AmfAR Heads to Billionaires Row in Palm Beach

The AIDS charity group amfAR often holds a gala throughout New York Style Week in February, however that was shelved due to the Omicron variant. So when artwork collectors John and Amy Phelan provided to host a fund-raiser at their trendy, 17,000-square-foot property in Palm Seaside, Fla., final Saturday, the cash adopted.

And so did their neighbors on South Ocean Boulevard. With a number of visitors residing on what’s often called Billionaires Row, the fund-raiser nearly felt like a block social gathering.

“You’ve obtained Stephen Schwarzman, John Paulson and Willis Dupont,” Steve Wynn, the on line casino mogul, who arrived for cocktails round 7 p.m., carrying a blue velvet tuxedo jacket and not using a tie. “We’re all right here and it’s an opportunity to dress up.”

One other neighbor, Tommy Hilfiger, occurred to be the night time’s honoree. “I do know who you’re,” Mr. Hilfiger stated to Victoria Hagan, the inside designer, as if from throughout a picket fence. “I attempted to get you to do certainly one of my homes.” In his slim houndstooth go well with, he gave neighborly hugs throughout, together with with Dennis Basso, the old-school furrier, and Douglas Friedman, the tattooed photographer.

About 375 visitors every paid $5,000 to attend, elevating about $5.3 million that night time — not unhealthy for amfAR’s first foray into Palm Seaside.

Ms. Phelan, a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader who presides on numerous artwork boards and whose husband is an funding fund supervisor, held court docket in her front room with home windows that soared practically 30 toes excessive. A piece by Willem de Kooning graced the fuel hearth mantle. Different blue-chip artists grabbed the attention and Ms. Phelan, in a gold robe that made her seem like an Oscar statue, was on a first-name foundation with a few of them.

“I really like Andy and I really like Dolly,” she stated of a candy-colored portrait of Dolly Parton by Andy Warhol, which hung close to a monumental sized portray by Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Some visitors — who preened in eye-popping colours, aggressive patterns, velvet slippers and stiletto heels — had been art-struck. “I hope it is a sleepover social gathering,” stated Emily Hampshire, the “Schitt’s Creek” actress and the occasion’s grasp of ceremonies, as she lounged precariously in a inexperienced classic Dior pantsuit on high of a Jeff Koons bust. “I’m prepared to maneuver in.”

Exterior by the pool, canapés of lobster, steak and tuna tartare flew by like petals in a subtropical wind. Round 8 p.m., dinner was introduced and the gang pushed by way of multicolored strips of cloth, as if inside a carwash, coming into a large tent framed in Lilly Pulitzer-pink neon lights that flashed “Artwork” and “Social gathering.”

Company dined on chopped Mediterranean salad and rooster with heirloom roasted greens. They listened attentively to speeches about how Covid therapies benefited from H.I.V. analysis. They listened much less attentively to Simon de Pury, who auctioned off works by Gilbert & George, Tom Sachs and others (crypto accepted).

Round 10 p.m., Sylvester Stallone, one other neighbor, took the stage in all black to introduce Mr. Hilfiger, who stated, “Thanks, Sly,” earlier than thanking buddies and neighbors. “That is unreal to me,” he concluded.

Then Christina Aguilera got here onstage in a flurry of glittering purple confetti, with earrings the scale of chandeliers, and ended the night time with three songs.