A ‘Nautical Affair’ at the Corcoran had a crew of up and coming Washington socialites – so, did the event (and fashion) sink or swim?

By Michael Clements

Amir Afkhami, Hastie Kargar, Chris Boutlier. Photograph by Kyle Samperton

Stormy clouds didn’t deter the seafaring captains at this year’s 1869 Society Fall Fête, held at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Indeed, the sheer buzz leading up to the event was like a beacon of light leading the area’s fashionable up and coming movers and shakers safely to the shores of Ernest Flagg’s classic Beaux-Arts style building. The event is one of the highlights of, what we at Washington Life like to refer to as The Young & The Guest List (YGL) scene (the area’s under-40 social set). It lived up to the hype.

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Tina D'Souza, David Sutphen

Location: The W Hotel

Photos by Tony Powell

Style Profile: A soigné crowd celebrated the much-anticipated premiere of a documentary by R.J. Cutler that zeroes in on Vogue editor Anna Wintour as she and her impossibly hard-working staff put together the famed September 2007 issue, the largest in the magazine’s history. Of course, the screen style legends were nearly eclipsed by the evening’s very chic guests at the after-party hosted by the Gilt Group. Stylistas: Mary Barth, Lindsay Czarniak, Jessica Gibson, Omar Popal, and Ylan McClintock.

Click here for the full gallery of photos

Napoléon Bistro

Photos by Tony Powell

Omar Popal

THE EVENT: Omar Popal is smart, handsome, charming, a bit mischevious in good hearted way, and oh-so-discreet – just a few of the reasons why 300 of his best pals jammed Napoléon Bistro, his family’s Adams-Morgan eatery, to drink, dine, and dance in honor of the actor/model/restaurateur’s 30th. THE SCENE: The birthday boy watched good-naturedly as a lifetime’s worth of often embarrassing but always wittily encaptioned photos were put together and projected by big brother Mustafa Popal and sister Fatima Popal. Later, clan elders surrendered the premises to late-arriving scenesters who partied until closing in the lower level lounge/discothèque. THE GUESTS: Paul Wharton, Karim Chrobog, Routiza and Bita Vahhabaghai, Carolina Furukrona, Douglas Eldridge, Erwin Gomez, and Will Thomas.

Kate Marie Grinold, Adrian Loving, Lindsay Czarniak, Michael Dove, Dominique Dawes and Francis Hoang represent a few of the many successful locals on the list.

In a city filled with some of the nation’s most dynamic young people, the 250 individuals who comprise this year’s Young & The Guest List repeatedly stand out; as leaders, risk-takers, givers, connectors, and changemakers. Their achievements vary widely, but each was nominated, researched, and debated before being added to the list. What emerged from this process is a more accomplished group than ever before, and so for the first time, we’ve decided to include their professional titles alongside their names. The past three months have reminded us all how quickly the city’s young power players can change. But after four years, The Young & The Guest List is still the only place to find them all.

A

Miss Huma Abedin
Aide, Office of Secretary of State Hiliary Rodham Clinton

Mr. Marc Adelman
Principal, Adelmania Consulting

His Excellency the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates Yousef Al Otaiba

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Kelly Kavcsak and Kamari Wheeler

Location: The Corcoran Gallery of Art

WL SPONSORED – Photos By Kyle Samperton

THE PARTY: A night of glitz, glamour, and, of course, lots of art at the annual fête hosted by the gallery’s youthful 1869 Society. This year’s theme urged guests to Party with the Power Players while featuring an exclusive look at Richard Avedon’s “Portraits of Power” exhibit. Upstairs, guests admired his iconic photographs of statesmen and movie stars; downstairs they kept dancing ’till the very end, breaking it down to some classic tunes mixed by DJ Will Eastman.

THE PLAYERS: Omar Popal, Cameron and Kurt Rupprecht, Kristen Guiter, Trevor Young, Bridget Morris, Phillipa Hughes, Alexandra Alvarez, and Maggie Ford.

Click here to see the full photo gallery from this event.

WL’s highly anticipated list of those we consider are the future leaders of Washington.

Left to right: Michelle and Adrian Fenty, Kirsten Pollin, Joel Limmerick and Katie Rost, Philippe Cousteau, and Mae Haney Grennan and Michelle Haney Maddux.

Since its debut two years ago, the release of The Young & The Guest List annually creates quite a buzz. The issue sells out in three-days, we receive lengthy nomination letters and last year, several tried to crash our party. We become just as excited about this issue, because it seems this is the only time the spotlight is brightly shined on the under forty set whose formidable accomplishments including best-selling books, multi-million dollar companies, congressional seats and mayorships sometimes go without their deserved fanfare.

Each year, we sit down with a committee to compile a list of 150 members who significantly contribute to the vibrancy of city. More often their names are unknown: are sometimes overshadowed by their boss (these range from the President to financial heavyweight David Rubenstein), perhaps they rarely go out because their writing groundbreaking State policy on Africa or maybe they are helping to securing an election for their candidate. Make no doubt though, these are the future faces of Washington, who behind the scenes are an integral part of making this country work. Listees range from the president of the Corcoran 1869 Society to our very own Mayor and his wife, to award-winning filmmakers and authors. For the third time, we present The Young & The Guest List.

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