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 A marriage of convenience
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| Tulips in full bloom on the Upper West Side. 1:00 PM. Photo: JH. |
Helluva town. Last night in New York I went to a bridal salon called Pronovias which was commemorating its grand opening with New Yorkers For Children. I have no particular interest in bridal, be it dresses or salons. Elizabeth Harrison of Harrison and Shriftman persuaded me to have a look on the understanding that this opening was for the benefit of New Yorkers For Children.
There are many of this sort of event nowadays. I don’t know of a major retail business in New York that doesn’t have an affiliation with a charity. It is a very effective marketing tool. It provides another social outlet for people who like to get out and get around. It provides opportunity for people to gather, to meet and great, and to define their “world.” It also serves as fodder for many imaginations which is where the return on investment occurs.
Although I went to lend support to New Yorkers for Children, Elizabeth Harrison had intrigued me with how an Italian gentleman named Alberto Palatchi had created this company which was a great success in Europe, and that he was making his American debut here in New York in a townhouse just down from Cartier on East 52nd Street. Having once been in the shmatte business, I retain my curiosity and wonder about the bright lights and geniuses of that trade.
Mr. Palatchi has indeed created a wonder. Taking it in, I could only think a lot of women will want to get married after they’ve seen his very sleek and grand boutique. Not that that’s a good reason to get married, in fact maybe even a BAD reason to want to get married, but what Mr. Palatchi pulls off is the ability to make something almost irresistible. Furthermore, part of Pronovias’ allure, I’ve been told, is their democratic price points; something for every bride and every bride a princess.
The theme of the event was “Flamenco Blanco” with musicians greeting us at the entrance. I toured the place with Vanessa von Bismarck who got married not all that long ago. She was full of awe and admiration of the dresses/gowns as well as the luxurious and ingenious display. |
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| Susana Palatchi and friends |
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| Alberto Palatchi, Ivanka Trump, and Susana Palatchi |
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| Aside from all that, the girls and boys from New Yorkers For Children’s supporters were all there: Lydia Fenet, Valesca Guerrand-Hermes, Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos, Dabney Mercer, Tinsley Mortimer, Annelise Peterson, Ivanka Trump, Karolina Kurkova, Lydia Hearst, Rainey Qualey, Dominica Scorsese, Zani Gugelman, Manuel Mota, Dylan Lauren, Alexandra Richards, Lauren Remington Platt, Sophie Auster, Annie Churchill, Eugenia Silva, Helen Rockefeller Armide, Mark Gilbertson, Susan Hoeke (Jude Law’s girlfriend), Javier de Miguel, Nicole Hanley, Dalia Oberlander, Mickey Boardman, and Caridee English. |
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| Valesca Guerrand-Hermes and Alberto Palatchi |
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| Annelise Peterson |
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| Kelly Sugarman, Amy McFarland, and Susan Magazine |
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| Anisha Lakhani with her brother |
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| Elizabeth Harrison and Laird Roach |
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| Ivanka Trump |
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I didn’t stay long as I wanted to get up to the opening of the International Fine Art Fair at the Seventh Regiment Armory at 67th and Park. It’s impossible to find a taxi in that neck of the woods at that hour (7:30), so I walked the fifteen blocks up Park. It was a beautiful night.
At the Lever House on 53rd and Park, the catering staffs and musicians were preparing for the opening of “Tom Sachs Bronze Collection” which was being hosted by Aby Rosen and Alberto Mugrabi with Baldwin Gallery, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, and Sperone Westwater (see NYSD HOUSE).
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| Peggy Stone, Lawrence Steigrad, and Alexa Davidson Suskin |
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The party trucks were still parked along the avenue. Guests were about a half hour away from arriving. Coincidentally, Mr. Sachs and the aforementioned Elizabeth Harrison are contemporaries who grew up together because their respective parents were close friends and still are close friends, and would be present at both events. Small town New York can be.
I ran into a couple of friends on the sidewalk, another reminder. One of the private thrills about New York is to know that in a city of 7 or 12 million you can run into people you know on the street.
Up at the Armory, it was the Opening Preview – the Fair is open to the public as of today through next Wednesday, May 14th. The Art Fair is like going to a great museum with an edge ... because you know there are many forms of interest present. And there is competition for quality and beauty and aesthetic appeal.
I ran into Lawrence Steigrad who has an Old Masters Gallery here in New York and a booth at the Fair. We met a year or so again when we photographed him outside his booth in front of a portrait of Lord Duveen, the great art dealer of the early 20th century. Joe Duveen is an especially interesting character whose legacy is a profound impact on American museums. And, like many art dealers, he was regarded often with aggressive indifference by clients or former clients. His biographies (latest by Meryl Secrest) reveal, however, that he had a vision bigger than most of them.
Mr. Steigrad and I spoke of that photograph and Joe Duveen. Not long after that the portrait was sold for a price around its asking which was 100,000 euros.
The opening night crowd, benefiting The Frick Collection (a fundraiser for them) included a lot of the community’s stalwarts.
Although there were crossovers with the Tom Sachs opening at the Lever House down the avenue, they were two distinctly different crowds, all art collectors of the highest, most sophisticated sort. The bigness of the small town. |
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