Capitol File - 2014 - Issue 1 - Spring by Niche Media Holdings, LLC

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F ront Runners Gifts from China, giant pandas Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing arrived in DC in 1972.

The Beary Best MORE THAN 40 YEARS AGO, WASHINGTONIANS STARTED A LOVE AFFAIR WITH DC’S CUTEST POWER COUPLE: GIANT PANDAS LING-LING AND HSING-HSING. BY KATE GIBBS

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JESSIE COHEN

he arrival, last August, of a bundle of joy via artificial insemination to a couple in Cleveland Park could easily have been mistaken for familiar news in northwest DC. But that baby—born five ounces and pink with white hair—was a giant panda, the second one born at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo to survive. Now on display, the little cub, as bouncy as a soccer ball, ushers in a new age of panda diplomacy, one that began at a dinner table in Beijing 42 years ago. During former President Richard M. Nixon’s groundbreaking trip to China in February 1972—the first by a US president since the republic had been established in 1949—his wife was subject to ceremonial outings, including a day at the Beijing Zoo. After enduring rounds of formal toasts, Pat Nixon expressed her appreciation for the rare bears to Zhou Enlai, then the premier of the People’s Republic of China. Pointing to a picture of a panda on a packet of cigarettes, Mrs. Nixon is rumored to have said, “Aren’t they cute?” The premier promised her a pair on the spot. That April, giant pandas Ling-Ling (a female) and Hsing-Hsing (a male) arrived in Washington. (The US reciprocated with a pair of musk oxen.) Dressed in an imperial red coat with a fur collar, Mrs. Nixon attended the dedication of the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda House on April 20, 1972, quipping that “pandamonium” was breaking out in the capital. Washingtonians and visitors went wild for the pair. (They had five cubs, though, sadly, none survived.) The National Zoo estimates that upward of 75 million visitors saw one or both animals during their captivity. They became a symbol for the city—even appearing on Metro cards—and lived at the National Zoo for about 20 years. CF

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Spring 2014 42 Searing Hot

Actor Teddy Sears enjoys his newfound fame but is a Maryland boy at heart.

6 Front Runners 18 From the Editor-in-Chief 20 From the Publisher 22 …Without Whom This Issue Would Not Have Been Possible 25 Invited 34 The List

People 39 Globetrotter-in-Chief Kathleen Matthews oversees public affairs at Marriott International as its latest DC hotel debuts this spring.

42 Searing Hot Making a name with his bold role on the new Masters of Sex, Teddy Sears maintains his hometown roots.

44 Makeup Maven Kari Ellen Winik officially launches her beauty line and reveals her new would-be wonder product.

46 A Family Affair For restaurateurs Fabio and Maria Trabocchi, their amore never wavers, even as they open their much-anticipated third eatery.

National Geographic Channels president Howard T. Owens is transforming its TV stations, one day at a time.

50 The Weight of Water On the eve of World Water Day on March 22, Sophia Sunwoo and Josh Braunstein discuss bringing clean water to Africa and Cameroon.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVEN SIMKO

48 A Wild Ride

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Spring 2014

59 The Venetian Experience Washingtonians dine in style at Rialto with authentic Italian dishes like braised lamb shank.

Culture The National Portrait Gallery tackles the American art of playing it cool—head on.

56 Screening Green The DC Environmental Film Festival focuses on sustainable DC—and spotlights internationally known experts and industry insiders.

Taste 59 The Venetian Experience The newly opened Rialto in Georgetown attracts the in-crowd with a taste of authentic—and delicious—Italian cuisine.

62 At Rose’s Luxury, Brilliant Dissonance A brand-new eatery brings a down-home aesthetic and creative fare to Capitol Hill.

64 Drink Pink Rosy cocktails commemorating the 2014 Cherry Blossom Festival are popping up all around town.

66 On Food and Fashion Fashion journalist Holly Thomas and digital style diva Makeda Saggau-Sackey chat about DC’s changing looks and their favorite places to dine.

Style 70 Locke Love Local jewelry powerhouse Elizabeth Locke introduces a spring collection inspired by her world travels.

72 Out of Sight! Georgetown’s Alex Brown debuts new spring styles of sustainable, chic eyewear.

74 Georgetown Prep DC native Read Wall celebrates Washington’s all-American style with his menswear label.

76 Alabaster Masterworks Transitioning from winter to spring is a snap for Washington women, thanks to the pure beauty of today’s fine white watches.

78 Optical Effects For Washingtonians seeking the latest breakthrough in advanced skincare, a new product takes a clever approach to antiaging.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GREG POWERS

54 Face the Nation

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Spring 2014 80 The Wright Stuff

After portraying varied roles in her career, actress Robin Wright is receiving well-deserved acclaim.

Features 80 The Wright Stuff From Princess Buttercup to Forrest Gump’s soul mate to DC power diva, Golden Globe winner Robin Wright talks about her 30-year career, her causes, her kids, and her recent engagement. By Elizabeth Thorp Photography by Andrew Eccles

86 The Car Connection Once-reserved luxury car owners are coming together socially—and the Washington industry is growing like never before. By Eugene L. Meyer Photography by Aaron Clamage

92 Bare Minimum Spring’s clean lines and minimalist silhouettes echo the timeless architecture and dynamism of the Washington skyline. Photography by Robert Ascroft

102 Political Parties DC-based ambassadors reveal their favorite meals and discuss the importance of sharing authentic foods from their native lands.

110 Family Ties Giving money away isn’t as easy as it sounds, particularly when different generations are involved. Here, philanthropists, advisers, and wealth managers tell how to minimize familial differences and make charitable gifting a smooth sail. By Suzanne McGee

Washed cotton canvas blazer, Altuzarra ($2,330). Barneys New York, 3040 M. St. 202-3505832; barneys.com. White silk strapless dress, Donna Karan ($2,295). Neiman Marcus, 5300 Wisconsin Ave., 202-966-9700; donnakaran.com. Pump, Casadei ($740). Neiman Marcus, SEE ABOVE ; casadei.com. Necklace, Wright’s own

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW ECCLES

By Laura Mullen Photography by Stephen Voss

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Spring 2014

118 A Rosy Outlook

Georgetown’s WilliamAddison house hits the market.

Haute Property 116 Happy House Chic 118 A Rosy Outlook

Outdoor living space is highly coveted in Washington; here, we reveal spring design trends and properties with lovely garden views.

Freely Speaking 120 High Times

The long-standing Height Act has its supporters—and detractors—but who really has the right point of view when it comes to its limits?

14 capitolfile-magazine.com

ON THE COVER: Robin Wright Photography by Andrew Eccles Styling by Emma Pritchard Set design by Adrian Crabbs Makeup bu Dean Flanigan Hair by Tricia Sawyer Manicure by Myrdith LeonMcCormack using Dior Vernis at Factory Downtown Washed cotton canvas blazer, Altuzarra ($2,330). Barneys New York, 3040 M. St. 202-350-5832; barneys.com. White silk strapless dress, Donna Karan ($2,295). Neiman Marcus, 5300 Wisconsin Ave., 202-966-9700; donnakaran.com. Necklace, Wright’s own

photography by kip dawkins/kelley proxmire of williams-addison

A Georgetown fashionista creates a stylish and graceful family abode.

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ELIZABETH THORP Editor-in-Chief Senior Editor LESLIE QUANDER WOOLRIDGE Senior Managing Editor DANINE ALATI Art Director TIFFANI BARTON Photo Editor REBECCA SAHN Entertainment and Bookings Editor JULIET IZON Associate Fashion Editor ALEXANDRIA GEISLER Copy Editor NICOLE LANCTOT Research Editor JUDY DEYOUNG

LOU DELONE Group Publisher Associate Publisher MEREDITH MERRILL Account Executives AMY DESILVA, CAROLYN LANDES Marketing Manager LAURA MULLEN Business Development Coordinator MARISA RANDALL

NICHE MEDIA HOLDINGS, LLC Senior Vice President and Editorial Director MANDI NORWOOD Creative Director NICOLE A. WOLFSON NADBOY Executive Fashion Director SAMANTHA YANKS

ART AND PHOTO Senior Art Director FRYDA LIDOR Associate Art Directors ANASTASIA TSIOUTAS CASALIGGI, ADRIANA GARCIA, JUAN PARRA, JESSICA SARRO Senior Designer JENNIFER LEDBURY Designers ELISSA ALSTER, GIL FONTIMAYOR Photo Director LISA ROSENTHAL BADER Photo Editors JODIE LOVE, SETH OLENICK, JENNIFER PAGAN Associate Photo Editor KATHERINE HAUSENBAUER-KOSTER Photo Producer KIMBERLY RIORDAN Senior Staff Photographer JEFFREY CRAWFORD Senior Digital Imaging Specialist JEFFREY SPITERY Digital Imaging Specialist JEREMY DEVERATURDA Digital Imaging Assistant HTET SAN

FASHION Senior Fashion Editor LAUREN FINNEY Fashion Editor FAYE POWER Fashion Assistants CONNOR CHILDERS, LISA FERRANDINO

COPY AND RESEARCH Manager, Copy and Research WENDIE PECHARSKY Copy Editors DAVID FAIRHURST, DALENE ROVENSTINE, JULIA STEINER Research Editors LESLIE ALEXANDER, MURAT OZTASKIN, AVA WILLIAMS

EDITORIAL OPERATIONS Director, Editorial Operations DEBORAH L. MARTIN Editorial Relations Manager MATTHEW STEWART Online Managing Editor CAITLIN ROHAN Online Editor APRIL WALLOGA Social Media and E-Newsletter Editor ANNA BEN YEHUDA Digital Media Developer MICHAEL KWAN Digital Media Specialist ANTHONY PEARSON Senior Managing Editors KEN RIVADENEIRA, JILL SIERACKI Managing Editors JENNIFER DEMERITT, KAREN ROSE, JOHN VILANOVA Associate Managing Editor/Beauty Coordinator KAITLIN CLARK Shelter and Design Editor SUE HOSTETLER Timepiece Editor ROBERTA NAAS

ADVERTISING SALES Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing NORMAN M. MILLER Account Directors SUSAN ABRAMS, MICHELE ADDISON, TIFFANY CAREY, CLAIRE CARLIN, KATHLEEN FLEMING, KAREN LEVINE, ELIZABETH MOORE, GRACE NAPOLITANO, DEBORAH O’BRIEN, SHANNON PASTUSZAK, VALERIE ROBLES Account Executives SUSANA ARAGON, MICHELLE CHALA, THOMAS CHILLEMI, MORGAN CLIFFORD, JANELLE DRISCOLL, ALICIA DRY, VINCE DUROCHER, DINA FRIEDMAN, SARAH HECKLER, VICTORIA HENRY, MARY RUEGG, LAUREN SHAPIRO, JIM SMITH, CAROLINE SNECKENBERG, KACIE TURPENEN, TERA WASHBURN, JESSICA ZIVKOVITCH, GABRIELLA ZURROW National Sales Coordinator HOWARD COSTA Sales Support and Development EMMA BEHRINGER, ANA BLAGOJEVIC, EMILY BURDETT, CRISTINA CABIELLES, BRITTANY CORBETT, OLIVIA DAVIS, JAMIE HILDEBRANDT, DARA HIRSH, KELSEY MARRUJO, MICHELLE MASS, NICHOLE MAURER, RUE MCBRIDE, STEPHEN OSTROWSKI, ALEXANDRA WINTER

MARKETING, PROMOTIONS, AND PUBLIC RELATIONS Vice President, Marketing and Public Relations LANA BERNSTEIN Vice President, Integrated Marketing EMILY MCLINTOCK Integrated Marketing Director ROBIN KEARSE Integrated Marketing Manager JIMMY KONTOMANOLIS Creative Services Director SCOTT ROBSON Promotions Art Designers CHRISTOPHER HARDGROVE, DANIELLE MORRIS Event Marketing Directors AMY FISCHER, HALEE HARCZYNSKI, MELINDA JAGGER, JOANNA TUCKER Event Marketing Managers ANTHONY ANGELICO, CHRISTIAMILDA CORREA, LAUREN OLSON, CRISTINA PARRA Event Marketing Coordinator ANI GAFKA Event Marketing Assistant SHANA KAUFMAN

ADVERTISING PRODUCTION Vice President, Manufacturing MARIA BLONDEAUX Positioning and Planning Director SALLY LYON Assistant Production Director PAUL HUNTSBERRY Production Managers BARBARA SHALE, BLUE UYEDA Production Artists MARISSA MAHERAS, TARA MCCRILLIS Distribution Manager MATT HEMMERLING Fulfillment Manager DORIS HOLLIFIELD Traffic Supervisor ESTEE WRIGHT Traffic Coordinators JEANNE GLEESON, MALLORIE SOMMERS Circulation Research Specialist CHAD HARWOOD

ADMINISTRATION, FINANCE, AND OPERATIONS Director, Executive Operations MICHAEL CAPACE Executive Assistant ARLENE GONZALEZ Human Resources Director STEPHANIE MITCHELL Controller DANIELLE BIXLER Senior Director, Finance MICHELE EGAN Advertising Business Manager RICHARD YONG Financial Analyst AUDREY CADY Credit and Collections Manager CHRISTOPHER BEST Senior Credit and Collections Analyst MYRNA ROSADO Senior Accountant LILY WU Junior Accountants CHRISTINA LESCAY, NEIL SHAH Senior Billing Coordinator CHARLES CAGLE Desktop Administrator ZACHARY CUMMO Infrastructure Administrator MOHAMMED HANNAN Facilities Coordinator JOUBERT GUILLAUME

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

J.P. ANDERSON (Michigan Avenue), SPENCER BECK (Los Angeles Confidential), ANDREA BENNETT (Vegas), KRISTIN DETTERLINE (Philadelphia Style), ERIN LENTZ (Aspen Peak), LISA PIERPONT (Boston Common), CATHERINE SABINO (Gotham), JARED SHAPIRO (Ocean Drive), SAMANTHA YANKS (Hamptons)

PUBLISHERS

JOHN M. COLABELLI (Philadelphia Style), SUZANNE RUFFA DOLEN (Gotham), ALEXANDRA HALPERIN (Aspen Peak), DEBRA HALPERT (Hamptons), GLEN KELLEY (Boston Common), COURTLAND LANTAFF (Ocean Drive), ALISON MILLER (Los Angeles Confidential), DAN USLAN (Michigan Avenue), JOSEF VANN (Vegas)

Vice President and Chief Financial Officer JOHN P. KUSHNIR Chief Technology Officer JESSE TAYLOR President and Chief Operating Officer KATHERINE NICHOLLS Chairman and Director of Photography JEFF GALE Copyright 2014 by Niche Media Holdings, LLC. All rights reserved. Capitol File magazine is published six times per year. Reproduction without permission of the publisher is prohibited. The publisher and editors are not responsible for unsolicited material and it will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication subject to Capitol File magazine’s right to edit. Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, photographs, and drawings. To order a subscription, please call 866-891-3144. For customer service, please inquire at capitolfile@pubservice.com. To distribute Capitol File at your business, please e-mail magazinerequest@nichemedia.net. Capitol File magazine is published by Niche Media Holdings, LLC (Founder, Jason Binn), a company of The Greenspun Corporation. CAPITOL FILE : 1301 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 925, Washington, DC 20004 T: 202-293-8025 F: 202-293-8022 NICHE MEDIA HOLDINGS: 100 Church Street, Seventh Floor, New York, NY 10007 T: 646-835-5200 F: 212-780-0003 THE GREENSPUN CORPORATION: 2275 Corporate Circle, Suite 300, Henderson, NV 89074 T: 702-259-4023 F: 702-383-1089

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FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Robin Wright and I on the set of her cover-story shoot at Tribeca Studios in New York in December.

ABOVE: With Elizabeth Baker Keffer, president of AtlanticLIVE, at a reception for The Shriver Report at the Newseum. LEFT: Natasha Barrett Chambers of WJLA-TV and I filming a Valentine’s Day spot at The Hay Adams Hotel.

I’m writing to you, dear Cap File readers, on Monday, January 6—the day that is said to be “the most miserable day of the year.” Caught in the “polar vortex,” my family and I have been stranded in Chicago for two days and won’t get back for another two. We’ll leave the cozy warmth of the Four Seasons Chicago, where a sliver of glass separates our cozy nest from the Arctic, to head back to the gray winter skies of Washington. The back-to-school and work transition topped with five extra holiday pounds has got me singing the blues. One thing that will motivate me to get off the couch, back to the gym, and out of these stretchy pants is the anticipation of spring fashion. I am besotted with the pastel palettes, Follow me on Twitter at tuxedo-striped trousers, and crisp, poplin @poshbrood and on bankerlike shirts. Even the most finicky capitolfile-magazine.com Washingtonian will delight in Jackie O –approved tea-length skirts or an edgy bomber jacket. Perhaps I will hit Bethesda Row for a few key pieces? (Note: Hunky Chevy Chase native Teddy Sears, who plays Dr. Austin Langham on Showtime’s Masters of Sex, shops here when he’s in town. See page 42 for my chat with Sears.) Another reason why things are looking up is that season two of House of Cards has just begun on Netflix. How I’ve missed Machiavellian Congressman Frank Underwood! Our cover star, Robin Wright, is Frank’s cold, beautiful onscreen wife. She is beautiful in person, too—but anything but cold. Kind, funny, and gregarious with everyone during our interview and shoot, Wright says House of Cards season two will be “tied and skinned.” Gulp. Read more about Wright (page 80), her projects, and how testifying on Capitol Hill “scared the [bleep] out of her.” In a few weeks, as the temperatures creep, the sun stays out a little longer, and bulbs peek out of the ground, we’ll await the glorious pink explosion of the Japanese Cherry blossoms, which signal the official end of Washington’s winter. Bring it on, spring.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW ECCLES (WRIGHT); KRISTOFFER TRIPPLAAR (SHRIVER, KEFFER); MOKKI MEDIA (CHAMBERS)

With Maria Shriver at The Atlantic’s forum on The Shriver Report’s study on women and poverty.

ELIZABETH THORP

CAPITOLFILE-MAGAZINE.COM

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FROM THE PUBLISHER

R.J. and Richard Melman, Elizabeth Thorp, Meredith Merrill, and I at the Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab grand opening party.

ABOVE: Capital City Real Estate’s Victor Valentine and I at the Williams-Addison House in Georgetown. LEFT: With John W. McCarthy, executive director of Future Civic Leaders.

Monument, across the Potomac, and up the Jefferson Memorial—I’m always reassured by the Jefferson quote: “Laws and constitutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind.” It’s no wonder that in this beautiful and powerful city, I’ve met some amazing people including Dennis Hastert, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, and former US Senators Tom Daschle, from South Dakota, and Olympia Snowe, from the great state of Maine. When I’m not running around the National Mall, I can’t help but imagine cruising along the Potomac in a luxury speedster like an Aston Martin or Maserati—an industry that’s booming here, and you can read all about it on page 86. If I did have that dream car, I might zip over to the set of Netflix’s House of Cards to see the lovely and talented Robin Wright, who tells Capitol File about her show and her philanthropic priorities on page 80. We begin the new year with our annual spring fashion issue highlighting some of the best of this season’s fashions (page 92), along with creative entrepreneurs like Alex Brown’s colorful eyewear designs (page 72) and Howard Owens’s innovative programming for National Geographic TV (page 48). The energy of Washington, DC, is very exciting—almost palpable— with real estate projects like the expansive City Center on the verge of completion and all of us always hoping for a fortuitous Congress. As a group publisher of Niche Media, I appreciate the unique opportunity to work in the nation’s most powerful city—and with the Washingtonians who make it that way.

LOU DELONE GROUP PUBLISHER , NICHE MEDIA

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALFREDO FLORES PHOTOGRAPHY (JOE CRAB); TONY BROWN/IMIJINATION PHOTOGRAPHY (VALENTINE); KAITLIN SCHIELE (MCCARTHY)

As I start my days here in DC with a morning run—down 15th St. NW, past the Washington

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...WITHOUT WHOM THIS ISSUE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE SPRING 2014

Roland Flamini A Washington-based journalist and former foreign correspondent and bureau chief for Time magazine in the Middle East, Europe, and elsewhere, Flamini has contributed to Architectural Digest, Town & Country, and other publications. Here he penned View from the Top (p. 39) and Icon Days (p. 48). What resonated with you about interviewing Kathleen Matthews for View from the Top? How nuanced and sophisti-

cated her knowledge was about the hotel and travel business after a relatively short time on the job. But she was a good reporter, and good reporters are quick analysts as well as quick studies. Any other takeaways? What you see is what you get: She is articulate about her work, affectionate about her husband, and frank about occasionally missing the excitement of TV.

John Bobey In the past 25 years Bobey has written for television, magazines, and websites. He currently teaches and guest lectures at a number of universities while developing original TV, film, and print projects. Bobey wrote this issue’s Freely Speaking column (p. 120). What are your preferred writing topics?

Andrew Eccles Known for shooting celebrities, athletes, dancers, and models for the past 25 years, Eccles’s work has appeared in magazines and advertisements all over the world, and he shot this issue’s cover of Robin Wright (p. 80).

