HONORING A VISIONARY — BOUQUETS IN BLOOM
At the elegant, leisurely lunch hosted at Boulevard by scenemaker Denise Hale, the menus were titled “Honoring Jay!” in celebration of her pal Jay Fielden, Town & Country editor in chief.
The dashing honcho from Hearst Corp., publisher of The Chronicle, alighted here April 17 following a visit to Stanford University, where he now serves as host and assistant talent wrangler for the Stanford Arts Institute’s “Fashion at Stanford” panels.
And Hale, who knows from talent, was so enchanted by Zac Posen that she insisted he join her tribe for lunch. But it was too late to reprint those menus.
Also among this tribe: Asian Art Museum trustee Gorretti Lo Lui, Fine Arts Museums curator Martin Chapman, Ifonly.com founder Trevor Traina, Allison Speer, Sotheby’s SF Director Jennifer Biederbeck, Academy of Art President Elisa Stephens, designer Ken Fulk, chef Nancy
Oakes, and Sloan Barnett, who made a brief flyby before jetting off to Coachella.
Both Fielden and Posen praised the intelligence of the Stanford students, who were from all disciplines and asked about industry labor practices, ecological sustainability, the influence of Silicon Valley, and extreme body image within the fashion industry.
One student said she was a size 24 and wondered how she could ever connect with Posen’s design. But much of Posen’s work is inspired by body shape, and that includes his collection for David’s Bridal, which has sizes ranging from a model “zero” to size 30.
Another resume title that Posen is excited about is his recent appointment as creative director of women’s collections and accessories for Brooks Brothers, which launches in spring 2016.
“Luxury is, of course, the ultimate,” the designer said. “But luxury isn’t every day. So I’m really excited to create smart, stylish clothing for professional women.”
As the topic of creativity bounced around Hale’s lively table, Traina wondered which city Fielden would have preferred to live in during the Renaissance: Puglia or Florence.
No offense to Puglia, but Florence took top honors. Yet Fielden heartily agreed with Traina, who posited that we’re in the midst of a new Renaissance and much innovation is happening right here in San Francisco.
Especially if one is adopted by Hale, whose hard-copy Rolodex outshines any contact shares yielded via AirDrop.
“Every time I visit, Denise insists on hosting me at the most beautiful lunches, with the most beautiful wines,” Fielden toasted. “So my impression of San Francisco is through Denise, rather than Rice-a-Roni.” Fresh Bouquets: Even with a later start date, because of a bustling budget of blockbuster exhibitions, the de Young Museum for the 31st Bouquets to Arts was still the ultimate spring fling.
The 125 floral designers who created glorious homages to artworks within the museum’s collections wowed the sold-out crowd during the event’s opening-night gala. Hosted by the Fine Arts Museums Auxiliary, this benefit is the museum’s largest annual fundraiser in support of FAM’s exhibition and arts educations programs. Led by co-chairs Kaki Desau
tels and Gwen Price (with assists from honorary chairwoman Lorna Meyer Calas, Bouquets chairwoman Kate Sullivan and auxiliary President Judith Heus
er), this fete featured a McCall’s buffet along with a clutch of kilts and buoyant bagpipe music from the Prince Charles Pipe Band in tribute to the “Botticelli to Braque” exhibition starring masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland.
In years past, the “Bouquets” creations have been limited to the museum’s permanent collections. And Natasha Lisitsa, owner of Waterlily Pond Floral Design Studio, wowed the crowd again with her towering aerial centerpiece, “Concentrik,” a 900-pound, 15-foot-tall behemoth crafted from 300 flowers.
But this year, designers were invited to choose from a few works within the “Botticelli” show. Matt Strader, a City College floral design student, created a wearable cape bouquet modeled by his pal Aimee Rus-kewicz, which was inspired by Frederic Edwin Church’s 1867 painting, “Niagara Falls.”
“These works were the HD and Technicolor of their day, and this massive painting of the falls is a statement of power,” explained Strader. “It’s exciting to work with fresh material for ‘Bouquets.’ And it’s fun, too, as I’ve never been to Niagara Falls.”