Out & About
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
The art of the New York party reached new heights Saturday night with a bash in the spirit of Rome.
This Rome, which was built but for one night, came to life in the Cunard Building on 25 Broadway for a celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Italian fashion house Fendi.
The hosts were Fendi designers Silvia Fendi and Karl Lagerfeld, and the company’s chief executive, Michael Burke.
The man responsible for the Rome decor was the event designer David Monn, who is emerging as America’s most sophisticated fantasy-maker. Fendi isn’t the only Italian company to recognize his talents: Last month, the Italian luxury cruise line Silver Sea appointed him lifestyle consultant for its 2006 World Cruise. After this party, the folks at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas should definitely be contacting him.
Mr. Monn’s Rome was lush and comfortable. Italian and American beauties threw pennies into a fountain as the likes of Zac Posen, Gina Gershon, and Valentino Garavani passed by.
Others slowly climbed Mr. Monn’s luxe version of the Spanish Steps. Carpeted in sisal, they had handrails covered in moss. Those who wished to rest retreated to canopied beds covered in grapevines.
And the trees! There were lemon, orange, and palm trees as well as two 40-foot-high Cypress trees.
The more than 1,000 guests did their part by dressing in fantastic costumes. Only one man could play Ceasar on this night, and that was Fendi’s chief, Mr. Burke. His wife, Brigitte, dressed as Cleopatra.
Mr. Burke will likely be back in a suit Thursday, when Fendi opens its new flagship store in Manhattan. That bash will be hosted by the chief executive of LVMH, Bernard Arnault.
Up next for Mr. Monn is a fund-raising gala he’s designing for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. The artist-studded event under a tent on the plaza of the Seagram Building takes place a week from today.