The small, idiosyncratic elements of daily life—things you don’t give much thought to most of the time, but when you do, you realize they’re unbelievably essential. If all of life is Christmas, I get most excited by the stocking stuffers. What’s your favorite DC springtime activity? The best part of spring is getting to

walk around again. After a cold, snowy winter of slushy city streets, I like rediscovering DC on foot, especially after dinner. A good steak and a slow stroll are a tough team to beat.

How did the concept for this cover shoot emerge? I did a lot of visual research,

trying to come up with a way to offset the stark, black-and-white fashion story by using graphic patterns as backdrops. One of my ideas was inspired by a 1952 Harper’s Bazaar cover I found with a stylish model in front of a red polka-dot wall flat. I thought it would be fun to give that classic cover a contemporary twist. Where are your favorite photography locations? My new favorite location is Iceland. I haven’t done a commercial shoot there yet, but I’ve gone there twice and done personal work—it is far and beyond the most beautiful place I have ever been. What is your proudest career accomplishment? It would have to be my 15-year collaboration with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. I hope that the photographs I’ve made of their dancers will continue to resonate for generations to come.

Robert Ascroft An international photographer and commercial director, Ascroft’s work has appeared in print, online, on TV, and on billboards across the globe. A native New Yorker, he has shot on both coasts and on location around the world. What inspired this issue’s fashion feature (p. 92)? The minimalist fashion

trends of the 1990s. Instead of playing off the monochromatic tones with the set, I wanted to incorporate color and movement to make it feel dynamic. What type of photography gives you the most satisfaction? I became well-known for shooting celebrities, and recently I have found I enjoy shooting fashion again. It keeps it fresh for me and helps me push myself creatively.

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Invit ed

WASHINGTON’S MOST PRESTIGIOUS EVENTS AND SMARTEST PARTIES

Stay Classy, Newseum PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOY ASICO

WILL FERRELL INTRODUCES THE NEW ANCHORMAN EXHIBIT. BY LAURA MULLEN

C Will Ferrell talks with Ann Hornaday at the Newseum.

elebrating the opening of his movie and the related exhibit at the Newseum, Anchorman star Will Ferrell joined The Washington Post critic Ann Hornaday for a lively discussion on December 3. Ferrell hilariously played Ron Burgundy—the mustached lead anchor of a 1970s San Diego news team—in 2004’s Anchorman and reprised his role in the sequel Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, which premiered on December 18. Guests were invited to view the interactive exhibition and enjoy a reception after the discussion.

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INVITED Robert and Mary Shue

Maureen Asterbadi and Kate Fralin

Kevin Peterson and Rick Hoffman

Kitty Kelley and Jill Trimble

Kitty Kelley’s Let Freedom Ring

Dalal Hasan, Andrea Nore, and Natasha Akda

Gene Haigh, Kimball Stroud, and Erica Payne

Karim Debs and Marwa Kamel

Sylvia Van Vliet Ragheb and Hiba Bittar Hakki

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOY ASICO (KITTY); TRAVIS VAUGHN (SYRA)

On December 8, friends and guests came together to toast author Kitty Kelley on her new title, Let Freedom Ring: Stanley Tretick’s Iconic Images of the March on Washington. Through photojournalist Tretick’s moving photography, the book retells the events of the March on Washington. Guests sipped holiday cocktails during the meet-and-greet event, and Kelley signed hardcover copies of the book.

Katrina Piano and Steve Olsen Roya Hakimzadeh and Malda Kocache

SYRA ARTS presents Azza Fahmy

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Sylvia Van Vliet Ragheb and Randa Fahmy, cofounders of SYRA ARTS—an organization based in Cairo and Washington dedicated to promoting contemporary Egyptian and Middle Eastern art in the US—hosted a jewelry show and reception on November 20. Held in the presidential suite at the Capella Washington, DC, the invite-only event spotlighted The Suma Collection, the newest line from noted Egyptian jewelry designer Azza Fahmy.

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INVITED Mary Katherine Johns and Joshua Benaim

Bhumi Dave and Mey Ibrahim

David Meit and Vicky Le

Matt Landsberg and Ashley Stanwick

The Bond

Ben LaMaster and Victoria Zapata

Rachel James

Charles Robertson with Andrew and Patrick Howard

Joost Voorthuis

Julia Voorthuis and Gabe Mendoza

PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY BROWN/IMIJINATION PHOTOGRAPHY (BOND); ALFREDO FLORES PHOTOGRAPHY (MYKITA)

Bill Bonstra and Penny Karas

The Bond, a luxury apartment residence located at 1230 New Hampshire Ave. NW, held its ribbon-cutting ceremony and cocktail reception on November 20. Members of the media, residents of the building, and special guests—including Congressman Patrick Murphy—were treated to a live jazz trio and a Moët & Chandon Imperial toast while touring the property. The building underwent a $10-million renovation and now boasts 83 studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments.

Bill and Sylvia Guyton

MYKITA Trunk Show

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Georgetown Optician and Capitol File hosted a trunk show for fashionforward Dutch eyewear brand MYKITA on November 16 at the Wisconsin Avenue NW boutique. Guests were treated to light bites from Paul Bakery and infused wine by Teavine as they shopped the MYKITA and MYLON collections.

Liz Ott and Dian Holton

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INVITED Nick Luongo and Alex Farr

Stephanie Lennon and Julia Farr Duffy Knoll and Greg Feldman Dennis Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Leary and Hans Wydler

Emily Holland White, Amelie Colwell, and Sarah Hay

Julia Farr Annual Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Night

Style maven Julia Farr invited District gentlemen to her eponymous boutique to shop designer collections and accessories for the ladies in their lives on December 19. Guests enjoyed cocktails and browsed the chic offerings during this holiday event.

Annie Peterson and Knox Singleton with Carolyn, Milt, Lauren, Phoebe, and Rick Peterson

Terry McCallister, Charles Mann, and Dean Morehouse

Todd Stottlemyer, James Moran, Tom Rust, and Bill Hazel Earl Stafford, James McNeil, and Mark Moore PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOY ASICO (JULIA); INOVA (INOVA)

Annette Kerlin and Tina Mather

Inova Gala Experience

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On November 9, Inova Health Foundation held its annual gala at Salamander Resort & Spa in Middleburg, Virginia. The Saturday night event, chaired by Mark and Brenda Moore, fell in the middle of the Inova Gala Experience, a weekend of events at the resort that started on Friday, November 8, with a welcome reception and ended with a farewell brunch on Sunday. Guests were treated to a special performance by Earth, Wind & Fire, and the event raised nearly $2 million for the organization.

The members of Earth, Wind & Fire with Sheila C. Johnson and Brenda Moore

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INVITED Seth and Christy Lucia with David Marriott

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALFREDO FLORES PHOTOGRAPHY (BREATH); JOY ASICO (RUBIN)

Donald and Stacey Wood

Ramesh Gidumal with Ayesha and Sandeep Mathrani

Breath of Life Gala

Rich and Carolyn Mattingly with Scott Pelley and Mimi and Robert Beally

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation celebrated its annual Breath of Life Gala on November 9 at the National Building Museum. Gathered participants enjoyed the black-tie affair that raised more than $4 million and included an exciting silent and live auction, remarks from Scott Pelley of CBS Evening News, and late-night dancing at the event’s Club Breathe.

Craig Irving and Cornelius Varlack

Cindy Jones, Carrie Marriott, Rubin Singer, Hanako Maeda, Amy Baier, and Jean-Marie Fernandez

Marsha Blitzer and Kaili Markley

Denise Brownlee and Jane Pelley

Letitia Hill and Dr. Tina West

Bob Stewart and Eduardo Depandi

Lois Alperstein, Sally Marx, and Luke Rozansky

Ashley and Dorothy Wade

Rubin Singer and ADEAM

Saks Jandel celebrated its holiday brunch on December 8 with a special runway presentation of the Spring/Summer 2014 collections from Rubin Singer and ADEAM. The event hosts—Amy Baier, Jean-Marie Fernandez, Mae Haney Grennan, Cindy Jones, and Carrie Marriott—contributed 10 percent of the proceeds to Children’s National Medical Center.

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Irene Roth, Barbara Kapusto, and Diana Eisenstat

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INVITED

Lynda Bird Johnson Robb, Molly Smith, and Chuck Robb

Judy Woodruff and Al Hunt

Hank and Charlotte Schlosberg with Chris Matthews and Diane Rehm

LuAnn Bennett and Congressman James Moran

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner Dinners

George and Michael Stevens

On November 16, Arena Stage hosted several dinners throughout the Greater Washington area to benefit the theater’s education and community engagement programs. Surprise guests attended each gathering, including Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who played Dr. John Prentice in this winter’s showing of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner at Arena Stage.

Richard Paisner, Armeane Choksi, Edgar Dobie, and Mary Choksi

Emily Walles, Basma Masood, Kelley Proxmire, Adele McDonald, and Rose Kaspersen

Zoe Feldman and Paige Speyer

Dale and Melissa Overmyer

Williams-Addison Unveiled

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Darren Trolio, Brian Papke, Joe Brocato, Brent Zimmerman, and Victor Valentine

Capital City Real Estate and Capitol File hosted the unveiling of the newly renovated WilliamsAddison House—a historic Georgetown estate originally built in 1815. District development firm Capital City Real Estate renovated the space to include six bedrooms, a gym with a sauna, a media room, wine cellar, and two kitchens. The event allowed Georgetown neighbors and visitors to enjoy gourmet bites by Spilled Milk and to view the property staged by Kelley Proxmire with art installations by DTR Galleries.

Edith Gregson and Joe Ireland

PHOTOGRAPHY BY RACHEL COUCH, A MUSE PHOTOGRAPHY CAMERON WHITMAN PHOTOGRAPHY, LLC (GUESS); TONY BROWN/IMIJINATION PHOTOGRAPHY (WILLIAMS)

Sue-Anne Siegel, Heidi Brodsky, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Bethany Anne Lind, and Jill Granader

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INVITED

Mark Drapeau, Christina FlaglerMartin Hanke, and Fergus Ramsey

Jimmy Reyes, Gina Dakouni, and David Cronin

Monica Turner with Michael and Andrea Steele

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOY ASICO (WASHINGTON); ALFREDO FLORES (JOE’S)

Holidae Hayes and Matthew Gavin

Joe’s Grand Opening

Meredith Hope, Mike Rizzo, and Victoria Michael

Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises’ Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab celebrated its newest location in the nation’s capital on January 29. The luxe grand opening party offered guests feasts of stone crab, shrimp and scallop ceviche, shrimp cocktail, and Alaskan king crab served on ice (also seen on the menu as “The Whale”) and the eatery’s signature cuts of steak along with top-shelf libations from Maker’s Mark and Glenmorangie.

Sen. Bill Marovitz, Richard Melman, and Nick Owens

Ted Lee, Michael Harreld, Manuel Sager, and Matt Lee

Anne Brooks Rudzki and Ted Stettinius

Katherine Coleman, Katelin Haney, and Bessie Doffermyre Maria Weber with Amy and Taylor Gross Jane and Esko Korhonen

Washington Winter Show

Area antique and décor enthusiasts gathered at the Katzen Arts Center at American University on January 9 to fête the start of the annual Washington Winter Show—a weekendlong festival showcasing Southern antiques and food traditions. The 2014 Show Chairs—Dory Clark, Denise Prince, and Puffin Travers—celebrated with patrons and guests while previewing the loan exhibit and show.

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T he List spring 2014

Rick Hoffman

Governor Terry McAuliffe

Bret Anderson

Samira Farmer

Patrick Tutwiler

Alex Soldier

Jochem Zijp

Tracy Sefl

Andrew M. Vesey

Ambassador Caroline Kennedy

Ari Hoffman

Azza Fahmy

Thomas Nevin

Jill Warren

Josh Short

Anne Polk

Kate Lynk

Ada Polla

Sara Crosman

Martha Holland

Matt Dornic

Michael Lindsay

Jane Rader

Toni Braxton

Michelle Giannini

David Meit

Charlotte Dellal

Rachel Doorly

Evan Puchalsky

Laini Taylor

Erich Stumpe

Martin Swift

Candice Bennett

Damelia Shaw

Robert Goston

Jen Zoon

Ralph Victory

Paul LaRochelle

Paul Carlson

Koichiro Kawaguchi

Matt Williams

Doug Fister

Ellie Schafer

Rachel James

Terri McCullough

Jonathan Martin

Maha Hakki

Dannia Hakki

Giovanna Gray

Shannon Chatlos

Darrel Thompson

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Encouraging American Genius Continuing a tradition of support that began in 1956 when the Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Committee of the Corcoran Gallery of Art held the first Corcoran Ball designed by Salvador Dali, the 2014 Ball celebrates the accomplishments of the past 59 years and moves forward to support the goals of the future.

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2014 CORCORAN BALL FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2014 CORCORAN.ORG/BALL PICTURED ABOVE: 2014 Corcoran Ball Committee Chairs

NEW DIGITAL PROJECT AND SPECIAL GUEST THE HONORABLE CAPRICIA PENAVIC MARSHALL SYMBOLIZE THE CORCORAN BALL’S COMMITMENT TO “ENCOURAGING AMERICAN GENIUS” For almost 60 years, the Corcoran Ball raised funds to support the Corcoran’s award-winning community outreach and education programs, art acquisition, scholarships, and program funding. This year proceeds from the ball will match the prestigious Institute of Museum and Library Services grant, enabling the project known as Corcoran Access. More than 17,000 pieces of art from the Corcoran’s world-renowned collection will be digitally recorded and, along with the accompanying research, posted online. For the first time, high-definition images and information will be available where generations of students, educators, art historians, and the general public will be able to explore and examine one of the world’s most respected collections of American art.

The 2014 Corcoran Ball, chaired by Ivy Howells, honors Former United States Chief of Protocol, The Honorable Capricia Penavic Marshall, underscoring the Corcoran’s commitment to continued innovation and partnership building both within our local D.C. community, and the international community which is ingrained in the fabric of Washington, D.C. Ambassador Marshall and Mrs. Howells echo William Wilson Corcoran’s inspiring vision of “encouraging American genius” by presenting an evening of dining and dancing in exquisitely appointed galleries within the Corcoran’s historic beaux-arts building surrounded by a renowned collection of American Art.

Corcoran Access is a multiyear project that will use the latest gigapixel technology and years of scholarship to digitally record and provide in-depth information to more than 17,000 works from the Corcoran’s collection. The resulting high-definition images will be made available online, where generations of students, educators, and researchers will be able to study and explore one of the world’s most respected collections of American Art.

MEDIA SPONSORSHIP PROVIDED BY

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Superlatives PEOPLE, CULTURE, TASTE, TREASURES

VIEW FROM THE TOP

Globetrotter in Chief KATHLEEN MATTHEWS OVERSEES PUBLIC AFFAIRS AT MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL AS ITS LATEST DC HOTEL DEBUTS THIS SPRING. BY ROLAND FLAMINI

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN VOSS

he woman in the multizippered black Escada suit posing for photographs inside the JW Marriott Hotel presidential suite in downtown Washington used to be Kathleen Matthews. Actually, she still is—but for years many Washingtonians knew her as Kathleen Matthews, the ABC 7 local news anchor, a fixture in their daily lives. Now, she’s Kathleen Matthews, “global nomad, which I’ve always wanted to be,” she says. As the executive vice president and chief global communications and public affairs officer for the Bethesda-based Marriott International, Inc., and head of the hotel’s extensive global media relations operation, she is involved in the launch in May of the $520 million Washington Marriott Marquis—the largest hotel in the capital, with 1,175 rooms and 46 suites, next door to continued on page 40

With a view of the Washington Monument from the Marriott Marquis’ presidential suite, former news anchor Kathleen Matthews takes on a new persona—and satisfies that travel bug.

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VIEW FROM THE TOP Working as a news anchor in September 2000, Kathleen Matthews joined The Beach Boys at Montgomery County Fairgrounds.

“My wanderlust was growing, and I was looking for a real stretch.”

SOCIAL REFLECTIONS Kathleen Matthews ponders her personal connections. *on being a role model: “I find women want to connect with me—in person, on LinkedIn. They are looking for advice on how to navigate their [personal] brand. They ask, ‘How do I penetrate that glass ceiling?’ I tell them, ‘It doesn’t have to be just about you; it also has to be about the value that you bring to the bigger community.’”

*on being on the move: “Travel has had an impact on how I shop [for clothes]. I shop on the run between meetings. Once I ran into the Saks Fifth Avenue in Chevy Chase with an hour to pick out a dress to wear to my son’s wedding, and scored!”

*on finding time to relax: “To clear my mind and get exercise, I love to hike—I’ve climbed Kilimanjaro, Andes, sand dunes of Namibia, and walk several times a week in Rock Creek Park. And my husband and I relax by going to the movies. By Academy Awards time, we have seen all the nominated films.”

*on Washington landmarks: “I love Mount Vernon, and served on the National Advisory Board for many years, and we always take our out-of-town guests up to visit Lincoln on a night-time monument tour.”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY LARRY BUSACCA/GETTY IMAGES FOR TIME WARNER (TIME 100)

continued from page 39 the Washington Convention Center. In this role, Matthews averages one foreign trip every month, visiting some of the nearly 4,000 properties in more than 70 countries (not to mention travel within the United States). That’s a whole lot of frequent flyer miles, and the fulfillment of a young dream. Her first trip overseas was to England and Ireland, a high school graduation present from her parents when she was 18, and the travel bug had claimed another victim. But she was interested in more than travel: Twice during this interview she calls herself “a child of Watergate,” the 1974 political scandal that forced President Richard Nixon to resign in the middle of his second term. So, after Stanford, journalism became her first priority. “I felt I had a real purpose in informing the public,” she recalls. At 22, San Francisco–born Kathleen Cunningham (as she was then) came to Washington and went to work for WJLA-TV, the ABC affiliate, initially as a researcher, then as a reporter, and eventually for 15 years as the award-winning coanchor of the Channel 7 evening news. In typical Washington fashion, Matthews heard about the Marriott job while at a French Embassy reception. J.W. (Bill) Marriott Jr., the founder and chairman of the chain, knew Matthews mainly as a television personality, but she had emceed some Marriott events. In 2006, he raised the possibility of her moving to Marriott International. At their meeting, she recalls, “I told him, ‘Look, I read the news section of the paper, and the arts section, and I throw away the sports section and the business section, so I know nothing about business.’” But Bill Marriott hired her anyway, seeing in her a strong, high-profile personality with proven news sense. And he piled other responsibilities onto her job description: government affairs, social responsibility, the Marriott Foundation—dedicated to creating employment opportunities for young people with disabilities—and the company’s sustainability program. She is also a leading spokesperson for the travel and tourism sector. For example, she is Marriott’s point person in the travel industry’s cam—KATHLEEN MATTHEWS paign to accelerate and widen the government’s visa waiver program, easing some of the post-9/11 restrictions on foreigners wishing to visit the United States. As a TV producer in 1980, she had married Chris Matthews, now the host of political talk show Hardball, who was then a speechwriter in the Jimmy Carter White House. It was Chris who—as she says—encouraged her to “jump off the cliff” when, eight years ago, she was considering Marriott’s offer. In reality, it doesn’t sound like she needed much encouraging. After 25 years in television, she says, “my wanderlust was growing, and I was looking for a real stretch.” Besides, with daughter, Caroline, and two sons, Michael and Thomas, in college (one son has since become an actor and the other, a filmmaker) the nest was empty. So Kathleen made the move—a surprisingly smooth transition, she recalls. Today, a large portrait of Barack Obama in her office proclaims her a Democrat infiltrator into the upper echelons of a Republican stronghold. (The Marriott family has long been a major GOP contributor.) She says the hotel likes to have a Democrat among its senior staff because it shows the company to be politically evenChris and handed. “For 25 years nobody knew what my politics Kathleen were because journalists are not supposed to be publicly Matthews attend last partisan,” says Matthews. “At Marriott, I wear my poliyear’s Time tics on my sleeve.” CF 100 Gala.

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TALENT PATROL “I’m a motorcycle guy,” says Teddy Sears, who enjoys riding when he’s not filming Masters of Sex.

