Scene Wrap: Pandit, Brokaw, Franzen, Eugenides, De Laurentiis
This was a week of St. Tropez, man-caves, hot novelists, tough bankers and famous producer granddaughters. Here are some highlights you might have missed or still remember.
Tuesday night: Julian Niccolini shimmied with Vermont songstress Grace Potter, then hopped on the bar of The Four Seasons restaurant, which he co-owns with Alex von Bidder. It was almost midnight at the American Hospital of Paris Foundation gala. Blackstone’s Steve Schwarzman had left. Among the lingerers were Stuyvie and Helene Comfort, who met in St. Tropez, and Katie Boudria and Julien Zuccolin, who met in Monaco.
Perched on a balcony overlooking the Grill Room, DJ Alexandra Richards spun “Come on Eileen” by Dexys Midnight Runners. Before dinner, Potter sat at a grand piano in the Pool room to perform her “Colors,” “Goodbye Kiss” and “Apologies.”
Wednesday night: Novelist Jeffrey Eugenides was nursing his second Manhattan -- “It’s my book-tour drink of choice” --while author Jonathan Franzen enjoyed the city’s silhouette. The pair were at the Top of the Standard for the party celebrating Eugenides’ “The Marriage Plot.” Elsewhere on the soiree’s contents page were novelists Jhumpa Lahiri and Zadie Smith; T Magazine editor Sally Singer; the New Yorker’s editorial director, Henry Finder; and Paris Review editor Lorin Stein.
Also on Wednesday: Esquire magazine’s bachelor pad in Brooklyn’s Dumbo was a big part of the entertainment at the party for the Natural Resources Defense Council. The gym’s rubber floor cost about $8,000; the bicycle $10,000.
“The idea was to blow the budget,” the room’s designer, Denise Kuriger, said.
The magazine recruits brands as marketing partners to decorate the apartment -- Asics paid for the gym. The bedroom closet is stocked with Ermenegildo Zegna suits. There’s a Bloomberg terminal in the living room.
Thursday night: Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit received a leadership award from Accion, a microfinance organization. Tom Brokaw introduced him at the Cipriani 42nd Street event celebrating Accion’s 50th anniversary, and Pandit seemed a bit star-struck.
“One of my first memories of coming to the U.S. as a young student is watching Tom Brokaw,” Pandit said. (He came from India at the age of 16 to study at Columbia University.) As for business, the banker said, “Citigroup is doing everything it can to rebuild” the trust between Main Street and Wall Street.
Also on Thursday: The dance floor and the booths were full for the Dance Into Fashion Party at Kiss & Fly nightclub in the Meatpacking District. Hosted by the Junior Society of Ballet Hispanico, the event drew First Eagle Investment chairman John Arnhold’s children, Paul and Julia, along with designer Wes Gordon and Carolyna De Laurentiis, granddaughter of film producer Dino de Laurentiis.
Jamie Dimon’s daughter Julia is on the committee of the Junior Society but didn’t attend the party. She is a student at Harvard Business School. Paul Arnhold, who works at Digitas and serves as a Junior Society co-chairman, said the event raised a record $30,000.
(Amanda Gordon is a writer and photographer for Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News. Any opinions expressed are her own.)
To contact the writer on this story: Amanda Gordon in New York at agordon01@bloomberg.net or on Twitter at @amandagordon.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.
American Hospital of Paris
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Grace Potter and Julian Niccolini.
Grace Potter and Julian Niccolini. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
American Hospital of Paris
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Julian Niccolini on the bar at The Four Seasons.
Julian Niccolini on the bar at The Four Seasons. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
American Hospital of Paris
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Katie Boudria and Julien Zuccolin.
Katie Boudria and Julien Zuccolin. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
American Hospital of Paris
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Kerry Hardy, chief development officer, American Hospital of Paris.
Kerry Hardy, chief development officer, American Hospital of Paris. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
"The Marriage Plot" at The Standard
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Jonathan Franzen and Jeffrey Eugenides, holding a Manhattan, at the party celebrating Eugenides's book "The Marriage Plot."
Jonathan Franzen and Jeffrey Eugenides, holding a Manhattan, at the party celebrating Eugenides's book "The Marriage Plot." Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
"The Marriage Plot" at The Standard
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Megan Hogan and Alyssa Loh, Princeton seniors who are studying creative writing with Eugenides.
Megan Hogan and Alyssa Loh, Princeton seniors who are studying creative writing with Eugenides. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Esquire Apartment
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
The gym in the Esquire Apartment.
The gym in the Esquire Apartment. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Esquire Apartment
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
One corner of the apartment features an Angus Young SG Signature electric guitar from Gibson.
One corner of the apartment features an Angus Young SG Signature electric guitar from Gibson. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Accion at Cipriani
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Vikram Pandit, Citigroup CEO and Accion honoree.
Vikram Pandit, Citigroup CEO and Accion honoree. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Accion at Cipriani
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
U.S. Accion loan recipients Lidia Calzado, who makes handbags and jewelry, and Sandra Baquero, a fashion designer. Calzado has a tattoo of the Statue of Liberty on her arm.
U.S. Accion loan recipients Lidia Calzado, who makes handbags and jewelry, and Sandra Baquero, a fashion designer. Calzado has a tattoo of the Statue of Liberty on her arm. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Accion at Cipriani
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Andrew McCartor, a regional program director at the Blacksmith Institute, which works to clear toxic pollution, and Cecelia Tanaka, a Robin Hood Foundation program officer.
Andrew McCartor, a regional program director at the Blacksmith Institute, which works to clear toxic pollution, and Cecelia Tanaka, a Robin Hood Foundation program officer. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Ballet Hispanico at Kiss & Fly
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Melissa Seligmann and Paul Arnhold.
Melissa Seligmann and Paul Arnhold. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Ballet Hispanico at Kiss & Fly
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Carolyna De Laurentiis and Julia Arnhold.
Carolyna De Laurentiis and Julia Arnhold. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Ballet Hispanico at Kiss & Fly
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Rebecca Fribourg.
Rebecca Fribourg. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Ballet Hispanico at Kiss & Fly
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Dancers Jamal Rashann Callender and Vanessa Valecillos, in designs by Rebecca Taylor.
Dancers Jamal Rashann Callender and Vanessa Valecillos, in designs by Rebecca Taylor. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Ballet Hispanico at Kiss & Fly
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Janna Levine, Ballet Hispanico Junior Society co-chairman, Meredith Raskopf and Arielle Haves.
Janna Levine, Ballet Hispanico Junior Society co-chairman, Meredith Raskopf and Arielle Haves. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
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