and other items from the column

Tuesday September 22

Chak-Aman

CHAKA Khan brought her new album “Chakzilla” to the Aman Jazz Club on Friday night, where she jammed out and sang along to her hits like “I’m Every Woman” and “I Feel for You.” She kicked off the evening thanking everyone for coming, and explaining the mission of the evening. “We’re going to listen to some of my new stuff, my new offering to you.  It sounds like something nasty or weird,” she quipped before clarifying, “This is an upbeat, wonderful contribution of mine to you and I’m hoping you’re enjoying it… We’re going to do a little listening party, blah blah blah. Thank you for coming again, and I’ll see you around.” And see them around she did. Khan stayed all night, singing along to her song as onlookers, like “Masquerade” star and movement director, Maxfield Trucios-Haynes, caught her attention dancing to DJ Mia Moretti and Kamala playing her tunes. Lola Ogunnaike, Mickalene Thomas, Latham Thomas, Shaggy, Sylvia Rhone, L. Londell McMillan, Ty Hunter, and Unik Ernest, who produced the event, all came out to celebrate Khan’s new project. 

Artist blossoms

She’s making her own mark. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s daughter Vivienne Jolie-Pitt is forging her own path as an artist — selling her original work at a Los Angeles street fair over the weekend. The 18-year-old, who was joined by twin brother Knox, sold prints, stickers and birthday cards under the name of her art project, “The Tulip Fields.” Vivienne chatted with customers and worked the booth, while Knox helped with setup and snapped photos, reported People. The outing comes as Vivienne also takes steps to shed her famous father’s surname. According to Los Angeles County Superior Court documents, the teen has published legal notices announcing her intention to change her name from Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt to Vivienne Marcheline Jolie. The notices ran in the Los Angeles Daily Journal four times between July 24 and Aug. 14. The name change has not yet been approved. A court hearing is scheduled for Nov. 2.

Monday, September 21

New sale in Towns

Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns and entrepreneur wife Jordyn Woods are the latest celebs to become guest curators of sales at Sotheby’s. The auction house has previously welcomed unlikely collaborations with Robert Pattinson, Cynthia Erivo and Karlie Kloss. And last week, Page Six spotted the pair arriving at Sotheby’s on the Upper East Side for a bash marking their “Contemporary Curated” sale. Among those spotted at the soirée were Away’s Jen Rubio and Knicks player Jordan Clarkson. Towns and Woods — who tied the knot last month in a star-studded Malibu celebration — selected 10 works by the likes of Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Helen Frankenthaler, Alma Thomas, George Condo, Ed Ruscha and Rashid Johnson, spanning painting, sculpture and works on paper. Woods snapped a pic of a vintage Birkin on display at the event — fitting for the newlywed, whose own handbag became a good-luck charm for the Knicks during their championship run. The exhibition opens Oct. 2, with the auction set for Oct. 7.

Kid sews up record

A 10-year-old fashion designer set a Guinness World Record during New York Fashion Week. We hear Max Alexander grabbed the honor for threading a sewing machine in 10.5 seconds — the record had been 15 seconds — during a live display at Mood Fabrics. He had to prove that he threaded it correctly by stitching a swatch of fabric. We hear he threw the sample into the audience, where it was caught by his mentor, Fern Mallis. He then also draped his fabric onto a mannequin and pinned it all into a gown.

Blonde model a poser at Open

Page Six did a double take when we spotted model Laila Hasanovic at the US Open as the competition was wrapping up last weekend — mostly because her boyfriend, Jannik Sinner, wasn’t competing this year. But we were even more puzzled because the Danish beauty’s Instagram suggested she wasn’t anywhere near New York. Also curious: The blond was eagerly filming celebs as they swept through the VIP entrance — not typical behavior for a person who is a VIP herself. Turns out, there was a very good reason: It wasn’t her. Though the credential hanging around the mystery woman’s neck appeared to read “Laila Hasanovic,” when we sent a message to the model on social media, she confirmed to Page Six that she wasn’t at the Open. When we asked whether someone else had somehow gotten their hands on her credential, she simply replied, “I’m not there” — accompanied by a cheeky emoji. So who was the credentialed mystery blond? Your guess is as good as ours. But we will say this: It would be a shame to let a perfectly good WAG pass go to waste, wouldn’t it?

Royal indifference

Irish actress Sharon Horgan is most definitely not invested in the Prince Harry and Meghan Markle drama unfolding since their recent relocation back to the United Kingdom. When PageSix.com’s Nicki Gostin asked her if she “gave a toss,” Horgan (above) laughed and replied, “No, I couldn’t give a f - - k.” The “Bad Sisters” alum’s response tracks. When we asked her in 2023 if she was excited about King Charles’ coronation, Horgan, 56, scoffed that she “didn’t give a s - - t.” Horgan’s latest show is the semi-autobiographical HBO series “Youth,” which premiered last night.

