Whole Lotta Lovely
Alberta Ferretti and Valentino Garavani were the guests of honor at shop-set soirées on Tuesday. Alex Kramer, Allison Sarofim, Ivanka Trump, Emilia Fanjul Pfeifler, and Eleanor Ylvisaker all donned Ferretti's feminine frocks for their hosting duties at Bergdorf Goodman. One block away at his eponymous boutique, Valentino and Giancarlo Giammetti mingled with Vogue's André Leon Talley, Anne Bass, and Carla Sozzani, who sipped Champagne and nibbled appetizers from haute eatery Daniel. Many of the cocktail's attendees moved on to the restaurant itself for a dinner thrown by the Venetian Heritage. Ferretti's faithful crew, meanwhile, regrouped at chef Geoffrey Zakarian's Country. Actress Patricia Clarkson, in town to promote her new movie The Dying Gaul, gushed about her love for all things Ferretti: "Men go crazy when I wear her stuff." On cue, the designer came over and returned the compliment: "She is… how do you say… enamorado." That's lovely, to you and me.

Close Encounter
Fresh from opening night at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival, Giorgio Armani-clad dance enthusiasts Glenn Close, Isabelle Huppert, Eugenia Silva, and Olivia Chantecaille gathered for a dinner hosted by the label at Skylight Studios. Though Armani himself was not present at the Wednesday affair (he received the Lifetime Achievement award from FGI last year), the crowd was upbeat after watching Brazilian troupe Grupo Corpo. "I performed at BAM very early in my career," said Close. "It's always had a special place in my heart. And I consider Mr. Armani a true friend, so to have the chance to be here as one of his representatives was a great joy."

Star Power
On Thursday night, the Fashion Group International hosted its annual Night of Stars gala at Cipriani. "It's a pity there aren't more cities having events like this," said Olivier Theyskens upon entering in a flash of bulbs. The Rochas designer received a Fashion and Design award from friend Bee Shaffer, who confessed beforehand, "I'm so nervous. I haven't given a speech since tenth grade." Emcee Simon Doonan of Barneys played up the ceremony's "romantics" theme by describing each of the honorees as a "past lover," complete with amusing fictitious anecdotes. Humanitarian Award winner Sandra Bullock continued the comedic note by thanking all the designers for "making my top half look bigger than my bottom half." And Meryl Streep, who presented the Superstar Award to Valentino, turned her speech into a witty poem that included the line "while I am from New Jersey, he thinks that's a fabric." Crowded by admirers at his after-party at the Double Seven, Valentino mused, "To be surrounded by so many friends and familiar faces I've known and worked with over the years reminds me how much I still love what I do."

Fright Night
The haute monde eschewed gowns for goblin masks on Saturday as Fendi's Karl Lagerfeld, Carla Fendi, and Silvia Venturini Fendi toasted the luxury-goods label's 80th anniversary with a no-expense-spared blowout. Wall Street's former Cunard Building was decorated in Roman palazzo style, and many revelers sported costumes that equaled the festive setting. Among them: Fendi worldwide CEO Michael Burke, as Julius Caesar; Zac Posen, as a roguish, top-hatted vampire; Proenza Schouler's Jack McCollough, as a nerd, and Lazaro Hernandez, as Charlie Chaplin; Julia Restoin, as a sexy cat; and Celerie Kemble, as what she termed a "tramp with black hair."

Farther uptown, social darling Allison Sarofim threw a party for hundreds in her West Village townhouse. Seventies-era photographs donated from her pal Patrick McMullan's archive contributed to the evening's Studio 54 vibe, as did the get-up of Valentino's Carlos de Souza. "It's Zorro mixed with George Hamilton," he explained. "I am very suntanned." Sarofim, not quite as bronze, but dressed as Cleopatra nonetheless, said, "I just want people to have fun. The police have already been here three times to complain about the noise."

—Sarah Cristobal