FashionEtc.com April 27th, 2024

Bettina Zilkha is still out and about getting the inside scoop on parties and stylish people for FashionEtc. To continue reading Bettina's Take, head to Parties etc!

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The Lighthouse is a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting vision loss. Every year for 40 years, leaders of the fashion community have gotten together for the organization's annual POSH sale. The evening is a clotheshorse's dream, with gently used clothing and accessories from Chanel, Chloe, Derek Lam, Dolce & Gabbana, Judith Lieber, Jimmy Choo, Stella McCartney, and many more on offer. 

The annual "A Posh Affair" Dinner Gala follows the sale. Somers Farkas, Lighthouse's Director of Special events, works tirelessly every year to make sure it is a memorable evening.

"Fashion has long played an important role in the history of Lighthouse (Edith and Winifred Holt founded the organization with their dress allowances over a century ago), and this evening is an important recognition of those visionaries in the fashion community," said Farkas, wearing Oscar de la Renta.

This year's honorees had quite a following. Friends and colleagues came out to celebrate entrepreneur Lizzie Tisch, architect and decorator Robert Couturier, and President of Henri Bendel Chris Fiore.

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American Ballet Theatre's Opening Night Spring Gala is one of the most highly anticipated events of the season, and once again this year, the evening lived up to its promise.

The superb performance included pieces from Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Romeo and Juliet, Manon, and many others, and featured the best of ABT's dancers. Polonaise d'Enfants had its world premiere, and featured the most adorable, graceful children who had clearly put in the long hours and discipline it takes to be great dancers.

"I've been a supporter of ABT for 20 years!," said Co-Chair Sloan Barnett, gorgeous as ever in Valentino, who co-sponsored the evening with Graff. "And I'm especially committed to dance now that my 10 year old daughter has become a ballerina."

A chic and glamorous crowd, which included Jessica Stam (wearing Valentino and Lorraine Schwartz jewelry), Bebe Neuwirth, Wendy Williams, Nate Berkus, and Alek Wek made its way to the Bill Tansey-designed dinner in Damrosch Park.

Co-Chair Karin Luter flew in from Palm Beach, looking splendid in a gray sequined Dennis Basso dress.

Nina Rennert Davidson, ethereal in a dusty rose Valentino, also co-chaired.

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"I'm hosting a dinner at my house during the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, why don't you come?"

When Danielle Rollins, author of the upcoming Soiree: Entertaining With Style extended this lovely invitation, there was simply no way to refuse. I booked my ticket to Atlanta, not knowing what to expect, but trusting that this gracious and charming Southern hostess would throw an exquisite party.

The event was billed as Blackberry Farm: An Inaugural Tribute Dinner To Southern Farmers, featuring cuisine from the award winning farm-to-table restaurant outside of Knoxville, Tennessee. The Blackberry Farm staff, including chef Joseph Lenn, was on hand, including a shepherd who brought along a herd of live sheep, penned in for the evening in Rollins' front yard.

Ever the perfect hostess, Rollins greeted us in a white knit Roberto Cavalli.

Rollins' exquisitely manicured gardens were the backdrop for cocktails. Guests enjoyed pimiento cheese hors-d'oeuvres, mint juleps, and wine donated by Cultivate, a wonderful vintner that gives ten percent of every dollar back to charities in communities across the globe.

"I'm a relaxed hostess" she said. "I get in the mood the second I wake up. I get excited about putting everything together, and by the time the party comes I've had such a good time setting up, thinking about the details that everybody's going to like, that I'm in a great mood. And I have a glass of wine an hour before anybody shows up," she added with a smile.

Two long tables covered in white with burlap runners, candles, flower and herb arrangements under a sublime white tent awaited 150 guests for the five course dinner, each paired with a different wine. By 12:30 it was time to go, though several lingered after I did.

Tough to leave such a magical evening.

Photos: Top, chef Joseph Lenn (left) and Danielle Rollins (right); bottom, an atmosphere shot from the dinner

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