I attended the annual Summer Party at the Boathouse in Central Park this past Wednesday hosted by The Couture Council of the Museum at FIT. The event was to kick off the campaign for an award luncheon to honor Valentino on September 7th at David H. Koch Theatre.

Notable guests included designers Zac Posen, Thakoon Panichgul, Anne Koch, Patricia Field, Louise Doktor and socialites Cece Cord (top photo), Eleanora Kennedy, and Malik So Chic (photo above) to name a few.

I waited in line for the buffet next to Real Housewives of New York star Alex McCord who was one of many ladies in red for the evening. Meanwhile, Carson Kressley from Queer Eye being photographed behind me while Chris Nirschel from Food Network was making his social rounds.

Liz Peek, the founder and chairman of the Couture Council made a toast to all whom attended. She also added, “thank you for braving the picketers,” referencing the protest going on outside the Boathouse.

The picketers accuse the establishment, particularly operator Dean Poll, of sexual harassment and illegal firings. My photographer, Tsubasa and I were welcomed by them with shouts of “shame on you” as we entered the party.

Inside, there was occasional talk about the protest, but the main focus of conversation was generally fashion related. I complimented Artie Hach, head visualizer for Patricia Field (center, above), on his sleeveless dress-shirt and sunglasses. I was actually wearing a feather shoulder pad that I purchased in Patricia’s shop in the Bowery and I pointed that out to Artie. He responded with “Oh yeah, wholesale,” and then immediately apologized in case I took that as an insult, which of course I didn’t.

I felt honored to chat with the fashion legend and Sex & The City Stylist herself later in the evening. She was catching up with designer and fashion consultant Shelly Bromfield, another mega personality in the industry. (Bromfield, left above, with Field). Shelly became known for her work as a Design/Inspiration Director for Donna Karan, and for her affinity for jumbo jewelery. This night was no exception as I was drawn to her by her charisma and her charismatic oversized black heart necklace.

Bromfield showed me that the black heart spins, and told me it was created by her client and business partner, D.R. Juliane. “I discovered him in Soho. He looked like a librarian until I looked down at his rings.” Her rings were also made by the designer, the ring on Shelly’s right hand of citron and the ring on her left of citrene and smokey topaz. Shelly and D.R. Juliane plan to launch his line (which is made in Mexico) next year and will be featured on the runway for club kid turned designer, Richie Rich.

I had an interesting run in with costume designer John Dunn who was in town from Puerto Rico. He was wearing orange sunglasses and leaning against the deck overlooking the lake. He was a sweetheart, a jaded sweetheart but a sweetheart nonetheless, who asked me during our conversation, “Do you ever get tired of this stuff? Because I do.” By stuff, he meant the party, and I was a bit flattered that he assumed I was a regular attendee for these sorts of events. (Louise Doktor, above).

The event raised money, eyebrows, and as always raised the bar on fashion for the evening.

Photos by Tsubasa Watanabe