Gilded Age glam (and a ripped couture gown) at the Frick Young Fellows Ball. ALEXANDER HANKIN reports.
The Frick Collection’s library entrance leads to an intimate seated dinner. It’s mostly steering committee members and sponsors for the Frick Young Fellows Ball. Sami Deller, my boyfriend Daniel Goldstein and I make our way inside. I pinned a jade floral brooch to a bespoke midnight blue tux – a nod to tonight’s theme: “Porcelain Garden.” At dinner, I’m seated near Axel Rüger, Director of the Frick, and Paul Arnhold, Chair of the Young Fellows Steering Committee.
Then the masses show up en force for the after-party. In the Gainsborough room, fashion designer Bach Mai who sponsors the evening, tells me, “Some looks were inspired directly by works from the collection such as the Comtesse d’Hausonville or the Fragonard room, while others interpret the theme “Porcelain Garden.” It is the first Young Fellow’s Ball back at the historic mansion. I want to pay homage to the location itself by evoking a modern spirit of Gilded Age glamour and extravagance.” The scene is high-glam. Casey Kohlberg, Lizzie Asher, Brittany Beyer Harwin, Misty Copeland and curator Giulio Dalvit swan through the galleries wearing Bach Mai’s evening dresses.
Upstairs in the VIP room avec caviar bar, I see Aimee Ng, the popular author, art historian, curator and podcaster. “This Young Fellows Ball is the biggest we’ve ever hosted—700 guests,” Aimee beams. “We’re using every space in the building, new spaces like the 9th floor terrace and the Selldorf-designed reception halls. I cannot wait until next year!”
New York’s new Youthquake is in full effect at The Frick. Laurence Milstein, fashion designer Wes Gordon, Polina Proskina, Alexis Light and musical sensations The Muses a.k.a. Jack James Busa and Daniel Walters are all here. Newly engaged couple Eric Viner and Jordan Wise (congratulations!) too and Bailey Foote, in an incredible shawl made from over 350 real orchids—a project that took more than nine hours by florist Elizabeth Ryan. “The ways people are interpreting the “Porcelain Gardens” theme is nothing short of delightful,” Foote observes, looking at guests peacocking in designer gowns on the dancefloor. Nearby, Megan Melbourne quips, “It’s not a party until someone’s couture train gets stepped on in front of a Fragonard.”
The evening raises over $500,000 to support the museum’s programs from the Art Research Library to educational initiatives for students across New York and beyond. I feel deep pride as a member of the Steering Committee—seeing how alive this beloved, iconic museum feels after a long restoration. We leave after midnight, the sign of a truly good party. Daniel Goldstein sums it up perfectly: “There were no cracks in this porcelain garden; the evening was truly flawless.”