Golden Globe Award for best television drama series. While Sears has attained leading-man status, he is just a Maryland boy at heart. Growing up in the Martin’s Addition area of Chevy Chase, he says his oldest friends are still his closest friends, and he relishes returning to his old stomping grounds. “I’ve seen a change in DC when I go back,” Sears reveals. “It feels like it’s a little more ‘cool.’ The restaurants are better. There are great bespoke men’s shops. People are paying attention to fashion; it’s not just the blue Brooks Brothers blazer anymore.” With both of his parents raised locally, Sears’s family remains involved in the suburban DC community—his brother Christian is a teacher at the Landon School in Bethesda, which the Sears boys attended; his other brother, Ricky, is a talented artist and art teacher at Northern Best in town: Virginia Community College; and his sister, Bethesda Row for shopping (the Dana, lives nearby. And the Sears family Apple Store and sports much University of Maryland pride: Barnes & Noble). “My mom’s parents met at Maryland, lots of Worth the wait: uncles and aunts went there, as did my sib“We stand in ling,” he says. “I went to Maryland for a year, those long lines then transferred out, much to the chagrin of at Bethesda my family.” Bagels. It’s so, so good.” Despite the racy nature of Masters, Sears’s family is very proud of his accomplishments. “My dad was a director of advertising. He was the one who encouraged me to do on-camera work and was the vanguard for me to get into the business,” says Sears. “I think my mother was hoping that I would give it up at the beginning and get a Wall Street job. But now they are super supportive.” Still able to maintain a rather low profile around town, Sears is just starting to get recognized, now that critically acclaimed Masters of Sex was nominated for a Golden Globe. He admits that he used to be mistaken for Alexander Skarsgård. “People would say ‘Man, I love you on True Blood,’” explains Sears. “I used to correct them, then I just started to say, ‘Thank you.’ I MAKING A NAME WITH HIS BOLD ROLE ON THE NEW SERIES mean, why not?” MASTERS OF SEX, TEDDY SEARS MAINTAINS HIS LOCAL ROOTS The ever-gracious Sears admits he’s a fan of Masters’ IN CHEVY CHASE. BY ELIZABETH THORP Golden Globe show competitors Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, and especially House of Cards for his hometown setting. But his true die-hard status is revealed while takeddy Sears is not a doctor, but he plays one on TV. The third- ing in a game of his beloved Washington Capitals. His wife, Milissa, generation Washingtonian has nailed the role of Dr. Austin Langham, orchestrated the ultimate Christmas present surprise a few years ago when a philandering orthopedic surgeon, on Showtime’s hot new show she arranged for him to meet the team’s alternate captain Brooks Laich Masters of Sex. Premiering this past September, the freshman series—which (whom Sears calls “Brooksie”). The two became fast friends, and Sears and tells the story of sex-research pioneers Dr. William Masters and Virginia his wife stay at Chez Laich whenever they come to town. How do we get an Johnson—was quickly renewed for a second season and nominated for a invite to that house party? CF

INSIGHT

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVEN SIMKO

Searing Hot

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TALENT PATROL Kari Ellen Winik’s new cosmetic line includes a game-changing product called Incredibrow.

Interestingly, her undergraduate degree has come in handy as she helps Washington clients, such as attorneys and politicos, look their best. She won’t confirm names but has been said to have made up everyone from Ali Wentworth to Rep. Gabby Giffords. “Psychology is a great background to have in this industry,” she says, perched on a chair upholstered in pink—one of her favorite hues besides black—in her home studio. “Making women feel good and look good, there’s a lot of psychology in that.” Must-have With her success thanks to training and a cosmetics: Tinted lifelong fascination with the beauty industry, moisturizer, she says, “It’s always been my hobby, ever concealer, since I was a little girl. I would do my friends’ bronzer, eyebrow filler, eyeliner, and my sister’s makeup.” mascara, and Winik’s skills flourished when she became blush. the protégé of brow master and celebrity Hobby: makeup artist Erwin Gomez, with whom she “Shopping studied for more than a year. “I was Erwin’s relaxes me. I am client, and we became friends,” she explains a true consumer.” of how they met. When Gomez opened his own salon, he brought Winik with him. Today, she combines waxing and tweezing to get the right shape for each person; she says the process is like an art. (“You’re not removing hair. You’re really just shaping and framing the face,” she explains.) Working five days a week at Violet Salon in Georgetown, Winik also is developing her own products—and teaching and seeing clients at her home studio. While her line will continue to grow, her current favorites include a tinted moisturizer, eyeliner gel pencils in several colors (such as black caviar and navy), and lip glosses. And with KARI ELLEN WINIK OFFICIALLY DEBUTS HER BEAUTY LINE Winik’s own precisely lined eyes and brows perhaps her trademark—she shapes them herself—she wears her own AND REVEALS HER NEW WOULD-BE WONDER PRODUCT. products over those by other brands. BY LESLIE QUANDER WOOLDRIDGE This spring, look out for her revamped website, where you can purchase her cosmetics, including the ari Ellen Winik (née Slansky) may just have the perfect eyebrows. brand-new Incredibrow by Kari Ellen. She developed the product for more She owes their sleekness to nature, of course, but nurture is definitely than two years, and says it can be used at home to fill in brows for several weeks at a time. “I hope for it to be the Spanx of eyebrows,” she reveals, part of the equation. A makeup artist with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Winik will debut smiling. But she’s content no matter what. “Making a woman look in the her line this spring on kariellencosmetics.com. And she has created a new mirror and feel great is what keeps me inspired,” she says. “It’s like [being] product that could change the way women (and men) fill in their brows forever. a beauty doctor!” kariellencosmetics.com CF

INSIGHT

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY SEBASTIAN MARIN

Makeup Maven

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The Collection at Chevy Chase is a proud sponsor of the Pink Tie Party and the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

5471-5481 Wisconsin Avenue, Chevy Chase, MD • On the Metro Red Line, Friendship Heights Station • www.thecollectionatchevychase.com

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POWER COUPLE

Maria and Fabio Trabocchi share a glass of wine while preparing food at their new seafoodfocused restaurant, Fiola Mare.

A Family Affair W

hen Fabio and Maria Trabocchi walk into their celebrated flagship restaurant, Fiola, they recall when they met in 1994. “He was standing right there on the top of the steps,” says Maria, gesturing to the short flight of stairs leading from the bar to the dining room. Back then, the space was another trendsetting Italian eatery, Bice, where Fabio went on to head the kitchen and Maria managed financial tasks. When they met, the then-20-year-old toque had just moved from Italy and didn’t speak English. “I thought, ‘He can’t be a chef; he’s too young,’” she says. But she was intrigued. As for Fabio? “I knew she was the one before the first date,” he says, “so I didn’t let her go after that.” They moved in together a week after their first dinner together. Work took the couple to Spain and England, and they married in the Dominican Republic in 2000. A year later, Fabio opened Maestro in Tysons Corner, where he won a James Beard Award. After a stint in New York City, the couple moved back to DC in 2010 and opened Fiola in the storied space where their partnership was born.

Today, the 39-year-old chef oversees culinary and business elements; 44-year-old Maria directs front-of-the-house operations and guest relations. “She has a gift for making people feel comfortable and special,” says Fabio. The couple now has a 12-year-old daughter, Aliche, and a 10-year-old son, Luca. The latter inspired their second spot, the casually elegant Italian eatery Casa Luca, which debuted in mid 2011. Now the Trabocchis have opened their third restaurant, Fiola Mare, on the Georgetown waterfront. “We want you to feel like you’re dining on the Mediterranean,” says Fabio of the seafood-centric venture. The menu features Catalina sea urchins dressed up with sweetly floral Meyer lemon and olive-accented salt, truffled lobster adorned with cornmeal polenta crisp, and several favorites from Fiola. “I think guests would kill me if I didn’t bring over the lobster ravioli,” Fabio half-jokes. And despite nonstop, morning-’til-midnight schedules, the couple stays connected. “We have a glass of wine at the end of the evening and chat about the day,” says Maria, smiling. “We’re still having fun doing this.” Fiola Mare, 3050 K Street NW, Ste. 101 (entrance on 31st St.); fiolamaredc.com CF

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GREG POWERS

FOR RESTAURATEURS FABIO AND MARIA TRABOCCHI, THEIR AMORE NEVER WAVERS, EVEN AS THEY OPEN THEIR MUCH-ANTICIPATED THIRD EATERY. BY NEVIN MARTELL

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LUXURY CONDOS IN THE HEART OF BETHESDA AT THE CORNER OF BETHESDA AND WOODMONT AVENUES

TheDarcy.com

Sales by PN Hoffman Realty

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ICON DAYS National Geographic Channels’ Howard T. Owens is sometimes told he looks like Rob Lowe, the star of his network’s highly rated movie Killing Kennedy.

A Wild Ride NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNELS’ PRESIDENT HOWARD T. OWENS IS TRANSFORMING ITS TV STATIONS ONE DAY AT A TIME. BY ROLAND FLAMINI

t the National Geographic Channels’ last production conference of the season, its president, Howard Owens, toasted a successful television season and predicted an even better one in 2014—and with good reason. In his two years as head of National Geographic’s three US channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, and Nat Geo Mundo), seasoned producer Owens, 47, has livened up content well outside the traditional scope of the venerable institution on Washington’s 17th Street NW. Movie dramatizations like Killing Kennedy (with Rob Lowe as JFK) and Killing Lincoln set the high level of recent output. (Upcoming big events include Live from Space, a special to be broadcasted from the International Space Station March 14, 250 miles above Earth.) The result: The National Geographic Channel had the best ratings in the network’s 13-year history, averaging half a million viewers per show in prime time—roughly half of the competing Discovery Channel’s viewership, but an increase of some 29 percent in the Owens era. Owens “moves at 100 miles an hour every day,” says Chris Albert, the channels’ senior communications vice president, but Capitol File was recently able to keep up the pace.

Owens meets with marketing and PR staffers to discuss a rundown of the National Geographic Channel’s three-hour presentation at the Television Critics Association’s biannual jamboree in Pasadena, California, which would occur on January 10. Because television schedules are planned so far in advance, 2014 is the first year in which most of the program content reflects Owens’ vision of “a more cohesive programming schedule and plan that reflects the new National Geographic Channel” (as he expressed it in a later interview), and the channel

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DANIEL BEDELL

Day 1, 9:30 AM:

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FROM TOP: Owens is briefed on the network’s upcoming press tour; Owens, Billy Bush, and Janet Han Vissering wait for rhinos at Chitwan National Park in Nepal; his team discusses a new series, The ’90s.

wants to end the presentation with a bang. They discuss dropping a piano, a bowling ball, and a javelin simultaneously from the top of the Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa in Pasadena to see which hits the ground first, repeating a stunt done on the None of the Above science program. (Later, the idea was dropped because the hotel balked.) Owens has been in his office since 8 AM and won’t leave until 8 PM. Though his office is in DC, long distance management is second nature to him. At given times in 2013 he was in Alaska, Cuba, Nepal, South Africa, the Rockies, and Vermont. Visits to the United Kingdom are frequent to touch base with the network’s London office and to do business with the BBC, National Geographic’s frequent partner. Flying to Los Angeles is like going to Georgetown.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DANIEL BEDELL (MEETINGS, OFFICE)

11 AM: Owens is brought up-to-date on work in progress during the weekly production review meeting in the division’s conference room, called The Fishbowl. It ought to be called the Trophy Room: Dozens of statuettes and other awards garnered by the channel are arrayed on a shelf. Gathered around the long table is an assortment of producers, writers, and programmers. The lowkey meeting moves at a brisk pace, with Owens quietly delivering the last word; 30 shows are discussed in less than 90 minutes, including Inside the Hunt for the Boston Bombers and Brain Games, a new series that puts the brain through a series of experiments and optical illusions. Later, Owens says there is coordination among National Geographic magazine, the television channel, and the organization’s other creative areas. “We have the same brand,” he says, pointing to a 2012 TV special on the 100th anniversary of the Titanic—a joint effort with the magazine and other media. The network is also joining forces with the magazine to produce “a huge initiative” on food. “The show will be called Hungry and will be about how food changed the way people live,” Owens explains.

12:45 PM Owens leaves for lunch with former US Senator Chris Dodd, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America. (Owens interned for Dodd in 1988 but opted for a career in entertainment.) As a Connecticut-born law graduate, Owens (now married with two daughters) started as an agent at the William Morris Agency. He then cofounded Reveille, behind such shows as The Biggest Loser, MasterChef, and The Office.

ICON DAYS

3:30 PM Next up is a screening of a “first cut” of The ’90s, a new eight-part special that has an edgy, neurotic quality, with plenty of Bill Clinton—which Owens likes. But he wants to replace the Britney Spears song in the introduction with music from Nirvana. “Our audience wants a heavier [sound],” he says. In an attempt to build up a more regular following, Owens has shifted to multipart series, specials, and pricey, highprofile movies. As a subtitle to The ’90s, someone proposes “The Last Great Decade?” Owens likes it, but should it have a question mark? After a long discussion, the mark stays. All this action is punctuated by occasional pauses for Owens to deal with some 100 phone calls. This afternoon, he calls Rob Lowe to congratulate him on his best actor nomination by the Screen Actors Guild for Killing Kennedy. But most calls are to production companies working on network projects.

Day 2, NOON: “The channel is now fully mine,” says Owens in an interview in his office over sushi, but he also pays tribute to David Lyle, National Geographic Channels’ CEO. “Our goal is to make exciting, riveting programs for new viewers without alienating our core audience,” he adds. Washington is a good place to be in the TV business these days. With Homeland, House of Cards, Scandal, and Veep among the top television shows, “there’s a fascination with Washington” that’s drawing creative people to the nation’s capital.

1 PM Owens chairs a “greenlight meeting” with the channel’s senior staff to go over new shows that they may want to buy; 17 people screen video clips and discuss costs, budgets, time slots, and other factors in feeding the elephantine appetite of a television channel. Owens gives the thumbs up or down on each project like a Roman emperor in the arena. The 10th anniversary of Thailand’s tsunami? Americans won’t be interested, he says. But a history of gold “sounds like a special.”

3 PM With all decisions made, the Champagne is brought in. CF

Owens’s sunny office features souvenirs of his trips across the country and around the globe.

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SPIRIT OF GENEROSITY

FROM TOP: Water Collective’s Sophia Sunwoo and Josh Braunstein help to bring clean water to a school in Ekanjoh Bajoh; children look on as fresh water flows in their Cameroon village.

The Weight of Water ON THE EVE OF WORLD WATER DAY ON MARCH 22, SOPHIA SUNWOO AND JOSH BRAUNSTEIN DISCUSS BRINGING CLEAN WATER TO AFRICA AND CAMEROON. BY MATTHEW STEWART

“I believe in empowerment over just giving aid.”—SOPHIA SUNWOO SS: When failure happens with wells, the communities don’t have any recourse to fix it. One reason is that people need to be educated to keep the wells running. The second is to ask where the money comes from. My background included working with Fortune 500s. I did my dissertation on how business strategies could be used to further social progress. I saw opportunity there because there are a lot of for-profit best practices like basic training and cooperation between organizations that nonprofits can utilize. Why are your upcoming activities in DC significant? SS: World Water Day [on March 22] is a wonderful platform to combat the perception that aid to water-challenged parts of the world consists only of continued on page 52

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIMBERLY JAUSS (TAP)

ophia Sunwoo, 27, and Josh Braunstein, 29, are consumed by water—or rather, the world’s lack of the potable resource: The global access crisis leaves nearly one billion people worldwide without a clean source. So, in 2011, the pair founded the nonprofit Water Collective, which has helped secure clean water for more than 25,000 people. Before they met, Braunstein had been working as a tech consultant and volunteering in the field in sub-Saharan Africa. He learned firsthand that, in many cases, the world’s water shortages can be solved with simple repairs to existing wells or through first-world technology. Meanwhile, Sunwoo was skilled in business—she’d owned a clothing operation and worked as an art consultant. With a passion for philanthropy, she realized access to clean water was of crucial importance to the developing world. As these young philanthropists prepare to observe World Water Day in DC this spring, we reveal what drives them and how Washingtonians can help. How did you meet? Sophia Sunwoo: A coworker knew about our mutual interest in the global water crisis, so we met through her. Within five minutes of meeting we started talking about the crisis, which is a funny topic to discuss when you first meet someone at a bar. Josh told me about wanting to start a water nonprofit [and that he] had been working in water since he was 15. Josh Braunstein: On my first trip to Africa, I was working on a water preservation project [and] living in an orphanage in Kenya. We were receiving treated, bottled water while the orphans were trekking to get their own. One day I went along with two of the girls, and we walked for 45 minutes before we came to this hole in the ground that turned out to be a broken well with a constant stream of brown water running from a pipe. It was disgusting. It broke my heart, and I realized that this ridiculous problem had to stop.

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continued from page 50 money. It’s an important way for organizations to get the public involved and mobilized—and for organizations to talk to each other to see the work that we are all doing so that we can push toward this collective cause of solving the water crisis. How did you get the nonprofit going? SS: At first we focused on cooperating with organizations that already existed. [Then] we started building Water Collective to stand on its own, to be based on a partnership with rural communities. We are extremely involved. With Water Collective we are creating deliverables based on what’s needed instead of with a one-size-fits-all approach. A lot of our early projects were funded purely though friends and family. What is it like to work in sub-Saharan Africa? JB: One of the biggest issues that we’ve come across is trust. Since so many [projects] break down, the communities don’t necessarily trust that you are going to deliver something that will work. SS: I believe in empowerment over just giving aid. In one of our partner communities, the chief was inspired by the idea of his people having clean water—because they hadn’t had that in generations. To provide incentive, he gave women of the village extra farmland in exchange for participation in the water management program. It’s been rewarding for me to see these communities take our mission to heart and continue to build on the foundation that we’ve created with them. JB: It is amazing to see the first time that tap is turned on and the water is running. How can Washington residents help? JB: We have a great community called The Collective on our website. It is an annual involvement in a specific project that connects donors with the communities that they are helping. SS: We are happy and willing to talk to anyone, so we want to get out and meet more people to spread the word. JB: We believe in what we do. Our main goal is to inspire people to get behind our mission and help us fight. thewatercollective.org CF

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIMBERLY JAUSS (SUNWOO)

ABOVE: Josh Braunstein turns on the first clean water tap in the village of Ekanjoh Bajoh. RIGHT: Sophia Sunwoo grins after creating a fresh-water tap for the citizens of Ebasse in Cameroon.

2/6/14 9:18 AM

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PINK TIE PARTY

The cause: The National Cherry Blossom Festival, Inc., a not-for-profit organization, is dedicated to promoting nature and international friendship via events and educational initiatives. Board chair: Kristin M. Rohr How to help: Go to the National Cherry Blossom Festival’s Pink-Tie Party on March 20 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. Wear stylish pink attire and enjoy tasty cuisine while participating in the silent auction. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, 202-312-1300; nationalcherryblossomfestival.org

LEUKEMIA BALL

The cause: The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education, and patient services. Ball cochairs: Candace Duncan and Dan Waetjen How to help: Purchase a ticket to the annual Leukemia Ball on March 22 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The black-tie event will include a performance by Huey Lewis and The News and a silent auction. Between 7th and 9th Streets NW, 703-399-2957; leukemiaball.org

THE 2014 CHILDREN’S BALL

The cause: As the annual fundraising event for Children’s National Medical Center, the gala supports the hospital’s efforts to give the best treatment to every child. Cochairs: Ambassador and Abeer Al Otaiba, along with Amy and Bret Baier How to help: Head to the Ritz Carlton on April 11 for a cocktail reception, dinner by celebrity chefs, and a live auction. 1150 22nd St. NW, 301-565-8500; givingchildrensnational.org .

CORCORAN BALL

The cause: Proceeds from the 59th Annual Corcoran ball benefit Corcoran Access, a multiyear project to digitize the Corcoran’s renowned collection. Ball chair: Mrs. Horace Howells How to help: Attend the 59th annual Corcoran Ball on April 25 at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and enjoy dinner and after-hours dancing. 500 17th St. NW, 301-951-3780; corcoran.org/ball

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY PHILIPPE HALSMAN, 1950, NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE © PHILIPPE HALSMAN ARCHIVE (BRANDO); WILLIAM CLAXTON, 1962, FAHEY/KLEIN GALLERY © WILLIAM CLAXTON ESTATE, COURTESY OF FAHEY/KLEIN GALLERY (MCQUEEN); ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE, 1978 © ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE FOUNDATION, USED BY PERMISSION (HARRY); ALFRED EISENSTAEDT, 1949, TIME LIFE COLLECTION, ALFRED EISENSTAEDT/LIFE © TIME INC. (BACALL); ARAM ARAKIAN, 1955, PRINTED 2012 © ARAM AVAKIAN (DAVIS)

Culture Brando, Steve McQueen, Debbie Harry, Lauren Bacall, and Miles Davis are a few of the iconic faces in “American Cool” at the National Portrait Gallery.

