Happy Birthday to Amanda Eliasch!

Eileen Koch & Company would like to extend our warmest birthday wishes to long-time friend and client Amanda Eliasch! The jet-setting socialite, photographer and fashion editor threw a massive bash at her London home last night, where some of England's most glamourous and interesting people turned out to join her in celebrating. The butterfly-themed fete featured a film about Amanda's life, created by her friends, including renowned artist Tracy Emin. Check out Amanda's blog for photos of the party.

Happy birthday from EKC, Amanda! May you have many more fabulous years to come!

Eileen Dishes to The Observer About Gerard Butler!

Over the holiday weekend, The Observer --one of the world's oldest Sunday papers, based in the U.K.-- asked Eileen for her thoughts on the recent buzz surrounding Gerard Butler. They wanted to know why the Scottish bad boy has risen to fame so quickly, transforming from an obscure, middle-aged actor to one most sought-after men in Hollywood virtually overnight. Check out what Eileen had to say about Gerard:

The latest edition of Architectural Digest dropped through America's letter boxes last week. On its cover – barefoot, grinning and lounging in a comfy red armchair – was Hollywood's hottest leading man.

Yes, that would be Gerard Butler, the craggily handsome Scottish actor who has emerged from obscurity to star opposite the leading actresses of our time, and whose presence in Hollywood is now as ubiquitous as paparazzi and high heels.

Just how far Butler has come from his roots in Paisley was revealed by the magazine's glamorous shots of his New York loft and the gushing prose that accompanied the photographs. The spread of pictures revealed a massive apartment filled with pillars, limestone lion statues and crystal chandeliers hanging from the high ceilings.

Butler himself did not shy away from bragging about his surroundings, which were created by designer Elvis Restaino. "I wanted something elegant and gorgeous and at the same time rather masculine and raw," Butler said, before adding confusingly: "I guess I would describe the apartment as bohemian old-world rustic chateau with a taste of baroque."

Glasgow it is not. But then Butler has travelled a long way from his native land. He is currently the star of The Bounty Hunter, playing the role of romantic interest for Jennifer Aniston, perhaps the most bankable female star in Hollywood. Before that he was cast in The Ugly Truth, opposite Katherine Heigl, who is often touted as Aniston's successor. Butler movies seem to keep coming in an endless procession, including four alone in 2009. They are action films, romantic comedies, thrillers and even voice-overs in animated pictures. (read more...)