At the Peninsula Hotel, Elton John and David Furnish, Jonny Lee Miller and Michele Hicks, and Hayden Panettiere celebrated photographer Deborah Anderson’s new book, “Room 23,” for which they were all shot between the sheets in said suite.
The next day, Gwen Stefani and Jennifer Lopez attended a lunch at Barneys New York to fete the new ready-to-wear collection from their stylist, Andrea Lieberman, called A.L.C. That night, photographer Tierney Gearon’s pre-opening bash at the Ace Gallery supplanted Larry Gagosian’s annual show and dinner as the art event of Oscar week. But the guest list was slimmer and the vibe more underground than Gagosian’s usual fete. New York figures like Jean Pigozzi and Russell Simmons mingled with Hollywood art aficionados like Ben Stiller, Rosario Dawson, Rosanna Arquette and Gina Gershon; East Side socials Kirsty Hume, Donovan Leitch, Rosetta Getty and Brigette Romanek, and West Side moms Shiva Rose, Liseanne Frankfurt and Crystal Lourd.
Also in the mix were plenty of model types with names like Pali, Autumn and Lina. “Everyone advised me that Oscar week would be the worst time to do the show, but I took the risk,” said Gearon. “Then Larry cancelled less than a month ago. So I felt I had a huge responsibility to make this a great event.” Not only were guests ready to get out their purses and buy the oversize, double exposure photos (“How much are they?” inquired Pigozzi), but they also lingered to people watch. “This was my attempt to look cool and now I feel hopelessly uncool,” lamented Jamie Tisch as she glanced at the groups of disheveled models lounging around the gallery. “I feel too well-groomed.”
