Valentino Book Party CELEBRATION

Thursday, November 6, 2014 6:12pm 54 degrees

V A L E N T I N O hosted a party in his Fifth Avenue store where he signed copies of his new book, Valentino: At the Emperor’s Table (out this month from Assouline).

Encouraged by his partner, Giancarlo Giammetti, Valentino shares his tableaux—and his chef’s recipes—in a tome that can fairly be said to break the mold for vegetarian cookbooks. (The design legend’s menus these days are meat-free and generally light on dairy).

There is a Tuna Mousse with Greek-style vegetables for Wideville (garnished with baby herbs and sesame tuiles). A cacciucco fish stew for the boat and a Frozen Chestnut Souffle for Gstaad, along with a variety of others.

“To me this book is not just about my passion for table decorations. Its’ a book about recipes and food that I love; it’s about the beautiful things in my life”. One of the many Valentino quotes throughout his elegant new book.

“I always had in my mind the idea of a life of beauty,” Valentino tells André Leon Talley in the book’s foreword, where he also fondly recalls the very beginning of his career and life in Paris with other design legends -Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld. The beau monde would frequent the famous Cafe de Flore on the Left Bank years before establishing their own personal style and unique senses of luxury.

If a boutique can be a shrine to sophistication and glamour, then Valentino’s flagship store has surely inspired major fashion worship. Housed in a postmodernist building originally constructed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee in the 1980s, the 12,000-square-foot space has been reconfigured as a soaring Italian palazzo, complete with a

27-foot-high atrium and marble columns.

The space holds an enormous sculptural staircase that doglegs up and becomes a series of ramps to connect the three floors. It is an architectural delight with sophisticated accouterments and clever decorative elements.

The talented and masterful team of David Chipperfield Architects designed the 1,850-metre-square store for Valentino at the former Takashimaya Department Store at 693 Fifth Avenue.

“A design approach that privileges concreteness over shallowness,” said Chipperfield in a statement.

More than 100 fashionable guests mingled, shopped and had their books signed by both Valentino and Andre Leon Tally. I spied Carolina Herrera, Anne Hathaway, Prosper and Martine Assouline, Fern Mallis, Andre Leon Talley, Carlos Souza, Pola Thomson, Giancarlo Giammetti and Vyna St. Phard. Tray pass champagne and white wine were served along with delicious (and beautiful) macaroons. Thank you Mr. Valentino and Assouline Publishing – your swank, sophisticated party was a well orchestrated event.

#David Chipperfield# Maria Grazia Chiuri # Pierpaolo Piccioli#Gotham#vogue #hamish bowles#@bfa_nyc