THE SUN KING

When I was asked to document the Christian Audigier photo shoot with photographer Marla Rutherford at his home in Hancock Park for our May issue, I expected it to be extravagant. The fashion designer and nightclub owner is known for being over the top. Still, upon entering the front gate, I was awe-struck by Audigier's two-story, beautifully landscaped home. In the backyard, Rutherford's assistants set up equipment around the pool and inside the pool house. Prop stylists buzzed about what items should go where. Hair and make-up artists styled, powdered, and blended, working to perfect the large Audigier shoot cast. The designer's impossibly attractive entourage (photographer Jeff Carrillo, marketing director Nicole Irving, design director Melinda Fletcher Sidikaro, licensing director Maria Maniatis, talent relations director Twee Tran, chauffer/personal assistant Rico Cherry, and executive assistant Carol Leffler, who made phone call after phone call to secure Audigier's dinner reservations for the night) joined in the fun, most in French maid costumes and black tights designed especially for the shoot (Cherry wore his chauffer suit).

In the midst of it all, Audigier lounged on a couch talking and laughing. Once the lighting was set up perfectly, everyone took their mark, and after some placement adjustments and numerous make-up retouches, Rutherford got her shot.

The excitement in the backyard died down as she and Audigier moved inside for some portraits. Somehow, the interior of Audigier's home was more spectacular and just as busy as the backyard. Audigier's personal chef prepared lunch while more Ed Hardy-dressed staff bustled around rooms filled with photos of the designer hobnobbing with celebrities. Rutherford shot Audigier in his bedroom, a fox fur draped across his bed. As the six-hour shoot came to an end around 1 o'clock, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Except for Audigier, that is. He rushed off to another engagement.