This gala, celebrating the opening of the Central Park Zoo’s Tiger Mountain, fêted a roster of stellar guests in the heart of the zoo to benefit the Wildlife Conservation Society.

The lively location gave Happy Rockefeller a brilliant idea for a photo op with some impish seals. After much coaxing and calling, she ended up smiling for the birdie while the “sleek ones” cavorted underwater!

From cocktails to dinner to disco frenzy, the evening emerged with a decided flair for fashion. Glamorous, dazzling, brightly colored floral chiffons enhanced the even more colorful fauna that went tripping through the exotic surroundings. Watching so many trend-setting styles and colors, one guest remarked, “Everyone’s wearing all the different designers that I have hanging in my closet!”

Leonard and Allison Stern chaired the event along with co-chairs Rosemarie Bravo, William Chaney, and Carroll Petrie. In the Tiger Mix were Muffy Potter Aston with Dr. Sherrell Aston, Catherine Cahill with William Bernhard, Debra and Leon Black, Katharine Otto Bernstein, Joanne and Roberto De Guardiola, Deborah and Allan Grubman, Susan and John Hess, Kathy and Rick Hilton, Fernanda Kellogg with Kirk Henckels, Ghislaine Maxwell, Julie and Edward Minskoff, Ann and Andrew Tisch, Barbara and Donald Tober, Adrienne and Gian Luigi Vittadini, and Harriet and Ronald Weintraub.

On the issue of Bloomberg’s smoking ban, a suffering socialite went so far as to say that since the ban, she and her friends were made to feel “like peons and sluts” because they enjoy a cigarette with their coffee or wine! She told us that they now lunch in hotel rooms where they can hide out and smoke in legal splendor.

The crowd moved to a magnificent tent and dined and danced under the stars, making for a truly magical evening.