ALEXANDER HANKIN reports from inside the masked ball everyone wants to go to.
Save Venice is always one of the shining stars of the social season. The theme this year: “Un Ballo in Maschera: The Banquet of Cleopatra.” Gold and opulence being the vibe for the evening, I don an Etro suit adorned with Schiaparelli accessories.
As a Junior co-chair, I hit the cocktail hour early with my sister, Danielle Hankin, in a Schiaparelli gold dress and fur lined overcoat by Oscar de la Renta, the evening’s sponsor. Buff, half naked men in Egyptian garb, serve drinks. I see co-chairs Lauren Levison and Casey Kohlberg in Schiaparelli. Casey styled me for the evening and maybe that’s why we all wear Schiaparelli. I weave through the crowd catching up with Zach Weiss, Lilah Ramsey and Dorothy Wang. Quinn Martinelli descends the staircase like a Bond girl, in crimson Alberta Ferretti dress. At dinner I find Erin Lichy making her first public appearance since giving birth, catching up with her fellow “Real Housewives of New York” co-stars Jenna Lyons and Sai De Silva.
Over 400 guests are at the Plaza Hotel to contribute to the cause of preserving Venice’s artistic heritage. In the room, designed by Bronson van Wyck, I see Tiffany Haddish, Di Mondo, Henry Campos, Polina Proskina (in a white dress by Toni Matičevski), Daniel Goldstein, Michael Gray and husband Brandon Elias, Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos and her daughter Sophia, Andy Yu, Lizzie Asher, James Birkenholz and Save Venice Director Amy Gross. The ballroom transports me into a world inspired by Giambattista Tiepolo’s paintings. The tables are adorned with sumptuous fruits and sparkling crystals—it’s as if Cleopatra might make an entrance at any moment.
