The Tamesis
Eva Longoria, Sharon StonePhoto: Nisha Johnny
On a breezy midweek night in Los Angeles, Falconeri laid out the idea of a new kind of luxury. The Italian knitwear brand, founded in 2000 and beloved by cashmere lovers from Milan to Malibu, hosted an intimate dinner at the Getty Center to celebrate its signature Ultrafine Cashmere collection—the brand’s cornerstone of lightweight fabrics suitable for year-round use.
The backdrop for a private hilltop residence designed by Thomas Juul-Hansen is a thoughtful choice of travertine sourced from the same Italian quarry that supplies the Getty Center. Its clean, minimalist architecture is consistent with the brand’s own minimalist aesthetic, and the ocean views across from the infinity pool are uncompromised.
A stylish crowd including Eva Longoria, Leighton Meester, Matt Bomer, Sharon Stone and super photogenic couple Chace Crawford and Kelsey Merritt took to the patio to enjoy Negronis and Prosecco, many wearing soft and versatile pieces from the Four Seasons collection. Also in attendance were Hollywood stylists such as Maeve Reilly, Mariel Haenn, Elizabeth Stewart, Jordan Johnson and Petra Flannery.
On rooftop tables, rocks shaped like hunks of bread anchor a textured tablescape, and cashmere shawls are placed at each location—appropriate considering how quickly L.A. nights can get cooler. Dinner includes Sicilian yellowtail, balsamic brown butter Flood Pasta and strawberry panna cotta; each dish is more or less inspired by various stages of Falconeri’s production process and its seasonal palette. Longoria, Meester and Crawford ate their meals while reminiscing about their breakout roles on the cult show of yesteryear (gossip Girl and desperate housewives) While Matt Bomer heads to Budapest soon to begin filming his next project, he’s discussing in depth the best things to do in the city on his day off, with each guest providing their own little black book.
Group CEO Matteo Veronesi raised a toast as he tackled one of fashion’s most hotly debated issues head-on. “You might be wondering, what is luxury these days,” he asked. “In Italy, wherever you go, you are surrounded by beauty – piazzas, ancient traditions, churches. Luxury is also what you feel, what you wear. My father created Falconeri based on this philosophy: a conscious luxury, rooted in authentic materials and the best Made in Italy. Nothing more.”
As cars lined up to take attendees home, Sharon Stone concluded the evening by calling it the most beautiful dinner she’d ever attended in Los Angeles. As they left, guests tucked their cashmere shawls into straw beach totes — fitting, considering you always need one of those in Southern California. Or sometimes both.
