Dear Daily! LIVE FROM WATERMILL

(WATERMILL, NY) Dear Daily,

Any fabulous summer has to include a trip to Robert Wilson's Watermill Center--and on Saturday night, Bob (as always, in Armani) threw open his doors for an evening of outrageous art and fun.

Wearing my dress-code-prescribed "decadent chic," I had its creator, Roland Nivelais, on my arm for good measure. As we strolled up to the vibrant strains of Shakespeare's Wild Sisters from the front garden, Howard Stern and Beth Ostrosky (in Hervé Léger) disembarked from their stretch limousine. Carrying my Louboutins through the Watermill building, I discovered Kim Catrall, Roger Waters and Rufus Wainwright viewing the evening's centerpiece--Jonathan Meese's installation "marlene dietrich in dr. no's ludovico-clinic." Making my way through, I happened upon Amanda Hearst (in Miu Miu), just returned from her Spanish sojourn, deep in discussion with Dalia Oberlander (in Lanvin). I caught just a snippet of Dalia's insightful reflection: "The intelligence of Jonathan's installation is that the themes and images co-exist with his self-portraits and the beauty of Watermill."    

Following the tattoo of the drummers flown over from Tapei's U Theater, I stepped into the famously lush back gardens and was instantly reminded why this event is the perennial best party of the season: the fauna manages to outdo the flora!  Fashion-crowd favorites including Fabiola Berasca, Valesca Guerrand Hermès, Douglas Hannant, Frederick Anderson, Debbie Bancroft, Arthur Wayne, Rachel Zoe, and Lisa Perry, held court under the stars. Spilling over into the silent auction tent were Ross Bleckner, Bob Colacello, Beth DeWoody, and other Hamptons art aficionados.

Appropriately enough for an election year, Watermill was far from free of politics. New York's new First Lady, Michelle Paige Paterson, was presented to the Hampton crowd by Parrish Art Museum's newest board member, Alexandra Stanton, while the son of our 52nd Governor and brother of our current Attorney General, Chris Cuomo, escorted his wife, Christina Greeven Cuomo.

The dinner tent was full of glamour and delicious surprises--including a live horse galloping throughout the tent.  The hot topic of my table was travel--Fabiola was about to depart for a month in Bali, I was sharing stories of my Mykonos mischief and Russian escapades were being described by artist Andrey Bartenev (in his signature costume design).  Elle's table defined style with the help of Dan Ragone (in Dior), Joe Zee (also, in Dior) and Robbie Myers (in Fendi).  "So chic!" touted Daniel Urzedo (in Prada) as he experienced the indulgence of a personal waiter courtesy of Olivier Cheng.

Given Simon de Pury's never-ending supply of magic, the live auction was a smashing success. Vanessa Von Bismark Weiner ponied up to outbid Kim Heirston for a golden palomino mare--a present for the latest addition to her own stable, as she's expecting this fall. And there won't be an Einstein chair behind Jon Stewart's Daily Show desk, thanks to a $95,000 bid from Lisa de Kooning.

A stellar evening was capped off by the conclusion of the silent auction. Jay and Anne Hearst McInerney, Michael Govan and Katherine Ross, Jay Johnson and Tom Cashin, Paul and Alice Judelson, Marina Abromovic, and other art-world luminaries filled the tent.  I was determined to win Jeff Muhs' sculpture, a cement block filled with a gin bottle and an Alcoholics Anonymous book. The humor of the artwork spoke to me but it must have spoken louder to singer Rufus Wainwright--who managed to outbid me at the last second! "There's always next year!" he smirked. Indeed!

--Lisa