Robin Meltzer and Nina Garcia. (Will Ragozzino/BFAnyc.com)
Amidst colorful summer shoes, carefully displayed handbags and country club ensembles at the Reed Krakoff boutique, a bevy of uptown ladies gathered for a somber cause. Nina Garcia had rounded up a collection of friends and philanthropists to shop, sip champagne and solicit support for the Alzheimer’s Association.
“Yes, you know it something that touched my family,” Ms. Garcia said of the disease. Over the past several years, the feared Project Runway judge has been increasingly involved in the organization, and has been “trying slowly but surely to get some of the fashion community involved.” Still, she faces challenges when discussing the unpleasant subject. “I don’t think everybody talks about it so openly,” she told The Observer.
On a lighter note, Ms. Garcia discussed the upcoming season of Project Runway, set to be filmed this summer. She said that while the show is already on its tenth cycle, the wellspring of young talent makes it easy to keep the material fresh. “There’s a lot of creative people out there. And I think that fashion is a business where is a lot about creativity and with that creativity comes a lot of personalities. So it’s all about change,” she said. She was tightlipped on the details of the new season, however, stating only that viewers should expect “lots of surprises.”
After an intimate conversation with Ms. Garcia, Muffie Potter Aston shared her own summer schedule. “We’re going to move out to Long Island,” she revealed. Ms. Potter Aston won’t be frequenting the Hamptons party circuit, however. “When I do get out there I am off duty. I’m in total mom mode, wearing a pony-tail, no make up. It’s all about the kids. In fact I have a friend who used to say, ‘What, you get behind those gates and build bombs back there? We never see you!’” she joked. “It’s about hanging out with the kids and having those long lazy summer days.”
Fair-skinned Melissa Berkelhammer bemoaned her predisposition to sunburn. “Oh, I burn so easily. I’m one of those people. I burn and then it turns white the next day,” she told The Observer. “By the end of the summer I’ve built the base everyone else has after a week!” she said.
Robin Meltzer, the chair of this year’s Rita Hayworth Gala to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association, was all business when we inquired about her upcoming social plans. “Funny you should ask! We are hosting, my husband and I, a cocktail party in the Hamptons where we have a home.” The Long Island reception will benefit the Association as well, she proudly proclaimed.
And so it goes! Another summer kicks off, another round of charity fetes, another season of benevolent soirees.
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