With that kind of A-list heat, In Style generated long lines until late in the evening, but those who persisted were greeted by the happy sight of Godiva Chocolatier’s lounge, where male models proffered huge boxes of sweets and even seemed to know what was inside them. Guests sipped Truffletinis in a surreal environment decorated with chocolate walls and moldings. Women powdering their noses had the help of makeup artists from L’Oreal, which gave out lip gloss and mascara in the ladies’ room. And that was even before guests crossed the threshold of the Beverly Hilton’s Oasis Court, where In Style has historically pitched its tent.

This year, that was literally the case. Back again, designer Thomas Ford collaborated with In Style director of creative development Cyd Wilson to create a lush, tented indoor setting made with 2,000 yards of gold-flecked fabric, which was inspired by the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, the private art museum of the influential collector Francois Pinault. “We like to say we put the art in party,” said Ford, a collector of contemporary work himself. Ford commissioned two $35,000 sculptures made of silicone and ink by Jian-Jun Zhang, an artist based in Shanghai and New York. Ford also created works inspired by some of his favorite artists, including tar artist Mattia Biagi, Barbara Kruger, and Jenny Holzer, whose ironic “truisms” he copied in bronze lettering along the front of the lower-level bar. “We used, ‘A good person is better than a famous person,’ which I’m sure the actors loved,” Ford said.

The crowning piece was a chandelier made of 2,000 strands of sheer, knotted fabric reminiscent of English artist Angela Wright’s work, which took workers 500 hours to create. Ford added even more visual interest with lighted stairs and decor pieces that changed color throughout the evening. A dense hedge of orange roses in turquoise pots topped the center wall separating the two-level bars. Around the perimeter and the patio, Ford paired sofas covered in cream-colored and orange suede with square cocktail tables topped with coconut twigs. Not that everyone languished in the sumptuous bleachers—the dance floor was packed until the lights went up at 1 AM.

—Irene Lacher

Posted 01.18.07

Photos: Nadine Froger Photography

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