Zac Posen and Valerie Steele, Director of the Museum at FIT; Patricia Field
Even the boisterous Boathouse workers who picketed outside the city landmark (they want to form a union), couldn’t stop the glitterati from coming out for The Museum at FIT, Couture Council’s Annual Summer Party. Held every August, it’s one of the last parties New York fashion designers can go to before putting the final touches on their Spring/Summer collections — and the countless socials who attend the event every year and regularly buy and wear designer garments, clearly delight at seeing them.
Valentin Hernandez, Yaz Hernandez, Vice Chair of Couture Council, Valentin Hernandez; Alexa Winner and Maggie Norris
With so many bold face names, wearing even bolder outfits (I’m talking turbans, oversized prints, knee-high sheer red socks, silk scarves knotted around ankles…), it was hard not to stand and ogle as guest after guest entered in an elaborate outfit meticulously put together for the occasion. Among those who attended were Iris Apfel, Thakoon Panichgul, Thom Browne, Zac Posen, Zang Toi, Maria Cornejo, Patricia Field, Carlos Campos, Stan Herman, Gilles Mendel Breitman, Herve Pierre Braillard, David Yurman, Glenda Bailey, Fern Mallis, and, of course, what party would be complete without a Real Housewife? So Alex McCord and her husband were there as well.
Maria Cornejo; Alex McCord, Real Housewives of New York, and Simon Van Kempen
The event was held to kick off the drive to sell tickets for the Fall award luncheon honoring Valentino, taking place on September 7. The designer will be presented with the 2011 Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion at the benefit, which will be held at Lincoln Center. If it’s anything like the one I attended when Dries van Noten and Karl Lagerfeld received this very honor, I expect to see a room full of some of the most awe-inspiring Valentino creations at the annual luncheon event. It’s also worth noting that the upcoming Daphne Guinness exhibit will include a number of Valentino’s masterpieces.
Gemma Khang; Wei Brian and Chiu-Ti Jansen
The annual fundraising effort raised $600,000 for the Museum at FIT last year. For more on the luncheon click here.
