Design, Italian Style

On Wednesday, October 11, the San Francisco Fall Show raised the curtain on its 41styear with an opulent opening-night gala celebrating all things breathtaking and indulgent in support of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

A prelude to the four-day La Dolce Vita-themed event showcasing art, antiques, and design from over 40 international dealers at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture’s Festival Pavilion, the preview party is one of the West Coast’s most anticipated gatherings for collectors, connoisseurs, and aesthetes alike.

Joining Show Chair Suzanne Tucker was this year’s honorary chair, Lauren Santo Domingo, who brought her love of "the sweet life” to the Grand Entry Hall and one of the four designer vignettes bedecked with hand-painted and embroidered wallcoverings from de Gournay and select pieces borrowed from the show’s exhibitors. London-based designers Nina Campbell, Paolo Moschino, and Philip Vergeylen, and San Francisco’s Benjamin Dhong outfitted the remaining spaces with their own signature flair.

The ensuing multi-day program of panel discussions, book signings, and lectures offers attendees insight into some of the design world’s most creative minds such as Jean Liu, Alfredo Paredes, David Kleinberg, Bridgette Romanek, Caroline Hayward Brinckerhoff, Paul Vincent Weisman, Noz Nozawa, Michael Diaz-Griffith, and T&C’s own Stellene Volandes, who sat down with Santo Domingo for a conversation to uncover “The State of Good Taste: Who Decides Anyway?” And the exhibitors—including Justin Evershed-Martin, Gladwell & Patterson, Henry Saywell, Greg Pepin Silver, Steinitz Gallery, James Sansum Fine & Decorative Art, Halloran & Sons Antiques, C. Mariani Antiques, and Berggruen Gallery—always make it incredibly difficult for dedicated collectors to walk away empty handed.

Among those in attendance for the opening night soirée: Vanessa Getty, Adam Lippes, Alexis and Trevor Traina, Dede Wilsey, Hannah Cecil Gurney, Hadley Keller, Samantha DuVall Bechtel, Geoffrey De Sousa, Ken Fulk, Kendall Wilkinson, Yuri and Carl Pascarella, Mary Beth Shimmon, Katy Polsby, Brandi Hudson, Lisa Zabelle, Allison Speer, Thomas Campbell, Cynthia and John Gunn, Jonathan Rachman, John Berggruen, and Paul Pelosi.

Dede Wilsey and Suzanne Tucker

Noz Nozawa

Alexandra Murray, Lauren Santo Domingo, and Stellene Volandes

Jonathan Rachman and Hannah Cecil Gurney

Adam Lippes and Vanessa Getty

Marnie Hellman, Brandi Hudson, and Maria Toler

Caroline Price and Kendall Wilkinson

Sobia Shaikh

Samantha Bechtel and Sarah Wendell Sherrill

Linette Dai

Paolo Moschino and Philip Vergeylen

Trevor Traina and Alexis Traina

Ken Fulk and Kurt Wootton

Nina Campbell

John Berggruen and Paul Pelosi

You Might Also Like

• 12 Weekend Getaway Spas For Every Type of Occasion

• 13 Beauty Tools to Up Your At-Home Facial Game