Sunday, September 20

Light-hearted gig

Cyndi Lauper’s secret to a great shot: no overhead lighting.  The “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” singer was spotted at Joey Arias’ revived show, “Arias with a Twist,” on Thursday night, and she had some strict demands on how to snap her picture while catching up with downtown performing artist. Arias, and Lauper, Arias and the show’s director Basil Twist posed for a selfie that had Lauper barking, “Flat lighting! Overhead is bad. Flat lighting better.” Lauper was in a playful mood throughout the evening. At the start of the show, as the director explained where the exits were, she shouted “like an airplane” from her seat in the audience.

Times B’Day above the fold

After nearly two centuries, the Gray Lady has still got it. The New York Times celebrated its 175th year with a blow-out bash that drew politicians, celebrities, power players and the paper’s biggest stars. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, Senator Chuck Schumer, Barry Diller and Diane Von Furstenberg, Robert De Niro, Robert Kraft, NBA commish Adam Silver, Kevin Bacon, and Ashley Judd were seen making the rounds at Spring Studios Thursday night, while Karlie Kloss greeted pals, Fran Drescher chatted on a couch, and journos Kara Swisher, Mark Guiducci, Kaitlan Collins, Lachlan Cartwright and Oliver Darcy listened to the speeches. “Today’s” Savannah Guthrie was seen in the crowd. Jeremy Strong read an 1863 article by Samuel Wilkeson Jr. from the front lines of Gettysburg; Julia Louis-Dreyfus gave voice to an editorial on infamous Tammany Hall pol Boss Tweed; and Regina King read an 1971 article on the Pentagon Papers. The “Daily” host Michael Barbaro played emcee, while reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor — whose reporting on Harvey Weinstein launched the Me Too movement — spoke as did publisher A.G. Sulzberger and CEO Meredith Kopit Levien. “May we all look so vibrant and energetic at 175,” Sulzberger said. Janelle Monáe performed.

Nice talk, dahling

Billie Lourd says she hears her late grandmother, Debbie Reynolds’ voice in her head all the time. She said the late Hollywood legend would call, and say in an unmistakable timbre, “‘Hello dear, this is your grandmother, Debbie,’ I’m like, ‘Oh, I thought it was that other lady that talks like this, that’s my grandmother, that’s calling me,” she kidded with PageSix.com’s Nicki Gostin at the premiere of the Ryan Murphy Netflix series: “Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story.” “It was the most specific voice and it will never leave my brain, the most magical, hilarious voice of all time.” Lourd explained that Reynolds was taught to speak in an odd Trans-Atlantic style at MGM, which she used in “Monster.” “It was so fun to get to lean into that,” she explained. “I didn’t go as hard as she did but it was really fun for me to get to play around with that.”

Stumped by forest

In the “Weight,” Ethan Hawke Hawke plays a character in 1930s Oregon who is forced to smuggle gold through a forest. But the “Boyhood” star doesn’t fancy his chances of surviving in the wilderness – unless his brother was there. “My stepbrother is a colonel in the Green Berets,” told PageSix.com’s Nicki Gostin at its premiere. “If my brother were there, everything would be fine. If he wasn’t, I’d probably be in trouble.” Meanwhile, the actor – who made his screen debut at 14, told us that it’s still a joy. “It’s amazing, I do love it…I’ve loved it since I was a young man. I feel the profession is constantly humbling you, meaning the more you learn, the more you understand what you don’t know,” he said, “And the more I think about it, one lifetime is not enough to really excel at this profession.”

Dig up the past

As a child, actor Rupert Friend thought he wanted to be  an archeologist – but on reflection, it’s possible he didn’t really know what an archaeologist does. “I think I wanted to be Indiana Jones more than an archeologist,” he told PageSix.com’s Nicki Gostin at the premiere of the new HBO series, “Youth.” “I have more interest in adventures than in the fine art of brushing dust off relics…and I like the idea of punching out Nazis on tanks.” Friend plays the charming but immature love interest of Sharon Horgan in “Youth” and shared that he was a bit of a “late starter in most every way.” “And I definitely kept tearing it up for maybe a little bit too long,” he added.

Advice for ‘Youth’

Irish teen Aran Murphy, who plays Sharon Horgan’s son in the HBO series “Youth,” told PageSix.com’s Nicki Gostin that his dad, actor Cillian Murphy, gave him some simple advice before his first big role. “Just trust your instincts,” he told us at the show’s premiere. “That’s probably the best advice…I think (he meant), trust yourself and trust your ideas and not be afraid to give your effort.”