'Sex' premieres in high style

By Meera Selva, Associated Press

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Sarah Jessica Parker is the Vogue cover girl for June.

Nathan Strange / Associated Press

Sex and the City actresses, from left, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker arrive at the movie's London world premiere.

The Sex and the City stars lit up London's Leicester Square Monday for the world premiere of the cinematic sequel to their New York adventures, delighting fans with glamorous - and sometimes quirky - outfits that helped make the show an international hit.

Sarah Jessica Parker, who plays columnist Carrie Bradshaw, stole the show with her soaring Philip Treacy hat. She was joined by co-stars Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis, known on screen as Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte. They were eager to gloss over the reported problems that delayed the film's production and chat instead about the boost the series has given their careers.

"Professionally, it's been the best 10 years of my life. I wouldn't have wanted to have done it any differently with any different women or any different men," Parker said. "So it's been glorious."

All were dressed in the designer clothes that made the series about sex and shopping such a huge fashion-industry hit. Parker's hat, bearing flowers, grasses and a butterfly, was complemented by a pale green dress by Alexander McQueen, an outfit Carrie would have loved. Cattrall wore a red Vivienne Westwood dress, and Nixon was in a floor-length black pleated Calvin Klein gown. Davis wore a more modest vintage fuchsia dress.

There had been some controversy over the decision to hold the premiere in London rather than New York, the city showcased so beautifully in the series. But Nixon said Monday's premiere was just a buildup to the main event in New York.

"We're having a kind of smallish premiere here (and) we're having a smallish premiere in Berlin. We're building to the New York premiere, which is enormous and happens just before the film opens worldwide," she said.

The film opens May 30 in the U.S.

Fashion figure takes cameo in 'Sex' movie

Fashion has been an important character in Sex and the City from the TV series' start, so it's no wonder that the big-screen version has added a real-life fashion character to the cast.

Andre Leon Talley, Vogue's flamboyant fashion editor at large, plays himself in a cameo role. He assists Sarah Jessica Parker's Carrie Bradshaw at a bridal-gown photo shoot for Vogue.

"This is something I would do. I helped Melania Trump plan her wedding looks from beginning to end - it's part of what I do," he said in a telephone interview with the Associated Press.

The gowns they worked with also would fit nicely into the magazine, Talley says, especially his favorite one, a "more-than-over-the-top" Christian Dior Couture gown.

"I loved Sarah Jessica in it. She's a confident pro about clothes anyway. She pulled it off brilliantly, but it's not something that many women could do."

Talley wasn't intimidated or bothered by the camera, he said, but it was a very long day with shooting lasting from 11 a.m. to 4 a.m.

Women are going to love the film and try to mimic many of the outfits, he predicted. He thinks the movie has the potential to make the kind of fashion impact on New York that Breakfast at Tiffany's had almost 50 years ago.

His own wardrobe included a custom-made, gray-flannel suit by Ralph Lauren and midnight-blue crocodile oxford shoes by Manolo Blahnik.

"I didn't want to try to be over the top. People think fashion people dress over the top so I wanted to dress like a banker."

Parker is featured on the cover of Vogue's June issue.