Donald Trump was just sworn in as president — and I know this is news to absolutely no one, but it lingered in my mind after dancing all night in San Francisco City Hall. With Jelly Bellies stuffed in my purse and flashing lights blinding me at the DJ booth, national politics and all the stress of the world felt very far away indeed.
It was the SF Ballet’s opening night gala, my favorite annual mashup of high society meets art, celebrity sightings and stunning frocks. The vibe felt a little subdued from last year, but that was obviously in part from local aficionados making Sophie’s Choice on attending this party or the FOG Design + Art opening gala. I will always choose ballet, but it gave sort of a frivolous scandal to gossip about in between canapés and cocktails.
Skewer me for not knowing Ayesha Curry, but she did well at raising the profile of the ballet’s 92nd gala, serving as the night’s honorary chair. I love seeing the glamorous Artistic Director Tamara Rojo in everything she wears and does, but Curry had the choice words of the night while standing in a glittery semi-sheer strapless gown with a horizontal neckline.
“These dancers are top of the top of the top athletes,” Curry said during opening remarks. “What they do with their bodies is unmatched.”
And boy, howdy — did they ever do the thing. I know it’s faux pas to objectify people, but I found a muscled Harrison James very distracting in a pas de deux from Christopher Wheeldon’s “After the Rain.” (Honestly I think Zac Posen must have felt a similar sensation, since that’s the ballet he chose to design some looks for this season. Not that they wore much at all Wednesday night.)
Everyone applauded for the spins the men did during the finale, but for me it was this statuesque pose by James and WanTing Zhao that made me want to stand and clap.
Listen if you’re one of my dozens of readers, you’ll recall I entered this world a few years ago armed only with the knowledge from Center Stage and Black Swan. I’ve now added Tiny Pretty Things and Find Me in Paris, the latter being a weird Hulu series about a Russian princess ballerina who time travels from 1905 to 2018.
I still know basically nothing about ballet, but four years of galas and many performances later, I’ve come to appreciate the contemporary more than the classic repertoire. Alongside “After The Rain,” I loved this boppy number from McGregor’s Chroma — with music by the White Stripes that Nikisha Fogo put her bootie into.
Sometimes you get tacky prom after parties — but never at SF Ballet. City Hall’s main foyer feels like the set of a high-budget Broadway play, bathed in Vegas lights, with a staircase so grand that it screamed for Cher or Dolly Parton to make an entrance. McCalls showered us in food and drink as far as the eyes could see — from dim sum to cold cuts to candy. I don’t know why the candy station excited me so much this year but it did.
Every year this party changes in step with our local community and the world. I stepped into this party just out of the pandemic and am reminded how meaningful that felt; the conversations all came from people fascinated to meet the man in a dress — me. But also the general desire to connect felt so strong because so many of us couldn’t in the two years before.
Now in 2025, everyone approaches me like we are old friends: “I have this photo with you from 2022!” I look around and feel the party has changed, maybe quieter than last year, but I think actually it’s me. The throngs of glittering revelers feel more familiar than intimidating now, and I have in turn become a bit more distant — acting like Princess Grace of Monaco and thanking everyone ad nauseam for enjoying my self-made gown.
Of course the fashion never disappoints me. Town & Country noted high-society mainstays Mary Beth Shimmon and Pam Preston in Schiaparelli and Vera Wang, respectively, and well-deserved. I was of course more into DIY homebrews and colorful choices like:
Christian Squires
I’m clocking that gold lycra from the recently-closed Fabric Outlet — RIP. I can’t say this is my aesthetic, but I consider Christian the most boundary pushing at the SF Ballet gala, in the best way, and an inspiration for me to attend in the first place.
Edicar Atukwase
I saw this one walk past and thought wow, I want that look. Events like these you’re always trying to boundary push without being vulgar, and even with all the skin Edicar is showing, this design just really got there for me. We met each other alongside another designer, and all of us freaked out over our collective hustle to make things.
Vinney Lê
Draped emerald realness with a snatched waist and Schiaparelli accessories. The camera loves Vinney way more than me, enough to make it in Vogue last year — I’ll never forgive you for upstaging me Vinney. Always such an inspiration, including this 2025 look that’s perfectly done.
Becca Lim
I loved this flowy ombre tulle number from Becca Lim, who told me, “It’s just a Carolina Herrera.” Excuse me, just a Carolina Herrera? It could have been a humblebrag, but she sounded so sincere for a dress I’ve seen priced between $3,200 and $18,000. Something about Ms. Herrera is so generic pretty in the fashion world that I think people don’t like saying the name. But to me there’s nothing wrong with a beautiful gown for the sake of it — and this one’s gorgeous.
Rada Katz
Listen this person screamed for attention all night, standing and posing all over the street, and then walking up and down seating aisles at the War Memorial Opera House to make sure everyone got a glimpse of her. In what I took as an obvious signal toward MAGA realness, Rada Katz wore a hat that said “Braincoin. Make Crypto Great Again.” And of course I want to hate this for all the obvious reasons that Trumpers in San Francisco come off as insane.
But I’m also someone who views society events as the place to boundary push. So you know what, Rada — you do you. I applaud you for flaunting a message in a place that definitely won’t give it a warm welcome. I understand the impulse to do that all too well.
As the night came to a close, a woman approached me and said she loved my dress but also that she needed new silhouettes from me — lol.
It dawned on me later that her expectations of me are much like mine for SF Ballet’s gala. For something that’s so amazing every year, I want it to somehow outdo itself the next time I attend. But the truth is this party is already doing the absolute most. I had an amazing time and cannot wait to see what SF Ballet brings me in 2025 and beyond — from parties to performances, it’s always exciting.
Saul Sugarman is editor in chief of The Bold Italic.
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