This First Look Brings All the Dallas’ Social Stars Out, Sets an Arty Tone

It’s one of the parties I look forward to all year — TWO x TWO’s for AIDS and Art’s First Look, which sets the tone for the megawatt TWO x TWO Gala that followed three days later — both of which benefit amfAR and the Dallas Museum of Art.

The whole shebang is somewhat akin to the first dance of the school year. Homecoming, if you will.

At First Look, the city’s top social set reconvene after summer adventures, dressed to the max in their finest dancing and drinking attire. TWO x TWO hosts Cindy and Howard Rachofsky and Lisa and John Runyon and TWO x TWO director Melissa Ireland greeted the mix of local and global guests in the foyer of the stately Richard Meier-designed Rachofsky House.

For kicks, let’s imagine this as our dance’s (ultra-chic) high school gymnasium, for the sake of my stream of consciousness.

I was in a threesome that evening as my two dates were Zoe Bonnette and Doniphan Moore. Both looked beyond gorgeous and I was elated to have such arm candy.

Zoe wore a black Cushnie jumpsuit that fit like a second skin paired with a Dries Van Noten fur stole and vintage 1960s Dior necklace. She was giddy with excitement over her upcoming trip to Scotland. I told her to make sure she solved my lifelong question over what Scotsmen wore underneath their highland kilts.

Dashing Doniphan was also channeling second-skin fitting apparel in his Thom Browne suit. (Talk about the guns on that boy — who knew Thom Browne could fit such muscles.) The increasingly in-demand, uber-hot interior designer shared that his firm had picked up a sizable project in Houston’s River Oaks neighborhood, but he was oh-so professional and refused to share names (try as I might to keep prying him with drinks).

With any school dance, many were flitting about sharing secrets and news. Sisters Hannah and Hilary Fagadau were buzzing around the room with word of their gallery’s (Gallery 12.26, named for the date of their shared birthday) upcoming exhibition The Queen Esther Rodeo. The show is of artist, Cary Lebowitz (who often goes by the moniker Candyass), who’s self-effacing and quick-witted text-based art will surely take Dallas by surprise.

Park House bar proprietress, Deborah Scott, was also heard whispering about her members’ only club’s coup of having secured art world stars Gilbert & George to create an installation that had just been unveiled.

Art lies at the core of the annual event (which now takes place over 10 days and First Look is only one of the series of parties) that raises money for two organizations, side-by-side: the Dallas Museum of Art and amfAR (the American Federation of AIDS Research). Every year it’s wonderful seeing the assortment of international and local artists and gallerists.

This evening some of the glittering art world guests included Erin Cluley, Nic Nicosia, Barry Whistler and Allison V. Smith, Nancy Whitenack, Holly Johnson, Tommy Fitzpatrick, Cris Worley, Celia Eberle, Jason and Ree Willaford, Meredith Bayse, and Eduardo Secci.

Neiman’s CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonk and his husband Alvise Orsini were leading around Neiman’s new team member Lana Todorovich. Like that girl that’s moved to town (in her case from New York to Dallas) and started at her new school, she was lucky to have been taken under the wing of one of our most popular couples.

Finally, if our dance had an award for “most beautiful couple,” then the sashes and crowns would have been handed to Todd Fiscus and Ceron (who else but the chic hairstylist can pull off an over-the-top Gucci suit with flared pants?). The handsome duo looked as fabulous as ever, despite the fact have a 6-month-old baby girl at home that has kept them up many nights of late.

Some of the fashionable and artsy crowd spotted perusing the canvases and 3-D works included Tim Headington, Kristen Cole, Nasiba and Thomas Hartland-Mackie, Christen and Derek Wilson, Kaleta Blaffer Johnson, Nancy Rogers, Dallas Museum of Art director Agustín Arteaga and husband Carlos Gonzalez-Jaime , Jordan Jones, Nish DeGruiter, Jeny Bania, and Christopher and Kelley Bass.