The damp conditions created a potential breakneck situation in the lobby of Cipriani’s last Tuesday night. Although guests attempted to discretely dab at their soles before entering the grand room, the tiled floor was soon slick with early winter mist tracked inside by incoming revelers. The Observer watched with concern as guests slipped and slid through the revolving doors, trying desperately to stem their momentum as they approached the seat-assignment table at UNICEF’s annual Snowflake Ball. Fortunately, we didn’t witness any spills.
The evening was billed as a “Black Tie: Winter White” affair, though the celebrity ambassadors flouted the counsel and frolicked across chromatic spectrum. However, the local silk-stocking coterie took the invitation quite seriously. Alexandra and Claudia Lebenthal, Alicia Bythewood, Gillian Miniter and Christine Stonbely all revealed variations on the white ball-gown, as attendant valets relieved them of winter coats at the entrance.
As guests entered, their eyes were drawn first to the enticing trays of bellinis, and secondly to the reams of mosquito netting which dramatically framed the dining room. While intended to highlight the plight of children living with malaria (the netting, not the cocktails), the ornamentation evoked a whimsical bowery.
We posted ourselves in front of the “red” carpet (this night, appropriately, a royal blue in honor of UNICEF) and watched the pageant unfold. A cast of New York nabobs including Matt Lauer, Jeff and Caryn Zucker, Mark Ruffalo, Naeem Khan, Gillian Hearst Simonds, Gayle King and Zoe Kravitz, posed and pouted for the photographers.
Natasha Bedingfield, who would later serenade the audience with an acoustic set, took to the carpet with refreshing ease, smiling wide and sauntering at her own pace. We asked Ms. Bedingfield (who, though British, is married to an American), if she had grown accustomed to the Thanksgiving traditions. “I do feel like its my favorite American holiday because it just feels like its so nice to be thankful,” she said admitting, however, that some customs still eluded her. “I haven’t got into the football,” she conceded. American football, that is. “Real football’s different,” she said
“Charge her! Charge her!,” an overzealous photographer whispered as Sarah Jessica Parker walked through the revolving door. The Observer was momentarily struck with panic: the petite Ms. Parker wouldn’t stand a chance against the pack of paparazzi prowling the lobby. Fortunately, the herd contented themselves by circling her and snapping away.
We asked Ms. Parker how having children of her own affected her approach to UNICEF’s work. “I’m more conscious of what my children have, that they go to a pediatrician, that when I turn on the tap there’s clean
Angie Harmon, who was quite literally dazzling in her plunging silver sequin gown, concurred. She said that being a mother had made her much more attune to the struggles of children elsewhere in the world. “You can’t actually feel what a mother feels until you become one. And then you understand,” she told us. “And then when you see other children that are suffering… how do you walk away from that,” she said, visibly moved by the issue. Having a sneaking suspicion we already knew the answer, we asked Ms. Harmon if there was anything on her Christmas list. She had decided with her husband not to exchange gifts this year, “I’m just like, ‘this is getting old for me,’” she said of the holiday materialism. “Especially when you look up and see a little child with a bottle of
Just as we were heading toward our seat, Uma Thurman passed. We asked Ms. Thurman what was on her Christmas list this year. “A nap,” she said with a resigned laugh.
As guests took their seats, host Andy Cohen took the stage, welcoming the audience and introducing the program. The tables were alight with tea candles placed inside cylindrical vases emblazoned with pictures of children.
Before the main course was served, many guests left their seats, circumambulating the tables and greeting their friends. Ms. Parker, Ms. Thurman and Mr. Ruffalo sat laughing at the side of the stage, apparently foregoing their pan-seared veal chops for each-other’s celebrity company. A procession of socialites (dressed in their winter whites) eagerly inched toward the stage, greeting the threesome with poorly concealed delight. Waiters tried desperately to wiggle through the crowds gathering between tables, careful not to spill on the trains of gowns trailing precariously around the room.
After attendees settled into their seats once more (still giddy from their celebrity encounters), the live auction began. Guests generously threw up their hands, raising $600,000 for UNICEF before the evening was through.
Finally, Natasha Bedingfield took the stage. While guests clearly enjoyed themselves during the three-song set, few were able to sing along when Ms. Bedingfield pointed the mic toward the audience.
As guests were beginning to file out, we caught up with Mr. Cohen who shared his thoughts on playing host throughout the evening. “It’s a scary room,” he said, gesturing around the cavernous space. “So I stayed very sober,” he said. We were curious to know how he reconciles hosting charity galas with his work on shows like “The Real Housewives.” “It’s all good. It’s all positivity!” He exclaimed before disappearing into the dwindling crowd.
Just as we were entering the trecheous lobby once more, we noticed Vera Farmiga heading for the exit. We asked the actress where she would travel on a humanitarian mission, given the opportunity. “You name it. Spin the globe. Mongolia?” she offered enthusiastically. And what’s on Ms. Farmiga’s Christmas list? “Some electric goat fencing would be nice,” she said with a wry smile.
eknutsen@observer.com