Shortly afterwards, an intimate dinner for forty people was enjoyed in a private dining room within the confines of her 1930s home. As she ate on her seafoam green and off-white tablecloth, which displayed her stunning main collection, everything was taken care of by a team of staff dressed in cream suits. A delectable Caesar salad and fresh lump crab cakes were served; Princess Diana’s favorite Pouilly Fume, Baron de L, provided the perfect combination.
On Thursday morning, all attendees were transported, or on foot, to AERIN’s boutique on Worth Avenue in historic Via Mizner. Lauder invited her favorite hat designer, Sarah Bray-West of Sarah Bray Bermuda, to create custom hats.
When it was time for dinner, everyone headed to the East Garden at The Colony Hotel to celebrate the new Williams Sonoma AERIN collaboration. Bursting with elegance, Lewis Miller’s flowers from Lewis Miller Designs were created “to showcase the colors of China and her new line, while incorporating fresh colors like yellow in honor of Passover and Easter,” Miller explains .
Wearing a lilac lace Carolina Herrera dress paired with a cream blazer that fell effortlessly over her shoulders, Lauder introduced her latest Williams Sonoma collection. This collaboration included a range of robust products, from tabletops and entertainment pieces to outdoor furniture and embroidered cushions. “It was inspired by my love of East Hampton and references baskets, raffia and of course blue, green and white,” she said.
Guests – Bettina Anderson, Daphne West, Lizzi Bickford, Stephanie Hill, Sarah Bray-West and vintner Joey Wölffer – sat at a table set by none other than Lauder himself. They all left with a silver cup from the collection engraved with their initials – and an arrangement of Millers’ flowers. Because Lauder knows what all good hostesses know: everyone loves a party!
