{"id":8841,"date":"2025-10-17T01:10:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T01:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/8841\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T01:10:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T01:10:15","slug":"antiques-were-on-display-at-the-fall-show-gala-but-the-real-draw-was-the-outfits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/8841\/","title":{"rendered":"Antiques were on display at the Fall Show gala \u2013 but the real draw was the outfits"},"content":{"rendered":"

Inside the deceptively austere Fort Mason Festival Pavillion on Wednesday, a colorful scene unfolded: Men and women in patterned silks, leopard print, and intricate headdresses swapped gossip and guzzled caviar, surrounded by millions of dollars in ancient antiques.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This was San Francisco\u2019s annual Fall Show (opens in new tab)<\/a>, which showcases antique art and other design elements from around the world \u2014 and where the only thing more eye-catching than the wares were the outfits.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Fall Show (affectionately shortened from the ungainly San Francisco Fall Antiques Show), is a 43-year tradition that brings more than 40 international exhibitors to the city for a five-day extravaganza. It traditionally kicks off with a gala hosted by city society\u2019s biggest names, from designer Stanlee Gatti to socialite maven Dede Wilsey. Each year has a theme to which guests try to tailor their outfits \u2014 think the Met Gala, but with fewer meat dresses and far fewer A-listers.<\/p>\n

Ken Fulk, a cochair of the Fall Show\u2019s design council, described the event as a \u201csmorgasbord\u201d \u2014 a collision of modernity and antiquity, of old money and new.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s sort of all over, and that\u2019s the cool thing about San Francisco,\u201d he said, sporting a Thom Browne suit printed with idyllic nature scenes (opens in new tab)<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s not divided. The beauty of it is when it mashes up \u2014 and that\u2019s what happens here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AThe hats were some of the most exciting fashion on display at the event. | Source: Devlin Shand for Drew Altizer Photography<\/p>\n

It certainly was a mash-up. Where else could you purchase a $200,000 samurai suit from the 1840s, two vintage Italian glazed ceramic monkeys, and a surfboard emblazoned with a naked woman\u2019s backside all in the same room? (Fulk told The Standard he purchased two chairs from King George\u2019s coronation, which he described as \u201calmost like folding chairs.\u201d)<\/p>\n

The gala theme this year was \u201cParadise Found,\u201d and guests were invited to embrace \u201cthe tropical, the exotic, and the vibrantly colorful\u201d \u2014 a hard pivot from last year\u2019s \u201cBlack and White\u201d theme, which left some guests underwhelmed. A surprising number of people interpreted this theme to mean they should don jungle-themed headdresses, from Carmen Miranda-style tutti-frutti hats to a purple and orange mohawk made from fresh flowers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Notable attendees included Gap Executive Vice President Zac Posen, Architectural Digest Editor in Chief Amy Astley, and fashion icon Tommy Hilfiger and his wife Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger, who are honorary cochairs for the show.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ACindy Rinfret, Tommy Hilfiger and Dee Hilfiger. | Source: Drew Altizer<\/p>\n

Society regulars, including Trevor and Alexis Traina, Doug Goldman of the Haas family, and Gretchen Kimball also flitted among the crowd, drinking from the open bars and nibbling on snapper ceviche, grilled lamb chops, and something called \u201cpanna cotta shots.\u201d Samantha DuVall Bechtel, whose family owns the Marina dining institution Izzy\u2019s and serves on the young collectors\u2019 committee, brought in NoPa restaurant Che Fico as one of the drink stands.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Salewise, there were highs: a 1940s map of San Francisco bars and clubs, the space-age pianos from Piedmont Piano Company, and a large-format poster of the Sutro Baths.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And there were lows: a litany of culturally appropriative costumes, Finnegan Gallery\u2019s fake wood garden bench for $7,500, and whatever this is below.<\/p>\n

\"ASource: Sam Mondros | SF Standard\"FiveSarah Wendell Sherrill, Caroline Brinckerhoff, Cynthia Cook Smith, Lauren Harwell Godfrey and Samantha Bechtel. | Source: Drew Altizer<\/p>\n

Multiple attendees noted the effects of the Trump administration\u2019s tariffs on imports at this year\u2019s event, which usually attracts exhibitors from around the globe. While a few exhibitors made it in from Denmark, England, and Portugal, there were decidedly fewer African, Asian, and South American gallerists on display.<\/p>\n

The chaotic nature of the global economy did not dampen turnout, though. Guests packed the corridors of the venue, and a gaggle of chatty guests at the front made it almost impossible to enter. The show appeared more bustling even than January\u2019s FOG gala, the other major art show hosted yearly at Fort Mason.<\/p>\n

The Fall Show is more of an ode to San Francisco\u2019s antique collecting. In the past, a rule for the show set an age limit for the furniture: You couldn\u2019t show a piece younger than 100 years. That rule has changed as the fair has turned to attract younger audiences with more contemporary tastes \u2014 and for whom a table from the 1970s might seem quite vintage enough.<\/p>\n

\"ASuzanne Tucker and Andrew Fisher. | Source: Natalie Schrik for Drew Altizer Photography<\/p>\n

Sarah Wendell-Sherrill, who stepped down as senior vice president from Christie\u2019s San Francisco earlier this year after her husband, Stephen Sherrill, was appointed as District 2 supervisor, is on the young collectors\u2019 committee, or as she calls it, \u201cthe vibes committee.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe seek the youth,\u201d Wendell-Sherrill said. \u201cAntiques are an important part of the history of this fair, and you need to see [contemporary work] too. We make sure our generation is here and knows about it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

For the proletariat who are feeling Fall Show FOMO, don\u2019t fret. The fair will be around all weekend, featuring lectures by Hilfiger and other design icons and collectors. For just $55, you can see it in all its glory \u2014 sans the open bar and caviar carts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Inside the deceptively austere Fort Mason Festival Pavillion on Wednesday, a colorful scene unfolded: Men and women in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8842,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[1742,4263,2031,101,103,102,104,106,105,8612],"class_list":["post-8841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-fashion","tag-money","tag-parties","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news","tag-style-and-design"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}