054-055_CF_SC_ArtFull_Spring14.indd 54 CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Marlon

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ART FULL

Face the Nation THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY TACKLES THE AMERICAN ART OF PLAYING IT COOL— HEAD ON. BY KATE GIBBS

nap! Hiding his face behind a pair of jet-black sunglasses in 1955, Miles Davis offers his trumpet up to a recording studio mic. Snap! Whippet-thin, Bob Dylan tosses a baby-faced stare to Richard Avedon in Central Park in 1965. Snap! In 1989, Willie Nelson aims his mug, as weather-worn as his beloved Texas landscape. These images and 97 others make up “American Cool,” a striking roll call of icons captured by fine art photographers including Henri CartierBresson, Diane Arbus, and Annie Leibovitz at the National Portrait Gallery. Cocurators Joel Dinerstein, professor of American Civilization at Tulane University in New Orleans, and Frank H. Goodyear III, codirector of Bowdoin College Museum of Art, have formalized a classic dinner-party query: Call out 100 Americans whose achievements are as distinct as their mystique. “We agreed,” explains Dinerstein, “each person had to have an original style. Second, they had to be a rebel. Third, there has to be a high level of iconicity. Literally, they have to be someone that you’d recognize just by looking at them. And last, they have to be enormously significant within their art form or sport.... Everybody had to have three of these four, but not everybody had four.” Adds Dinerstein, “‘Cool’ is not a synonym for being nice or heroic. Martin Luther King Jr. is not in the exhibit. [He] was never cool—he was heroic and something of a saint in American life.” Also worth noting: “Hip” and “cool,” as concepts and as words, came out of black jazz culture. “These were not used by anybody except jazz musicians in the 1940s,” explains Dinerstein. “‘Cool’ itself became this term that people were just drawn to in the ’50s. Part of the exhibition is about understanding that generations actually change the meaning of cool.” Accordingly, everyone from Billie Holiday to Jay Z represents the irrepressible spirit of American popular music. But as everyone knows, “hip” is larger than the reach of a radio. “We wanted to show ‘cool’ as a national phenomenon,” says Goodyear, “one that extended beyond the world of popular music and [emphasized] its importance in a range of fields.” So the exhibition also includes portraits of Steve McQueen, Susan Sarandon, and Mohammad Ali. And—like it or not—aesthetics come into play. For inclusion, the inhabitants of “American Cool” had to show their best faces before the camera’s lens. “There were plenty of interesting, rebellious figures who we thought about for this show,” admits Goodyear, “but we couldn’t find a great picture of them. All of a sudden, it suggested to us that there is something about one’s ability to present publicly this face that is a defining characteristic of cool.” Subjective to the core, “American Cool” is sure to get visitors talking through spring and summer. “This isn’t the last word on cool,” says Dinerstein. “We’re hoping it’s the first word of a new conversation.” “American Cool” is on view at the National Portrait Gallery from February 7 to September 7, 2014. 8th and F Sts. NW, 202-633-8300; npg.si.edu CF

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HOTTEST TICKET

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: A still from the festival film Rebalancing, about DC’s bikeshare program; the New York City skyline glows from the vantage of a Brooklyn rooftop garden in Growing Cities; PBS’s latest episode of Journey to Planet Earth highlights extreme weather conditions.

Screening Green W

e’ll all go green this spring when the Environmental Film “green” initiative launched by DC Mayor Vincent C. Gray—with an event Festival in the Nation’s Capital—one of the world’s largest and featuring two short films and a discussion with DC government officials, most influential showcases of ecological film—returns to the including Director of the District Department of the Environment Keith District March 18 to 30. Anderson. “Cities across the country—and the globe—are proving to be the For this 22nd installment of the annual event, themed “Our Cities, Our engines of innovation and effective change when it comes to sustainability,” Planet,” festivities will focus on the effects of urbanization and how cities are explains Gray, who points to our own town as a leader in this area. coping with environmental issues in an age of wideIn this spirit, locals play a prominent role in the festispread budget cuts. And you can expect an “exciting val, including DC filmmaker Tim Cone in his slate of film screenings, panel discussions, and events,” presentation of Rebalancing, which tells the story of explains Peter O’Brien, the festival’s executive director. how Capital Bikeshare and its bicycles have affected “We will also present two new awards for environmenthe city’s environment. Also on view is Extreme tal advocacy and sustainability filmmaking.” Realities, the newest episode of PBS’s Journey to Planet More than 160 documentary, feature, animated, Earth series, produced by Emmy Award– winning DC archival, experimental, and children’s movies from filmmakers Marilyn and Hal Weiner and narrated by around the globe will be on view, and most showings —MAYOR VINCENT GRAY actor Matt Damon. Of special importance to DC resiare free. They’ll play at more than 70 venues around dents, the local filmmakers consult with weather and Washington, including embassies, libraries, universities, local theaters, policy experts (including Lester Brown, Carol Browner, and Paul Krugman) and even museums, such as the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian to examine connections between extreme weather, the changing climate, National Museum of Natural History. and our national security. For a complete festival schedule or to make a donation, For the first time, some programming will highlight Sustainable DC—the visit dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org. CF

“Cities are proving to be the engines of change when it comes to sustainability. ”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIM CONE (REBALANCING); GROWING CITIES (ROOFTOP GARDEN); ROBERTO GUZMAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS

THE DC ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL FOCUSES ON SUSTAINABLE DC—AND SPOTLIGHTS INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN EXPERTS AND INDUSTRY INSIDERS. BY JESSICA QUILLIN

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Enjoy stunning fashion displays, games of chance, delicious cuisine, tempting libations, and a spectacular silent auction. “PINK TIE” COCKTAIL ATTIRE

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THIS ISSUE: STYLISH EATS

Georgetown’s Rialto makes fresh ingredients the star of its shareable dishes, including the caprese salad, seared diver scallops, and braised lamb shank with polenta.

The Venetian Experience THE NEWLY OPENED RIALTO IN GEORGETOWN ATTRACTS THE IN-CROWD WITH AN AUTHENTIC— AND DELICIOUS—ITALIAN EXPERIENCE. BY LESLIE QUANDER WOOLDRIDGE

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GREG POWERS

s I sit at a table at Rialto in Georgetown, a recording of Nat King Cole singing “When I Fall in Love” plays in the cozy space. Little do I know that I am about to fall for this new eatery specializing in shareable small plates—a popular dining trend in Washington, but not one typically seen with Italian cuisine. As more classic songs play throughout the restaurant’s atrium, small plates begin to appear in the capable hands of our server: caponata, a tasty eggplant ragoût topped with toasted pine nuts; a refreshing panzanella salad made up of bread, red onions, and a fresh balsamic vinaigrette; and frutti di mare, an addictive seafood medley featuring mussels and shrimp seasoned in the Italian way with a light touch of citrus vinaigrette. Executive Chef Ryan Fichter, a Howard County, Maryland, native, helms the inventive kitchen at this stylish eatery. A fan of good food since childhood

(“Instead of watching cartoons, I was watching cooking shows,” he admits when he stops by my table), he went on to attend the Culinary Institute of America. He then had stints at Clyde’s and Smith & Wollensky, and worked in Hawaii before returning to DC and eventually opening Rialto. To source the food for his menu, he attended food expos, including the Fancy Food Show in New York, to connect with purveyors of Italian products. “I must have tried 200 cheeses,” he says, “until I found the ones I liked.” His efforts paid off: From the 200 varieties he tasted, he whittled his selections down to about nine or 10, including mozzarella (of course), along with a semisoft cow’s milk Sottocenere and a sweet yet delicate Casatica di Bufala made from water buffalo milk. But, while the cheese is an important piece of this Italian eatery, especially continued on page 60

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2/5/14 10:30 AM

TASTE

CLOCKWISE: Executive Chef Ryan Fichter prepares Rialto’s freshly baked bread; the décor reflects the opulence of historic Venice; the menu focuses on simple, refined dishes.

lemon. And even the desserts somehow feel light and fresh. The ravioli di cioccolato—fried chocolate hazelnut ravioli with zabaglione cream sauce— is not to be missed. And the zeppole—warm, fried Italian doughnuts served with raspberry jam—were like little fritters topped with heaven. That is, if heaven were made up of just-sweet-enough powdered sugar. “To me, Italian food is all about fresh ingredients, letting the food shine,” Fichter concludes, saying that his time at the restaurant—long hours notwithstanding—never feels like work. “The key to good food is good ingredients. Every dish is kind of a piece of my soul.” 2915 M Street NW, 202-337-1571; rialtodc.com CF

PALATE PLEASERS

Top off a meal at Rialto with wine, recommended by Executive Chef Ryan Fichter. Authentic Italian cuisine is best enjoyed with a thoughtfully chosen glass of vino. With a mastery of culinary skills, Executive Chef Ryan Fichter pours his heart and soul into every recipe to create elegant dishes at Rialto. “It’s really an art,” he explains about layering flavors. Rialto offers a considerable wine list to complement every savory entrée, and Fichter reveals his selections of perfect wine pairings. For the popular seared diver scallops in a balsamic reduction, he recommends the lightly acidic crisp Grillo, Aquilae, Sicily ($8/glass, $32/bottle). He says, “The citrus and lemongrass flavors balance nicely with the subtle sweetness of the scallops.” The Al Passo, Tuscany ($14/glass, $56/bottle), a super Tuscan blend of 80 percent Sangiovese and 20 percent Merlot, brings out the flavor of the rich braised lamb shank with red wine demi-glace served with polenta and spinach. He says, “Neither one overpowers the other.” And for those enjoying a simple charcuterie and cheese plate, Fichter suggests a Lambrusco, Chiarli, Vecchia Modena, from Emillia Romagna ($11/glass, $40/bottle). “The red sparkling wine helps to take some of the oils off the palate,” he says, “while refreshing the taste buds for the next bite.” BY EDAN STANLEY

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GREG POWERS

continued from page 59 for classic Neapolitan pizza, vegetables are important as well—maybe even more so. They shine not only in salads and vegetarian dishes, but they even add an unexpected zap of fresh flavor to seafood and pasta plates. The capesante, for instance—seared diver scallops in a balsamic reduction served with fresh lentils and spinach—are perfection. “It’s a lost art, vegetable cookery,” Fichter says, outfitted in his white chef’s coat during his short break from the kitchen. He says the key to preparing vegetables that diners actually enjoy is the preparation—using proper cooking techniques, blanching foods, not masking flavors with heavy sauces,” he explains. “It’s using just a little bit of butter or a little bit of olive oil, a touch of salt and some garlic, or a splash of lemon juice.” Opened by DC restaurateurs Ben Kirane, Moe Idressi, and Joe Idressi, Rialto is intended to be a place where diners can enjoy Italian cuisine and wine in a contemporary setting. “We decided to open Rialto because of a combination of our love of good Italian food, along with the wish of bringing the Georgetown area an upscale option that features both traditional and contemporary flavors from the region,” explains Joe Idressi. And in addition to the culinary offerings, the décor of Rialto is quite extraordinary. The space, formerly known as The Guards Restaurant, features dark hardwood floors, an airy atrium, strong wooden tables surrounded by luxe leather chairs, and even a modern fire ribbon that crackles near the carefully crafted fireplaces dotting the space. Of course, though the restaurant looks very cool—I didn’t even mention the powder room featuring floor-to-ceiling leopard-print tiles or the crescent bar—the cuisine is the star. The branzino, for instance, has perfectly crisp skin and is served with rotating fresh vegetables and caramelized

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2/5/14 10:26 AM

HIGH TOUCH, NOT HIGH TECH

OUR PEOPLE MAKE THE DIFFERENCE FOR MOST OF US IT’S NOT COMPUTERS THAT MAKE US HAPPY, IT’S PEOPLE. That’s why we say “High touch, not high tech” and it drives the way we run our business. We use technology when it enhances the experience but never to get between us and our customers. It starts when you call: during normal business hours you will always get a live voice, someone who will get you to the right person or ensure that if the right person is not available they get back to you. Our policy is to return every phone call before the end of the day. That’s just one example of high touch; there are many more. The business at Aston Martin Washington DC is changing rapidly. We are adding new people and processes to insure that your experience with us meets your highest expectations. Although we are experiencing some growing pains, we are recruiting the best people in our industry to provide you with a hassle-free sales or service experience. This month we’ve highlighted the 3 most senior members of our Aston Martin team; all of whom are absolutely committed to doing their best for you:

NATHAN KRAMER ASTON MARTIN SERVICE ADVISOR

TIM UNSELL ASTON MARTIN CERTIFIED MASTER TECHNICIAN

Tim has been working with Aston Martin for over 7 years. He has achieved Master Technician status and maintains that by attending regular training at Aston’s U.S. headquarters in Irvine, California and at the U.K. factory in Gaydon, Warwickshire. This training keeps Tim intimately familiar with product improvement initiatives and updates that occur in the normal evolution of all Astons. His level of commitment to Aston and to his customers is exemplary. Your car leaves Tim’s watchful eye when he has checked and rechecked not only his work but all of the safety and performance systems that are critical to your Aston being its best. When Tim is not taking care of Astons he restores vintage motorcycles, does home renovation and keeps fit by running.

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Nathan is a former Mercedes Benz Master Technician, making him a highly knowledgable liason between you and our Aston Martin repair team. He has been with us since the beginning and has developed a reputation with our customers and his fellow employees as customer centric. Nathan has experienced all of the Aston Martins first hand and is very familiar with what it takes to keep them in perfect condition. He is among the best at dealing with customers concerns and keeping them informed as their “pride and joy” makes its way through our demanding service process. We are continually developing Nathan’s skills and assuring that he is always ready to fulfill your needs. Contact Nathan on his cell at 570-274-0820. Nathan has a very supportive wife, Abbey, (he works long hours), and a 3-month-old son, Peter, who is still keeping him up at night. When he is not taking care of his customers he likes to hike with his family and their English bulldog, Franklin.

PIETER BASTIAANS ASTON MARTIN CERTIFIED SALESPERSON

Pieter has a wealth of experience in our industry due to his experience owning a Porsche dealership for 36 years and working as a Certified Aston Martin salesperson for 7 years. He is a Holland native but has lived in the U.S. for the past 9 years and has been with us since we opened. Pieter has a valuable following of customers and has been a critical element to our success. He thoroughly understands the product and has great relationships at the factory that allow him to get special requests built for his customers. You will most often find Pieter at his desk but on the rare days that he takes off he enjoys sports car racing.

WA SHINGTON DC

AstonMartinWashingtonDC.com | 888.439.8212 8550 Leesburg Pike Vienna,VA 22182

4:07 PM 2/6/14 3:10

CUI-SCENE

STYLISH EATS Notable locals share their favorite, fashionable establishments of the DC food scene. Washington has come a long way from its days as a buttoned-up backwater town where steakhouse power-lunching passed for culinary excitement. Today, hot new DC restaurants draw in fashionable patrons. Below, three tastemakers reveal their top places to eat and be seen.

Emily Yeskel Rubin, manager and buyer, Wink DC shopwinkdc.com “The drinks and food at The Red Hen are so delicious. The burrata salad, the crispy Brussels sprouts, and the short rib are favorites of mine. The restaurant has a comfortable, yet hip ambience. The lighting is perfect, and it’s not overcrowded. I also appreciate that you can see all the movement in the open kitchen.” 1822 First St. NW, 202-525-3021; theredhendc.com Jason Elias Gonzalez, creative director, The Tailored Man, a bespoke tailor tailoredman.com “Estadio blends classic Spanish cuisine with a modern flair, and its Jason Elias Gonzalez selection of artisan enjoys Estadio’s fare, including charcuterie cheeses and meats will (BELOW). make you feel like you’ve found a gem in Barcelona. Pair that with its contemporary yet rustic décor, and you’ll want to visit time and time again.” 1520 14th St. NW, 202-3191404; estadio-dc.com

ABOVE: APictius de sam lictatent, ute quidus acescidi resti qui conse et acia voluptatet as dipsumquas vende ea porunt rem

At Rose’s Luxury, Brilliant Dissonance A BRAND-NEW EATERY BRINGS A DOWN-HOME AESTHETIC AND CREATIVE FARE TO CAPITOL HILL. BY SAM HIERSTEINER

“D

id you make it to Rose’s Luxury yet?” is the hot question in DC dining conversations these days—and with good reason. Chef Aaron Silverman’s recently opened restaurant, named for his grandmother, has created a wave of positive buzz that few new eateries achieve. And while many DC diners have stopped in, sharing thoughts on impressions is more challenging. The aesthetic, the food, and Silverman himself evade easy characterization. Nothing appears to make the 32-year-old Rockville, Maryland, native happier. “I pushed hard to make Rose’s a place where people can experience a different aesthetic,” says Silverman, whose resume includes stints at award-winning restaurants such as New York’s Momofuku Noodle Bar and Charleston’s McCrady’s. “I wanted it to feel comfortable and lived-in, but not overworked.” The restaurant’s entryway, which Silverman likens to an “old-school New York hotel,” is a whimsical intersection of custom diamond tile and herringbone wood flooring, whitewashed brick, and vintage furnishings. Pass the cluster of tables in the front room to see the gleaming, organized kitchen and a chef’s counter crafted with wood from Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The back area, which was once a patio, is now covered and retains its outdoor character with high ceilings and strung lights, while the second floor boasts a polished, saloon-style bar. Each room feels like a distinct, comfortable microclimate. “I’m happy with the aesthetic, but it’s like a home that takes time to build,” says Silverman, who has sourced materials and furnishings from Schoolhouse Electric Co. and Miss Pixie’s. “We’ll continue to add things on a rolling basis.” The same can be said of the Rose’s Luxury menu, which harmonizes flavors from Roman trattorias, Asian markets, Low Country picnics, and French country kitchens. While some popular items—like pork and lychee in coconut broth, crispy roasted cauliflower with yogurt, and Vietnamese pâté with peanuts and herbs (SHOWN ABOVE)—may remain on the menu, this spring will look decidedly different at the eatery. In addition to opening up the roof and the front patio for seating, Silverman’s team will experiment with new dishes. “We’ll be adding more wood-grilled items, expanding the pasta menu, and trying fun things like Chinese takeout items or tacos,” says Silverman. “There won’t be any guidelines or rules as long as everything is awesome, exciting, and fun.” 717 8th St. SE, 202-580-8889; rosesluxury.com CF

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ELIZABETH PARKER (PÂTÉ); STACY ZARIN-GOLDBERG (CHARCUTERIE)

Lisa Sun, founder & CEO, Project Gravitas, a design house and fashion community for women projectgravitas.com “I like Blue Duck Tavern, especially in the winter. I enjoy a warm drink in the Park Hyatt lounge before sitting down to a dinner of amazing bone marrow, veal sweetbreads, and a rib eye for two. The lighting is amazing, the décor is modern but cozy, and you never know who you’re going to bump into.” 24 & M Streets NW, 202-419-6755; blueducktavern.com

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CHEERS

Drink Pink ROSY COCKTAILS COMMEMORATING THE 2014 CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL ARE POPPING UP ALL AROUND TOWN. BY KAYLEIGH KULP

THE GIFT Beverage director Lukas Smith of Daikaya melds Japanese tastes with a nod to cherry blossoms in a fragrant—and quite stunning—springtime cocktail. 1.5 oz. Iichiko barley shochu 1.5 oz. Cocchi Vermouth di Torino .125 oz. Kiuchi No Shizuku, the distilled white ale from Hitachino 3 dashes (or 9 drops) of Bittercube orange bitters Preserved edible cherry blossom Stir all ingredients in a glass with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Garnish with the cherry blossom.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN OH

or Washington bartenders, the beloved annual Cherry Blossom Festival is more than an excuse to mix pink drinks to match 3,000 blooming cherry trees adorning the Tidal Basin. Constructing crisp, delicate cocktails with Japanese-inspired flavors and details is about honoring the historic gesture of friendship, hospitality, and mutual respect shown by Tokyo’s mayor when he gave Washington the trees more than a century ago. At Penn Quarter sushi lounge SEI (444 7th St. NW, 202-783-7007; seirestaurant.com) bar manager Redian Doci slings the Choya Princess, a blend of bourbon, plum wine, and bitters that is simplistic but balanced to honor Japanese tradition. “We don’t want to make [the cocktails] overthe-top,” Doci says. For those seeking the exotic, Doci’s Sakura Treasure, a combination of cherry-infused vodka, yuzu juice ( Japanese citrus), and Thai basil sake, features a sakura (or cherry blossom) frozen inside a single ice cube. The “treasure” is in the ice, and “it’s like you are opening the chest” as the ice melts, Doci says. When Art and Soul (415 New Jersey Ave. NW, 202-393-7777; artandsoul dc.com) manager Christian Eck thinks cherry blossom season, he also thinks of nicer weather. “Sunny days, but a little bit crisp... the fact that winter’s over and people want to celebrate,” he explains. This plays into his Capitol Hill cocktail menu, with effervescent drinks like the Sakura Spritzer, a pitcher of vermouth macerated in smoked cherries, lemon-lime soda, and white wine for sharing; or the nostalgic Chocolate Covered Cherry Old-Fashioned with chocolate bourbon, cherries, sweet vermouth, house-made cherry soda, and cherry juice, reminiscent of his favorite childhood treat. On the other hand, Daikaya (705 6th St. NW, 202-589-1600; daikaya.com) beverage director Lukas Smith makes The Gift—an aromatic concoction of barley shochu, Cocchi Vermouth di Torino, distilled Japanese white ale, and orange bitters featuring an edible salted sakura—in homage to the cherry trees as an acknowledgement of mutual obligation. After all, as he says of Washington’s blush-colored blossoms: “They are not just pretty, but an important symbol of international harmony.” CF

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L EA D E R I N H I G H - E N D C U S TO M H O M E C O N S T RU C T I O N B U I L D I N G YO U R D R EA M H O M E FO R G E N E R AT I O N S TO E N JOY

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ON THE TOWN

INSIGHT Where: J&G Steakhouse, W Washington D.C., 515 15th St. NW,202661-2440; jgsteakhouse dc.com What: Premium meats and fresh seafood Who: Executive Chef Philippe Reininger

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Holly Thomas and Makeda SaggauSackey talk spring fashion at J&G Steakhouse’s Bar 515; the restaurant’s six-peppercorn, 14-ounce prime New York steak; Bee Sting cocktail with honey and lemon.

