| EVENT REPORT 02.12.07 12:00 AM |
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| Animals Dot the Designs at Orchid Dinner |
| Amid nods to antiquity and to other cultures, animal references popped up at more than a few tables at the New York Botanical Garden's designer showcase. |
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| Every year, the New York Botanical Garden fills the Rainbow Room with top talents from the floral, interior, and fashion design communities who devise individual tables for the garden’s Orchid Dinner. With a room full of works running the gamut from wild and whimsical to traditional and austere, it’s a challenge to select a handful to highlight. |
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PHOTO GALLERY |
 | | Douglas Little assembled a curious collection of ornate bell jars filled with specimens of nature: a butterfly, a cactus, and—of course—orchids. |
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 | | Robert Couturier Inc.’s design showcased birds and orchids, with a peacock looming at the top. |
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 | | Zezé Flowers placed a grouping of porcelain cranes under a large glass dome. |
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 | | Designers Tony Ingrao and Randy Kemper put together an equestrian-theme table for Stark Carpet. Riding boots doubled as vases, and a single silver stirrup adorned the back of each chair cover. |
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 | | Slatkin & Company worked with Sarah Ferguson, the duchess of York, on a dining tent that showcased the line of candles that carry the duchess’s name. Both the tent fabric and the table covering are Ferguson family tartans. An antler chandelier lent a lodge feel, and the silver flower containers featured stag heads as handles. |
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 | | Gotham Gardens accented its table surface with a layer of Guinea fowl feathers. |
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 | | Goldfish swam in clear glass cylinders amid lush pink and white orchids at Oscar Mora’s setting for Valentino. |
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 | | Robert Willson crafted a quirky, lamp-shaped piece. Mysterious details filled the large clear glass base—an open-palmed artists’ model’s hand that held a lightbulb containing an orchid. The twisted-wire lamp shade, studded with orchids and little green lights, incorporated found objects. |
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 | | As a playful alternative to the traditional vase with flowers, Le Décor Français placed a miniature four-poster bed on the table (it even included tiny silk pillows). Inside the curtained structure, which was open at the top, were yellow orchids. |
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 | | Clean and modern-looking, the Isaac Mizrahi for S. Harris table mixed handmade clear plastic flowers with real orchid specimens. |
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More Photos From the Orchid Dinner
What stuck out this year were a variety of animal-driven designs. There were butterflies (under a bell jar at the Douglas Little table), dogs (statuettes at the Blair Delmonico table), and live goldfish (part of the Valentino setting). Robert Couturier and Zezé Flowers each featured birds, and Gotham Gardens’ dining surface was decorated with beautifully patterned brown-and-white feathers. And Slatkin & Company and Sarah Ferguson, the duchess of York, had an antler light fixture and flower containers adorned with stag heads.
A number of creations defied an obvious category: One highlight was the lamplike design from Robert Willson of Los Angeles’s Downtown—crafted from found objects, it took on a surreal feel. Le Décor Français put a miniature bed on the table, and guests could peer through tie-back curtains at little silk pillows (and orchids, too, of course). Eastern influences showed up in the use of paper lanterns (Tiffany & Company) and in a clear, gracefully proportioned pagoda (Amanda Nisbet Design) laden with white blossoms.
The event raised $645,000 for the garden’s orchid collection and scientific research. NYBG associate vice president for individual giving and special events Jennifer Rominiecki oversaw the gala, along with director of special events development Monica Reischmann and special events manager Lauren Malang. The garden’s team worked in conjunction with Charlotte Frieze, garden editor at House & Garden (a sponsor, along with Tiffany & Company and the Bank of New York). Dan Dahl of Gotham Gardens served as design coordinator for the event.
—Mark Mavrigian
Posted 02.12.07
Photos: Marina Senra for BiZBash
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