The editors at Bizbash are always reminding me to write about trends that event planners from across the country can use. But the first biggest and best trend of the 2014 Hamptons summer season is one that can’t be easily duplicated, and that is fantastic weather. A cool rainy spring gave blooming plants time to set up, then a perfect sunny June was followed by the polar vortex of July, which has kept temperatures so comfortable. As a result, doors are thrown open, events are more indoor-outdoor combinations that are comfortable, and guests are staying longer because they’re not miserable with perspiration.
The other major two trends I’ve spotted are the invasion of the gourmet food trucks on the event scene, and the dominance of the mega tents, replacing the pole tents with stiff frames to get more square footage. The food truck trend, as best as I can recall, started in Miami a few years ago, when an entire field of trendy food trucks set up shop in Wynwood during Art Basel week.
So let’s dive in and take a look, shall we?
One of the art installations was a set of mirror monoliths in the dunes and from certain angles you didn’t even notice them.
Guests arriving at the starkly modern Herzog & de Meuron-designed Parrish Art Museum for its annual gala on July 12 were greeted by transgender performance artist Richard Move and his troupe of fellow transgender (I think!) performers. Part modern dance, part fashion show, and one part just odd (the ledge pictured was decorated with what I thought were huge horseshoe crab shells made to appear as if they were attacking, but a closer inspection made me think they were plants.
Who cares? It was colorful and odd and enjoyable on the outside deck—the weather was so nice guests didn’t race to get into the air conditioning— and equally entertaining.
The other outdoor decor was a display of cars from sponsor Porsche Cars North America and Porsche of Southampton. I kind of wondered why they all had to be blue...
Caterer Olivier Cheng and lighting designer Ira Levy were two key parts of the beautiful dinner, which takes place on the museum’s back porch. (The space limits how many tickets can be sold. There was a rumor at one point that the event might move to one of the super tents…)
I loved everything about the Nature Conservancy party—well, almost everything. The name was too long and confusing. But all the staging and styling for the Beaches & Bays gala on June 28 seemed to make perfect sense for the cause. For starters, the step-and-repeat done on clear, reusable plexiglass panels made perfect sense. It’s the first time I’d seen it done this way and I hope not the last.
The gala’s giant tent had the natural design down, with the wood poles and cotton canvas look (it may have been a synthetic for all I know).
The burlap tablecloths and pale wood chairs were simple but pretty, and the alternating ottoman/shrub decor that circled the whole room gave the event a chic-casual feel, so it wasn’t just a dinner in a tent.
But the fabulous Nature Conservancy tent was kids stuff compared to the two mega tents that housed Art Hamptons and Art Market Hamptons, which both opened on the same night, July 10. How wise a decision that timing was from an exhibitor standpoint I won’t speculate, but as an event goer I can assure you it was as confusing as hell. If you didn’t know where you were going, there were lots of signs telling you how to find Art Hamptons, but none showing you where to find Art Market. Too much signage is bad, too little is not enough.
Art Hamptons seemed to be the slightly more lush affair. I thought the V.I.P. lounge with upholstered furniture and ottomans was really nice, and, if I were doing a whole day of art shopping, I think this would be a lovely respite. But the sports paraphernalia in the black cases, sold at silent auction for charity, was a disconnect.
I thought the novelty of having the “tent within a tent” backdrop staged just for opening night at Art Market Hamptons was clever. (You can see the striped awning behind the entertainment.) I loved it, but the next day it was gone, erected only for the opening-night party.
And Art Market Hamptons certainly won best food truck with a rolling lobster roll dispensary.
Although at Art Hamptons there were two gourmet trucks from the well-known—if a bit touristy—Inn Spot on the Bay, and that party netted more passed food for guests.
Does anyone find this dueling matching party scene as confusing as I did?
God’s Love We Deliver’s event on June 21 was held at the breathtaking oceanfront home of name Jay Sugarman. The party took place all over the art-soaked estate, which features an austere (no rails!) stone stairway that led from the mezzanine/pool level down to the lawn, and was great fun to descend (I did it twice so I could get my picture taken!).
But my favorite was the carved surfboard, sort of like a Hamptons version of a totem pole, picured here next to the colorful and super-friendly artist Gregory de la Haba.
The truck trend extends beyond food and that Animal Rescue Fund brought an adoption truck to its May 24 event in Bridgehampton, which honored IMG Fashion’s former senior vice president Fern Mallis. I can attest to the effectiveness of the A.R.F. adoption truck—I adopted TJ, a Jack Russell Terrier, from the exact same vehicle last year.
