Inside The Mid-Winter Gala At The De Young

Allison Speer, Trevor Traina, Kathryn Lasater and Vanessa Getty

Photo Credit: Devlin Shand for Drew Altizer Photography

Friday night, San Francisco’s social set—many who had barely recovered from the Cartier party that took place the evening before—gathered at the De Young Museum for the 15th annual Mid-Winter Gala. “San Francisco’s prom” as one socialite described it was a gorgeous affair in support of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF). This year’s event was co-chaired by Kathryn Lasater and Allison Speer with Vanessa Getty and Trevor Traina serving as honorary co-chairs. Cartier sponsored the gala and pulled out all of the stops to make it a memorable and stunning evening.

Photo Credit: Drew Altizer

The party started at 7 p.m. with a reception in the museum’s foyer. Guests nibbled caviar on blinis while sipping cocktails and Cartier champagne. A massive screen showed changing kaleidoscope images of jewels—diamonds, sapphires, and rubies. A step and repeat made with hundreds of fresh red flowers with Cartier and the de Young’s logos was the ideal place to snap an Instagram pic. The most talked about topic? The night before’s party and how un-San Francisco, but fabulous it was.

Photo Credit: Drew Altizer

Dinner was served in a luxe tent adjacent to the museum. To get to the tent, guests including celebrities Lily Collins and Freida Pinto, had to walk through a sumptuous oversized hallway draped in elegant red curtains. With clear tables, gold accents, and twinkling candles, the dining room was dazzling. Instead of floral arrangements, candles of various sizes ran down the center of the tables. The shorter walls of the rectangular-shaped tent were made of red flowers—roses, bougainvillea, and more—it was breathtaking.

Photo Credit: Drew Altizer

Traina gave a short speech where he talked about how important the FAMSF are to the city. “It’s worth mentioning that San Francisco is a very unique and special place. We care about ideas. We care about innovations. Right now San Francisco is, in many ways, the Florence of our time. A lot of the innovations that have changed the world have come from this very small city. We are uniquely lucky that we have so many cultural institutions in this city and that we can offer so much. Between the collections and all of the exhibitions, it [FAMSF] is one of the crown jewels of the city. It’s not just something that happens. It’s because of very generous and very dedicated people—many of whom are in this room. But like the great success of San Francisco in general, it’s not something we should ever take for granted. We have to continue our work to nurture and to make sure that the future is bright.”

Photo Credit: Drew Altizer

Traina thanked Cartier’s president and CEO of North America, and praised the director of FAMSF, Max Hollein. “We are very lucky that we have a fabulous, really talented, and relatively new director, Max Hollein and his beautiful wife, Nina. Max has brought so much vision, clarity, excitement, and energy to our museums. He comes from Vienna, which I’m told is a very beautiful city,” Traina joked. He was recently named the ambassador to Austria and will be moving there shortly.

Photo Credit: Devlin Shand for Drew Altizer Photography

There was no auction this year, so the program was short and sweet. The three-course meal from McCall’s was delicious and Spring-themed. First guests enjoyed a burrata salad with fresh snap peas and asparagus. This was followed by hearty lamb chops and tender vegetables. For dessert? An indulgent chocolate molten cake. After dinner, a DJ turned up the tunes and got the crowd moving on the dance floor. Notables in attendance include Bianca Brandolini, Derek Blasberg, Marissa Mayer, Zack Bogue, Alexis Traina, Todd Traina, and Marybeth and David Shimmon. The most stylish swans? Kate Traina, Sonya Molodetskaya, Sobia Shaik, and Stephanie Marver.