A portrait booth manned by Craig McDean, floral decor by Thierry Boutemy, and cuisine from the impossible-to-book Paris restaurant Septime are among the intriguing elements of the Bal d'Été scheduled for Saturday at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris .
Credit Sofia Coppola, the fundraiser's artistic director, who said she approached the assignment as if she were directing a party scene in a movie. (Her formidable filmography includes "Priscilla," "The Virgin Suicides," "Lost in Translation," "The Bling Ring," "Somewhere," and "Marie Antoinette," for which Boutemy did the lush arrangements.)
“It’s a little more nerve-wracking that it’s a live event because I’m worried if the dessert comes out late or something. You can’t edit it,” Coppola said in an exclusive interview about the event, which will kick off Paris Couture Week.
But she approached it with a clear concept: "It's just my fantasy of what a summer ball would be."
“The idea is really to feel like summer by bringing the garden inside the space with the decor, and for it to feel formal and easy at the same time—joyful, too.”
When asked what she considers the most important ingredients in a successful celebration, she added: "For any party , just for people to feel comfortable, you know - great music, great food and wine, and beautiful flowers, and hopefully a relaxed atmosphere."
Her mood board includes images of Countess Jacqueline de Ribes, a legendary Parisian hostess of the '80s, standing next to enormous bouquets. Another reference is the lavish Proust costume ball of 1971, hosted by Guy and Marie-Hélène de Rothschild.
It sounded like a fun project, something I've never done before," Coppola explained. "And I'm happy to help the museum as a fan of French culture.
Indeed, the Arts Décoratifs holds a special place in her heart.
I love to visit that museum. It's such a beautiful space. And my husband's band Phoenix had set up a studio there during the pandemic," she said, referring to Thomas Mars, lead singer of the French pop group. "They gave them a space to record their last album. So I would go visit them, and it was just incredible to spend time in that museum.
I thought it's so cool that they support artists and music, and I would pass Napoleon's throne to get to the room where they were rehearsing. So I had great memories and when they asked me if I would want to be involved in the ball, I was happy.
L'Oréal board member Jean-Victor Meyers, who is president of the honorary committee for the gala, called Coppola a "natural choice" to curate the event given her "deep personal and professional connections with Paris and French cultural institutions."
“She understood right away what we wanted to do, and some of the references that shaped the event were already common to us,” he said, also lauding her “very refined taste, and cinematic sensibility.”
It made her the ideal person to capture the spirit of the evening, with elegance and authenticity.
In addition, Meyers and Coppola assembled an impressive list of famous Paris personalities, patrons, and artists for the honorary committee.
Meyers said Betty Catroux, Madison Cox, Athina Onassis, Paloma Picasso, Jordan Roth, Lauren Santo Domingo, Cindy Sherman, Mathilde Stern-Pointillart and Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch all shared their unique perspectives and personal experiences.
Unlike other fashion galas, where brands typically purchase a table and invite guests of their choosing, the Bal d'Été sold individual tickets, so the seating plan will be managed by the organizers.
This dovetails with Meyers' conviction that a successful ball "has to feel festive, and it has to be eclectic, bringing together people you don't usually see in the same place."
That encourages spontaneity and encounters," he explained. "So there will be a mix.
And the energy won't dissipate once the dessert plates have been cleared.
We have a second part of the evening that Sofia Coppola also developed featuring a surprise performance, then a deejay and an after-party space," Meyers revealed. "So this sense of progression and discovery will be key to making the end of the night unforgettable, too.
In one of his first interviews since being named president of Les Arts Décoratifs Lionel Sauvage said the Bal d'Été would help the museum meet its fundraising goals, as it relies on private donations for about a third of its annual budget of 14 million euros to 16 million euros.
It's about celebrating art, fashion and design," in addition to "celebrating the families that help the museum, over generations in some cases," he said. "We have a strong group of American donors who have been donors for generations, and we keep on adding new donors. It's a museum people are attached to.
We would expect the ball to get us to the upper end of our fundraising goals.
Proceeds from the black-tie affair—to be held in the soaring nave of the museum—should help the museum finance upcoming exhibitions, which will include "1925-2025: One Hundred Years of Art Deco," slated to open on Oct. 22.
While perhaps best known for its blockbuster fashion exhibitions dedicated to the likes of Thierry Mugler, Iris van Herpen, Louis Vuitton, Dries Van Noten, and Dior, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs also showcases its vast collections of furniture, tableware, textiles, jewelry, wallpaper, art and design objects, glass, toys, advertising, drawings, and photographs.
The museum boasts one of the largest decorative arts collections in the world, spanning approximately 1.5 million objects dating from the Middle Ages to the present day.
Last year it welcomed about 800,000 visitors, Sauvage said, noting that 56 percent of them are under the age of 26 and enter free of charge. "So it's a very, very young museum."
Currently, the museum is presenting several exhibitions at its main location in the Rohan and Marsan wings of the Louvre building, including “Paul Poiret: Fashion is a Celebration” and “Bamboo: From Pattern to Object.”
Oh, and if you wish to be surprised about Coppola’s outfit for the ball, stop reading. It’ll be a pale pink dress from Chanel’s haute couture studio. "It’s a dream," she said.
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