On Food and Fashion R

efinery29’s DC Editor Holly E. Thomas and Glamazon Diaries Editor and Founder Makeda Saggau-Sackey are ready for spring. When we meet at the newly redesigned J&G Steakhouse, Thomas wears a sea-toned Proenza Schouler print sweater and short A.L.C. skirt from Hu’s Wear. (“The minute I put it on, I felt like I’m supposed to wear this,” she says.) And Saggau-Sackey sports brights by ASOS (including her signature silhouette: an A-line skirt). They toast with sparkling wine and a bellini—“it tastes like a trip to the spa,” Thomas says—at the new Bar 515, a swanky space tucked away downstairs. When it’s time for lunch, which includes perfectly prepared calamari as an appetizer, steak, halibut, and amazing caramelized Brussels sprouts, they embark on a dynamic conversation about all things stylish (and tasty) in DC.

You know our city well. Do you think our style has changed? Makeda Saggau-Sackey: DC fashion has changed completely. Fashion and blogging were still in its infancy in 2007 [when I started]. Holly E. Thomas: It was more self-expression, versus “this is a way to make a living.” MSS: I had a full-time job and was blogging on the side. I’m not going to mention which job. [Laughs] People back then, they were like, “Fashion? You’re going to do this for a living?” But then people started finding me… and so I realized that if you were smart about it, you could make money at it. HET: My mom was very stylish. So I think I’ve loved the idea of style as a whole, and I was really drawn to service journalism.… [When I worked at continued on page 68

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GREG POWERS

FASHION JOURNALIST HOLLY E. THOMAS AND DIGITAL STYLE DIVA MAKEDA SAGGAU-SACKEY CHAT ABOUT DC’S CHANGING LOOKS AND THEIR FAVORITE PLACES TO DINE. BY LESLIE QUANDER WOOLDRIDGE

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ON THE TOWN

FROM TOP: The bartender makes a Gold Finger martini tableside; J&G was recently redesigned with a more modern look; the seared halibut is served in a scallion-chili sauce with basil and celery.

“30-somethings and 40-somethings are seeking out new designers— and pushing boundaries more.” —HOLLY THOMAS

HET: I like the steak. The steak was very well-cooked and tender. MSS: [Bartender presents a Goldfinger martini at the table and adds 24k gold dust. Saggau-Sackey looks at the sparkle.] That is so pretty. It’s a “zhuzhed” up martini. And the halibut is really good. I always get steak, but I think in 2014, I need to start eating more fish... HET: I’m not a big drinker, but I have a summer drink, which is the Dark and Stormy. When the weather starts to get warm [a] Pimm’s Cup is nice. It will get warm soon. Any other thoughts about spring fashion? MSS: I think fashion has changed because people started reading blogs more, and they were getting into underground designers. DC was a J. Crew culture. But now, even Hill staffers wear Rag & Bone. HET: We owe that to independent retailers, like Marlene [Hu Aldaba] at Hu’s and to Lori at Redeem. They really stuck by their guns and stock designers that they really feel strongly about. I think every bit helps. CF

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GREG POWERS

continued from page 66 The Washington Post years ago] the fashion scene was really different. It was really only, like, the college kids who were being trendy and taking risks. Now I feel like the 30-somethings and 40-somethings are seeking out new designers, trying to find different brands, and pushing the boundaries a little bit more—which I guess means that the culture and the atmosphere here is a lot more open to having style and expressing style. Some people think you have glamorous jobs. Do you really? HET: It sort of depends on your role. I’ve always thought of myself more as a writer and editor than as a fashion person. Then, there are fashion people who are incredibly stylish 24–7. But when you’re under the surface, working hard to get everything done, it’s less about you and more about your talent and abilities. And that has nothing to do with whether you [dressed up] that day. MSS: I completely agree. HET: I like to look nice and put together, sort of timeless, hopefully cool. But it’s never really been like, “Hey, look at me. Look at what I’m wearing. Take my picture.” I’m definitely not one of those people. MSS: Well, that was the one thing that I learned at my first Fashion Week. Street-style bloggers were emerging, and I said, “OK, I have to get all my clothes and heels—” HET: And “I have to wear the coolest things I own, all at once—“ MSS: Exactly. And my feet killed me the entire Fashion Week, and I said: never again. I had standing tickets. [Laughs] So I learned my lesson. HET: Everyone’s like, “[Fashion Week] is such fun; it’s so exciting.” But it’s really 10 times harder than you think when you have to do it for a living. MSS: It’s the trade show of the fashion industry. Speaking of style, DC restaurants like J&G are chic, too. Where else do you like to dine? HET: I really like Rose’s Luxury. The mantra there is sort of like “simple, clean, classic American, very down to earth.” [Editor’s note: See our story on the restaurant on page 62.] And I think that’s definitely happening in fashion, too, especially with heritage brands. MSS: It’s like that farm-to-table movement. HET: Like knowing where your food is coming from, you can also know where your denim comes from. MSS: I read somewhere that food is the new fashion—because everyone is into it. Lincoln [Restaurant] is great for brunch. And in terms of style, I love Ping Pong Dim Sum in Chinatown. I love the vibe. It’s been around for a while, and the happy hours are amazing. A nice lychee [and roses] martini— those are really good. What was your favorite part of lunch here?

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reasures

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN VOSS

As in her jewelry, Elizabeth Lockeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flagship store, shown here, abounds with Italianate touches like plasterwork ceilings.

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Antique Animal Venetian glass intaglio bangle ($12,350).

STYLE SETTER

Locke Love LOCAL JEWELRY POWERHOUSE ELIZABETH LOCKE INTRODUCES A SPRING COLLECTION INSPIRED BY HER WORLD TRAVELS. BY JULIET IZON

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN VOSS (NECKLACE)

lizabeth Locke’s flagship jewelry store, The Other Elizabeth, certainly doesn’t resemble the other businesses in quaint Boyce, Virginia. The façade is festooned with Moorish-style windows and inside, intricate plasterwork decorates the ceiling. Italianate touches are apparent not only in the architecture of her boutique, but also in her jewelry: Locke often incorporates ancient coins into her sought-after pieces. But her path to becoming one of the most acclaimed jewelers in the tristate area was circuitous. After growing up in Staunton, Virginia, Locke traveled extensively and operated a furniture accessories business in Italy before returning home in 1975. In 1988, she was writing for Town & Country and was dispatched to Bangkok. “I found a group of very talented goldsmiths making really unattractive jewelry,” she says. “That was the impetus for starting my business; I thought that their efforts were not being put to good use.” Soon after, she moved to New York City to study gemology. A visitor to The Other Elizabeth will no doubt find many beautiful things: Locke’s 19k gold pieces have a soft, hammered finish and are complemented by colored stones. “I love anything in the spinel or tourmaline family,” she says.

For her spring collection, Locke was drawn to the color blue. “On a recent trip to Bangkok I saw these enchanting pools that captured the most vibrant shades of cerulean, which inspired me to incorporate the hue into our intaglio pieces,” she says. And she lets the gems lead her, not the other way around. “What I design is completely dependent upon the stones that I buy,” she says. “I just design things that I would want to wear myself.” Women the world over clamor for Locke’s pieces. She even counts Elizabeth Taylor as one of her line’s early aficionados, and her jewels are also stocked across the country in Neiman Marcus stores. With prices starting around $1,000 and climbing to $30,000, there’s an item for almost every budget. While the designer admits to hardly getting to unpack her suitcase due to her heavy travel schedule—including about three months a year at her workshop in Bangkok—she adores returning home to bucolic Boyce. “I truly have the best of both worlds,” she says. “Isolation for creativity and easy access to the world.” The Other Elizabeth, 17 E. Main St., Boyce, VA, 540-837-3088; elizabethlocke.com CF

FROM LEFT:

Elizabeth Locke’s flagship shop in Boyce, Virginia, with its Moorish-style windows; small centaur Venetian glass intaglio pendant necklace in 19k hand-hammered gold ($3,225).

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LOCAL TREASURES Eynack’s new ecofriendly line includes (FROM TOP) Cool Aviator, Cool Color Skate Board, and Sun Treasure sunglasses ($150 each).

Out of Sight! GEORGETOWN’S ALEX BROWN DEBUTS NEW SPRING STYLES OF SUSTAINABLE AND CHIC EYEWEAR.

ajoring in textile coloration at The University of Manchester, men’s clothing and eyewear designer Alex Brown never considered living anywhere other than Washington when he moved to the United States. “DC is the capital of the country, and the people in Washington dress up most of the time. It made sense for me here,” he says. Brown began designing clothing for local politicians before a vacation in Milan inspired him to launch his high-end eyewear label, Eynack, in 2010. And this March, the brand will debut an assortment of styles made entirely from bamboo. “I lost my eyeglasses while I was on vacation, so I was forced to go out and buy a pair. It cost me $550 for one nice pair of glasses,” he recalls. “I wanted to create something of the same quality that everyone could afford.” Similar to Milanese designs, Eynack’s optical wear features acetate frames and sustainable

bamboo temples, in addition to its new all-bamboo styles. “What makes these glasses so unique is the weight of each pair,” explains Brown. “They are so light that the grip on your nose is just perfect. They won’t fall off your face like other pairs do.” Offered in cat-eye, square, and round shapes, the glasses are colored with nontoxic, organic dyes and are sold in a variety of shades, including red, brown, yellow, and green. The collection is available at Eynack’s namesake boutique and on its website; for the latter, Brown is working with DC Public schools to donate a pair of children’s glasses for each pair sold. “My son had problems reading and needed glasses, so I did some research and realized there were millions of kids who cannot afford glasses,” says Brown. “I’m lucky enough that I can buy a pair for my son. I wanted to give back and help others who can’t.” 1300 Connecticut Ave. NW, Ste. 101, 888-458-4144; eynack.com CF

PHOTOGRAPHY BY REBECCA SAHN

BY ALEXANDRIA GEISLER

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STYLE SPOTLIGHT

Sheila handbag ($298).

Georgetown Prep Read Wall celebrates the District’s all-American aesthetic with his menswear label.

Poplin gingham shirt ($155) and Read Wall Southwick MTM Grafton sportcoat (from $785).

Truck Shop WITH ITS NEW COLLECTION IN TOW, HOBO HANDBAG WILL LAUNCH ITS “MOBILE HOBO” TRUCK THIS SPRING. BY ALEXANDRIA GEISLER

Designer Koren Ray rests on the back of her new “Mobile Hobo” truck.

ECHOING WASHINGTON’S vintage-meets-modern aesthetic, Hobo handbags takes classic carryalls and updates them with practical details such as cross-body straps and interior pockets. “We believe in designing handbags that work all day for women in every aspect of their lives,” says Koren Ray, designer and cofounder of the DC-based line. And this March, the brand debuts a mobile retail truck to revolutionize shopping and celebrate its heritage at once. “Mobile Hobo is a return to our roots. My mom [Toni Ray] founded Hobo by cashing in her life savings to buy a beat-up old van so we could drive to New York and sell the first collection,” explains Koren. “Shopping on a truck is a little bit gypsy and a little bit rock ’n’ roll, which embodies the Hobo brand.” Cruising Georgetown on select days, the truck will display designs from the new spring collection, including totes and wristlets in neutral tones as well as mint, poppy, and a multicolor floral print. “We believe strongly in the neutral color palette,” says Koren, “but we always make sure there is a pop of color in the collection for something fun.” District shoppers can find the truck’s daily locations and hours via Hobo’s Facebook page. hobobags.com; facebook.com/hobobags CF

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ABBEY GREENWATT

“Growing up in DC, my style has always been preppy and traditional,” says menswear designer Read Wall. “Washington is a cool mix of northern and southern American looks.” This spring, the 27-year-old translates his Georgetown roots into a new collection of jersey cotton polos with color blocking and stripes, lightweight blazers, and made-to-measure suiting in two distinct fits: the Cambridge, a traditional cut, and the Crafton, a more modern, slim cut. “Guys today are a little more inclined to use color and pattern in a creative way, as in a cool shirt-tie combo,” Wall says. “Our spring collection is a little sportier and athletic, but always with an eye toward the classic and traditional.” Best known for his made-in-the-USA designs of cotton button-downs and sport coats, Wall’s menswear is currently exclusive to the brand’s website. However, a brick-and-mortar store on Cady’s Alley is scheduled to open later this spring. readwall.com

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TIME HONORED

Alabaster Masterworks TRANSITIONING FROM A CRYSTAL WINTER TO THE PALE BLOSSOMS OF SPRING IS A SNAP FOR WASHINGTON WOMEN THANKS TO THE PURE BEAUTY OF TODAY’S FINE WHITE WATCHES. BY ROBERTA NAAS PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF CRAWFORD

rom the Capitol to the Washington Monument, the District is awash in stately white. It is also the hue of choice for today’s watch brands that are interpreting this elegant tone on timepieces using multiple materials like mother-of-pearl, satin, and even diamonds. The look transitions beautifully from politics to parties and complements the aesthetics of those on both sides of the aisle. For more watch features and expanded coverage go to capitolfile-magazine.com/watches. CF

This Piaget 18k rose gold Limelight Gala watch ($34,000) offers added allure due to the lugless case and satin strap. The diamonds give the curvaceous watch added shimmer. Available by appointment. Diplomatic Duty Free Shops of New York, 1818 N St. NW, 202-466-8524; piaget.com

FROM TOP:

From Alor, this 1979 Swiss timepiece ($2,495) features an elegant double bezel so that the inner watch case moves slightly within the outer bezel. It is made of stainless steel with a mother-of-pearl dial and 0.92 carats of diamonds. Radcliffe Jewelers, Towson Town Center, 410-321-6590; alor.com This stainless steel Baume & Mercier Linea watch ($2,990) offers a diamondset mother-of-pearl dial. It is shown on a double-wrap white leather strap that is interchangeable. Lenkersdorfer Fine Jewelers, Tysons Corner Center, 703-506-6712; baume-et-mercier.com

STYLING BY TERRY LEWIS

Crafted in 18k yellow gold and stainless steel, this Omega Ladymatic watch ($20,200) houses a mechanical coaxial self-winding caliber and is an officially certified COSC chronometer. It features a white mother-ofpearl dial and a satin-brushed leather strap. Omega, Tysons Galleria, 571-633-9710; omegawatches.com

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fter women, flowers are the most divine creation,” said Christian Dior, who used them to inspire his fabrics and collections. The legacy of Dior’s flower passion may be the reason his couture house is likely the only one with its own gardens—eight flower plots around the world whose locations were chosen for the quality of the terroir. Today, the rare and exotic varieties grown in these gardens aren’t just for fashion inspiration; they provide the active ingredients for the company’s line of skincare products and can also be found in its fragrances and cosmetics. The extracts from two recently discovered plants, longoza and opilia, harvested in Madagascar and Burkina Faso, respectively, form the basis of Dior’s new skincare product Dreamskin, the natural extracts from one (longoza) added for antiaging benefits; the other (opilia) to help correct the skin’s color imperfections. It’s unusual for a skin product to be both corrector and wrinkle treatment. But antiaging skincare, perennially a white-hot product category, had to evolve from just treating wrinkles—with numerous varieties of injectable fillers, there are many ways to get good, quick results. Recent studies showed consumers wanting products that mitigate aging’s other side effects—uneven texture and pigmentation, for example—as much as they want over-the-counter wrinkle solutions. Brigid Noé, director of product development and innovation for Dior, says developing a product that improves tone and minimizes wrinkles was no easy task: “Usually

formulas must contain a significant amount of powders and pigments for immediate, visible color imperfection results. But those with a lot of pigments don’t always allow for deep absorption.” Noé and her team tried hundreds of combinations, while studying how facial skin absorbs and reflects light. Under the microscope, facial skin appears as a collection of small colored dots, like a Pointillist painting. However, the epidermal cell structure is unique in how light interacts with it, according to Edouard MauvaisJarvis, scientific communications director for Dior. Epidermal cells provide a natural optical filter, their diffusive properties helping to even out color and texture. “But aging impacts cells that act as filters,” he adds. For its new product, Dior scientists sought to mimic how healthy cells filter by adding special mineral powders found in Japan— one with mica platelets, another with silica particles—to the flower extracts. The powders tested well for their light-diffusion properties, minimizing redness and other age-related textural imperfections. As important, they didn’t prevent the longoza essences from deep absorption. What’s interesting about Dreamskin is how it appears creamy pink (from the color-correcting mineral powders), but applies transparently. It’s designed to be worn during the day, or under makeup. So there’s a clever bit of trompe l’oeil at work in this latest wearable magic from Dior. Dreamskin Perfect Skin Creator, Dior ($110), Nordstrom, Tysons Corner, 703-761-1121; dior.com CF

FACING FACTS In light of Dior’s research, we talked to Judy Silvero, RN, of DC’s Cosmetic Skin Institute (cosmeticskin institute.net) about what happens to our visages with age. “Cell renewal decreases, and collagen depletes and breaks down due to factors such as the natural aging process, environmental stressors like the sun [and] harsh weather, [and] mechanical behaviors, such as repeated muscle movements,” explains Silvero. “To promote the fountain of youth, you can use topical skincare products along with lasers and injectables like Botox or fillers.” Moisturizers are also “critical” for replenishing the skin with nutrients.

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF PARFUMS CHRISTIAN DIOR (MODEL, FLOWERS, SERUM); SHUTTERSTOCK.COM (CAPITOL, MONUMENT)

FOR WASHINGTONIANS SEEKING THE LATEST BREAKTHROUGH IN ADVANCED SKINCARE, A NEW PRODUCT TAKES A CLEVER APPROACH TO ANTIAGING. BY CATHERINE SABINO

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The Wright Stuff From Princess Buttercup to Forrest Gump’s soul mate to DC power diva, Golden Globe winner Robin Wright talks about her 30-year career, her causes, her kids, and her recent engagement. BY ELIZABETH THORP PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW ECCLES STYLING BY EMMA PRITCHARD

ROBIN WRIGHT IS DEFYING THE TYPICAL ARC OF OVER-40 WOMEN in Hollywood. With the acclaimed Netflix series House of Cards set to debut its widely anticipated second season on February 14, a John Le Carré movie called A Most Wanted Man, starring the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, premiering at Sundance Film Festival, and a wedding on the horizon, the recent Golden Globe–winning actress is enjoying a glorious renaissance. “Working with Robin is most satisfying,” says Kevin Spacey, Wright’s costar on House of Cards. “She’s sharp, funny, always searching for the unusual angle into a scene or an emotion; and she’s most deserving of all the praise that has come her way for her creation of Claire Underwood.” Capitol File spoke with Wright in December, the day after her Golden Globe nomination for best actress was announced.

Capitol File: Congratulations on your Golden Globe nomination! [Wright ultimately won the award.] I mean, four for the show. Best show, best actor to Kevin [Spacey], best actress to you, and best supporting actor for Corey Stoll. Robin Wright: Oh yes, Corey! I didn’t know we got a best show nomination, too. That’s Beau [Willimon], the show runner and creator. He got snubbed at the Emmys, so he deserves this. I’ve lived in DC for 21 years and have done some political work, and I feel this show is the most realistic show about Washington—minus the super evil plotting, maybe? Take the evil plotting away, you think? Be more specific. Tell me what is implausible in the evil scheming of Francis Underwood. I don’t know. Corey’s death?

[Laughs] Oh, I see. A little too mafia? Yes, exactly, like Frank wiping the steering wheel of fingerprints after the murder—it was a little Sopranos. What else? We spoke to a senior person in the Obama Administration at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner last spring, and he said everything is accurate in this show—[except] you’d never get an education bill passed that fast. Did he think reporters sleeping with sources and members of Congress was factual? Oh yeah… DC is more corrupt than Hollywood. It really is. It’s more sleazy than Hollywood… how much infidelity goes on. Well, they say that DC is the Hollywood for ugly people. [Hysterical laughter] Isn’t that mean? I take that personally!

