A slew of the usual New York society suspects descended upon Cipriani 42nd Street in their Calvin Klein best on Sunday night for the New Museum's 30th Anniversary celebration, including Rachel Feinstein, Amalia Dayan, Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, Renée Rockefeller, Amanda Brooks, Cindy Sherman, host André Balazs and honorees Richard Prince and Jeff Koons. "I had my first museum show there," recalled Koons. "I did a series of vacuum cleaners, and I knew it was getting a big response because the guards began to complain that all these people were coming in trying to buy them. The museum was on 14th Street."
After dinner, collectors (read: bankers and hedge fund types) bid up to $50,000 each for works by Jim Hodges and Louise Bourgeois. "I had my eyes on a few things but they went for much more than I could afford," lamented Francisco Costa, whose company sponsored the event.
Another fashion house, Yves Saint Laurent, hosted a benefit on Maiden Lane for the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center Thursday night that was attended by the majority of the city's society and crashed by Mother Nature — in the form of a hearty April shower. But guests seemed unruffled by that, as well as by the absence of the co-chair, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was busy in Washington. "he Downtown bag is going like hotcakes," said Linda Cannon, co-founder of the center, which helps at-risk families with everything from food to music lessons.
In fact, it was a busy week for the YSL folks. The company hosted another party at its Beverly Hills store, attended by Kristin Davis and Gwen McCaw. Hostess Liane Weintraub modeled the house's chunky accessories, and when guests encouraged her to buy the loaner necklace, she responded simply, "ell my husband."