel specially every time, like twelve hours, just for a one-day shoot,” Rafaeli told us at the launch party yesterday. “It was fun because we were just being silly, and it wasn’t all about posing; it was just about the energy and the vibe around it, and we had a blast with the three of them.”

So, wearing a bathing suit while posing with three iconic — and shirtless — athletes, did Refaeli feel what the rest of us do when we’re around her: Damn, I am so fat and flabby?

“Are you kidding? Of course! I’m talking about Rafael Nadal, Michael Phelps, and Chris Paul!” she said, laughing. “It’s not like I’m talking about, some, I don’t know, college team.”

Plus, she was a little awestruck. “I’m, like, obsessed with sports, and I follow sports, so for me, every time I meet an athlete I’m really, really, um, like a 6-year-old girl.”

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Just six weeks after his wedding to Victor Voronov, the ice skater says their relationship hasn’t changed much. “The sex hasn’t left the marriage yet, I still do everything that I did before, as does he. I vacuum, I clean, I cook, I take care of everything,” Weir told us at the Alice + Olivia presentation on Monday. But Voronov, an attorney, does his part around the house as well. “I help out,” he said. “I take the trash out, and I … That’s about it.

“Well, he had a Russian Jewish mother who did everything for him, so he never learned,” Weir explained. Besides, Weir enjoys doing household chores so much he won’t hire a housekeeper. “I’m like Mommie Dearest. I’d be the one that beats the shit out of the maid because they missed a spot,” he said.

Weir cleans on Sundays — obsessively. “I come down from my office, and my entire bathroom is out there and he’s polishing every little thing in my bathroom,” said Voronov. “I had to get him a feather duster because he has to Windex every little thing, and it’s a waste; I said, you’ve got to get efficient about this.”

“Everything sparkles, as you can imagine. Everything sparkles, Fabergé eggs and gold gilt mirrors,” Weir said, proudly. “It’s a little over the top.”

When it comes to dinner, Weir likes to make meat dishes and salads for his hubby. “And there’s glitter on the food, too,” Voronov added.

Related: See the Complete Alice + Olivia Fall 2012 Collection

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