After a late night at Sephora’s tenth anniversary party where guests like Lindsay Lohan, Samantha Ronson, and Kelly Osbourne enjoyed performances by Natasha Bedingfield and Ashanti, I woke up and decided that sitting in 3 hours of traffic on a Friday was not an option. After my training session with Oscar Smith (who scheduled me in with his other A-list clients like Petra Nemcova and Tom Brady), I rushed down to 23rd Street to catch a V1 Seaplane to the Hamptons. Thirty-eight minutes later I was at Cittanuova with a glass of wine in my hand.
There are a few parties in the Hamptons that stand out through the years. Since Calvin Klein’s 2004 million dollar party, there has been a major void until NOW. David Monn’s Olympic (and 45th Birthday) soiree takes home the 2008 Gold Medal. In keeping with the Asian theme for the Olympics, David served Shun Lee Palace and Laundry for dinner. A fabulous 26-piece band played all night as guests were treated to an amazing raw bar, stunning fireworks, cookies by Levain, Sant Ambroeus ice cream, flawless model waiters and an impeccably dressed birthday boy. David pulled out all stops for this party and it showed! House Beautiful’s Robert Rufino stole the show (and other guests’ dates) on the dance floor as he showed off his latest swing moves. Other guests included Martha Stewart, Kathy and Rick Hilton, Jonathan Tisch, Jane Rosenthal, Rorie and Elie Tahari, Tom Felicia, Patrick McMullan, Esquire’s Stephen Jacoby, and Fern Mallis.
Overbooked as usual, I had a half hour to stop by Hampton Sheet’s party at Pink Elephant for the July Issue—also celebrating my editorial debut. Cover girl Diane Passage was holding court with hubby Ken Starr, Cornelia and Marty Bregman, Andrew Stein, Monica Crowley, and Marvin Rosen, among others while I quickly made my rounds, posed for pictures and enjoyed several cocktails. I had to sneak out early to make sure I arrived in time to see Solange (Beyonce Knowles’ sister) and Ne Yo perform at the Save The Music event. For the first time I witnessed an enormous line to leave a party. I’m not used to waiting in a line to enter a party, but an exit line is purely ridiculous! There had to be another way out. I rolled up my pants, looked down at my Gucci loafers and ventured behind the port-a-potties. Clearly I had no clue what I was stepping on and instantly decided that my assistant’s first task on Monday morning would be to take my shoes to Jimmy’s on 59th Street. After using my Boy Scout techniques to make it to the front of the line, I ran into my favorite VH1 VJ Janell Snowden and Jasmin Rosemberg, author of this summer’s must read How the Other Hamptons Live. Finally, my car arrived and as we drove away I gave a presidential wave to the five hundred people still waiting in line. Other guests included the Queen of Soul Miss Aretha Franklin, Lorraine Bracco, Mathew and Tina Knowles, Sky Nellor, and Grant Hill.
For the first time I witnessed an enormous line to
leave a party. I’m not used to waiting in a line to
enter a party, but an exit line is purely ridiculous!
Another summer of Polo has come and gone. I always feel sorry for the people who are trapped in the bleachers across from the Mercedes-Benz VIP tent. These people actually come to
watch the game and are forced to bake in the sun for two hours without a drink or snack. At the same time, over 500 “VIPs” are enjoying champagne and hors d’oeuvres across the field. Next summer at each game, I suggest that ten people from the bleachers are selected to watch the game from “the other side of the tracks” and ten people from the VIP tent are selected to be drafted to the bleachers. (Note: Readers, please email me names of people from the VIP tent that should be “bleachered.”) As always, I had fun catching up with friends in the T-Mobile Sidekick Lounge, where
Sky Nellor was DJing and all the rage was the new Tony Hawk handset. Other guests included
Chace Crawford, Nicky and
Conrad Hilton, Nacho Figueras, and
Stephanie Seymour. After Polo I decided to make a pit stop at the Elie Tahari store where the always witty and clever
Simon Doonan was signing copies of his new book
Eccentric Glamour. As I approached the store, it looked like one of the characters from
Hairspray was dancing in the window. It was
Lady Bunny in the Hamptons! Other guests included Simon’s fabulous partner
Jonathan Adler, Elie and
Rory Tahari, Countess LuAnn deLesseps, and
Marjorie Gubelmann.
Another wonderful summer is coming to a close as we prepare for Fall Fashion Week. Keep your tans strong and I’ll see you in the front row!
Jaret Keller is the President of Key Group Worldwide. KGW creates original branded entertainment properties and marketing programs for major consumer brands. The Film & Television Division focuses on documentaries and unscripted television programming for the broadcast and cable networks. Keller has been in the entertainment industry for over fifteen years and most
recently headed up New Line Cinema’s East Coast Television Department.
Contact: e-mail jkeller@keygroup.tv
