Retro Flashback

On Wednesday night, Skylight felt like a concert straight out of the '60s—if a '60s concert drew socialites in expensive dresses, that is. It was the Whitney Museum of American Art's annual Art Party, and the combination of Joshua White's hypnotic, kaleidoscopic projections (much like the ones he created for the Fillmore East rock shows in the late '60s), two artful installations of inflatable lights from David Winston, and face-painting stations from MAC helped establish a retro vibe for the night's hippie-chic theme.

Hired by the Whitney's senior manager of special events, Sarah Milestone, Lewis Miller took his lead from the museum's new exhibition "Summer of Love: Art of the Psychedelic Era" and designed an open layout with fairly simple accents, leaving the rest to White and his trademark effects.

Small touches like moving light projections on the floor and reflective surfaces (on the bar and the side tables) added to the psychedelic aesthetic in the cocktail area. Guests themselves, many in dresses from sponsor BCBG Max Azria, got into the groove with makeup and hair accessories at one of two stations from cosmetics company MAC. And after last year's problems with crowding, Miller opted to move the area for the silent auction (sponsored by Sotheby's and MasterCard) to a larger, more open room. (The comparatively well-lit space didn't take on any dizzying thematic elements; artwork was placed neatly around the perimeter.)

Hosted by the Whitney Contemporaries, the event sold out—to 1,000 supporters, many of them young socialites—and the silent auction raised $116,300 for the museum's Independent Study Program.