Worlds collide at Hammer gala
The worlds of fashion, film and art converged at the Hammer Museum’s 15th annual Gala in the Garden soiree. The night proved to be a stylish affair as Sarah Jessica Parker, Jessica Chastain and Evan Rachel Wood mingled inside the Westwood museum while wearing Bottega Veneta, the evening’s sponsor. “Fashion is an art form in its own right,” said Zachary Quinto, who served as co-chair of the affair alongside Jessica Lange, Jenni Saree, Maggie Kayne and Bottega Veneta’s creative director Tomas Maier. “The Hammer is a museum that celebrates unique voices and encourages crossover and integrated thinking. So I feel like it’s appropriate that they would team with a fashion [house] for this event. Art inf luences fashion and vice versa.”
The event
The Oct. 14 benefit raised $2.4 million for the institution’s ongoing initiatives. Actor Armie Hammer, the great-grandson of the museum’s founder, Dr. Armand Hammer, attended with wife Elizabeth Chambers. “It’s fantastic to be part of a museum that does so much in terms of creating an accessibility of art for a community,” Hammer said, “and to have a great night in the meantime is icing on the cake.”
Meanwhile, Chambers said it was a “happy coincidence” that their outfits matched because the couple hadn’t had time to coordinate in advance. “With two kids, we have a lot less time,” she said with a laugh.
The scene
During cocktail hour, January Jones chatted by the bar with Priyanka Chopra, Ashley Olsen caught up with Susan Bay, and Diane Keaton kept close to Hammer Museum director Ann Philbin. Shortly after, the group sat down for a three-course meal by chef Suzanne Goin of Lucques. The evening concluded with a performance by Los Angeles-based girl band Haim.
The crowd
The benefit also attracted Rashida Jones, Marisa Tomei, Edgar Ramirez, Emmy Rossum and husband Sam Esmail, Trevante Rhodes, Ellen Pompeo, Frank Gehry, Rufus Wainwright, Camilla Belle and Tessa Thompson.
The honorees
Director Ava DuVernay and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Hilton Als were honored with tributes by J.J. Abrams and author Maggie Nelson, respectively.
“Great-looking crowd,” DuVernay remarked. “If I had my camera with me, I’d frame you up real nice and shoot something beautiful.”
The looks
“It’s Bottega Veneta — obviously!” Ruth Wilson said of her delicate chiffon dress from the label’s cruise 2018 collection. While a few such as Jane Lynch went rogue, opting to wear other designers, most attendees wore sophisticated garden party pieces by the Italian fashion house. “They dressed me,” explained Wilson who chose the gown because it featured her favorite colors. “There’s also loads of butterflies and creatures on it. So I feel like it suits the event.”
Hailey Baldwin opted for a turtleneck sweater and striped wool skirt from the label’s fall/winter 2017 collection.
“This is really comfortable and very chic,” she said, explaining that she appreciated that the look was “ladylike” and “sophisticated.”
Male guests including Patrick Schwarzenegger also stepped up their game. “I don’t think I’ve ever worn a suit quite like this one,” Schwarzenegger said of his gray cotton jacquard ensemble from the brand’s fall 2017 collection. “It’s unique and interesting.”
The quote
“Art’s not just someone putting a brush on a canvas,” remarked Schwarzenegger, as a caterer dropped a tray of glasses in the distance. “Oops! But even that could be art — a bunch of glass on the ground. You never know.”