It was a night of music, fashion, charity and…children of celebrities. Express launched their new Spring line during a runway show at Smashbox studios last night with a few confusing tie-ins (a charity, the Center for Innovative Education, was mentioned in press handouts though no one was asked for any money, and a “Legs Gallery,” curated by the Resurrection boutique owners hung on the walls- it seemed pretty random). The party in the black tent with red light-bulbed chandeliers,  filled with an unprecidented amount of sidekicking,  was hosted by a few celebrity offspring, including Kidada Jones, Zoe Winkler, Savannah Buffet, and Oliver Hudson. In attendance were more star progeny including Smashbox owner and Max Factor heir Dean Davis, Devon Aoki, Nicole Richie, and Samantha Ronson played DJ.  (Also spotted were Philip Starck, and Saturday Night Live player Seth Meyers.) These kids of celebs really stick together, it's like a cult. I can't pretend to know what it's like to be raised by a famous daddy or mommy and how that screws some kids up. I thought of that March of the Penguins movie, and those fragile eggs, a child of a celebrity probably has similar odds of survival, but in the end, it's hard to feel sorry for them when you see how much opportunity they're given, and in some cases, regardless of talent. Case in point: The worst part of the evening may have been the performance by yet another child of a celeb,  Alan Thicke's son Robin Thicke who was recently signed to law logo2x b

Pharrell's new label. Talk about growing pains! Thicke the younger,

sang R&B hip-hop songs that were embarrassingly bad, squeaky and

strained notes escaped from his mouth while he hid behind a solidly

confident demeanor.  His dadlaw logo2x b

watched from a seat below, and models traipsed down the runway. I saw a

few eyes roll, and Nicole Richie even left half-way through, though the

guy next to me was into it as much as Pharrell was, who was dancing and

clapping. I was so confused. Pharrell? Signed Alan Thicke's son…???

Who sings R& B? Wha…? I heard if you give Pharrell half a million

dollars, he'll produce your record too.   But the main event was a fashion show and law logo2x b I managed to catch a glimpse— from what I saw Express is doing the same shit it always does and it is doing it as well as any brand can when designing for the masses. The tailoring might not be fabulous, but they manage to rip off the right designers, the body-suit with jeans look came right off the Ashley Paige

runway show last fall and I saw some Marc Jacobs and Trina Turk knockoffs too. Not horrible but I haven't worn Express since the 8th grade, and I'm not convinced I should start again now. The best part of the night was—the dirty martinis, the mini-hamburgers, and watching Devon Aoki work her way backstage, “I'm a model!” she told the security guard. At least she didn't say, “do you know who my father is?”

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