4 Things I Learned Attending a Mini Met Gala At The Plaza

Last Friday, I got to attend non-profit Save Venice’s masquerade gala (also known as Un Ballo in Maschera) at The Plaza Hotel for a story I was working on for ELLE Decor (you can read the full piece here). Attendees wore custom-made headpieces and fashioned masks from woven ribbon. I bought mine off Amazon.

There’s something about Save Venice’s annual Un Ballo in Maschera that feels vaguely reminiscent of the MET Gala. This might be in some small part influenced by their proximity to each other (Un Ballo in Maschera happened just two short weeks before this year’s MET Ball), but I don’t think it’s too far a reach: lavish event thrown by a non-profit as a benefit for the arts every spring.

Fashion might not play as big of a role with Save Venice as it does for the MET, but its presence and influence is undeniable. There’s a theme, and everyone coordinates their ensembles accordingly. Masks and headpieces are encouraged, and even rewarded at the end of the night. (In recent years, CFDA has made a point of bringing young designers to the event as a way to celebrate and highlight upcoming talent.) There are co-chairs (like Ivy Getty) and sponsors (like Oscar de la Renta, Tilt Beauty, and Graff). This year’s theme was a dreamy Celestial Serenissima.

Designed by renowned event planner, Bronson van Wyck, there were tarot readings during cocktail hours and an aerial performance between dinner courses. Here’s what I learned during my reporting.

1. Guests will flood local millineries in the city—including Gigi Burris, Heather Huey, Jackie Cicogna, Leah C. Couture, Monvieve, and Wendy Drolma—with mask and headpiece orders in anticipation of the event. There were murmurs going around Friday night that some fulfill the bulk of the orders for the year by making pieces for Save Venice Gala guests. Some more creative attendees crafted their own—like artist Jack Callahan, who immediately made himself identifiable on the blue bathed dance floor with this sculptural moon-meets-asteroid-man-spaceship mask.

2. Sponsor Oscar de la Renta invited and dressed creators like Kate Bartlett, Meredith Hayden (Wishbone Kitchen), and Substacker Julia Berolzheimer.

3. Photo spot that probably showed up the most on Instagram the next day: the grand marble staircase leading from The Plaza’s Terrace Room to the Grand Ballroom. (Though photo shoots unfortunately had to be cut short when the dinner bells start ringing and 450 guests needed to get upstairs to the banquet hall. )

4. Bronson van Wyck revealed to ELLE Decor the key to decorating a venue like The Plaza for a party like Save Venice’s Un Ballo in Maschera is “layering rather than concealing.” He continues, “It provides a sense of permanence beneath an ephemeral design.”

5. At around 10:30 p.m., guests like Becca Bloom, Ava Dash, and more took the floor to dance beneath the cosmos. Earlier, the party had opened up to the Young Friends of Venice (ages 30 and younger), who were joining the “Drinks, Dessert, and Dancing” portion of the evening. The party playlist sounded similar to something you’d hear at a wedding reception (complimentary), saxophone player and all. DJ clearly knew his audience.

Read the full story here

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