out and about
Added: May 30, 2008, 11:16 am	Share    Print    Email

You would have had to have been under a rock this weekend if you hadn't heard about 'The Great Wine Bust' in East Hampton this weekend. Law enforcement officers in East Hampton decided Memorial Day Weekend was the perfect time to crack down on offenders who had not secured permits to serve alcoholic beverages at their gallery and store openings. Seems the time honored tradition of wine and cheese bashes is illegal unless you have obtained a permit from Town Hall. Who-da thunk it? Since time immemorial, East End gallery openings have always been booze tinged affairs - sometimes the only way to get through a bad show by one of your friends is with a little spirits. But no one I spoke with ever thought a permit was necessary. You live and learn.

Sir Ivan Wilzig and Mei Sze at the Southampton Hospital Midsummer Gala in 2007.

On Sunday over on Jobs Lane, there was a spirited group in front of Stubbs & Wooten expressing outrage at the arrest of gallery owner Ruth Vered - whom all acknowledged is one tough babe. No one would want to mess with Vered, a former Israeli commando and a major art world doyenne. J. McLaughlin's Norman Aronofsky, Stubbs' Greg D'Elia, Miami PR guru Davis Granoff, and a bunch of pals were vehement in their defense of the long-time East Hampton art dealer.

When Southampton Village Mayor, Mark Epley, passed by they showed him the headlines of the tabloids with Vered being dragged in handcuffs to a police car. Mark's response, "That would never happen in our town." and followed it up with a welcoming "Bring the galleries over here". In today's papers, his sentiments were echoed by Southampton Police Sgt. Darren Gagnon who said his counterparts went way overboard when they hauled off Vered. "It's like serving alcohol in your own house - no big deal. I can't believe they did that - it's crazy", he said. That brought a sigh of relief to gallery owners and shopkeepers that could be heard in Montauk.

Throughout the weekend, there were a host of lovely openings serving champagne, wine and cocktails. Uber designer Nancy Corzine opened her new luxe home furnishings store on Main Street in Southampton to an elegant crowd who sipped fab wines with nary an incident. Ditto Stefan Keszler and his guests, who enjoyed some spirits at his eponymous gallery showing the works of controversial artist Banksy.

Not a policeman in sight. Nuff said!

In Bridgehampton new on the scene gallery owner Gideon Stein laid it on for his fans in capital style. Gideon brought in the fabulous Mark Fahrer to serve up the noshes and bubbly to guests at his Main Street gallery which focuses on showing local artists in a salon like setting. Mark, who has catered memorable and waist line expanding affairs for the likes of Harry Winston Jewelers and other upper crust types did Gideon proud. Mark, who is clearly onto the Slow Food movement, shopped locally picking up 50 pounds of asparagus to serve and bushels of shrimp which he grilled behind the gallery. This, plus his own version of Long Island Ice Tea - green tea, cranberry essence and vodka had even the purists marveling. Clearly, well-fed customers translate into happy buyers. A lucky group of glamorati trotted off to a private after-show dinner of grilled leg of lamb which Mark personally cooked and served.

Art dealer Pamela Willoughby has returned to her culinary roots by popular demand. Long familiar to gallery goers from her stints at Mark Borghi Fine Arts, The Chrysalis Gallery, and The Deitch Project, Pamela, a veteran chef at four-star spots, packed up her knives and whisks and headed over to the Southampton manse of NYC & Co. head George Fertitta who was entertaining a group of big money types. As a Madison Avenue power house, George has helped sell a lot of pricey Belgian chocolates and French cognac to New Yorkers. Now he has to sell New York to Belgians, Frenchmen, and others who may consider the city too costly, too dangerous, or too American to visit. He is spearheading Mayor Bloomberg's campaign to lure 50 million visitors a year to the city by 2015.

Speaking of Bloomberg, he'll have some company this Sunday at the annual Israel Day Parade which celebrates Israel's 60th anniversary this year. As Grand Marshall he'll be accompanied by talk show host Larry King and our very own knight in shining armor, Water Mill's Sir Ivan Wilzig who was asked to be Honorary Grand Marshall. Although his late father Siggi B. Wilzig, an Auschwitz survivor and legendary banker, bought over $100 million dollars worth of Israel Bonds in his lifetime and received the Prime Minister's Medal for supporting the State of Israel, it was Ivan's hysterical over-the-top performance as Mr. Mitzvah, the world's first Jewish superhero, that inspired the Israel Independence Day Parade organizers to pick "Sir Ivan" to join them at the head of the parade this coming Sunday.

According to IMDB, the television industry's internet measurement guide of popularity, "Sir Ivan" was by far the most popular contestant on the Sci-Fi Channel's hit reality show "Who Wants To Be A Superhero?" produced by comic book superhero creative genius Stan Lee. The Mr. Mitzvah character stood out from the pack and was particularly unusual because "Sir Ivan" looked like the bleach-blonde rock star Billy Idol but sounded like the Broadway comedian Jackie Mason. Reached at his Water Mill castle - famed as the sight of over-the-top parties, Sir Ivan joked, "Guess that makes me the third most famous Jew in New York". Move over Woody Allen!

More TV notes, Alec Baldwin and the producers of "30 Rock" haven't yet agreed to keep him on the NBC hit past the middle of next season. That's what I hear and can't believe. What's going on with the brass at NBC?

Sean Avery and Vera Wang at the FIFI Awards.

Congratulations to author and radio host Steven Gaines who launched the fifth season of his "Sunday Brunch Live from the American Hotel" in Sag Harbor this weekend with "Sesame Street" creator Joan Ganz Cooney and Prudential Douglas Elliman CEO Dottie Herman. His popular broadcast is heard each week on our fave station, WLIU.

Peter Brant and wife Stephanie Seymour had much to celebrate as they dined with mega realtor and major art collector Aby Rosen and the stunning Samantha Boardman. Peter de-accessioned $100 million worth of contemporary art - Princes, Warhols, Basquiats, etc. - at last week's Sotheby's auctions. As I mentioned, no financial problems in the Brant household, he's simply expanding his very successful newsprint business even further.

Southampton's Vera Wang celebrated big time too this week. The designer was honored with a Hall of Fame award from the Fragrance Foundation, presented by New York Ranger Sean Avery, believe it or not, a current Vogue intern, where Wang was once a fashion editor. Did Avery think hockey or fashion was more vicious? "That's an interesting question," laughed Avery. "I would definitely say hockey. I think fashion is certainly tough and competitive, but it's definitely not as physically dangerous as hockey." A highly paid sports star, Avery, a self-confessed fashion buff, asked to do an internship at Vogue to learn more about the industry and was paid the same stipend as a recent grad! For the record, please know that "Daisy" by Marc Jacobs, a Coty Prestige fragrance, won Fragrance of the Year in the women's luxury category.

Marks & Spencer, the British retail stalwart better known for its sensible underwear than hip fashion, is banking on a little New York sass to spice up its women's fashion offering. M&S has signed Patricia Field, the stylist behind "Sex and the City," "Ugly Betty" and "The Devil Wears Prada" to design a one-off range of clothing and accessories for its stores. Kate Bostock, M&S executive director of clothing, said that the company had secured the exclusive rights to the collection in both Britain and its international markets.

M&S has been working hard to update its image in recent years, revamping stores, launching new stylish clothing lines and employing stars like Antonio Banderas in advertising campaigns to compete with rivals seen to have fresher collections. The Patricia Field collection, consisting of some 35 clothing and accessories pieces, will be available in 10 M&S stores and on-line from mid-October for all you Carrie and Samantha freaks!

Photos by PatrickMcMullan.com