La Dolce Vita: The San Francisco Fall Show Gala
Krista Coupar with Kendall Wilkinson
La Dolce Vita was in full force at the Opening Night Gala of The San Francisco Fall Show last October 11, 2023. COUPAR and 1,700 guests attended the Fort Mason Center Festival Pavilion event in support of Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. The annual affair, chaired by designer Suzanne Tucker of Tucker & Marks, is the West Coast's leading international art, antiques, and design fair, showcasing over 40 top dealers from North America and beyond. Four Designer Vignettes set the show's tone at the Grand Entry Hall; de Gournay created Italian-themed wallcoverings for London-based designers Nina Campbell, Paolo Moschino, and Philip Vergeylen, and America's Lauren Santo Domingo and Benjamin Dhong.
Suzanna Allen with Kendra Boutell
After the collectors and connoisseurs posed for Drew Altizer's cameras, sipped champagne and wine, and enjoyed McCall's caviar and lamb chops, they feasted on an extraordinary array of fine and decorative arts from antiquity to contemporary. Philip Stites traveled from Los Angeles and brought his rare museum-quality antiques and decorative art juxtaposed with 20th-century objects. Montréal's Milord Antiques displayed fine 18th, 19th, and 20th-century furniture and works of art ranging from classical pieces to unique and eclectic collectors' items and modernist designs. Closer to home, San Francisco's Epoca mingled antiques with 20th-century classics in its booth.
COUPAR’S Roshie Larijani, Paige Bellante, Krista Coupar, Teresa Kintz and Julia Marani in the Author’s Alcove
Moving towards the end of the former pier shed, partygoers found the Authors’ Alcove, sponsored by COUPAR. It hosted 13 book signings during the four-day show, with 8,000+ attendees. Among the highlights, guests met author, editor, and design consultant Newell Turner, who moderated the Crafting an American Identity: Mexico and California’s Shared Design Legacy in the Decorative Arts, from Mission to Modernism panel. His panelists were Diane Dorrans Saeks, Scott Powell, and Suzanne Tucker. Afterward, he signed his book, Mexico: A Journey Through Design, in the Authors’ Alcove. His panelists joined him, each with volumes of their own.