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Double-face wool check coat, Oscar de la Renta ($2,690). Saks Fifth Avenue, 5300 Wisconsin Ave., 301-657-9000; saksfifthavenue.com

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DC is a great city. A beautiful city. Who are the women who are sitting over there waiting to talk to you? They work for an organization in the eastern Congo. [Shortly after this interview, Wright earned the distinction of Goodwill Ambassador for the Congolese women’s rights organization.] Is that a charity you’re involved with? Yes, it’s called the Enough Project, based in DC, with John Prendergast. He was the African Advisor for [President] Clinton for four years. I met him through a movie I was going to do, playing a doctor with Médecins sans Frontières, and he was my advisor on the film. He helped me go to Senegal and Tanzania for research, and then he turned me on to the crisis in the Congo. I kind of became the spokesperson for the “Raise Hope for Congo” campaign [of the Enough Project, a group focused on ending crimes against humanity]. I went to the Congo two years ago and met with survivors. Then we made a documentary [called Blood in the Mobile], and I spoke in front of Congress. I remember you came to testify. That must have been intense. It scared the shit out of me… You know, it’s selling used cars—that’s what it’s like trying to push legislation. Depending on the day, it’s what’s important on that day. You know how quickly they cut funds when we have a crisis, an economic crisis—or when we have a government shutdown. You’re also involved with an alcohol and anti-hazing organization, aren’t you? The Gordie Foundation, yes. I think this is so important, especially now that I have children entering middle school. Statistics are higher than ever now. There are key universities—University of Colorado, Boulder, is one of the worst—for drinking incidents. It’s basically just educating kids; we did a documentary on this [called Haze]. The story of Gordie is that he was a freshman at Boulder; he was a promising football player, an honor student. He was being initiated into his fraternity, where they force you to drink. It’s hazing. Hard alcohol? Yes, but they do it in a hose, a mix of cheap whiskey, beer, vodka, whatever. You cannot allow kids to sleep it off or “pass out.” We have to educate kids to keep kids awake, sitting up, and give them water. Even if they’re throwing it up. Never let friends sleep. When Gordie passed out, he was on the couch facedown, and they took a Sharpie and wrote [derogatory terms] on his face and body. [Gordie was left on a couch of a fraternity house to sleep it off for 10 hours before he was found dead the next morning; no one called for help.] That’s unbelievably horrible. His poor mother… So, what she did is put all her efforts and money into this organization to educate the kids. She made key chain bottle openers that have the steps you need to do, the signs to look for, then to call 911. We need to chat about the House of Cards trailer for season two. It’s just you, filmed in black and white, alone, smoking in slow motion. Not to glamorize smoking, but it’s a great trailer. The other trailer says, “The butchery begins!” Can you give us any hints or teasers about what we can expect in season two? Just wait. What we have in store for you guys... In [House of Cards Executive Producer] David Fincher’s words, “You will be tied and skinned.” We’re sworn to secrecy! I love your character Claire Underwood’s efficiency and icy cold demeanor.

Crew-neck shirt with whipstitch detail, Salvatore Ferragamo (price on request). Tysons Galleria, 703-7487620; ferragamo.com. Black georgette trumpet skirt, Naeem Khan ($2,900). Saks Jandel, 5510 Wisconsin Ave., 301-652-2251. Ring, Wright’s own

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“Robin is always searching for the unusual angle into a scene or emotion; she’s most deserving of all the praise that has come her way for her creation of Claire Underwood.” —KEVIN SPACEY

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White silk chiffon gown, Vera Wang Collection ($2,495). verawang.com. Slip, Ralph Lauren Blue Label (price on request). 1245 Wisconsin Ave., 202-965-0905; ralphlauren.com. Uganda sandal, Max Mara ($625). Tysons Galleria, 703-556-6962; maxmara.com Set styling by Adrian Crabbs Makeup by Sean Flanigan Hair by Tricia Sawyer Manicure by MyrdithLeonMcCormack using Dior Vernis at Factory Downtown

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“DC is more corrupt than Hollywood. It’s more sleazy than Hollywood…. [But also] DC is a great city—a beautiful city.” Really and truly, she is utilitarian and gets things No, I don’t think so. She’s so beautiful; it’s kind of done. If there’s a barrier, this barrier simply needs crazy. I was awkward when I was younger. I had a pug nose; my face totally changed with pregto be removed. nancy… Dylan never had my pug nose; she has It’s so Machiavellian. It’s very Machiavellian. I’m Lady Macbeth to this beautiful Roman nose. She has a cross Francis’s Richard III. And David Fincher said to between her dad’s and my nose. Her dad [Sean me, “This is not TV, this is live stream, this is the Penn] has a prominent nose. future, and I’m going to be shepherding it.” He just Back to House, is it difficult for you to play kept saying, “Trust me.” He wooed me while we such a diva? were in Stockholm shooting The Girl with the The only note that David Fincher ever gave me Dragon Tattoo. I told him, “I have to get paid, and I when we started the show was to be still. People were suggesting to base the character on Hillary want to be able to develop the character.” Have you been surprised how Netflix has Clinton or other strong women personas, and I blown up and all of the innovative new pro- didn’t want to do that. When we shot the first couple of scenes, David would come over to me gramming being developed? Yes. I just read an article that called it “digital esca- and say, “Don’t move. Don’t move. Claire is a bust.” Now when I have the Claire clothes, the lation.” And it all started with House of Cards. With House of Cards, are you in Baltimore for a Claire hair, and say the Claire words, it just clicks. I’m completely and totally still [except significant part of the year filming? Yes, we’re there spring through fall. Kevin is there with Kevin]. We’re so goofy. In between takes, almost full time. I take the Acela to Baltimore from we’re very goofy. We giggle a lot. New York. I bought a place here in New York, How did you meet your fiancé? I met him years ago; he’s an actor. He’s in Lone [which] is home. Everyone’s talking about the hair. You make Survivor with Mark Wahlberg about the Navy me want to cut my hair. Will you keep it short? Seals. I’d always loved his work. Then I was in a For Claire, definitely. She’s a short hair gal. But I like it, too. I can’t imagine having long hair anymore; it’s weird. I had long hair my whole life. It will never get long; I get very cut happy.… My fiancé [actor Ben Foster] hides his buzzers from me. I’ll snip a little here, a little there. Congratulations on your engagement. When are you getting married? I don’t know. We haven’t talked about a date. Everyone else is talking about a date, especially my daughter Dylan. She wants me to go get the dress and all that. They’re very excited. Are your kids in the business? They’re 22 and 20, and they’re going to be In January, in entertainment in some capacity. Dylan is Robin Wright won modeling right now because she wants to a Golden make money, but she’s a writer. I think Globe award for best she’ll write and direct. She just got the new actress in a Gap campaign gig. television drama for I think Dylan looks like you in House of Princess Bride. Cards.

movie he produced, called Rampart, and he was on the set every day since he was also an actor, so we became friends. Cut to a year later when the movie comes out, we’re at the premiere, and everyone is watching the movie. We had already seen it, so he said, “Do you want to go to the party early and hang out until the screening is over?” And that was it. We’ve been together ever since. So how does an up-and-coming younger actor muster the courage to ask Robin Wright out on a date? Can I tell you something? That was the first date I had ever been on in my life. I had never been on a real date. I’m finding this hard to believe… Generally, in this industry, you meet someone on a movie, and he becomes your boyfriend. I had one boyfriend before I got married and had kids. I was a married mom my whole life, really. My one boyfriend I had met on a movie, where we played boyfriend and girlfriend.… So I had never been asked on a date before. We hung out at the premiere party, talking all night and having a great time. Finally, Ben said, “Would you like to go to a poetry reading with me tomorrow night?” I went. At the reading we were moved by the same lines, and all of a sudden, he took my hand, and I got that rush. Butterflies. I thought, I’m an old hag; I thought that was over. [Laughs] What a lovely surprise. We just work. We’re a great team. He’s from Iowa. I’m 14 years older. Nobody blinks an eye when the man is 14 years older, but I’m a “cougar” because I’m with somebody younger. I’m pretty sure that’s the last thing people would say about you. His mother was so funny. She said “Are you kidding me?” about our age difference. Ben has always hung out with older people. When he was 9, he wasn’t with the neighborhood kids skateboarding or playing cowboys and Indians. Ben was with the 89-year-old man next door. He loved talking to him. He’d walk him down to the general store to get him his Old Spice or whatever. He’s more grown up than me in so many ways; he’s an old soul. CF

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A new golden era of luxury and classic car culture has arrived in DC.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY TK; ILLUSTRATION BY TK

THE CAR CONN E 86

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Caption will go here tk xerit lore del utpatisit velisl

ONCE-RESERVED LUXURY CAR OWNERS ARE COMING TOGETHER SOCIALLY—AND THE WASHINGTON INDUSTRY IS GROWING LIKE NEVER BEFORE. BY EUGENE L. MEYER PHOTOGRAPHY BY AARON CLAMAGE

T PHOTOGRAPHY BY TK; ILLUSTRATION BY TK

N ECTION

he silver Aston Martin with red leather upholstery roars up the Dulles Toll Road, the noise from its dual exhausts signifying power and prestige. Getting only 15 miles per gallon on the highway, this is no green car, and it carries a “gas guzzler” tax of $1,600—chump change to anyone who can afford the car’s $318,000 price tag. In the shadow of the elevated Silver Line, the car rapidly accelerates as if this were a James Bond film (in which this iconic vehicle regularly appears) and not suburban DC. The man behind the wheel is not 007, but a silver-haired Georgetown lawyer named William Shawn, a high-end car enthusiast and one of six partners in the Aston Martin and Bentley dealership at Tysons Corner. They recently added a $320,000 McLaren—a high-performance British make—to their sales inventory; soon thereafter, the partners would also be selling the Bugatti, possibly the world’s most expensive car, with prices starting at $2.3 million. Dealers of luxury cars are flocking to the metropolitan area—and why not? The wealthiest households (at least $191,469 in annual income) are here in abundance. In fact, the DC area contains seven of the nation’s 15 richest counties, according to figures from the 2010 census. There are also 164,400 millionaires who call the area home, and the region ranks fourth in Capgemini’s US Metro Wealth Index, with more than 166,000 highnet-worth households (those with at least $1 million in investible assets). According to a 2009 Forbes survey, Virginia ranked fifth in the nation in the percentage of cars sold that are luxury brands (7.2 percent), with BMW the most popular, followed by Mercedes-Benz; Aston Martin, with 20 cars sold, was the most popular “niche” luxury brand. For those lusting after such cars, it helps to be a top earner. Consider that the entry-level Aston Martin—the Vantage model—sells for $130,000

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William Shawn takes pride in his special-edition Aston Martin Rapide, a 5.9 liter V-12 four-door sports saloon, one of 25 made.

LUXURY DEVOTEE: WILLIAM SHAWN William Shawn, 66, a Washington lawyer, comanaging partner in ShawnCoulson International Lawyers, and part owner of an Aston Martin and Bentley dealership, admits to an “obsessive mentality about these cars.” For 35 years, he owned a succession of Porsches and now drives an Aston Martin. “We had a Bentley, recently sold, and we have a little Ferrari,” he adds. Shawn enjoys taking his fast cars to Summit Point Motorsports Park in West Virginia. After his Porsche “got sorely whipped” four years ago by Aston Martins, he bought his first, a Vantage V-8—James Bond’s car, considered entry-level. Now he drives a four-door Aston Martin Rapide, “the most gorgeous car ever made.” With a current fleet of five cars and only a two-car garage, the Georgetown resident says storage is a problem. “We’ve rented garages from neighbors,” he says, adding that his love of exotic cars is hereditary, with his father and grandfather as aficionados. “It gets in your blood.”

to $140,000. The high-end Aston Martin Vanquish costs as much as $320,000 to $340,000. But in our metro area, that’s no problem. “There’s much more affluence and people willing to spend money on valuable cars,” says William Shawn, 66, who drives a four-door Aston Martin Rapide, “just the most gorgeous car ever made,” a bargain at $230,000. “Over the last 20 years there’s been terrific growth in the upper end of the market. There are more unique, more expensive, and more rare cars. The Mercedes in the Washington area is almost as common as Fords in the Midwest and South.” The trend, Shawn says, has only accelerated. “We think we’re going to be in for a very good spring season for our exotic cars.” Partner of DC’s Aston Martin and Bentley dealership, Shawn says affluent Americans have never been shy about showing off their luxury cars: “It’s not that people were reluctant to show tangible evidence of their accomplishments. It’s just now more people are more successful and like cars.”

Shawn and his partners opened the Tysons Aston Martin dealership in March 2012, two months after finalizing the agreement. The time in between was spent hiring employees, preparing the showroom, and taking delivery of cars. They spent $10 million in start-up costs, including $2 million in partner equity. In bidding for the franchise, Shawn says, his group was up against competitors with far more car sales experience. “The Aston Martin people flew in from London,” he recalls. “We were a group of aficionados with no dealership experience. One of the things we said, which gave us a decisive edge, was that people who buy these cars are our friends, our peers. We’re connected with people who can afford to buy them.” Last summer the group added Bentley to its showroom, acquiring the franchise from Bethesda’s Euro Motorcars, which continues to sell Mercedes and other luxury cars. Shawn said his dealership has been selling four to six new Bentleys a month, plus a number of used models. The partners poured an additional $12 million into the Bentley dealership, including buying the cars to sell, Shawn says. Declining to give precise figures, Shawn says his dealership is in the top 10 in North America in sales of new Astons. “This is a stunning market, one of the best in the world for these cars,” adds partner Jim Walker, a veteran dealer in luxury cars who supervises day-to-day operations. “If we do what we’re supposed to do, we’ll do about 50 sales for Aston Martin [annually] and two or three times that for Bentley.” The luxury car business is also built on resales. “Every time we sell a new one, we like to buy the used one,” Walker says, no matter the model. And it’s not unusual for purchasers to trade in their new cars for even newer ones after only a few months, says Shawn. “It happens all the time. We’ve had people trade in their cars after almost 1,000 miles, because they want something else. We have people who’ll buy three or four cars a year from us.” Ron Walker has owned three Aston Martins since 2009, having purchased his last one in September 2012. He had brought in his current car—with the Virginia license plate 007—for upholstery repair last November. “This is a lifestyle people are buying,” Jim Walker says. “We have to conform with their lifestyle. We want them to call us if there’s a ding, a rip in the upholstery, or [if they] need an oil change. We just sold a [traded-in] Volvo to one of

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SOPHISTICATED GEARHEAD: THU STUBBS “Men have come and gone,” says Thu Stubbs. “The car stays. It’s the longest relationship I have.” The car she clings to is a 1968 Mercedes 280SL she bought in Stuttgart in 1986. The Vietnamese-born founder and chief executive officer of Technology Science Corporation, a government IT contractor in Reston, is a self-described “gearhead.” The Sterling, Loudoun County, resident commutes via her BMW. (She also owns a 1935 convertible child’s electric RollsRoyce toy that resides safely inside her house.) She says her “lust affair” with cars began at age 12 when she saw a 280SL convertible in Frankfurt. She acquired her dream car later when she returned to Germany as a US Army communications officer. “My car is very sleek, very timeless, not a lot of accoutrements,” she says. “I’ve done very little to it but replaced the upholstery. Last year, I treated myself to having all the dials cleaned.”

“MEN HAVE COME AND GONE. THE CAR STAYS.” — THU STUBBS Thu Stubbs’s 1968 Silver Mercedes-Benz 280 SL (Pagoda) still has its original German sheepskin seats.

our customers for his personal assistant. We’re not a Volvo dealer, but we’re in the customer service business. Service sells the second car.” “I like to think of these cars as works of art,” Shawn says, as he drives off in a 2012 two-door Bentley Continental, a trade-in, with 5,250 miles on it. It will sell for $200,000 to $250,000, he says, not much less than a new car, reflecting demand and strong resale value.

hus, the luxury car market is expanding in the DC metro area. For instance, Tesla, the all-electric car, built in California since 2008, has recently come to Washington. The car itself must be ordered online, with deposits ranging from $2,500 to $40,000 on the cars costing $71,000 to $130,000. Uniquely, there are no dealerships, only “galleries,” where customers can learn about the car, at three locations locally—in downtown Washington since 2011, in Tysons Corner, and Montgomery Mall since last year. Bugatti? It’s a limited-edition car for a limited market, but the demographics here are favorable, according to John Hill, sales director for the Americas of this car that sells for $2.3 million and up and is produced in Alsace, France. “There is an excellent car culture here,” he says. “We see quite a bit of potential in the DC metro area.” The Bugatti, blending craftsmanship with space-age technology, is said to be the planet’s fastest production car, capable of speeds up to 256 miles per hour. Granted, purchasing such high-end cars new is not within everyone’s means. For those on a budget who lust after luxury cars, there is Classic Motors of Washington, DC, in Friendship Heights. Owner Rob Peacock recently sold a

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Bob Morris’s 1952 British Allard K2 two-seater roadster is equipped with a high-performance engine suited for competitive racing.

CLASSIC COLLECTOR: BOB MORRIS Bob Morris, 66, has a pretty extensive collection: “I just don’t flaunt it,” he says. The Great Falls, Virginia, resident who cofounded and owns Billy Casper Golf, which operates golf courses throughout the US, turns heads when he drives one of his exotics, such as a creamcolored 1954 Kaiser Darrin convertible. What he drives on any day depends on his mood. “If I feel like Driving Miss Daisy, I might take out an old MG. If I’m feeling more aggressive, I might take a car with more horsepower, like an Allard or an Austin Healy.” Morris keeps his collection at home in a customdesigned garage. His wife, Candace Campbell, explains, “Bob had a growing car collection in a warehouse in Sterling, but it was inconvenient. He couldn’t just wander out and tinker with a car.” The original plan was to build a garage for five or six cars, but, like most construction projects, it changed along the way to include a home office, small gym, and room for more cars. Says Morris, “A lot of guys in this town have beautiful collections, wonderful garages nicer than most homes. We’re all kind of car guys. I don’t think we’re into it to be braggadocio, but more as caretakers for these beautiful old cars.”

slightly used Maserati to a Bethesda man for $41,000. “It was a very nice, one-owner car with 25,000 miles on it, a great value for someone who doesn’t want to spend $130,000.” The luxury car community has burgeoned so significantly that an entire social network has emerged, extending even to public events, like Katie’s Cars & Coffee in Great Falls, Virginia, which draws crowds of enthusiasts. For hanging out around a variety of luxury, exotic, or classic cars in the DC area, there’s no place like Katie’s Cars. The village of Great Falls is an epicenter of high-end car ownership, with the median household income topping $206,000 and the median home value at $1 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau—some garages are bigger than the houses to accommodate car collections, according to Bob Morris, a golf course management

executive who lives in Great Falls and is credited with starting the Saturday morning tradition at Katie’s Coffee House four years ago. What car he shows up in cannot be predicted. “I get up Saturday morning,” he says, “go to the garage, and one of them says, ‘Come drive me today.’” One autumn Saturday, around 7 AM, he arrives in a cream-colored 1954 Kaiser Darrin convertible. It’s one of only 435 manufactured by Henry J. Kaiser from the design of Howard “Dutch” Darrin, and one was recently for sale for $225,000. But Morris won’t say what his cost. “I don’t talk about that. I’m just a car guy,” he says. The cars are often conversation starters, evoking memories as well as awe. “There’ll always be a flashback [car] story, about a date with a girl,” says Morris. “Or, ‘I owned that right out of college.’ Those cars bring back wonderful memories. It’s a

time-warp thing. It makes everybody smile. [Cars & Coffee] has turned into a social gathering that includes cars, which is really nice.” As many as 300 vehicles crowd into the Great Falls Village Centre lot and adjoining parking areas, with early birds claiming the prime spots closest to Katie’s, according to Dino Andreatos, 56, an employee benefits consultant who is there with his 1965 Shelby Daytona Coupe— one of eight cars he owns, “a small collection.” What’s his favorite? “Whatever I’m driving.” His Shelby can do 205 miles an hour, he says. “I’ve driven it to 150,” he adds, “but not around here. On back roads.” As always, there’s a story to tell. Andreatos bought the car five years ago and sold it to a man in Texas who said he had 18 months to live, on the condition he would buy it back from his wife after he died. “He lived two and a half years. We stayed in touch. He drove it 3,000 miles. Then I got a call from his widow and bought it back. And here she is,” he says while standing by his Shelby in front of Katie’s. “I love her more now than ever.” Proud to show off its innards, Andreatos raises the hood on the Galaxie blue– colored car with Wimbledon white stripes. Raised hoods are a staple of Cars & Coffee. But it’s strictly for show, not for engine repairs. Andreatos, who lives in Clifton, also comes for

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the camaraderie. “I’ve met so many [people] here, made so many friendships,” he says. “I’m here every Saturday, except in rain or snow. We don’t care if it’s 10 degrees, you’ll see us. Five degrees, you’ll see us. He adds that it’s often an earlymorning gathering of husbands without wives. “The wives haven’t even woken up yet,” he says. “My wife has never been out here with me, not once. She has no desire to drive any of my cars.” Not to say that women aren’t welcome; there just aren’t many to be seen. “Testosterone at C&C is pretty high, and I heard women shy away from the Saturday hours of 7 to 9 AM,” says Thu Stubbs, a Mercedes owner who, as a woman, is a unique regular at Katie’s. “I’ve met only two women driving classics since Bob [Morris] started C&C. The majority of women are wives of car owners.” Grandsons are more common. That would include Micah Simonds, 6, there this past fall with his grandfather, Dan Huthwaite, of Great Falls, who’d driven in his 1998 Carrera S Porsche. “He’s been a gearhead since he could talk,” Huthwaite says proudly. “He loves cars.” And Cars & Coffee can surprise even the most seasoned aficionados. “You never know what’s going to come down the parking lot,” notes Chuck Viggiani, a DC policeman who has arrived in his red 1966 Morris Mini Countryman woodie wagon, a small car that resembles a Mini Cooper. One Saturday, an “airplane” car pulled in—a fuselage minus the wings on a Toyota chassis. Then there was the Saudi prince who was staying at the Four Seasons in Georgetown last summer. “The doorman advised him to go to Katie’s. “He sent out two security guys here at 5 AM on a Saturday,” says Katie’s Coffee House owner Mike Kearney. “They were driving two Porsche Cayennes. They left here at 5:30, drove back to Georgetown, got the prince and his car. The prince was just touring the country. He drove out in a Bugatti.” Occasionally, too, dealers will bring their most luxurious cars to show, such as a McLaren or a Bugatti—to get customers and feedback. “Whether it’s a $1 million Lamborghini or a $1,000 Rabbit, people just enjoy the cars,” says Kurt Hackmeier, a 60-year old defense contractor from Great Falls whose ride today is a 1962 Porsche 356 that is “all original except for the exhaust system.” On this chilly Saturday there are maybe 10 cars at 6 AM and nearly 200 cars by 8. “By 9 AM, it’s all over,” says Kearney, also a self-described “car guy” and proud owner of a 1969 Austin woodie wagon. “You’d never know it happened.” CF

A Mercedes-Benz Gullwing is one of many autos on view at Katie’s Cars & Coffee every Saturday in Great Falls, Virginia. BELOW: A yellow 1953 K2 Allard in a prime spot.

