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A splendid Beaux Arts structure built in
1906, the Lexington Avenue Armory has a
storied past, thanks in part to its
hosting of the scandalous and seminal
1913 Armory Show, which anticipated the
inception of the Museum of Modern Art.
Designated a National Historic Landmark
in 1965, the Lexington Avenue Armory
still houses the U.S. 69th Infantry
Regiment - which, contrary to other
theories, is the sole explanation for
the digits 69 which are inset into the
tile work in the massive subterranean
men’s restroom.
In 2003 and 20009, the Armory hosted the
Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, and this
year the Armory was the perfect setting
for the Bailey House Auction and Party.
Rather than an army of infantrymen or a
corps of long-legged models, the Armory
was instead overtaken by platoons of
fashion and design queens, as well as
numerous philanthropists, all bidding on
hundreds of pieces of art and home
furnishings, all donated for the benefit
of Bailey House and its clientele.
Since 1983, Bailey House has been one of
the first (and few) providers of housing
and critical services for those
afflicted with AIDS - and today, the
organization is widely recognized as a
leader in advocacy for those individuals
living with HIV/AIDS.
The Bailey House Auction and Party was
initiated by interior designer Alan
Tanksley in 1988, as a means to raise
fund for AIDS research - and in the
twenty-three years since, the Bailey
House Auction and Party has become a
favorite on Manhattan’s fund-raising
circuit calendar.
For this year’s version of the
star-studded event, interior design
expert and visual artist, Geoff Howell,
created a transformative Manhattan
skyline inside the vast recesses of the
Armory, so that the more than 800 in
attendance had the sensation of walking
amidst a Hollywood backlot during the
filming of a classic Manhattan film.
Remember those scenes from Scorcese’s
"New York, New York," where Liza and
Robert DeNiro are on a Hollywood set,
made to look like a New York winter?
That’s how the Armory looked: as
romantic and glamorous as a Manhattan
fantasy.
With veteran Sotheby’s auctioneer, Hugh
Hildesley, at the podium, inciting the
altruistic crowd into a bidding frenzy
for items such as a Costa Rican getaway
or a date with Bravo star, Andy Cohen,
or art from Robert Mapplethorpe, William
Wegman, and Herb Ritts, nearly $400,000
was raised.
Meanwhile, in the four showrooms, bids
were placed on items donated by Holly
Hunt, Restoration Hardware, Donna Karan,
Steuben Glass - and just about every
design firm that you’ve ever craved for
your own home.
The evening was co-hosted by the
ever-suave designer, Carmen Marc Valvo,
and Sherri Shepherd from television’s
"The View," the two of them ably
stepping in for previous years’ hosts,
Tim Gunn and Simon Doonan.
Man of the streets and inveterate
fashion maven, Bill Cunningham, was in
the house, scrutinizing the fashionable
crowd for the latest sartorial trends,
as was the always-striking fashion
commentator, Robert Verdi, who wore an
elegantly fierce ensemble from the
provocative and cerebral designer Rick
Owens.
There were men in capes and shrugs, and
women in boleros, and flag dancers, and
Real Housewives, and a battalion of
earnest and enthusiastic volunteers. The
drinks were hand-shaken (and strong) and
the hors d’oeuvres included goat cheese
and leek quiche, and sesame noodles, and
fried chicken, and a particularly
addictive salted caramel popcorn that
kept people clustering around the giant
bowls like cows around a salt lick.
Amidst all the fun and festivities, it
was good to pause and consider how
important this event is for the many
people served by Bailey House. Bailey
House has long understood the import of
home - and their annual auction and
party reminds well-heeled New Yorkers of
the rightness of noblesse oblige. Or as
Bailey House’s motto has it: "The future
starts with a place to live." |
