This month, we take you Behind The Scenes on the “Making of a LEGEND.” LEGEND. was a sponsor of the Fashion-4-Development Second Annual First Ladies’ Luncheon, in cooperation with the United Nations, where we snapped the artistry in the works backstage at The Pierre Hotel, New York City, above. Ten of the world’s legendary women, especially those working to empower other women through fashion and beauty, will receive the LEGEND. Photographs Experience.

Earlier in the month, we photographed F4D founder, Evie Evangelou, in our very-Renaissance feeling studio in Brooklyn, commanded by Artist-in-Residence, photographer, Joey Falsetta.

When the everyday can seem like a “production”…a LEGEND. experience is like being “Queen or King for a Day,” where clients can leave all their worries at the door, as a team of accomplished and artistic experts create their best to bring out the empowered LEGEND. in each person.

LEGENDs photographed this month included Evie and a yet-to-be-revealed up and coming pop-star in addition to magazine spreads and private clients. Evie is a legend in the philanthropic UN community, bringing fashion legends such as Franca Sozzani, Editor-In-Chief of Vogue Italia and Livia Firth to the global change-making community. Here is she is, in her exquisite blouse from Bangladesh and legendary glory! (hair by Mischa Gobie and make-up by Dana James)

We met so many legends, both old friends and new ones at the event! Shaking hands with Franca Sozzani was a golden moment, meeting Francesco Aureli and Jasmine Whitbread, the CEO of Save The Children, having a private moment with Livia Firth, the legendary Roberta Flack and model, Lily Cole…all in one day?!

Franca Sozzani, Evie Evangelou, Livia Firth

Inspiring speeches came from the lovely Toyin Ojora Saraki, the former first lady of Nigeria’s Kwara State, Madam Yoo (Ban) Soon-taek,wife of Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, whom we previously had the pleasure of meeting and Shirley Madhere of Beauty-4-Empowerment.

While we missed seeing all our friends there, however in the world did we miss seeing friends, LEGEND. Brand Ambassador Tracy Stern, Robert Verdi, Marvet Britto, Dr. Valerie Steele, Rachel Roy and Donna D’Cruz? It was packed, that’s how! We were happy to see so many friends, however, such as supermodel Pat Cleveland, Michele Gerber-Klein, Maggie Norris, Baldev Duggal, Ike Ude and many more.

Guests included Cherie Blair, Geena Davis, Naeem Khan, Vivienne Tam, Michelle Harper, Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos, Miguelina Gambaccini, Coralie Charriol, Jennifer Creel, Katie Couric, Minnie Mortimer, Carolina Zapf, Jackie Astier, Gillian Hearst Simonds, Rebecca Minkoff, Susan Shin, Tommy Hilfiger, Tory Burch, Barbara Winston, Martha Stewart, who wrote an “applauding” blog post and my, oh my, Alek Wek.

Our own invited guests included Justin MacInerney, Director of Luxury Brands at Saks Fifth Avenue; Fiona Fraser of Fraser Balgowan and Slow Luxury; Katarina Wong, Director of Community & Curatorial Engagement at Edelman, NY. Kristen Paladino, Joey Falsetta and Jade Dressler attended from LEGEND.

Now. About that pop-star? What becomes a LEGEND, now? Who is She? Stay Tuned!

Faberge party (Billy M.)

When we were children, we were obsessed with Faberge eggs. They represented the fanciest things in the world, and when our mother finally bought us a knockoff version of the Russian brand of the jewel-encrusted oeuvre (ours played Phantom of the Opera‘s “Music of the Night” when you opened it,) we were so thrilled we worshiped it until it accidentally broke it right before college.

So you can imagine our excitement as we wound our way up to Rockefeller Plaza’s rooftop–620 Loft & Garden– to celebrate the launch of the first Faberge flagship store on Madison Avenue.

The event was co-sponsored by the New York Botanical Gardens, which meant two things: beautiful outside decor (including ponds, peacocks, and topiary), and tons of socialites involved with the vogue committee. Guests included Olivia Palermo, Cristina Cuomo, Gillian Hearst Simonds, Whitney Fairchild, Nathalie Kaplan, Jennifer Creel, Natalie Leeds Leventhal, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Christian Leone, and Ashley Platt.

When we spoke to Katharina Flohr, the Creative & Managing Director and Faberge, she spoke of bringing back the “baroque opulence” of the Russian jewelery line.

Ms. Flohr asked if that might be a good name for a Faberge signature.

“It sounds kind of political,” we managed. “You know, Barack/baroque?”

Ms. Flohr paled. “I never even thought of that.” Uh-oh.

In honor of Faberge’s first American boutique, we tried to guess which New York social fixture would be best represented by the opulent jewelery.

"I’m the new kid on the block," said Ms. Simonds, who is a first-time co-chair for the Young Collectors gala on Jan. 29. "Kipton and Tatiana, who have been involved with the show longer, got me involved."

Naturally, the Daily Transom inquired whether Ms. Simonds, daughter of Patty Hearst older sister to Lydia, enjoys going antiquing.

"I actually moved recently and was looking for antique lighting fixtures–I like the random pieces that kind of add to the ambiance of the house–and I found some beautiful antique sconces," she replied. But Ms. Simonds’ favorite is a bed that was passed down from her great-grandfather, the press tycoon William Randolph Hearst.   

"It’s a really heavy dark wood, really ornately decorated and carved and it has this very high headboard and foot board made of solid wood," said Ms. Simonds. "He was the real antiquer. He collected everything from lamps to buildings, so…he did it better than anybody."

The Taharis, who said they enjoy going antiquing practically every weekend, are hosting the show for the first time this year. 

"We collect a lot of mid-century furniture so that’s really our passion. And art of course," said Ms. Tahari. "I think right now my favorite piece in our home is a picture by Robert Polidori. It’s of Marie Antoinette‘s dressing room from Versailles. It’s really amazing because there is this black and white tile flooring and the perspective of it makes the room seem much bigger. It’s a very simple room with one bed in it, but the colors are so vivid and so beautiful."

Meanwhile, Mr. Tahari declared that his favorite piece in their spacious Soho apartment is a Chinese stool he acquired from a gallery in Paris. 

"Mine is probably the empire armoire in my bedroom," said Mr. Cronkite, when we asked him the same question. "It’s from 1820. It’s very large, made of dark wood and has those large claw feet. I love antiquing. It’s something I don’t have a lot of time to do, but I love to go a little outside New York to do it. I got the armoire from a dealer in Connecticut. There are some amazing little towns in Connecticut and upstate New York where you can find some amazing pieces. And it’s also fun because it’s sort of like a treasure hunt."