December 2013 - R. Couri Hay

social safari
Rachelle
Scott,
Princess
Charlene
and ABT’s
Skylar
Brandt @
Princess
Grace
Awards
by
R. COURI HAY
Andrea
Correale @
Lenox
Steve Simon and
Blaine Trump @
God’s Love We
Deliver
Alyssa Miller
and Aerin
Lauder @
God’s Love We
Deliver
Julianna Margulies
@ God’s Love We
Deliver
Celebrating
the Holidays
Princesses, actors, artists, ballerinas,
designers, models and mothers
Michael Kors Delivers God’s Love
Introducing Hillary Clinton, Michael Kors started off by saying, “We
have all witnessed her strong commitment to pantsuits and her ability
to have fun with her hair.” He then turned serious and presented the
former Secretary of State with the MK Community Service Award at
the ever-glamorous God’s Love We Deliver benefit. Added Kors: “Hillary is strong, feminine, a true symbol of hope, and she travels more
for work than I do.” Among those chuckling at his jokes were Ariana Rockefeller, John and Lizzie Tisch, Sigourney Weaver and Kors’
co-chairs, Anna Wintour, Iman, Jane Lauder, John Idol and Blaine
Trump, who, along with the late Judy Peabody, has been a guiding angel of the organization since it was founded in 1985. Then it was Clinton’s turn to speak. She said, “Michael’s generosity and enthusiasm is
infectious and I’m glad to be anywhere Bette Midler is; she makes me
124 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2013
Hilary Swank @
God’s Love We
Deliver
want to stay and sing and dance.” The 2016 presidential front-runner
then concluded by saying, “Do not give up; it’s in our DNA to deliver
God’s love everyday.” Kors and his husband Lance LePere recently
gave $5 million to the organization, which delivers over 4,000 meals
a day to people living with severe illnesses. The evening also honored
Aerin Lauder, Jeff Gates and Mike Moran. Cheering the honorees
were Hilary Swank, Olivia Munn, Julianna Margulies, Dr. Kenneth
Mark, Hilary Rhoda, Karlie Kloss, DJs Alex Cecil and Alexandra
Richards, Jennifer Hudson, Helena Christensen, Doutzen Kroes
and Elegant Affairs’ Andrea Correale, who is the new spokesperson
for “Lenox, where entertaining is @.” Sotheby’s debonair auctioneer extraordinaire Jamie Niven used his gavel to help raise a record-breaking
$3 million. Niven told me that he’s close to reaching a record of his
own: “I’m $13 million away from raising half a billion dollars for charity.” Bravo! glwd.org
Mothers Know Best
Jay McInerney said, “My only regret is that I didn’t meet Anne early
enough for us to have children of our own,” at the American Cancer Society’s Mother of the Year Luncheon, which honored his wife
Anne Hearst and Dr. Elisa Port. The program included a tribute to
the late and much missed Cynthia Lufkin, who was an honoree in
2008. Among those present were Dan Lufkin, Kimberly Rockefeller,
Sharon Loeb, Nina Griscom, Barbara Bancroft, Valeseca GuerrandHermès, Carol Mack, Topsy Taylor, Milly de Cabrol, Laura Durning-Waters, Loraine Boyle, Charlotte Ford, Sharon Bush, Alison
Mazzola and the events chair Muffie Potter Aston. cancer.org
©Patrick McMullan; ROB RICH
Tony Ingrao and Randy Kemper
@ The Society of Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Antique Show
Halstead’s Jessica Morgan
@ NY Women’s
Foundation
social safari
Patricia Duff, Diandra Douglas, Muffie Potter Aston, Deborah Norville,
Brooke Shields and Princess Yasmin Aga Khan @ the Rita Hayworth Gala
Hillary Clinton and
Michael Kors @ God’s
Love We Deliver
Jean Shafiroff and
Carolina Herrera @ NY
Women’s Foundation
Gala co-chair
Michele
Riggi @ Career
Transition for
Dancers
The Princess and the Artists
HSH Princess Charlene of Monaco won over a sophisticated crowd
at the Princess Grace Awards when she confessed, “I’m just a little nervous right now and I’m really messing up my speech.” She regained her
composure quickly and said, “Princess Grace was an icon, a princess
with a big heart fiercely determined to make a difference. My husband
cannot be here tonight but he sends his love.” Charlene has become
a serious working princess and an elegant emissary for Monaco, as
this is the first time since the founding of the awards in 1984 that her
husband Prince Albert or his sisters Princesses Caroline and Stephanie have not been at the gala. Paula Zahn served as the night’s witty
mistress of ceremonies. The honorees, representing theater, dance and
film, included Cicely Tyson, who said, “The day you think you’ve arrived, you’re finished”; director Wendy Levy; New York City Ballet’s
Tiler Peck; and American Ballet Theatre’s rising star Skylar Brandt.
