On Wednesday afternoon, the Central Park Conservancy Garden boasted blooms — and hats — of all varieties for the 44th annual Frederick Law Olmsted Awards Luncheon. Known colloquially as the “Hat Luncheon,” this year’s sold-out event, hosted by the Women’s Committee of the Central Park Conservancy, honored longtime park supporters Judy Hart Angelo and Janet Ross and raised a record amount of money for New York City’s “backyard.”
But first, back to the hats.
While florals reigned supreme, a few women used the opportunity to show their support for another New York institution — the Knicks — as the basketball team was heading into Game Two of the NBA finals. There were a few classic team caps (and one jersey) in the crowd, and one woman had tucked a print-out of the team logo the brim of her floral-accented hat: the best of both worlds.
At the hat luncheon, almost anything goes.
“I’m giving you Santa Fe and New Mexico,” remarked Bob Harper, one of the few men in the crowd, who was dressed in a Canadian tuxedo and flat-brimmed hat. “I’m giving you Western.”
With so many floral dresses and elaborate hats in the crowd, trying to track down a specific familiar face proved difficult as guests made their way through the wrought-iron Vanderbilt Gate and dispersed across the Conservancy Garden during cocktail hour. Michael Bloomberg, a longtime supporter of the luncheon, lingered on the entrance steps as he greeted Conservancy leadership. He attended sans hat this year, but donned an American and Ukrainian flag pin on his suit lapel.
Michael Bloomberg
Lexie Moreland/WWD
“It’s on backwards!” exclaimed milliner Steven Scott Kokin upon spotting Jean Shafiroff, who was descending the steps wearing one of his designs. Crisis was quickly averted before any photos were taken as the milliner reoriented his creation atop her head.
Kokin was a name repeated often throughout the event, as was esteemed Upper East Side milliner Suzanne, who was also in attendance.
“ Most of my hats are from Suzanne or Kokin — I already bought some more hats for summer from Kokin,” said women’s committee president Tracy Huff, who was wearing a Kokin hat for the lunch that perfectly matched her light blue Oscar de la Renta frock. “ He just got done doing Kentucky Derby. Today, he was like, ‘Tracy, I’m on my last leg.’ I’m like — ‘I understand. I understand.’”
The scene at the Central Park Hat Luncheon.
Lexie Moreland/WWD
“ The look started with the dress — Carolina Herrera,” said Sarah Wetenhall, co-owner of the Hedges Inn in East Hampton and Colony Hotel in Palm Beach. Her hat, which featured bumblebees and beige spirals evocative of a beehive, was designed by CH Millinery. “I sent him a picture of the dress — I wanted a natural element. I didn’t want it to all be color,” she added.
“ It’s always so funny — do you do the hat or the dress first? And this year I found the dress, and then I saw this whimsical feather hat. I just thought about it as being a bird flying free,” said Katherine Birch, a vice president for the Women’s Committee board, describing her look. “It’s so fun to look around the room and see everyone, and it’s such a nice day to be together,” she added. “ There’s apparently a mahjong group here. So there’s bams, dots, dragons. I’m just learning to play, enough that I can make it through a game, but don’t know it well enough that I’m like, ‘Oh, I know what that means.’”
“ This is our main fundraiser of the year. We brought in over $5 million, which is a record this year,” said conservancy president and CEO Betsy Smith, who had procured her hat from Suzanne on 61st Street the day before. “But really what it is, is all of these people supporting Central Park, which is taken care of by the conservancy. We’re dependent on philanthropy and all these generous people, and this is a way to have a great time, but also support something important. So it’s a definitely a win-win.”
Another win-win: the rain held out until the crowd was seated underneath the giant tent for lunch, and had mostly stopped by the time the event was over. On their way out of the event, every guest was handed a Central Park Conservancy umbrella — another luncheon tradition. So, really, the rain was just another opportunity for everyone to show their support. And keep their hats dry.
