The Mid-Winter Gala achieved something of a Renaissance at the Legion of Honor as modern-day Medicis and their courtiers gathered for a sumptuous evening in support of the arts. Inspired by the evening's sponsor, Salvatore Ferragamo, the luxury brand originally known for its shoes, the museum's Rodin courtyard was transformed into an Italianate winter garden of Della Robbia delights, with topiary trees and enchanting arrangements of fruit and flowers glistening by candlelight. Fortunate guests of the invitation-only Junior Committee were equally adorned, with draping silhouettes and dangling diamonds serving the same decorative and demonstrative purpose as the velvet cloaks and soft scarpine slippers of their Florentine predecessors.
The relatively youthful demographic (at least by dowager standards) ensured that the crowd was lithe and lovely; this was definitely a test of San Francisco's best-dressed, who truly delivered their latest runway greatest for one another's delectation. A strong out-of-town showing upped the glamour quotient as well, with Ferragamo-adorned brand ambassadress and actress Camilla Belle, Dita Von Teese in Burberry and a brassiere of her own design, Liz Goldwyn, Rosetta and Balthazar Getty, Tatum Getty, Christina Getty, Claiborne Swanson Frank, Ashley Wick, and everybody's favorite party pal, Bazaar Magazine's Derek Blasberg surveying the scene from the inevitable cool-kids smoking clique.
The Ferragamo family was ably represented by Diego Di San Giuliano, Salvatore's grandson, who made the jaunt from the historic Florentine headquarters a stone's throw from where Dante first spied his Beatrice. Auction bidders were able to consider a reciprocal visit, with the evening's top package offering a tour of the Renaissance Palazzo Feroni-Spini on the banks of the Arno, and a respite at the Tuscan vineyard property Castiglion del Bosco, from where the evening's delectable wines also hailed. Closer to home, guests bid on a private shopping breakfast at the new Ferragamo store, a dinner party in the tower of the DeYoung, and an Italian cooking class with Flour and Water's Thomas MacNaughton. McCall's Catering delivered a deluxe meal of Lobster Bisque, Goat Cheese Beet Ravioli, Grilled Lamb Chops and a cioccolato, limone, and lampone dolci, capped off by a bracing digestivo of limoncello to loosen the limbs and the libido on the dance floor.
A DJ spinning disco and danceable hits ensured that everyone's shoes received some extra wear and tear, all the better to keep the fashionable flocking back to Ferragamo for another pair of scarpines, chopines, or patent-leather pumps to suit the dukes and duchesses of the modern middle ages.
Awakening a Tuscan spring in Mid-Winter: Ferragamo CEO Vincent Ottomanelli, , Honorary Chair Vanessa Getty with husband Billy, and Trevor Traina with wife Alexis, along with Committee Chair Kathryn Lasater with husband Bo, and Allison Speer spearheading the show. Paula Carano stunned in black beaded Elie Saab particularly appreciated by her husband Bandel. Couples making a chic date night included Marissa Mayer and Zachary Bogue Mary Beth and David Shimmon, Lisa and Jim Zanze, Kate and David Chung, Max Boyer Glynn and David Glynn, Suzanne and Carson Levitt, Sobia and Nadir Shaikh, Heather and Jonathan Ive, Pasha and Laney Thornton, and Melissa and Patrick Barber. Many of the ladies decided to make a girls' night of it, with Vandy Woods Boudreau, Victoire Reynal, Jenna Hunt, Lauren Goodman, Minal Jethmal, and a bevy of beauties all appreciating the sisterhood far fromany medieval convent.
Skipping continents, Carolyn Chang and Patrick King swapped Paris fashion week tales with Jacqueline Sacks alongside husband David, and agreeing that the Chanel supermarket set was worth checking out. Also appreciating the Italian hours were Justin Fichelson, Lauren Goodman, James Krohn, Stephanie Ejabat, Claudia Castillo Ross, Jack Calhoun, Nion McEvoy, Chloe Harris, Lisa Podos and Michael Wais, Ashley Wick, Jessica and Jason Moment, Jeana Toney and Boris Putanec, Katie and Todd Traina, J-P Conte, Ken Fulk, Gary Friedman, and a phalanx of the fashionable and personable who were fabulous and fortunate enough to populate this palazzo.