Donatella Versace, surrounded by Trudie Styler, Eva Longoria, Kanye West and Jennifer Lopez at the Walk of Style in Beverly Hills, February 8, 2007. They’re having fun.
Totally off the hook. That’s the best way to describe last Thursday night’s blowout bash at a tented Beverly Hills City Hall for the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style? Award honoring Donatella Versace and her late brother Gianni Versace. The amount of beauty in the room was staggering: Cindy Crawford, Jennifer Lopez, Eva Longoria, Naomi Campbell, Penelope Cruz, Sharon Stone, Drew Barrymore, Mischa Barton, Amber Valetta, Demi Moore, Jada Pinkett Smith and Brooke Shields all decked out in plunging Versace gowns. After an Italian dinner buffet featuring hand-carved rack of lamb catered by Along Came Mary, Maya Rudolph (Donatella’s Saturday Night Live doppelganger) got the party started via videotape. Reclining on a couch in full Versace regalia and smoking a blue cigarette, she intoned in her best Donatella voice: “It’s a party! You can drink in here, but you can’t smoke, and if you do, get out!” Donatella laughed, ensconced between Elton John, Trudie Styler, J. Lo and Marc Anthony, Longoria, Kanye West, Barrymore, Prince and Cruz, on white embossed leather Versace couches.
Sharon Stone auctioned off the new Versace Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 Roadster to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation, promising that the winner’s girlfriend “would fuck him before they even got out of the driveway.” It went for a cool half mil.
Sir Elton took the stage to accept the award on behalf of the late Gianni Versace. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of Gianni. He was not only a great friend, but family, and I dearly miss him,” John said. He told a story about turning Versace on to Franck Mueller watches when they first came out, and how Gianni proceeded to buy 17 of them in one day. He quoted Gianni as saying to him, “Bitch, you ruined my life,” as a result. He also reminisced about how Versace once tried to convince him to buy a $1 million tablecloth that took nuns 17 years to make.
Then Elton moved to the piano and performed three songs he said were specifically requested for the occasion. “Your Song,” “Rocket Man,” and “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.” During the spirited performance, Kanye West displayed some ADD by repeatedly checking his BlackBerry. Maybe texting someone that he was there was more important than being there? Then, Axl Rose & Guns N’ Roses came out on stage, but within a few bars of their first of only two numbers, “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door,” the gum-chewing La Lopez and Anthony, with Longoria in tow, decided to make their exit. So much for recording artists’ respect for other artists. Rose proceeded to thoroughly rock the house with a rousing rendition of the monster hit “Sweet Child Of Mine.”
Prince, with Penelope Cruz at his side, rocked a pair of glitzy Versace sunglasses, never taking them off the whole night–apparently still recovering from his Super Bowl shadow show.
After the performance, other VIP guests milled about and schmoozed Donatella before saying goodnight. Staying long after the others to party past midnight were Rose and Quincy Jones, who was last seen pouring a bottle of Laurent Perrier champagne into flutes for his companions.
Here’s a toast: Axl Rose and Hillary Atkin at the Walk of Style
And there was champagne aplenty flowing the night before and loads of caviar-topped appetizers–at a pre-party/plaque unveiling at the newly redone Versace Boutique in Two Rodeo, sponsored by C Magazine.
An insanely gorgeous white leather and gold trim luggage set with matching handbag, heels, belt and jackets at the Versace boutique. Private jet-worthy only. The price: if you have to ask.
