"You look at everyone from Martin Luther King to Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe—both alive and not alive—Mickey Mouse, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mickey Mantle," said Mr. Hilfiger, who arrived with his beautiful girlfriend of a year and a half, Dee Ocleppo. "You look at everyone from, maybe Jackson Pollack, to …" He paused.

"Norman Rockwell?" suggested Ms. Ocleppo.

"Very good, very good," Mr. Hilfiger concurred.

"See, I'm out here for a reason!" exclaimed she, a stunning former model.

In one corner of the party, “iconic” American images—gulp, Uncle Ben and Ronald McDonald among them—were projected onto a screen. Then, Debbie Harry performed.
Jewelry designer Waris Singh Ahluwalia popped in, fresh from the Venice Film Festival, where filmmaker Wes Anderson's latest offering, The Darjeeling Limited, premiered. Mr. Ahluwalia's got a part in the movie. And no, we didn't ask him about co-star Owen Wilson’s mood during on the set either

It was great; standing ovation," Mr. Ahluwalia said of the film's reception. "I'm excited to be home in New York again—I haven't been here in three months. But I miss the water taxis."