La Fondazione NY’s 2014 Gala

Last night at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, champagne was served amongst the sets (Chuck Jones’s Looney Tunes production backgrounds) and the stars (Rudolph Valentino and Rita Hayworth, or at least their images onscreen). The occasion? La Fondazione NY’s 2014 Gala honoring Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce and director Baz Luhrmann a black-tie fete that celebrated Dolce & Gabbana‘s curation of the site’s upcoming Tirelli costume exhibition (scheduled to open June 2015), Luhrmann’s many cinematic contributions, and, as host Katie Couric was quick to note, “all things Italian.”

Jason Wu, who had turned up to support his friend and mentor, Excellence in Business award winner Gary Wassner, was the first to admit that the night was something special. “I’d do anything for him,” said the designer of Wassner between courses of homemade porcini lasagna and pistachio-crusted filet mignon.

“[But on a broader level,] I love film, I love art, I love beauty,” he said. Adding, “And it’s a good Monday. It’s better than going home to order takeout.” For many, the evening centered around a love of classic Italian cinema, bolstered by the chance to toast longtime friends. (The Sicilian delicacies and not-so-subtly opulent fruit- and flora-covered table settings being a clearly welcome bonus). “We live with the movies,” related Gabbana, as Giovanna Battaglia, Sofía Sanchez Barrenechea, Julian Schnabel, and a grinning Dolce looked (and cheered) on. “Our inspiration all the time is movies and we make our collection like a movie.”

Luhrmann, who took his seat next to his wife and creative partner, Catherine Martin, after trying his hand at the museum’s vintage arcade game compilation, was similarly direct in stating where his heart lies. “I’ve always had a profound connection to Italian cinema and particularly the neorealists you know?

Visconti, Fellini, De Sica,” said the auteur. “I was interested so much so that I sought out [Fellini’s] hair stylist [for Romeo + Juliet]. So you know, it’s that Italian craftsmanship in the golden period of cinema I’ve taken so much from it and what’s exciting is there’s a new age in Italian cinema that’s really burst to life recently. I’m mad about it.”