Collected | A One-of-a-Kind Design Auction at Christie’s

Clay McLachlan/Ten Speed PressA cake inspired by the visual aesthetic of Wayne Thiebaud featured in Caitlin Freeman’s cookbook “Modern Art Desserts.”
Caitlin Freeman, the pastry chef for Blue Bottle Coffee, has a new cookbook out inspired by the collection at San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art, where Blue Bottle has opened a cafe. Both the cafe and museum will be temporarily closed starting this month as part of a massive expansion project, but in the meantime you can enjoy the book’s 27 painterly confections, from a Warhol gelée to a Matisse parfait. To help guide less experienced bakers, Freeman includes names and definitions for the equipment (think microplanes, piping bags and thermocouples) involved in recreating her desserts, as well as the back story behind every creation. SFMOMA’s Janet Bishop provides the curator notes. There is, for example, the “Build Your Own Newman,” a construction of chocolate sables based on the Abstract Expressionist Barnett Newman’s sculpture “Zim Zum I.” For her part, Freeman was determined to photograph her cookie replica alongside the original art, in this case an eight-foot-tall steel structure in the museum’s sculpture garden. That necessitated perching a sheet pan over the roof of the museum and assembling the pastry in what Freeman describes as “hurricane-force winds while simultaneously holding lighting equipment.”
Caitlin Freeman talks about her new book and the cakes inspired by works at the museum in her video, below.Samir Hussein/French Select, via Getty ImagesOn May 21, the stars of Cannes flocked to Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the luxury jeweler de Grisogono. The soiree, “Seduction in Cannes,” was hosted by the de Grisogono founder Fawaz Gruosi, who seemed genuinely touched that the party had attracted so many revelers. “My first party was only 50 people,” Gruosi said during a rare quiet moment in the night’s proceedings, which included a fashion show, fireworks and a 500-person seated dinner. “It is an institution of the Cannes festival.”
Among the partygoers at this year’s event were Leonardo DiCaprio, Alessandra Ambrosio and Sharon Stone, the guest of honor, who wore a fantastic bracelet in the form of a hippopotamus and was herself celebrating 20 years at Cannes with amfAR, the nonprofit organization dedicated to AIDS research and H.I.V. prevention. T caught up with the “Basic Instinct” actress as she reflected on two decades of Cannes appearances.
How did you get involved with de Grisogono?
I’m an intelligent and aware human being, and I thought that these are the most fantasy-filled, wonderful creations. Also, they sponsor amfAR, whom I spend a lot of time with.
How do you choose your dresses?
I think of dressing for black tie like wearing jeans and a T-shirt. I don’t worry about too many undergarments or too many socks or hose or anything — just choose shoes that are pretty comfortable, a dress that doesn’t require too much else or too much work, and throw it on and go.
Do you remember your first time at Cannes?
I do. I brought “Total Recall” here when I was a kid. We had our first party here at the Eden-Roc. The Gypsy Kings played and the Rolling Stones came.
What was your first year with amfAR?
It was 19 years ago, and I was closing the festival with “The Quick and the Dead.” [AmfAR founding chair] Dr. Mathilde Krim asked to speak to me and said that Elizabeth Taylor couldn’t come, and she asked if I could fill in for her. I almost had a heart attack. This was at a time when no one but Elizabeth was brave enough to step out for any charity, let alone AIDS.
But you said yes.
I stepped in that night, and they asked me to stay on for three more years. And at the end of three years, I said I would sign on until there was a cure. We just had our first cure.
What makes Cannes so special to you?
I think all of the really big and important moments for me in my career happened here, both philanthropically and in my career as a star. When I came here with “Basic Instinct,” I had one car and one bodyguard and I got out of the car and 10,000 people started screaming my name. We had to move me out of the Carlton Hotel.
Isn’t there a room named after you there?
I suppose so. They brought me here to the du Cap, and it’s been a home away from home ever since.
How has the experience changed over the years for you?
When I started here with amfAR, I stood on a chair and auctioned off everything we had — a statue, Naomi Campbell’s navel ring, we even sold the salt and pepper shakers off the table. I think we made about $120,000. The year of my 50th birthday we made $10 million. I promised I would keep coming back here until the pediatric foundation was in swing and something had happened. In the meantime, I have been to Dubai, Milan, Brazil, all over the world, and we have taken amfAR to a global foundation and really changed the way people see AIDS. And hopefully before we’re through we’ll have a vaccine and a cure for both adults and children.

Italian frescoes and rococo architecture surround one of the bedrooms at the Aman Canal Grande in Venice.
The 25-room Aman Canal Grande opens this month in Venice’s San Polo neighborhood. You would be hard pressed to beat its setting, perched on the Grand Canal in the 16th-century Palazzo Papadopoli, an example of Venetian neo-Renaissance and rococo architecture at its finest. The new hotel preserves much of the palazzo’s original artwork, including frescoes by the 18th-century Italian artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (now decorating the Aman’s Italian and Thai restaurants). San Polo itself is one of Venice’s less chaotic, residential districts, with the Rialto Market and the Scuola Grande di San Rocco a few minutes away by foot. Guest rooms have silk walls, twinkling chandeliers and views of private gardens. The hotel’s garden terrace faces onto the Grand Canal, and from the roof, when clear weather permits, you can see past Venice’s chimney pots and terra cotta rooftops all the way to the Swiss Alps.

Black Beaded V-Neck Sheath Elastic Silk-Like Satin Prom Evening Dress

Lace Prom Dresses

Silhouette: Sheath/Column 
Neckline: V-neck 
Waist: Natural 
Hemline/Train: Floor Length 
Sleeve Length: Sleeveless 
Embellishments: Beading, Lace, Appliques, Sequins 
Fabric: Elastic Silk-like Satin 
Built-In Bra: Yes 
Fully Lined: Yes 
Shown Color: Black 
Body Shape: Hourglass, Inverted Triangle, Misses 
Occasion: Prom, Evening 
Season: Spring, Fall, Winter, Summer

Collected | A One-of-a-Kind Design Auction at Christie’s