House of Cards met the House of Dior at the Legion of Honor on Friday night when actress Kata Mara showed up at the Fine Arts Museums of SF's annual Mid-Winter Gala wearing a strapless tea length dress from the legendary couture house's fall 2013 haute couture collection.
"Holy shit, Kate Mara's here!" said one of her male fans, quickly managing to get his wife to photograph him with the [SPOILER!] former Cards' star, who graciously posed kissing him on the cheek.
A fundraiser for the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the 2015 Mid-Winter Gala was sponsored this year by Dior, and drew a fun group of fashionable young actresses who flew in for the event, joining the local tech entrepreneurs and philanthropists who have made the gala San Francisco's most glamorous annual event.
Mara wasn't the only Kate looking great in Dior — Kate Bosworth also attended, wearing a red and white sequined gown from Dior's Spring 2014 couture collection.
"There's something a little bit modern art about it. This is a good pairing for a musem," she said. She was joined with her filmmaker husband, Michael Polish. She had lived in San Francisco for a few years as a youngster. "It's a very friendly city, and I met my husband here, so it has a special significance for us."
Others wearing Dior included Suki Waterhouse, Alexandra Richards, Anne Vyalitsyna, as well as chairs Vanessa Getty and Kathryn Lasater, longtime Museum supporters such as Paula Carano, Christine Suppes, Mary Beth Shimmon, Stephanie Marver, Sonya Molodetskaya, Sobia Shaikh, Carolyn Chandler, Brenda Zarate, 7x7's Lauren Goodman and (in Dior Homme) interior designer Ken Fulk.
Co-chair Allison Speer wore a beautiful floral gown by Alexander Gn, while Alexis Traina brought Spanish flair to the evening in an Oscar de la Renta dress with lace bolero. New York designer Rubin Singer accompanied Sloan Barnett, who wore one of his exquisite custom made gowns. Actress Jordana Brewster wore slinky Vionnet, Kelcey Morton wore a romantic Monique L'hullier, and Minal Jethmal lit up the room with a rare Tom Ford dress made of mirror and plexiglass.
While partygoers wore the best of today's fashion, downstairs in the Museum's Rosekrans Galleries, the best of yesterday's fashion was on display as part of the current exhibit, "High Style: The Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection," which runs through July 19.
Photos: Drew Altizer
