Vanessa Noel’s dinner for Mayor Eric Adams was an intimate party at her East 64th Street townhouse. Among the first to arrive were the Mayor’s youngest brother, Bernard Adams, and his vivacious wife, Sharon. Cocktails were served in her new speakeasy and podcast bar located at the rear of her eponymous shoe boutique. Then fifteen friends moved upstairs to the second floor, in the foyer of Vanessa’s residence, where rare objects from The Noel Shoe Museum collection were displayed between two tables set with purple cloths, purple orchids in sterling mint julep cups, large silver candelabras and tiny votives. On display were Greta Garbo’s slippers, Turkish wood and mother of pearl bathing platforms, Sioux beaded leggings and moccasins (c. 1890), Chinese lotus shoes, Arlene Dahl‘s mary-janes, gold Versace sneakers donated by Danny Wegman, and a pair of the Mayor’s own dress shoes.
With Carolina Herrera on his left and the hostess on his right, his Honor dined on fresh white asparagus topped with apple blossoms and baby microgreens. Then Noel’s signature dish, a rustic capellini with caviar (the plant-loving Mayor accepted seconds). Dessert was vegan chocolate cake baked by Blaine Caravaggio.
Among the guests, Noel Shoe Museum board members Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia and Mike Dean plus Steven Lari, Anne Cutbill Lenane, Jonathan Marder, Chantalle Meyers, Phillip Reecer, Gabrielle Rolon, Zachery Story, and Ted Taylor.
The Noel Shoe Museum celebrates the creativity and imagination of footwear throughout history, showcasing superb collaborations in fashion, art, and the culture of footwear with an emphasis on design, designers, and the manufacturing of footwear. While seeking a permanent home for its collection, the Museum presents exhibitions and events including a series this coming summer in Nantucket.