The American Museum of Natural History kicked off gala season on Tuesday night with its annual Winter Dance. This year, animal-print lover
Roberto Cavalli
served as the event's honorary chairman, and he made sure his fabulous presence was felt. Socials like
Tinsley Mortimer,
Amanda Hearst,
and
Arden Wohl
vamped in his dresses. The jungle-themed tablecloths and bird-of-paradise centerpieces were his creations. And the spirit of choice was Cavalli Vodka. But how did the Italian designer fare as a host? "He's incredibly neurotic, and he hits on every pretty girl that walks by," joked his date,
Anne Hathaway.
"I'm just kiddinghe's lovely. He keeps telling me that I don't need his dresses to be sexy, which I happen to know is categorically untrue."
After dining in the flora- and fauna-festooned Hall of Biodiversity, guests made their way into the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life for dancing and dessert. The mostly uptown crowd was peppered with downtown scenestersa few of whom had mysteriously wound up on the host committee. "I don't know how I got involved," said
Dan Colen,
who spent most of the evening palling around with fellow bad-boy artist
Nate Lowman
and Lowman's rumored squeeze,
Mary-Kate Olsen.
"Somebody just asked if they could use my name, and I said sure. I didn't even know if it was a serious thing, honestly."