Wild, witty and wonderful is the collection of British designer Vivienne Westwood currently showing in a retrospective on her career at the De Young Museum, the first exhibit there by a contemporary fashion designer.
The 150 outfits range from early punk styles to quality museum ball gowns. Considered a global fashion icon, Westwood electrified the world when she launched her outrageously sexy outfits in the 1970s; her corsetry and ball gowns in the 1980s and 1990s; and her combination of fearless, nonconformist looks with a sense of tradition in the later years.
Westwood said that one of her favorite places in San Francisco was the Asian Art Museum.
Leave it to one smart woman, San Francisco’s top fundraiser and socialite Diane (Dede) Wilsey, to be the first to encourage the museum board members to bring history and the contemporary fashions of one hot dress designer to younger audiences. Wilsey is a genius fashion leader herself.
At another well-attended event, Cal alumni and a very curious public came out to hear the director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Dr. Steven Chu talk about “Alternative Energy and Solving the World Energy Crisis” at a faculty speakers series sponsored by the UC Alumni Chinese Chapter at the Silver Dragon Restaurant on Mar. 15.
In a clear, comprehensive talk, Dr. Chu spoke about the development of alternative energy and global warming becoming a real issue. He expressed optimism in the possibility for researchers to discover a new source of energy in the next decade.
As the co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics, Dr. Chu is an international expert in atomic physics, laser spectroscopy, biophysics and polymer physics.
At Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Dr. Chu oversees the Department of Energy with an annual budget of $520 million and nearly 4,000 employees. His speech was spell-binding, informative, and educational, concluding with seldom seen photos from the Nobel Prize presentations.
Dr. Chu was, no doubt, one of the “stars” at the Cal Charter Gala held at the Fort Mason Center on Mar. 24. About 1,000 active alumni enjoyed an evening of fine dining, music and dancing to mark the 139th Anniversary of the University of California.
On the same day, San Francisco’s oldest Chinese women’s service group, the Square and Circle Club sponsored “The Emerging Asian American Woman” luncheon at the Four Seasons Hotel. The event honored San Francisco Superintendent of Schools Gwen Chan, San Francisco Chief of Police Heather Fong, and American Association of Retired Persons National Board President-Elect Jennie Chin-Hansen.
On Apr. 3, the University of San Francisco and the Center for the Pacific Rim and its Ricci Institute presented the Annual Pacific Rim Awards Gala at the Four Seasons Hotel. “Bridging the Pacific” 2007 Award recipients were: Joseph W. Kwok, who received the Asia Pacific Corporate Leadership Award; John Wood, founding president of Room to Read, received the Asia Pacific Leadership Award; and Sandy Close, founding executive director of New America Media and executive director of Pacific News Service, received the Asia Pacific Lifetime Achievement Award.