To tell the collection’s story, La brought together
Jiman Casablancas, a seasoned Malaysian punk rocker turned activist and lawyer,
Hao, a DJ from Chengdu who he met at a party during his first trip to Shanghai, and James, a reformed bad boy hailing from the Philippines. La tells me that in Malaysia, “the punk rock scene is still rooted in those American punk anthems and that look, but then it's like these dudes are from Malaysia. They're tan. They have a different flavor.” He recognizes that all over the world, outside of the West there are little pockets that inject a local energy to what are originally American influences. Growing up in D.C. LA always recognized an East meets West mentality, and now he finds that these interactions come full circle.
As much as tonight is a celebration, it is also a tribute to Jiman, who passed away earlier this year. To honor him, La donated proceeds to SEED Malaysia, a trans-led non-profit organization that supports Trans, homeless and other marginalized communities in the country.
By 11pm, all of the pool tables are full. Mark, the cobrasnake, walks in rocking a short-sleeve button down from the collection that really suits him. He says to me, “I thought this was a pool party, I wore my speedo." Already having a good time a few minutes in, he adds on, “All of Gia’s parties are always on my list.” I go over and sit down with star photographer Neva and reflect on the never-ending game we played with Lindsey and Jonas — 30 minutes of shooting around the blue solid, blue stripe, and eight ball around before giving up. She comments on the lighting, and she’s right, it is good — if only she brought her camera.
I chat with record producer Pi’erre Bourne as the party winds down, “This is nice, I mean there’s pool, you know? A lot of other shit is more forced, in comparison. This wasn’t like that.” I also met Ava Pearlman who was standing with Annabelle Weatherly and Matt Weinberger in the corner by the purple table. They both got in last Tuesday. Ava tells me that on the first night of her trip, she already hated Paris. Tonight she likes it, especially because, in here, she can’t tell what city she’s in.
The crowd stuck around well into the night, so much so that the bar staff kindly had to ask all to leave – we’ll say it was one for the books. Leaving that night, one thing was clear: Hung La doesn’t want to fit into anyone else’s world, he’d rather create a new one.