Of Bazaars and Baby Buggies

The beauty of the annual Watermill Center Benefit is that you can always expect the unexpected. Nudity, erotic sculptures, and a surprise appearance by Lady Gaga have been part of past years' programming. "Oh, my God, one woman over there is standing in a deep hole in the ground, wearing a costume and singing opera," Constance Jablonski , a first-timer at the party, told Style.com. "I just took off my heels to walk through the woods. It's art anyways, right? Part of the concept is to wear bare feet."



In fact, the official concept for this year's bash was "One Thousand Nights and One Night: Sleepless Nights of Sheherazade." The dress code? "Bazaar chic." Of his black-and-gold caftan, the Center's artistic director, Robert Wilson , said, "This was given to me as a gift by my friend Sheikha Paula Al-Sabah , the first lady of Kuwait [and the evening's honoree], just for tonight." After placing their final bids on silent auction items (which included front-row seats at the Fall 2015 Prada and Fendi runway shows) and taking in Wilson's portraits of Lady Gaga, which made their U.S. premiere at the event after their stint at the Louvre, guests made their way to the dinner. "The Lady Gaga work is one of the greatest pieces of art, ever," said Al-Sabah. "In fact, I own five of them in my collection because they are so stunning." By the end of the night, she had helped raise a record $2.2 million to support the Center's International Summer Program and year-round Artist Residency Program.



Over in Amagansett, at the home of Jessica and Jerry Seinfeld , Giorgio Armani underwrote a summer dinner for the charity Baby Buggy. The organization donates "gently used but totally usable" baby goods to families in need. Nacho Figueras , Kourtney Kardashian , and Kirna Zabête's Sarah Easley and Beth Buccini were among those who turned out. "I'm just glad the party is finally here. There was just so much prep in getting everything ready," Ms. Seinfeld said.



Lots of prep, indeed: Dinner was held under a massive white tent on her front lawn, not too far from Mr. Seinfeld's iconic baseball diamond. We asked if she had any secrets for playing hostess at an outdoor party. "Don't fear a flat. I retire my heels for the summer. I think a flat for evening in the summer is so chic, and my husband thinks it's the sexiest thing when I wear flats." Although Jerry was unable to make dinner due to a work engagement out of state, the comedian did manage to fly in post-dessert for the after-party deejayed by Atlanta de Cadenet Taylor . The dinner raised just shy of $300,000.

—Kristin Tice Studeman and Todd Plummer