Actress and multi-Grammy award-winning singer Bette Milder’s annual Hulaween party took place at the Waldorf Astoria hotel this year, with the theme “Halloween in the Big Easy”.
Midler – wearing a dress lavishly decorated with a lace umbrella in the spirit of New Orleans’ Second Line Parade – explained on the red carpet why she had chosen this topic: “The city is still bouncing back from Hurricane Sandy and what better way to celebrate our resilience by honoring another city that is crushed by a terrible hurricane – New Orleans.”
Michael Kors, the honored designer of the night, arrived accompanied by his husband Lance LePere in matching outfits similar to Midler’s. “Everyone always looks insane, they really go for it and I get to judge the costumes, which is always fun,” Kors remarked. He described his costume as “a little Louis Armstrong, St. Louis Blues Funeral moment”.
The designer added that he’s obsessed with the American Horror Story series and that if Jessica Lange was a man he has a feeling she’d be wearing this – “hopefully it’s not going Harland Sanders, but may be a touch,” he joked about his beard and moustache that so resembles the KFC founder’s.
Among the other guests of the night were Kate Pierson and Monica Colemans from The B52s – Kate wearing the look from the 1960s TV series I Dream of Geenie and Monica dressed as Joan of Arc. Stand-up comedian Judy Gold arrived as a prisoner, with actor Billy Crystal and Carole Radziwill from The Real Housewives of New York also in attendance.
The gala this year featured a live performance from Harry Connick Jr.
The New York Restoration Project was founded by Bette Midler in 1995, and is devoted to restoring, revitalising, and developing under-served parks, community gardens, and other open spaces in New York City.
The article was written for The Upcoming. Photos: Ken Arcara
