Artists and admirers streamed into New York's Splashlight Studios on Thursday night for the Whitney Museum Contemporaries' annual Art Party. Hosted by Zac Posen, Vogue's Meredith Melling Burke, and Rachel Feinstein, among others, the event raised $215,000 and featured a silent auction of works by Toland Grinnell, Jessica Craig-Martin, and Kristin Baker, who snagged the highest bid of $10,000. Lou Doillon, Emmy Rossum, and Julia Stiles—wearing a very of-the-moment tulip skirt by Alexander McQueen—numbered among the 950 put-together partygoers. Zackites dressed for the occasion included Bergdorf Goodman's Roopal Patel, as well as Lola Schnabel and Claire Danes. Asked about the soirée's cultural significance, Danes replied, "Art is good. Art is great." Nearby, her friend and fellow thespian Gaby Hoffmann gamely elaborated, "This is a benefit, so it's an elite group."

Meanwhile in Los Angeles, Diane von Furstenberg and Barry Diller hosted a CFDA cocktail party at their Coldwater Canyon home, and the West Coast coterie represented in full force. L.A. designers Trina Turk, Rami Kashou, Juicy Couture's Gela Taylor, and Jennifer Nicholson mingled with longtime CFDA members Luis Estevez and James Galanos. Local favorite Louis Verdad arrived with Lucy Liu, who sported one of his signature curve huggers. "I so don't know what's going on in the world of fashion," the actress said. "But I know what I like."

Despite the rainy weather, Christian Louboutin, Tara Subkoff, Ione Skye, Davis Factor, Decades owner Cameron Silver, Janice Dickinson, and blogatrix Arianna Huffington all turned up. "I have a secret crush on L.A.," confessed CFDA President Stan Herman, who hopes to increase the organization's presence out west. The hostess, for her part, is hard at work amping up her label's Left Coast visibility. Look for a DVF boutique to open on Melrose late this summer.

—Sarah Cristobal and Victoria Namkung