Car Love

Meeting for morning coffee has an entirely different meaning when it’s at Katie’s Coffee House. It began four years ago, almost on a whim. Bob Morris and his wife, Candace Campbell, were in Irvine, California, at a gathering of luxury and classic car enthusiasts. Wouldn’t it be nice, Bob said, to have something like that near their home in Great Falls, Virginia? Back home, they came up with a list of local car clubs and approached Mike Kearney, owner of The Old Brogue restaurant and Katie’s Coffee House in Great Falls Village Center, with the idea. They thought maybe 15 to 20 cars would show up Saturday mornings for Katie’s Cars & Coffee. But then it went viral. Now, the cars begin arriving by 6 AM, with numbers swelling to 300 on some Saturdays. “On a busy day, we’ll serve over 800 customers before 9 AM,” says Kearney. “It’s packed with people waiting to get coffee,” says William Shawn, a C&C regular. “It’s a Brigadoon concept. All of a sudden, cars materialize; then they vanish around 9 when everyone goes home.” Originally intended to last from April to October, Katie’s C&C is now year-round, with cars overflowing from the Great Falls Village Center into several adjoining lots. No matter how hot or cold, only rain or snow keeps the cars away. “Really nice cars don’t come out of the garage if it’s sprinkling,” Kearney says. Friendships are made. Sometimes, cars are bought and sold. But A blue mostly, it’s male bonding—with a few women—hanging out and ogling Chevrolet each other’s rides. Says retired federal worker Dan Garvey, of Vienna, Corvette (CENTER) owner of two Mustangs and two Thunderbirds: “I just get my coffee, from the wander around, and enjoy it.” katiescarsandcoffee.com early 1960s.

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BARE MINIMUM SPRING'S CLEAN LINES AND MINIMALIST SILHOUETTES ECHO WASHINGTON’S TIMELESS ARCHITECTURE AND DYNAMIC SKYLINE. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBERT ASCROFT STYLING BY TARYN SHUMWAY

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ON ILIANA:

Opal jacket ($4,195) and skirt ($2,095), Burberry London. 1155 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-463-3000; burberry.com. Ribbed mock-neck sweater top, Ralph Lauren Collection ($1,295). 1245 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-965-0903; ralphlauren.com ON FRANCIS: Trench coat ($2,495) and trousers ($445), Ermenegildo Zegna. Tysons Galleria, 571-730-1900; zegna .com. Wide ribbed sweater, Porsche Design ($390). Tysons Galleria, 703-942-5522; porsche-design.com

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ON FRANCIS: Suit, Ermenegildo Zegna ($3,995). Tysons Galleria, 571-7301900; zegna.com. Slim-fit dress shirt, Calvin Klein Collection ($295). Saks Fifth Avenue, Tysons Galleria, 703-7610700; saks.com. Revolution 43.5mm chronograph watch, David Yurman ($6,400). Tysons Galleria, 703-2453515; davidyurman.com. Shoes, HermĂ¨s ($890). Neiman Marcus, Mazza Gallerie, 202-966-9000; neimanmarcus.com ON ILIANA: Black merino wool zip cardigan ($495) and black merino wool cropped sweater ($495), Vera Wang Collection. Available by special order, 212-382-2184. Silk skirt, Giorgio Armani ($1,895). Saks Jandel, 5510 Wisconsin Ave., 301-652-2251; armani .com. Maxi linear bangle, Pluma Italia ($220). plumaitalia.com. Rebel handbag, Jimmy Choo ($950). The Collection at Chevy Chase, 240-2231102; jimmychoo.com. Specchio sandals, Ralph Lauren Collection ($495). 1245 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-965-0905; calvinklein.com

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Patent jacket, Yves Salomon ($3,307). Intermix, 3300 M St. NW, 202-298-8080; intermixonline .com. Silk cape back dress, Tibi ($345). Wink, 3109 M St. NW, 202-338-9465; tibi.com. Rectangular plaque belt, Tory Burch ($150). 1211 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-337-1410; toryburch.com. Albion top-handle bag, Anya Hindmarch ($2,250). Saks Fifth Avenue, Mazza Gallerie, 301-6579000; anyahindmarch.com. So Kate pumps, Christian Louboutin ($625). Neiman Marcus, Tysons Galleria, 703-761-1600; neimanmarcus.com

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Sheer knit top ($830) and cotton belted skirt (price upon request), Salvatore Ferragamo. Tysons Galleria, 703-748-7620; ferragamo .com. Napa striped midi clutch, J. Mendel ($3,200). Saks Jandel, 5510 Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase, MD, 301-652-2250; jmendel.com

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Spring knit tee, Ports 1961 ($895). ports1961.com. Milano chino, Brooks Brothers ($99). 3077 M St. NW, 202-2988797; brooksbrothers.com. Briefcase, Calvin Klein Collection ($1,295). Saks Fifth Avenue, Tysons Galleria, 703-761-0700; saks.com. Dunraven lace-up shoes, Jimmy Choo ($595). The Collection at Chevy Chase, 240-223-1102; jimmychoo.com

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Trench with tab closures, Black Fleece by Brooks Brothers ($895). 3077 M St. NW, 202-2988797; brooksbrothers.com. Dress shirt ($345) and belt ($310), Ermenegildo Zegna. Tysons Galleria, 571-730-1900; zegna .com. Double-pocket pants, Porsche Design ($460). Tysons Galleria, 703-942-5522; porschedesign.com. Captain Central second watch, Zenith ($5,500). Diplomatic Duty Free Shop, 1818 N St. NW, 202-466-8524; shopddf .com. Low-top lace-up shoes, Brunello Cucinelli ($930). Neiman Marcus, Mazza Gallerie, 202-9669000; neimanmarcus.com

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ON FRANCIS: Cotton poplin shirt, HermĂ¨s ($500). Neiman Marcus, Mazza Gallerie, 202-966-9000; neimanmarcus.com. Tapered trouser, Band of Outsiders ($545). Lost Boys, 1033 31st St. NW, 202-3333-0093; bandofoutsiders.com. 40mm stainless steel watch, Ebel ($2,700). ebel.com ON ILIANA: Sculpted sleeve shirt, Porsche Design ($775). Tysons Galleria, 703-9425522; porsche-design.com. Skirt, Yves Salomon ($911). Intermix, 3300 M St. NW, 202-298-8080; intermixonline.com. Rose rock candy collar, Ippolita ($995). Tiny Jewel Box, 1147 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-3932747; tinyjewelbox.com. 18k gold fancy-shaped diamond stackable bands, Lisa Nik ($1,155 each). Shah & Shah; 1001 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-223-6001; shah-shah.com. Soft Natalia with gold turn-lock bag, Tom Ford ($3,430). Available by special order, 212-359-0300; tomford. com. Kadie sandals, Sigerson Morrison ($425). Betsy Fisher, 1224 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-785-1975; sigersonmorrison.com

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Jacket, John Varvatos Star USA Luxe ($998). Lost Boys, 1033 31st St. NW, 202-333-0093; lostboysdc.com. Cotton cashmere turtleneck, Tom Ford ($990). Available by special order, 212-359-0300; tomford.com. James stretch-twill pant, Ralph Lauren Black Label ($350).Tysons Galleria, 703-356-3017; ralphlauren.com. Shoes, Jil Sander ($895). Neiman Marcus, Tysons Galleria, 703-761-1600; neimanmarcus.com ON ILIANA: Revere duster coat ($1,150) and Benny dress ($625), MaxMara. Julia Farr, 5232 44th St. NW, 202-364-3277; juliafarrdc.com. Thick horn bangle, Gerard Yosca ($45). Propper Topper, 1350 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-842-3055; proppertopper.com. Hemingway flap lock satchel, Mark Cross ($2,995). Barneys, 3040 M St. NW, 202-9448460; markcross1845.com. Ankle-strap mules, Jason Wu ($895). Saks Fifth Avenue, 5555 Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase, MD, 301-6579000; saksfifthavenue.com ON FRANCIS:

Photography by Robert Ascroft Styling by Taryn Shumway Makeup by Matin, Color Consultant for Laura Mercier Hair by Dominick Pucciarello at ABTP.com Manicure by Julie Kandalec at Bryan Bantry Agency using essie Male Model Francis Cadieux at Wilhemina Female Model Iliana at Ford Models NY

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Ambassadors connect with guests by serving their country’s cuisine. This table features fare from Ireland (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT): whole-wheat Irish bread with smoked salmon, Irish stew, bacon-wrapped oysters, mini mince pies and Butler’s Irish chocolates, black and white pudding with potato garnish, and a Kerrygold Dubliner Irish cheese plate.

Political

PARTIES DC-BASED AMBASSADORS REVEAL THEIR FAVORITE MEALS AND DISCUSS THE IMPORTANCE OF SHARING AUTHENTIC FOODS FROM THEIR NATIVE LANDS. BY LAURA MULLEN

FOOD PREPARATION BY FOODIRELAND.COM AND BEWLEY’S IRISH IMPORTS

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN VOSS

mbassadors play an integral role in the fluctuating landscape of national and global politics. While posted in Washington, their jobs demand a constant schedule of meetings with White House officials, NGOs, and business leaders to help define and grow the nation’s relationships, yet it still requires the extreme finesse of socializing—a notion that is all too familiar to many Washingtonians. So its business as usual for many nation representatives—whether the deal is struck in the Oval Office or a over three-course dinner.

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FOOD PREPARATIONS BY FOODIRELAND.COM AND BEWLEY’S IRISH IMPORTS

Ambassador Anne Anderson loves to highlight Ireland’s dairy and meat, including its grass-fed beef that may soon grace American tables if a proposed trade agreement is approved.

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Anne Anderson

Ambassador of Ireland

“I

t’s the association between Ireland and good conversation: easy times, relaxation—that’s what we like guests to enjoy in the house,” says the newly installed Ambassador Anne Anderson of Ireland on hosting gatherings at her residence. “The Irish government has had the house since the mid 1960s,” she explains. “It’s a lovely space for entertaining, so we use it to the fullest.” Ambassador Anderson presented her credentials to President Obama in September 2013, and while not brand-new to the diplomatic community of Washington—she was based in DC in the 1980s as a young diplomat before accepting posts around the world—she has had the opportunity to see the nation’s capital change over decades. “The city has improved tremendously. It’s a much livelier, more sophisticated, multicultural city,” she notes. Keeping the capital’s changing landscape and demographic in mind, the ambassador still yearns to provide the cozy and accepting hospitality most have come to expect from her country. “Yes, it is a building owned by the Irish government,” she says, “but people should feel at home and have a real sense of warm, relaxed Irish hospitality.” With her position comes the necessity of hosting social events in the residence, typically dinners and cocktail receptions, several times a week. “Conversation is so important to an Irish evening—talking, telling stories, laughing, music, poetry,” she explains. “Members of Congress have commented that they find it very easy to be relaxed in these surroundings, and I always try to give that note to the evening.” Serving the national cuisine is always part of the main event at these embassy gatherings. “You want to create that Irish ambience to showcase what’s best about your country in your food,” says Anderson. “We are a country based on dairy products and meats, so everything originates with the fantastically green grass we have in Ireland.” Her homeland’s cuisine is also an economic focus for the ambassador. One in seven Irish jobs is in the agri-food industry, according to an Irish Farmers Association–commissioned study, with beef exports reportedly increasing 28 percent in the past three years, a statistic the ambassador hopes to bolster even more in 2014 with proposed trade agreements to reopen the exporting of Irish beef to the United States. She adds, “I’m really looking forward to Irish beef gracing our table next year.”

IRISH WHOLE-WHEAT SODA BREAD (pictured with Irish smoked salmon)

10 oz. whole-wheat flour 4 oz. all-purpose flour 3 oz. rolled oat flakes 1 tsp. sea salt

3/4 tsp. baking soda 1 medium egg (beaten) 28 fl. oz. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 320˚F. Brush a 1-pound loaf pan with melted butter and dust with whole-wheat flour. In a large bowl, mix together the whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, oat flakes, sea salt, and the sifted baking soda. Make a well in the center, and add the beaten egg and buttermilk. Fold together gently until just combined. Transfer to the loaf tin and use a wet spatula to lightly even out the top. Dust with whole-wheat flour and mark a cross on top with a butter knife. Bake in preheated oven for 65 minutes. Turn out of tin onto cooling rack immediately.

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CHICKEN TAGINE WITH PRESERVED LEMON AND OLIVES

Olive oil 4 chicken leg quarters or a whole chicken, cut up 2 onions, sliced 3 garlic cloves, chopped 1 cup kalamata olives

1 preserved lemon, rinsed and 1/4-inch diced 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped 2 tsp. ground coriander 1 tsp. ginger 2 pinches saffron

Rinse and dry the chicken, and season it with salt and a little freshly ground black pepper. In a 4- to 5-quart pan over medium high heat, add enough olive oil to coat the pan and brown the chicken well, skin-side down. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Add the onions and garlic, and cook until golden. Return the chicken to the pan, along with any juices. Sprinkle with the spices and fry briefly, but do not burn the spices. Add the olives, preserved lemon, and cover. Bring to a boil and adjust seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste, then reduce heat and simmer gently, covered for 30–45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and tender. Add the cilantro and serve. Garnish with fresh cilantro and preserved lemon slices. Serves 4.

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Rachad Bouhlal

Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco

ntertaining his DC counterparts and international visitors—most recently the King of Morocco Mohammed VI, who visited DC in late 2013—is something Rachad Bouhlal, ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United States since late 2011, does as often as he can. “I love inviting people around a Moroccan meal in order to build friendships because we believe that we are all the same, and that celebrating food could be a bridge between cultures.” As the ambassador describes it, the way of the Moroccan people is to welcome, entertain, and provide hospitality to guests from all backgrounds. “Morocco is a country of peace and cohabitation, where Berbers, Arabs, Muslims, and Jews have been living in harmony for centuries,” he explains. Ambassador Bouhlal strives to promote this kind of harmony through shared meals and receptions at his residence as well as the embassy. “Morocco is a mosaic of cultures, religions, and traditions, and this is reflected in the culinary tradition,” he muses. “And we love to entertain and cook for friends and family.” Comprised of multiple shared courses, a traditional Moroccan meal will include the celebrated dish of couscous, especially on Fridays. “Couscous remains everyone’s favorite for the simple reason that it is a light meal that looks voluminous but has all the necessary nutrients,” explains Bouhlal. The course is served with a variety of fresh vegetables like carrots, zucchini, and peppers with lamb, beef, or chicken. “The Moroccan tradition of eating couscous is to serve it in one big plate from which everyone eats,” he explains. There’s something to be said for the opportunity to sit with dignitaries, heads of state, religious leaders, and elected officials (at a round table in the Moroccan tradition) as equals, sharing a meal in the name of international diplomacy and cultural exploration. “It’s part of our life, being around the table [and] being together,” Bouhlal states, “It’s the moment of sharing—an important one.”

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Rachad Bouhlal, the ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco, sees his countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diplomacy and diverse culture integrated into its dishes.

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Ambassador of Spain D. Ram贸n Gil-Casares Satr煤stegui says that serving excellent food and wine from his country sparks conversation among guests.

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D. Ramón Gil-Casares Satrústegui Ambassador of Spain

“W

ine and wine,” offers Ambassador D. Ramón Gil-Casares Satrústegui of Spain when describing what beverage guests can expect to sip when dining at his DC residence. He unabashedly boasts that his homeland of Spain is most proud of this export—and with good reason. Wine Spectator named the Cune Imperial Rioja Gran Reserva 2004 as 2013’s Wine of the Year—a first for Spanish wines—and it also happens to be a favorite of the ambassador. He reveals, “I recommended this wine to a very important person in this country.” But wine is not the only element of a meal at the Spanish ambassador’s residence. “Apart from the pleasure of eating an organized dinner,” Satrústegui explains, “you invite interesting people. People that can help you understand this country. People through whom you might send messages. People that are influenced by public opinion, because they are members of the media, because they have access to the media. People from think tanks. You can invite a congressman or staffers from Congress.” The notion of doing business over a meal is arguably the most common form of deal making in Washington. The food goes a long way in making these meetings as fruitful as possible, Satrústegui explains. “If you serve something distasteful… then [guests will] forget any message you were giving. So we calculate when we have to serve these dishes. When you enjoy a meal, it [sparks] the conversation, you start making connections, guests get interested… then you pass [on] the messages you want to pass.” In a city of constant networking and negotiations, ambassadors are the ultimate connectors. “Every country is complex, but this is even more complex because of your political ideology,” Satrústegui explains. “America is the biggest political economic power in the world, so we all need to have good relations. We belong to the same world, we share values, and we have many things in common.” CF

FABADA ASTURIANA (ASTURIAN BEAN AND SAUSAGE SOUP) 1 cup navy beans 1 slice raw ham 4 oz. salt pork or bacon fat in chunk 6 garlic cloves 1 onion, quartered 1 bay leaf 3 chorizo (Spanish) sausages

1 small rump roast or several pork ribs (optional) Pinch saffron 1 tbsp. Spanish sweet paprika Salt and pepper to taste

Pour beans into a large pot of cold water with onion, garlic, and bay leaf. Soak the beans, ham, and bacon overnight. The next day, drain water from the beans. Place the beans in a large pot with garlic, onion, and bay leaf. Cover it and place it on the stove, then turn on high. When the water begins to boil, add the other ingredients and simmer with the cover off for about 2.5 to 3 hours, or until beans are soft. Add the saffron and Spanish sweet paprika. Taste the Fabada, and add salt and pepper for taste. (The pork and bacon fat can sometimes be quite salty, so be careful not to put in too much salt.) When cooked, remove from the stove and cut meat and chorizo into bite-size pieces. Serve in bowls with crusty bread. Serves 6.

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FROM LEFT: Lauder Legacy of Giving: A 1979 portrait of the Lauder family, taken at the New York home of Joseph and EsteĂŠ Lauder (CENTER); Ronald and Leonard Lauder founded The Lauder Institute, a joint-degree program in international management at the Wharton School; US businessman Ronald Lauder cuts the ribbon at the opening of a sheltered playground in the Israeli city of Sderot in 2009.

