On the Scene: A royal dinner for Diane von Fürstenberg
Eleanor Kawananakoa, left, Liz Kawananakoa, Princess Dialta Alliata di Montereale, Diane von Fürstenberg, Wanda Watumull and Marion Philpotts-Miller. (Photo courtesy Princess Dialta Alliata di Montereale)
BY JOHN BERGER / jberger@staradvertiser.com
The view was superb and the service impeccable as Princess Dialta di Montereale and her husband, Prince Vittorio, hosted a seated dinner for celebrity designer Diane von Fürstenberg and her son, Prince Alex von Fürstenberg, on Monday, Nov. 21, at the Alliata residence overlooking central Honolulu.
The guest list included Quentin and Liz Kawananakoa, Eleanor Kawananakoa, Governor Neil Abercrombie and Nancie Caraway, Chris Lee, Jeff Miller and Marion Philpotts-Miller, and Rajan and Wanda Watumull. EuroCinema Hawaii board members Molly Watanabe and Patrick Gey, and Gey’s wife, Marissa, joined the group for dessert.
The table setting before dinner; note the geometric Moroccan table cloth with the green and rust napkins. (Photo courtesy of Princess Dialta Alliata di Montereale)
“I met Diane in New York in the ’70s, the days of Studio 54 and Regine,” Dialta recalled. “She always had a huge following of men and women of every age who adored her. She had just married my great friend (Prince) Egon von Fürstenberg, who had a joy of life and a rare sense of friendship.
“I had not seen Diane in too many years, maybe 30, and I was so happily surprised when she contacted me here in Honolulu to say she was going to launch her store here in Ala Moana, and of course (that she) was delighted to invite all of our EuroCinema friends (to the private pre-opening reception on Tuesday).”
Dialta wanted to do something “a little more intimate” to welcome von Fürstenberg to Hawai’i. A dinner at Villa Alliata with the city lights of Honolulu as the backdrop was the “something.” Mary Philpotts-Miller assisted in finding a festive geometric tablecloth large enough to cover the Alliatas’ formal dinner table, and then selected napkins to match — seven rust, seven green. Interior designer Jon Straub was to go-to guy for party favors; he recommended Ola Pono massage oil packaged with a wood lomi stick.
Diane von Fürstenberg, center, was welcomed by Governor Neil Abercrombie and Nancie Caraway. (Photo courtesy Princess Dialta Alliata di Montereale)
Chef/owner Alan Takasaki of Le Bistro was assisted by a staff of six in preparing and serving a special menu for the evening: Seared onaga curdo with paquillo pepper, pasta with gorgonzola cheese and black pepper, steamed onaga with vierge, and the chef’s millefeuille crust apple tart with whipped cream.
Dialta had selected a black and white etching of a male hula dancer, “not framed, so it would be easy to put inside her suitcase,” for von Fürstenberg as a memento of her Hawaii visit; von Fürstenberg gifted the dinner guests with copies of her autobiography, “Diane: A Signature Life,” and bottles of her signature perfume for the ladies.
She also reciprocated the Alliatas’ hospitality a day later with that private reception for more than 200 supporters of EuroCinema Hawaii at DVF Honolulu in Ala Moana Center and a donation of $10,000 to the group.
———
John Berger has been a mainstay in the local entertainment scene for nearly 40 years. Contact him via email at jberger@staradvertiser.com.
