What’s a Bohemian? Haute Bohemians Tackle a Tough Question

An expansive mansion on the Upper East Side was a hotbed of social cross-pollination and uncanny pairings Thursday night. Inside glossy wood-paneled rooms with ornately carved ceilings, young models fraternized with titled Europeans and Hollywood actors. It was the kind of scene where, upon sidling up to the bar during cocktails, one might overhear Peter Brant II proclaiming to the model Hanne Gaby Odiele, “I just can’t trust Australians anymore!” Or one might watch Michael Avedon, grandson of Richard, introduce himself to the identical twin creative hyphenates Cipriana and TK Quann before enquiring, “How did you two meet?”

“In the womb,” replied Cipriana with the most generous of smiles.

Witty banter aside, the occasion marked the debut of Sara Battaglia’s capsule handbag collection for Salvatore Ferragamo, and W, where her sister Giovanna is a contributing editor, and James Ferragamo were throwing her a party inspired by the “Haute Bohemians” portfolio in the May issue.

“On the weekend, I’m always bohemian. It’s how I work, music, barefoot sometimes…”

“I can be bohemian upon request,” offered Ferragamo, nodding to his leather bomber jacket and white button-down shirt as evidence. “How did I do?”

A few of the subjects from the portfolio and accompanying video shot by Emma Summerton were in attendance, among them the countess Debonnaire von Bismarck, model Emile di Robilant, artist Hope Atherton and Uberta Zambeletti, a designer and owner of the eccentric Wait and See boutique in Milan.

“Il ragazzo con i capelli biondi,” she nudged a friend glancing towards the musician and Hollywood progeny Gabriel-Kane Day-Lewis (for non-Italian speakers, that would be “the boy with the blond hair”). “He was so smart and fun.” Star Trek star Zachary Quinto was not in the portfolio but at least he had a good story from a recent trip to London.

“I cut my hand. I was defending an elderly woman who was being mugged on the street,” said the actor, waiting a beat. “I wish I was. I was opening a bottle of f–king water.”

As guests made their way across a gravelly courtyard to long, candlelit tables for dinner, musician Sophie Auster observed, “I don’t know if anyone who is bohemian can really categorize themselves as bohemian. It’s maybe an outside perspective of what people think you are. When you’re so within the thing that you’re living, you’re not really thinking about how it’s perceived from the outside world.”

Being a bohemian, it seems, is in the eyes of the beholder.

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