COLLEAGUE DAY: Practically every blue chip name turned out Tuesday as Saks Fifth Avenue, along with the old school charity group the Colleagues, presented the 19th annual spring luncheon at the Beverly Wilshire hotel in Beverly Hills, featuring an Oscar de la Renta fashion show and honoring Brooke Shields and her husband, Chris Henchy, with the Champions of Children award. While press-shy Dohenys, Bloomingdales and Fondas mingled with the more garrulous Bells and Davises as well as Cornelia Guest, Jamie Tisch, Crystal Lourd, Stephanie Murray, Liane Weintraub and Wendy Goldberg, the lion's share of attention went to longtime Colleague Nancy Reagan, who presented the award to Shields and Henchy. Reagan, who just met Shields for the first time, called her "lovely," while Shields told her, "You will always be the first lady to me." Reagan chose to wear her own Chanel tweed suit and pearls instead of the featured designer ("Unfortunately, this isn't Oscar," she offered) and also took on one of the latest accessories trends: bold tortoise prescription glasses by Gucci. "For me, they're a necessity," she said. "I'd be blind as a bat without them."
ISLAND TO ISLAND: It took Henri Bendel to lure the publicity-shy François Nars, the creative director of NARS Cosmetics, from his private island Motu Tane in French Polynesia to Manhattan on Tuesday night. The reason was a 10-year photo retrospective by Nars, who shot his first professional picture for the beauty line's fall 1996 ad campaign. Nars touched down in Manhattan for the occasion, having just spent several months on his island, where he hosted model Dayle Haddon. Haddon, who cohosted the event with Lydia Hearst and Amy Wesson, said she happily passed the time there scuba diving by day and watching old movies in the evenings. Also meandering among the photos and guests was Mia Rose, an emerging singer who just recorded her first single, "Hold Me Now." Fresh from a meeting with MTV to discuss the prospect of a reality show, Rose divulged the evening marked her first time walking the red carpet. The photo exhibit, which ties into a larger effort by Bendel's to link fashion and art, will remain on display and open to the public through Monday. "Our customer is interested and involved in things outside the world of fashion and beauty," declared Henri Bendel chief executive officer and president Ed Bucciarelli. "What better way to satisfy her than to bridge fashion and beauty with art?"
ISLAND TO ISLAND: It took Henri Bendel to lure the publicity-shy François Nars, the creative director of NARS Cosmetics, from his private island Motu Tane in French Polynesia to Manhattan on Tuesday night. The reason was a 10-year photo retrospective by Nars, who shot his first professional picture for the beauty line's fall 1996 ad campaign. Nars touched down in Manhattan for the occasion, having just spent several months on his island, where he hosted model Dayle Haddon. Haddon, who cohosted the event with Lydia Hearst and Amy Wesson, said she happily passed the time there scuba diving by day and watching old movies in the evenings. Also meandering among the photos and guests was Mia Rose, an emerging singer who just recorded her first single, "Hold Me Now." Fresh from a meeting with MTV to discuss the prospect of a reality show, Rose divulged the evening marked her first time walking the red carpet. The photo exhibit, which ties into a larger effort by Bendel's to link fashion and art, will remain on display and open to the public through Monday. "Our customer is interested and involved in things outside the world of fashion and beauty," declared Henri Bendel chief executive officer and president Ed Bucciarelli. "What better way to satisfy her than to bridge fashion and beauty with art?"
