Dear Daily!

Andrew Saffir reports from ACRIA's Cocktails at Sunset benefit at the home of Steven Klein
Monday, July 20, 2009

(NEW YORK) Dear Daily,

I spent Saturday night at the annual ACRIA "Cocktails at Sunset" and got to thinking about the elements that make a summer party great. Here is a top ten of sorts--the things that make this event one of Daniel's and my absolute favorites.
 
1. Start with a worthy cause--in this case, ACRIA (Aids Community Research Initiative of America).
 
2. Gather a cool committee: Andre Balazs, Ross Bleckner, Sandy Brant & Ingrid Sischy, Bob Colacello, Francisco Costa, Mark Feuerstein, Steven Klein, Aerin Lauder, Elizabeth Saltzman, Tabitha Simmons & Craig McDean, Bruce Weber, Italo Zucchelli and yours truly.
 
3. Find snappy sponsors like Calvin Klein Collection and Vanity Fair.
 
3. Enlist uber-glam celeb couple--Sarah Jessica Parker & Matthew Broderick, who so generously gave up a Saturday night with their new toddlers and dazzled everyone in attendance.
 
4. Scout out chic venue. Steven Klein's vast and seemingly endless West Kill Farm in Bridgehampton, which made tabloid headlines last Summer when Madonna took a tumble off her horse there.
 
5. Hire the most sought-after photographers for the night--Patrick McMullan's Billy Farrell and Vanity Fair/Vogue's Hannah Thomson.
 
6. Open doors to sparkly party crowd: Daphne Guinness, Tamara Mellon, Jennifer Esposito, Alexis Bryan, Daniel Benedict, Olivia Chantecaille, Nacho Figueras, Zani Gugelmann, Lee Pace, Lauren Santo Domingo, Sam & Kathryn Shaffer, Stefano Tonchi, Joe Zee, Rachel Zoe, and more....
 
7. Serve tasty Grey Goose pear/grapefruit cocktails.
 
8. Spin George Michael & Madonna tunes (it is Steven Klein's house after all).
 
9. Offer illustrious, highbrow silent auction (with works by Jeff Koons, Bleckner, Julian Schnabel and more).
 
10. Send guests home at the end of the night on zippy golf carts through the adjoining vineyard to their cars and on to the rest of the night's activities.....
 
Until next year!
 
XOXO
Andrew Saffir