Daily Front Row

2010 March 10

The Webster Paradise

Comments | | Print

Joseph Altuzarra, Alexander Wang
View Gallery

(PARIS) After virtually monopolizing the Miami Art Basel scene with a series of successful cocktails, dinners, and parties, The Webster brought its A-Game to Paris for an intimate dinner to celebrate the faces that make the South Beach boutique so successful…and Louis XIII Rare Cask. Why the latter, you ask? “I grew up in a little place called Cognac, France,” explained one of the store’s founders, Laure Heriard Dubreuil, whose family runs the Remy Cointreau liquor company. “And it’s so hard to put something together in Paris. Everyone always is running around so we wanted to start somewhere!”

And it was a pleasant introduction indeed. Dubreuil, Frederic Dechnik, and Milan Vukmirovic welcomed in guests like Stefano Tonchi, Hal Rubenstein, Karla Otto, Victoria and Samantha Traina and others for a lavish reception at the Maison Baccarat. Good buddies Joseph Altuzarra and Alexander Wang took a tour of the Starck-designed space together and reminisced about their wild evening in Paris few nights prior. “We had this crazy flower fight at a party,” recalled Wang. “Only in Paris can you really have a fight with pretty petals!”  “Yes, and you accidentally hit me really hard on the head with a bouquet!” laughed Altuzarra.

The dinner consisted of delicious lobster in creamy sauce, veal with mashed potatoes, and a pumpkin-based dessert with chocolate macaroons. Dubreuil had her artist boyfriend, Aaron Young, by her side--whom she met at Basel more than a year ago. “I’m still working on my big project in Rome,” said mega artist Young. “This is nice little getaway.” Next came the meal’s finale: an exclusive tasting of the Louis XIII Rare Cask which was an experience in itself. “I have to be careful with this one,” joked Tokyo-based scarf designer Julien David. “The most important buyers are seeing me at 11:30 tomorrow morning!”
VALENTINE UHOVSKI