Few galas are as over-the-top as the Save Venice Ball, which took place last Friday on Cipriani South Street at the southernmost tip of Manhattan.
By 8pm, the cocktail area was a sea of mermaid ball gowns and penguin tuxedos, befitting a masquerade ball raising money for the swampy city. Some 500 well-groomed guests — including Nicky Hilton Rothschild, Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark, and Sienna Miller — mingled under bellinis and posed for photos in a giant Botticelli-style clamshell.
Some took this year’s theme, ‘Enchantment by the sea’, to heart. “This is our favorite prom because we become the best version of ourselves,” says Alexandra Salanic, a graphic designer who wore an oyster-inspired dress she designed. (Her husband, David, wore a hat topped with an oyster dish.) “Other galas are more buttoned up.”
Not everyone went for the undersea theme. “I haven’t been invited to a big event in years. I almost forgot how to dress,” said Jenna Lyons, the fashion designer and TV personality who wore an all-white Thome Browne ensemble courtesy of the designer, and came as a guest of Amy Griffin, an investor.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Save Venice, raising money to restore the city’s “artistic heritage,” and the ninth time the ball has been hosted by Lauren Santo Domingo, the former Vogue editor and co-founder. founder of the luxury fashion retailer Moda Operandi. In 2013, Ms. Santo Domingo took over the hosting duties from her mother-in-law, Beatrice Santo Domingo, turning the ball into what some call “a warm-up” for the Met Gala due to the fashionable crowd and high entrance fee.
It may not have the star power of Anna Wintour’s “First Monday In May” (the biggest name on Save Venice may have been Alex Rodriguez). But the event raised a record $2.1 million, in part by letting fashion brands partnering with Moda Operandi buy tables (some for as much as $100,000).
“People have been sending me pictures of what they’re going to wear for weeks,” said Ms. Santo Domingo, who wore a black strapless dress by Oscar de la Renta, one of the evening’s sponsors. She wasn’t sure if sales at Moda have increased since the city’s galas have returned, but added: ‘We sell evening dresses, evening dresses and ‘occasion wear’ as it’s officially called – it’s our main category. †
Alexandra O’Neill, the founder of Makarian, a New York-based casual wear brand, said it was her first time being invited. “We have a really nice partnership with Moda Operandi,” said Ms. O’Neill, who ended up dressing more than a dozen guests, including longtime Hillary Clinton staffer Huma Abedin.
After cocktails, the gala moved to the main hall, which was decorated with striped Venetian poles and waving flags. Between the burrata appetizer and the rib-eye steak, more guests snapped shots inside the giant clam.
“I can’t say no to a cause that supports art,” said Sarah Hoover, an art dealer, who wore a custom Makarian dress. “I can’t imagine a better goal than to do everything we can to preserve the original mermaid city.”
