An Affair to Remember

(NEW YORK) It takes a lot to motive fashion's elite to venture out on a rain-soaked Friday night, but when the occasion is a surprise birthday party in honor of Valentino--the man, not the brand--who would dare RSVP with regrets?

"I have ballgown Valentino and not-dressy-enough Valentino, so in the end I picked Lanvin," said Allison Sarofim, who hosted the exclusive affair at her West Village townhouse alongside Giancarlo Giammetti (who gifted Valentino some 17th-century bone challises). "It was a designer I didn't think he would be offended by," she quipped.

Valentino, who turned 76 on Mother's Day (though he'd only admit to being 32), believed he was stopping by Sarofim's for a pre-Waverly Inn cocktail. Instead, dozens of friends like Elle Macpherson, Daphne Guinness, Zac Posen, Donna Karan, Marjorie Gubelmann, Nina Garcia, Anh Duong, Princess Firyal of Jordan, Jacqueline Schnabel, Stavros Niarchos, Diane Kruger, Muriel Brandolini, and Eva Herzigova (in town shooting with Mario Sorrenti) yelled "surprise!" as he strolled in. "Honey, this is a caftan, not a cape," corrected André Leon Talley as he held court in the foyer clad in vintage Valentino (from 1967, no less).

Marc Jacobs and boyfriend Lorenzo Martone formed a human sandwich with Herzigova, Macpherson engaged a fellow Alaïa-clad Valesca Guerrand-Hermès in a tête-à-tête, and Giammetti and Donna Karan shared a few brief moments of laughter by the doorway as Roopal Patel and Marjorie Gubelmann invaded the buffet table. Like the invitation, the food was inspired by the work of Spanish Baroque painter Juan Sánchez Cotán.

"Surprise birthdays are horrid!" Jacobs recalled. "I remember when Ben and Jen [that's J.Lo to mere mortals] threw me one in Paris. Benny Medina called the night before I was leaving for New York, on my birthday, and said there was a problem with the photos. I thought, 'Oh great, she was an angel during the shoot and now she's pulling the diva act.'"

Planned by Carlos Souza, Valentino's longtime liaison who's forming an all-purpose company focusing on art, fashion, events, and celebrity dressing, guests were treated to a sumptuous dinner of tenderloin, creamed spinach, potato galette with black truffles, and arugula salad in Sarofim's Mod lower level before venturing upstairs to the main floor for dessert and dancing (Karan made a quick exit after her dinner mates lit up at the table). Surrounded by peonies every which way one looked, the civilized affair even benefited from a three piece performance by two New York City Ballet dancers who traipsed about on a mirrored dance floor in Sarofim's backyard. Thankfully, there were no Britney Spears moments as Jennifer Creel, Yvonne Force Villareal and Amanda Brooks did their best shimmy to the cushioned lounge area.

Chomping down on éclairs at the Marie Antoinette-styled dessert buffet, Valentino dispelled any comparisons to the Energizer Bunny as we welcomed a second wave of guests like Larry Gagosian and Jacob "the Jeweler" Arabo. "I am a true Taurus, everything has to be my way or else!" he laughed. "Just don't tell me how old I am or I'll kick you in the face!"
JIM SHI