The fifth annual summer benefit for the Friends of the High Line—the chic pet cause working to preserve and reuse Chelsea’s elevated rail—gave guests great gifts to take home from Cipriani Wall Street. First, during the cocktail hour, Thomas Kletecka from TKE Productionsphotographed guests in front of a backdrop printed with an enlarged photo of the high line, with a fan blowing their hair, making it look as if they were standing on the structure—a treat because the property is privately owned and off-limits to the public (although some get onto it anyway).
The mix of round, square, and long dinner tables (all covered in white linen) held more gifts: New York street artist Michael De Feo covered 4- by 8-inch pieces of plywood with silk-screened or wheat-pasted prints, which sat at the center of each table for guests to take home (but with only 500 created for the event, some of the 768 present went home a bit disappointed). Guests could also take the potted plants adorning the tables—glass vases of herbs and flowers like maidenhair ferns and stars of Bethlehem that can be found growing on the high line itself. And on the way out, everyone got custom umbrellas designed by Paula Scherof Pentagram with a repeating pattern of the organization’s logo.
Friends of the High Line director of operations Rick Littleplanned the benefit with help from co-founders Robert Hammondand Joshua David, development director Juliet Page, and event co-chair Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel. Event designer and board member Bronson van Wyck—who took home BiZBash’s Event Style Award for Best Overall Decor for last year’s benefit—provided the design direction.
—Anna Sekula
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