Vive la Fete! Inside a Grand and Glamorous Gala Hosted by The American Friends of Versailles

While the summer’s haute couture shows are still a month away, Monday night in Paris proved to be something of a warm-up. The ultimate expression of luxury and craft was on full display at the Sun King’s palace as a swirl of 280 guests turned out in black tie finery and high jewelry for an exceptional gala hosted by The American Friends of Versailles.

Titled Legacy of Light, the benefit was the culmination of a four-day itinerary of programing, private tours, and parties across storied destinations whose doors rarely open to the casual visitor; from the salons of the Quai d’Orsay and the Hôtel de Talleyrand to the Chateau de Champlâtreux.

David and Sybil Yurman, the event’s grand patrons, mingled in the Salon d’Hercule with France’s Minister of Culture, Catherine Pégard, and guests including Prince Charles and Princess Camilla de Bourbon des Deux-Siciles, Diana Widmaier Picasso, Sandrine de Montmort, Marie de Noailles, ballet star Hugo Marchand, Emmanuel Perrotin, Cameron Silver, and Peter Brant Jr.

The distinguished honorary chair, Becca Cason Thrash, explained that she chose to mark the occasion—a celebration of America’s 250^th anniversary and the alliance with France that made independence possible–with a sartorial gesture that also bridged past and present. “I’m very happy to say I amortize my haute couture,” she quipped, noting that she had worn her Galliano-era Dior tulle couture blouse to Versailles 25 years ago. Back then, she’d gone with a full skirt; this time around, she paired it with a floor-length pink ‘smoking’ skirt by Alexis Mabille. “I bought the Dior for Versailles, and I still don’t have anything as grand for this setting but this time around I wanted to keep the look simple,” she offered.

Meanwhile, Alicia Bryan, the president of The American Friends of Versailles, opted for Oscar de la Renta, which she accessorized with her grandmother’s jewels. “We’re definitely reinvigorating things,” she said, describing her mission. Bryan also explained how the association is like an ever-growing family, thanks to a new generation of benefactors aged under-40, including Marissa Everhart (in custom Balmain by Antonin Tron), Shannon Ralston (in Valentino, including an ostrich feather headpiece), Gillian Sarofim, Saskia Connery, and newly-weds John Goodman and Walt Fortney (in custom The Row).

“I’m here for the kick-ass couture,” cracked Cameron Silver, a fashion personality and vintage curator who made a point of stopping in Paris on his way to a sourcing trip in Milan. “But seriously, if your parents raised you well, [then] you understand philanthropy. You don’t have to be a billionaire–having a sense of generosity and social and cultural responsibility is part of what keeps the world spinning.”

Thrash, a formidable fundraiser, has managed to pull off some remarkable feats for an American in Paris—she has managed to privatize the Louvre for benefits not once but four times, after all. Of the more than $135 million she has raised thus far in her career, about a third was done so in France. At Versailles, she joined forces with Bryan and renowned wedding planner Lucas Somoza, who acted as the gala’s artistic director, to orchestrate an evening studded with rare privileges, like a chance to stroll solo through the Royal Apartments, take in the freshly-restored Charles Le Brun-painted ceiling in the Salon de Diane undisturbed, and sip Champagne—or cocktails—in the Hall of Mirrors.