EASEL SERVES UP AN ITSY BITSY BIKINI FOR GRAMMYS
Byline: Rosemary Feitelberg
NEW YORK — Easel is trying to get Madonna, Christina Aguilera and Faith Hill into the swim at next week’s Grammy Awards Show.
The contemporary sportswear label has designed a customized hand-knit bikini that will be included in the gift bags to be passed out to award presenters and performers at next week’s Grammy Awards show in Los Angeles.
The multicolored string bikini was inspired by European beachgoers, who tend to mix and match their looks more than their American counterparts. The suit will not be offered at any stores, but Easel is developing a few knit swimwear items designed for sunbathers, a spokeswoman said. There are also plans to add a few Lycra spandex blend items to the mix.
Easel wanted to come up with something that most people wouldn’t expect to find in a gift bag, said Liz diMonda Paul, creative director.
Founded seven years ago as a knitwear-driven sportswear firm, Easel has developed a steady celebrity following over the years, with Courtney Cox, Calista Flockhart and Sarah Jessica Parker among its devotees.
Presenters and performers will be picking up $15,000 worth of merchandise in the gift bags, according to Lash Fary, who owns Distinctive Assets, the Los Angeles-based company that put together the packages with Jaimi Blakely.
Fary said he wanted to include Easel in the goody bags, since the brand is the most popular line with stylists and celebrities who frequent Distinctive Assets’ showrooms in Los Angeles and New York.
Easel isn’t the only newcomer to the Grammy gift bags. Marcolin is offering Chloe or Dolce & Gabbana eyewear for each recipient. Sky by David Park, Custo Barcelona and N.Y. & Co. will provide sportswear items. In addition, the bags will have Karen Neuburger pajamas, Pendulum Designs’ one-of-a-kind necklaces, Avon’s breast cancer awareness pin and Brad Johns’ hair accessories.
The Sports Club/LA, which lists the Reebok Sports Club here among its seven clubs, has also gotten in the Grammy gift-giving game with gift certificates for bi-coastal memberships. To help whip celebrities into shape for swimsuit season, the chain is also giving them 20 sessions with a personal trainer and 10 massages.
