As the appointed hour came and went for Steven Tyler to unveil the new display, so too did the neck-craning crowds gathered late Friday afternoon under the outside awning and nudging forward the velvet ropes between two sets of thick glass doors constituting the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino’s main entrance.
“He’s a rock star. He’s probably still snorting something off someone in a hotel room,” sniffed a camera-phone-readying observer in a white Just Push Play concert tee.
The Aerosmith shrieker emerged from a black limo 65 minutes late, daughter Mia—the model and Celebrity Fit Club star who married ex-husband Dave Buckner (Papa Roach) onstage during a 2003 Aerosmith concert at the MGM Grand Garden Arena—flanking his left arm; blond and busty girlfriend Erin Brady manning the right.
“Boooobs!” a male voice bellowed insightfully from the rear. Although Brady was the obvious choice, he may have also been referencing Tyler, sporting a soul patch, red leather pants and an unzipped military vest-inspired top prominently displaying his own formidable pectorals.
Even with personal Junker designers Tod Waters and Giuliana Mayo on hand, the man of the weekend (he went on to introduce Body English’s Junker fashion show later that night and headline Mandalay Bay’s A Concert for Lili Claire benefit with his band Saturday) wasn’t in a talkative mood. After posing and sipping from champagne flutes for a few short minutes, the group was hustled into the hotel, the majority of remaining gawkers trailing in its wake.
The hand-picked display of Junker outfits, harmonica, maracas, Sharpie-doodled shoes, set list and scarves-draped microphone stand Tyler unveiled, however, spoke volumes. Loudest of all: lacy, black, audience-member-flung panties casually crumpled just so. A thong accented with a row of pink pearls on each side and a bikini fronted by a demure orange bow, both appeared pricey and well-kept. Whether the specimens were equally well-worn could not be determined by press time.