Welcome to a moment on this very day 20 years ago here in little ole Manhattan. It’s a priceless look-see for all and all who know the subjects. And what a pleasure to remember the town twenty Springtimes ago …
May 17, 2004. Beautiful night in New York. Up on Park, Christine and Steve Schwarzman were having a book party for their friend Kalliope Karella at their famous apartment (Mr. Schwarzman bought the place from Saul and Gayfryd Steinberg a few years ago for a then record 30-odd million).
Mrs. Karella’s book, Weddings of Style; a Guide to the Ultimate Wedding, (published by Assouline) is an ice cream sundae, banana split, hot fudge with whipped cream and a cherry on the top for all you wedding aficionados out there. Mrs. Karella is possibly one of the few who could do a book like this — thanks to her own black book — for the weddings featured are mainly those of her high born friends and far-flung acquaintances, many of whom are inclined to go All Out and have the means and imagination to do so.
She takes you to Havana to the wedding of Rufus and Sally Albemarle, to Casa de Campo to the wedding of Emilia Fanjul and Brian Pfeifler, to New York to the wedding of the beautiful Marisa Noel and Matt Brown, to Istanbul, to Venice, to Careyes to Florence, to Versailles (Silvia de Castellane and HSH the Prince and Duke d’Arenberg) and on and on, and finally to London to the wedding in 1995 of Marie-Chantal Miller and HRH, the Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece (also on the cover). None of this down-home stuff, unless home is some palace, Weddings of Style is a luscious look-see the likes of which you don’t see very much.
Meanwhile farther down the avenue at the landmark Lever House, Aby Rosen (who owns the building) and Alberto Mugrabi hosted a party on the third floor terrace for friends, tastemakers, art collectors and pretty women, in honor of Jorge Pardo, the Cuban artist on the occasion of the installation of his light sculptures in the lobby of Lever House.
What a gorgeous night for a party outside under the bright night sky of the city looking up all around at the Racquet Club, the Seagrams Building, Citicorp, the Waldorf Towers, St. Bartholomew’s and the Met Life Building.
There was a Cuban dinner with a menu by James Beard nominated chef, Lever House’s Dan Silverman, and dancing with music provided by DJ Timka. It was all summer-in-the-city fun in feel.
The guest list included the likes of these, celebrating the wrap up of Art Week in New York – with the record auction sales and the art show at the Armory: Donna Karan, Michael Ovitz, Ian Schrager, Pepe Fanjul Jr., Frederic Fekkai, Ahn Duong, Mark Glimcher, Amy Sacco, Chris and Tory Burch, Ray Learsy and Melva Bucksbaum, Rachel Rudin, Kim Heirston, Katherine Ross, Lisa Phillips, Gigi and Averill Mortimer, Topper and Tinsley Mortimer, Dennis Basso and Michael Cominotto, Marjorie and Raeza Raein, Tony Shafrazi, Rick and Kathy Hilton, whose own reality TV show with one of the networks is in the works; Renee and Mark Rockefeller, Sotheby’s Jamie Niven, Pamela Gross who came in with Prince Dimitri, Vanessa von Bismarck, the beautiful Boardman sisters, Serena and Samantha; Larry Gagosian, Tim and Helen Schifter, Richard Marshall, David Salle, Bettina Zilkha who came with Daniel Benedict and Andrew Saffir.
Meanwhile Saturday night, amidst the thunder-n-lightning and the torrential rains flash-flooding the streets of Manhattan, reports Chris Prendergast for NYSD, The Friends of Susan Shin celebrated her birthday at the Maya Stendhal Gallery in Chelsea. High-powered party organizers, including Olivia Chantecaille, Vivienne Tam, Alexandra Lind-Rose and Leslie Stevens, mobilized a courageous contingent who ventured fearlessly below 57th street to show their love and appreciation for a very special girl.
The girls bypassed the usual material objects for something far more personal and appropriate; artist Jeff Scher was commissioned to produce an original, three-dimensional animated film that would capture the night’s theme: “Birth of A Goddess.” Scher, whose multi-layered creations are part of the permanent collection at MoMA, the Academy Film Archives and Musee d’art Moderne, painstakingly combined hundreds of background sketches and portraits to produce a distinctly ethereal vision of the Birthday Girl and presented it to her only after she was led into the room blindfolded!
Ms. Shin who is well known on the charity circuit around town — ranging from the Asia Society, to The Young Friends of Save Venice — is also a high powered Intellectual Properties attorney by day, and the crowd reflected both worlds: Tinsley Mortimer, Anand Jon, Coralie Charriol, Daniel Barth, Roy Teeluck, Elisabeth Kieselstein Cord, Kat Cohen, Alex Scarsini, Ali Larter, Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos, Carre Otis, Jeremy Lew, Christian Leone, Eduardo de la Renta, Damon Johnson, Doug Dechert, Carol Bell, Ron Schein and Gigi Sih.
