Daily Front Row

2010 September 28

Milano’s Kiss to AmfAR!

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Heidi Klum in Roberto Cavalli, Roberto Cavalli, Eva Cavalli in Roberto Cavalli
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(MILAN) For the second consecutive year, Milan's spring collections ended on Via Filippo Turati with lots of flash, cash, and, of course, Bobby Cavalli. Just hours after taking his anniversary bows, the Italian co-hosted the 2010 amfAR gala alongside Diane von Furstenberg and Heidi Klum, and the soirée raised a staggering $1 million. Klum admitted that she prepped for the revelry the night before. “My friend Desiree [Gruber] and I drank all the champagne in Italy yesterday. I swear, there isn’t a bottle left!” she laughed. “But truthfully, we don’t get to go out that much and actually have a girls’ getaway. But our heads are pounding.”

Meanwhile, Eva and Roberto Cavalli reserved their energy for his Parisian blowout. “I know it sounds crazy for me to host my anniversary show and this on the same day, but I proposed it,” said the designer. “I’ve suffered many times on stage with Sharon Stone before, so tonight I’m not doing that. I’m just here to sit back and then raise some money.” Last year’s hosts, Dean and Dan Caten, stepped out for the evening, with the former in a foot cast. “Dean was rock climbing,” kidded Dan. “No, actually he was just dancing drunk. We were fooling around on our vacation!”

Others who joined in the black-tie fun included Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi, Vito Schnabel (who was scouting spaces for his October 19 show in Milan), Erin Wasson, Chanel Iman, Margherita Maccapani Missoni, and a nice little section of Yankee editors like Kate Lanphear, Jay Errico, Eric Wilson and Karla Martinez. But with mostly Italians filling the room, von Furstenberg had a few rivals. “So many women here speak with bedroom accents,” she quipped. “Now suddenly I have a lot of competition here in Milan.”

But of course, the heart of amfAR is the dinner. On the menu this year? Chilled lobster and creamy risotto, complete with a rich dessert and the event’s famous auction. Highlights included a Bert Stern portrait of Marilyn Mornroe (which Klum auctioned off for $57,000), a DvF Mini Cooper, which went for $110,000 (after the CFDA president offered to come along for a test drive), and a Sharon Stone-designed Louis Vuitton trunk, which fetched $47,000. Alessandra Ambrosio had her eye on the final item. “It would be really cool to get Bill Clinton’s saxophone,” she said. “Who doesn’t want to own that?” Unfortunately for everyone in the room, Diego Della Valle dominated the bidding for most of the night, so guests were left to enjoy performances by Cheyenne Jackson, Simona Bencini, and a surprise set by Leona Lewis.

Leigh Lezark and Geordon Nicol of The Misshapes attracted the younger dinner guests to the upstairs afterparty, including yes, even Dean Caten and his broken foot. The dancing went on until after two in the morning, but some, like Ambrosio, called it an early night. “I have to be good,” she said with a smile. “Paris is calling!”
VALENTINE UHOVSKI