Earlier in the night, Skylar was dancing in the premiere of ABT’s The
Tempest and literally wiped off her blue makeup in the car as she raced
from Lincoln Center to Cipriani in time to take her bow. “This is a
dream come true; it feels like a fairy tale. I’m grateful for the chance to
represent ABT,” she said. Leading the applause were Susan Stroman,
Lynn Wyatt, Bill T. Jones, Pamela O’Connor, Leesa Rowland, Victor
Garber, Sharon Bush, Barbara and Gary Brandt and Yves Piaget.
The Foundation awarded more than $1 million to artists this year; the
night’s Crown Sponsor was Lily Safra. pgfusa.com
The Three W’s of Philanthropy
Diana Taylor had some sage words to lend at Le Cirque: “A wise man
told me that you need two of the three w’s to serve on a philanthropic
board: wealth, wisdom or work,” she said, adding, “You also need to be
passionate about the cause and realize you can’t serve on all the worthy
boards you would like to because people will get mad at you if you can’t
126 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2013
Valeseca
Guerrand-Hermès and
Cece Cord @ American
Cancer Society
give enough time.” She shared this advice at the New York Women’s
Foundation forum and lunch hosted by board member Jean Shafiroff,
who said, “The greatest gift is to be able to give.” Carolina Herrera,
Jean and Diana also discussed the different ways the organization
could address the problem of human trafficking. Herrera was honored
at the Foundation’s 26th Anniversary Gala at the Waldorf, which raised
funds for foundation programs that promote economic security, safety
and health for women and girls in New York. Guests included Anne
Delaney, Ana Oliveira, Valerie Steele, Karen Klopp, Lucia Hwong
Gordon, Michele Gerber Klein, Anne Rapp and CNBC’s Melissa
Lee, who acted as the discussion’s moderator. nywf.org
Rita Hayworth Turns 30
Princess Yasmin Aga Khan established the Rita Hayworth Gala as a
tribute to her mother, who lived with Alzheimer’s for many years before the disease took her life in 1987. Over the last three decades, the
Gala has raised more than $60 million to support the Alzheimer’s Association research programs. The Princess confided that one day her
mother looked at her and asked, “Who are you?” and that that was “the
day I became committed to finding a cure.” Brooke Shields, a longtime
supporter of ALZ, told me that for the last years of her mother Teri’s
life, “I was the only person she recognized. My mother had dementia.”
She added: “It is a privilege to celebrate the work and help raise funds
for the Foundation.” Other supporters included Dr. Sherrell Aston,
Andrea Stark, Tommy Hilfiger, Padma Lakshmi, John McEnroe,
Alexandra Lebenthal, Somers and Jonathan Farkas, Nikki Haskell,
Regis Philbin, Deborah Norville and gala chair Nicole Sexton. The
benefit was underwritten by Rolex, whose president and CEO, Stewart
Wicht, was honored. The night raised $1.7 million, with help from an
auction that included a ruby ring from Sintessi donated by the designer Michel Piranesi, an internship with Naeem Khan and a weekend at
the Greenbrier in West Virginia. alz.org ✦
©Patrick McMullan; ROB RICH
Jay McInerney, Anne Hearst
and Amanda Hearst @ American
Cancer Society