FAMILY TIES Giving money away isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t as easy as it sounds, particularly when different generations are involved. Here, philanthropists, advisers, and wealth managers tell how to minimize familial differences and make charitable gifting a smooth sail. BY SUZANNE MCGEE

FROM LEFT:

Kennedy Consciousness: The late Robert F. Kennedy with his wife, Ethel, and seven of their then eight children at an outing at the Bronx Zoo in 1964; the Grand Foyer at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC; Anthony Shriver founded the nonprofit Best Buddies International to help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

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oward Graham Buffett has no idea how old he was when he first became aware that something called “philanthropy” existed. While his father, financier Warren Buffett, “was busy making money” and building his reputation as the sage of Omaha, his mother, Susan Thompson Buffett, spent “a huge amount of her time engaged in something that helped or supported other people.” As they grew, Howard, as well as his elder sister, Susie, and younger brother, Peter, were caught up in these projects. “It started with giving away time,” Howard Buffett, 59 years old, recalls. “A big part of my education was seeing my mom act on [her] beliefs, not just talk about them.” The lessons he learned included an awareness of what distinguishes effective philanthropy from simply sitting down at the end of every year to write a few checks or buying a table for a friend’s charitable gala. By the time he was an adult, Buffett says he realized philanthropy, at its best, “is about listening to people and trying to understand their core needs and find a way to address them.”

involved. “In some cases, an aging benefactor has decided he wants to see his philanthropic gifts fully dispersed while he’s still living; sometimes it’s a personal experience or event, such as a trip by two members of one family to Ghana, which then became a focus of their philanthropy,” says Susan Ditkoff, a partner at Bridgespan, a nonprofit advisory group, and co-head of the firm’s philanthropy practice. One element of “next gen” philanthropy that may startle some older parents or grandparents is their heirs’ preference for and sometimes insistence upon high-impact or transformative giving. Today’s younger donors have relatively little interest in seeing their names immortalized on hospital wings, theater auditoriums, or college lecture halls. They define “community” in a very different way, as something that isn’t confined to a narrow geographic area or a particular religious or ethnic grouping. They’re also more likely to tackle ambitious programs. Bill and Melinda Gates, who have publicly declared their resolve to eradicate endemic diseases such as polio and malaria within their lifetimes, are the poster children for this approach. What distinguishes the Gateses, of course, is

FROM BELOW: Tisch Family Philanthropy: Preston (LEFT, CROUCHING) and Laurence

OPPOSITE PAGE: PHOTOGRAPHY BY ARNOLD NEWMAN/GETTY IMAGES (LAUDERS); DAVID BUIMOVITCH/GETTY IMAGES (RIBBON CUTTING); MYLOUPE/UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP/GETTY IMAGES (WHARTON); DANIEL C. BRITT/THE WASHINGTON POST/GETTY IMAGES (KENNEDY CENTER); MARVI LACAR/GETTY IMAGES FOR BWR (SHRIVER); AP PHOTO (KENNEDY). THIS PAGE: PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAUL HAWTHORNE/GETTY IMAGES (TISCH SCHOOL OF THE ARTS); BEN BAKER/REDUX (TISCHES); BETTMANN/CORBIS (TIME CAPSULE)

Tisch place a time capsule in the foundation of the future Tisch Hall at NYU in 1969; NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts building in New York; a 2004 portrait of Jimmy, Bob, Jonathan, and Andrew Tisch.

the magnitude of their ability to give; the Creating that kind of philanthropic eagerness to take on formidable challenges savvy in children and grandchildren is does not. In the past, donors were willing to increasingly a focus of today’s affluent fam— spend the 5 percent of a foundation’s assets ilies. “It’s a way for any family to test and that the law requires them to distribute each articulate their shared values, to define — year to make lives better. Now, says Sharna what their family stands for, and to put HAVING THAT LEGACY Goldseker, managing director of 21/64, those values into action,” says Peter Karoff, INCLUDES IMPACT.” which specializes in helping families involve founder of The Philanthropic Initiative, a “next generation” members in their philanconsulting firm that advises donors on —Peter Karoff thropic planning, “the attitude is, ‘That’s making the leap from supporting a handful great, but wouldn’t it be even better if, by of favored organizations—an alma mater, a local hospital, a regional arts group—to developing a coherent giving spending 50 percent, we could eradicate the problem entirely?’” What is increasingly common, however, is the focus of parents or approach. “The aim is to create a legacy and, for many—if not most— having grandparents at the head of the family—typically those who still control that legacy includes impact,” says Karoff. What triggers philanthropic engagement can be as varied as the families the wealth—to make philanthropy a family affair. Crafting a personal

“The aim is to create a legacy, and, for many if not most

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opinions. “To say that family philanthropy is a panacea that can bridge all gaps is a fallacy,” says Karoff. “A baby won’t fix a bad marriage; philanthropy won’t make a dysfunctional family functional once more.” Gillian Howell, the national Philanthropic Solutions group executive at US Trust, says it’s best to start preparing both sides to make compromises as early as possible. “One of the most memorable events I witnessed involved a wealthy family, who began an annual series of New England vacation weekends focused on philanthropy by asking the youngest members of the family the question of how they would like to change the world,” she recalls. The patriarch and matriarch were so moved by what they heard that they were very open to the idea of changing the governance and even ultimately diluting or reshaping the mission of the foundation they had created so they could incorporate their young heirs’ insights and vision. While parents and grandparents may fear that large gaps exist between the generations—and underestimate the extent to which they need to ut introducing compromise to fully engage children to the their heirs—when push comes concept and realto shove, there’s far more ity of family alignment than family elders philanthropy at a may assume. A 2013 Merrill very young age does not mean Lynch survey showed that they’ll follow where their elders 73 percent of the “millenlead as they get older. “It’s nial” generation—those aged important to be open with heirs roughly between 18 and 35— about what is coming down the had values similar to their pike,” says Brian Wodar, a parents, even though they senior vice president and direc“I KNOW THAT IT’S IMPORTANT might express those values tor of wealth management FOR THE NEXT GENERATION differently. “That reflects the research at AllianceBernstein. reality that values are shaped “If parents aren’t willing to go by what people are exposed to; beyond a certain area when it —Howard Buffett that’s what children model and comes to making grants, then internalize and express later they should make that clear to in life,” says Michael Liersch, their children and grandchildren. If they don’t want to be flexible in terms of how that wealth is spent, Merrill Lynch’s head of behavioral finance. A growing number of younger donors plan on “giving while living”— and they still want to have the next generations involved, they have to find an attitude that often separates wealth creators from their heirs. That’s some kind of compromise.” Bridgespan’s Ditkoff explains that since the first generation tends to be the case for Howard Buffett and his foundation, which was seeded with the one who made the wealth, “they feel that they earned it, and it’s theirs gifts from his parents and in recent years has been supplemented by sigto give away in whatever way they choose.” Sometimes, there are gulfs nificantly larger donations of Berkshire Hathaway stock. Buffett’s that can’t be bridged. Perhaps one family member is an evangelical philanthropic focus is worldwide food and water security and conflict Christian and can’t support the giving priorities of his parents and sib- mitigation, and by mid-March, he says, he’ll have visited all 54 of the fully lings; perhaps one part of a traditionally Republican family drifts leftward recognized African nations in search of innovative agricultural projects and can’t condone giving money to causes that run counter to his new to support. “I want to transfer the knowledge and sense of commitment to

to challenge me, ask me tough questions.”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MONICA ALMEIDA/THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX (SCHWARZENEGGER); COURTESY OF ERIC CROWLEY (BUFFETTS)

approach to giving and simply handing heirs a family foundation to administer isn’t enough these days. Goldseker explains, “It isn’t possible just to bring those individuals into the status quo. [Heirs] bring their own ideas and visions to the table.” Long before they are old enough to understand just how wealthy their family is or what philanthropy involves, children or grandchildren can develop an understanding of their privileged situation by becoming engaged in volunteer work, through a school, a religious organization, or some kind of entity alongside their parents. “A grandparent or parent can say they’ll donate money that’s equivalent to the amount of time they put in, too,” says Melissa Berman, president and CEO of the New York– based Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, who notes that family vacations or extended family One of The Howard G. Buffett Foundation’s reunions can also include a volinitiatives is to assist unteer initiative that all family Afghan farmers and improve agribusiness members can share: a park in the impoverished cleanup, perhaps, or, as chilcountry. Here, Howard W. and Howard G. dren get older, a Habitat for Buffett in Afghanistan. Hu manity building project.

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my children,” which includes his wife’s four daughters, whom Buffett has helped raise, along with his son, Howard Warren Buffett. At the same time, he adds, “I don’t want that to stop me from doing the biggest things that I can today. I’m going to put all my time and resources into addressing these issues.” Buffett said his son had visited 58 countries by the time he went to college—and “our destinations weren’t places like Paris and Cancún.” Three of the children now sit on the board of Buffett’s foundation, and trustees are designated $20,000 apiece every year to direct to projects of their own choice that fit within the broader mission of the foundation.

aking a flexible strategy with the legal and financial components of philanthropic giving is as essential as when dealing with generational differences. For decades the family foundation has been the default-giving vehicle. While foundations allow a family unlimited, multigenerational control over grant making, the tax deductions for contributions are less generous than for other vehicles, such as donor-advised funds. (For instance, if donating company stock, family members can deduct its cost; if they are donating to a donor-advised fund, they can deduct the often significantly higher fair market value of those securities.) By some estimates, 70 percent of all foundations have assets of less than $1 million, a level that most experts consider to be inefficient. Michael Cole, president of Ascent Private Capital Management, says that while a foundation—which requires its members to keep tabs of investments, governance, and taxes as well as evaluating and monitoring grants—can be “a great financial parenting and educational tool,” unless a family has or plans to donate more than $10 million to the foundation, the administrative costs are too high to justify this option. The other most popular vehicle is the donor-advised fund, established under the umbrella of sponsoring organizations, such as community

foundations. In recent years a range of nonprofits and special divisions of banks and investment companies like Fidelity have offered opportunities for families to establish their own DAFs. However, there are more constraints: Donors can only suggest or advise, rather than dictate, where they want grants to go; and children who serve as advisors cannot earn a salary for doing so. But for a growing number of families, the lower overhead costs, higher tax deductions, and the increasing ability to bring in children or grandchildren as “co-advisors” are outweighing some of the disadvantages. While families might want to ponder the tax considerations associated with various philanthropic vehicles, the decision about whether or not to be philanthropic is almost never made for financial reasons. “The tax breaks you get for charitable giving are no greater than those you get for losing money in the stock market, and nobody invests in stocks with the intent of losing money,” points out Ramsay Slugg, wealth strategies advisor at US Trust. For Howard Buffett, the biggest challenge for philanthropists isn’t whether to set up a foundation or DAF. “The worst thing you can do is to live in your comfort zone,” he says. In the late 1980s, Buffett and his siblings were each allowed to determine the targets of $100,000 per year for their family’s foundation. In 1999 each kid received $26.5 million from their parents to start individual foundations. “Many of my ideas were stupid,” Buffett admits, recalling the notion of funding a camel dairy for Western Sahara refugees. “You learn fast to think hard about what to support, but at least the mistakes were small, while the lessons were big.” Nonetheless he encourages his children to venture into new areas. “I can be a bit of a dictator, but I know that it’s important for the next generation to challenge me, to have someone with a view that’s a little less myopic ask me tough questions. These are the formative experiences that they’ll be putting in their memory banks and drawing on in the decades to come.” CF

Shaping the Youth

Regardless of their political affiliation, Washingtonians share a common goal of supporting education. independent of their allegiance to the red or blue camp, DC inhabitants can find a reason to support one philanthropic topic: the city’s charter school system. “The Tea Party supporters like the emphasis on choice and accountability,” says Jessica Sher, principal of DC-based Idea Sher Consulting, specializing in counseling charter schools and grant makers. “For liberals, supporting a charter school is a way to fix a broken system and creating something that they see as more progressive.”

Sher estimates that half of the District’s public school children attend a charter school. And the battle to win admittance to top-tier charter schools in the city was at the heart of the 2010 award-winning documentary Waiting for “Superman.” As such, DC’s charter schools have found ways to profit from their location and visibility. Thurgood Marshall Academy, a high school in the District’s high-poverty Anacostia neighborhood, emphasizes legal education—ranging from knowing your

rights and responsibilities as a citizen to pre-college law courses. The school also has enlisted members of the city’s extensive community of lawyers, not only to underwrite the costs of some of its programs but also to provide hands-on advice and mentoring. “We’re turning donors into volunteers, and volunteers into donors,” Sher notes. “This is a way to shape younger people into donors at a point in their lives when they are ready to take on a challenge.”

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MARCH 20: NATIONAL CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL’S PINK TIE PARTY FUNDRAISER Celebrate the blossoms in style at the Pink Tie Party fundraiser, held March 20. Strut down the pink carpet in “Pink Tie” cocktail attire and enter a world of stunning fashion displays, games of chance, delicious cuisine, libations and more. 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Purchase at nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/pinktie. $200/person

MARCH 22: THE LEUKEMIA BALL The Leukemia Ball Presented by PhRMA returns to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Saturday, March 22. One of D.C.’s most anticipated events will feature entertainment by Huey Lewis & the News and comedian Ryan Hamilton; an incredible silent auction, and the exciting Mercedes Benz raffle! Visit leukemiaball.org or call 703.399.2900.

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Haute Property

Tony and Claire Florence (BELOW) own a four-story brownstone that features classic furnishings and a designer’s atelier.

NEWS, STARS, AND TRENDS IN REAL ESTATE

Happy House Chic F

abulousness for designer Claire Florence begins at home. “I love the world of the Parisian ateliers—the House of Givenchy, the House of Pucci,” she explains while walking through her fourstory brownstone on the east side of Georgetown. “This has become the House of Florence.” Indeed, she knows style. Just after graduating from Bennington College with a fine arts degree, Florence moved to New York City in 1990 and immersed herself in the fashion industry. In 2000, Florence, née Claire Blaydon, opened a boutique in the Nolita neighborhood, her handmade, one-of-a-kind cashmere sweaters and knits attracting the likes of Julia Roberts and Gwyneth Paltrow. Today, her creative impulses find expression both at work (her online

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luxury accessories boutique is claireflorence.com) and at home. With the residence built in 1845, the eating and living areas occupy the first floor, and bedrooms are tucked away on the upper floors. In the living room, club chairs are upholstered in a silver lacy pattern that the designer silk-screened herself. Wall sconces are fashioned out of her grandmother’s silver turkey platter, sliced in half. (“I just didn’t know what to do with all the silver my family had given me,” Florence laughs.) Oversize black and white photographs of the Florence children—Meriwether, 11, Anthony, 10, Campbell, 7 and Ilari, 4—by portraitist Jay Ackerman find places of honor on

PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY BROWN/IMIJINATION.COM

A GEORGETOWN FASHIONISTA CREATES A STYLISH AND GRACEFUL FAMILY ABODE. BY JAMES SERVIN

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The dining space (ABOVE) boasts oversize photographs of the Florence children; Anthony, Ilari, Meriwether, and Campbell (RIGHT) gather in the family’s bright, kid-friendly living room.

dining room walls and throughout the home. “My greatest masterpieces are my four children,” Florence says. Along the eastern wall of her front parlor, she displays her bohemian chic handiwork in a mini design studio and showroom. “I have been taking appointments to make custom capelets and scarves for the local Georgetown clientele,” Florence says. “A lot of my creative inspiration comes while working with my clients in my home, over coffee and macaroons.” Mannequin busts draped in Florence’s signature shawls and scarves, embellished with beading, lace, and brocade, are lined up in front of a grand gold-leaf mirror that dates back to the days of George Washington. Directly opposite the atelier, in the living room, Chinese vase lamps mix with a Lucite coffee table stacked with favorite fashionable tomes such as Lulu by Lulu de Kwiatkowski, Happy Times by Lee Radziwill, and Allegra Hicks’s An Eye for Design. An Ikea sofa, slip-covered in white denim, is both kid- and budget-friendly. Above it hangs a framed photograph of a gouache painting by her daughter Meriwether. Living on a cozy scale was a deliberate choice for the designer and her husband, Tony Florence, whose last The east-side residence residence—a 10,000-square-foot plantation was built in 1845. home on four acres in Long Island’s Locust Valley in New York—hosted more than 200 party guests comfortably and was rented out for Lands’ End catalogue shoots and films. (A scene in Eat, Pray, Love was filmed in the Florences’ master bedroom.) When Tony left his position as head of technology at Morgan Stanley to head up venture growth for New Enterprise Associates in DC, the couple chose the Georgetown area for its townhouses and European flair. “We wanted to be in the 31st block,” Claire says. “Between 31st and P is the epicenter of the east side of Georgetown. It’s

where the residential feeling is.” While the Florences are adamant about instilling good habits in their brood (all of whom, Claire proudly notes, do their own laundry), theirs is far from a spartan life. Fashion ista Claire craves luxury, and so embellishes the home with Leontine linens, Molton Brown soaps, and bouquets of roses and hydrangeas from Ultra Violet Flowers nearby. “I didn’t create this home to showcase something decorative; I created it to be a home,” Claire explains. “Simple and chic is my motto.” CF

EXPERT SELECTIONS To create a home with an aesthetic similar to Claire Florence’s, consult the design maven’s interior décor checklist. Claire Florence Designs for metallic hand-printed upholstery on English club chairs and original silk-screen fabric, pillows, and throws with metallic studs. claireflorence.com Dodge-Chrome Photo for painting blow-ups (4885 MacArthur Blvd., 202-333-3270; dodgechrome.com) and framing at Framers Workshop (6101 W. Mequon Road, Mequon, Wisconsin, 262-242-5883; framers-workshop-wi.com). Johnathan Adler for pillows, rugs, side tables, velvet X benches, and white fur poufs. 1267 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-965-1416; jonathanadler.com Kelly Wearstler House of KWID for Schumacher trellis wallpaper. 800-523-1200 fschumacher.com Lars Bolander for coral needlepoint pillows. 212-924-1000; larsbolander.com Serena and Lily for metallic poufs. serenaandlily.com West Elm for lucite coffee tables. 333 M St. NW, 202-333-2928; westelm.com

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ESTATEMENTS

A Rosy Outlook W

ashington leads the nation in the percentage of “inbound moves” to the area, a recent study finds, and properties with lovely outdoor areas are in demand as residents seek new living spaces this spring. “The best spaces in the DC area, in my experience, have been ones with a strong connection from the indoor living to the exterior living [areas],” says Tim Houlihan, senior landscape architect at ZEN Associates (800-8346654; zenassociates.com), which focuses on designing and building “highly detailed” spaces in the DC area and along the East Coast. “It’s about creating outdoor rooms that can be seen from the indoors, preferably, and can function on their own when the weather allows,” he explains. And though luxe kitchens and bathrooms are musts in the luxury market, Russell Firestone, a real estate agent with TTR Sotheby’s International Realty (202-2711701; sothebysrealty.com), adds that an impressive backyard can be the RIGHT: A sitting room at 2400 deciding factor when it comes to Foxhall Road. BELOW: Lush trees surround 4400 Garfield St. NW. area home sales. “Our weather lets us use the yard eight months out of the year, if not more,” he says, so buyers view yards as one more key living space to consider. When they’re settling into these properties, Washingtonians are adding fire and water features outdoors to make them feel more cozy, Houlihan reveals. “Some of the clients who have recently purchased a home are most excited about— immediately—getting into the design and creation of the outdoor space,” he explains. With several Washington homes on the market boasting covetable spaces inside and out, we reveal a few

delightful properties that are on our radar at press time. ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF GEORGETOWN, an elegant home with eight bedrooms and six full bathrooms is for sale at $7.5 million (2400 Foxhall Road; Nancy Taylor Bubes and Matthew B. McCormick, listing agents; nancy.taylorbubes@wfp.com; matt .mccormick@wfp.com). Hedges at the front allow for privacy, and the nearby countryside is still visible from inside the house. The back of the home features a covered porch—perfect for entertaining— and private dining terrace. A RARE OPPORTUNITY to own an in-town estate arose when a $7.5 ABOVE: The WilliamsAddison House in million home with a three-story guestGeorgetown. LEFT: A house recently hit the market (4400 spacious interior in the 19th-century home. Garfield St. NW; Nancy Itteilag, listing agent; itteilag@gmail.com). Originally built in 1930, this home has been renovated to the modern standard. The property is surrounded by tall trees and includes a patio and extensive backyard space. THE HISTORIC WILL IAMSADDISON HOUSE in Georgetown (1645 31st St. NW; Capital City Real Estate, sales@capcityre.com), recently underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation. One of the area’s remaining 19th-century dwellings, the 10,000-square-foot home is listed at $16.8 million and features luxe interior areas on three quarters of an acre—a marvelous size in popular Georgetown. The most anticipated outdoor features? The Old Georgetown Board has approved the additions of an outdoor tennis court or pool, and several formal gardens were in progress at press time. And if you want to make your current outdoor space more appealing this spring, Houlihan suggests upgrading your plantings. He predicts yellows and maroons as popular colors for the season. CF

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CAPITAL CITY REAL ESTATE/HOME VISIT (WILLIAMS-ADDISON); STU ESTLER AND MAXWELL MACKENZIE (4400 GARFIELD)

OUTDOOR LIVING SPACE IS HIGHLY COVETED IN WASHINGTON; HERE, WE REVEAL SPRING DESIGN TRENDS AND PROPERTIES WITH LOVELY GARDEN VIEWS. REPORTING BY OLIVIA OWENS

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think about it . . .

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F reely Speaking! High Times

fter public hearings that the public actually went to, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) voted 7 to 3 to recommend to Congress that the Height of Buildings Act of 1910 should stand tall. (I figure one “size” pun is inevitable, so I’m getting it out of the way early.) The reasoning behind the commission’s decision was to “protect the integrity of the form and character of the nation’s capital.” To refresh your memory, the 1910 height act restricts the height of Washington buildings to be no taller than 130 feet in mixed use or commercial areas, and no taller than 90 feet in residential areas (with some exceptions). The reason for the renewed debate? According to Office of Planning Director Harriet Tregoning, the city will “exhaust its development under current models” by 2037. While it’s somewhat surprising to hear someone in Washington thinking that many elections—I mean, years—in advance, Tregoning has a point. Attracting new business and residential growth is important, but cluttering downtown views with generic steel and glass people-containers isn’t going to make us any more attractive. Why? Because even in cynical 2014, appearances matter. This is our nation’s capital, and we’re “a city upon a hill,” not… not… Dallas. (You call that a skyline?)

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Of course we want to encourage more people to enjoy our beloved district, but if they really need taller buildings, that’s why God created Maryland, Virginia, and the Metro. Forget for a moment that our existing buildings are so special that we put pictures of them on what we love most—money—or that issues such as this one fuel the economy by keeping the elbow-patch crowd employed by discussing “architectural context” and “aesthetic values” on NPR. Instead, remember that Washington has always been a place that has embraced change (well, eventually), but never when doing so diminished the best of our history. And in the same way that we protect national parks, we have to do the same for our most deserving man-made spaces as well. The final decision on the future of the height act lies with Congress, and this winter Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, held the first of what will surely be many meetings. I hope they’ll decide that Washington’s future should be inspired by buildings of which Pierre L’Enfant would approve. Instead of soaring rooftops, let it instead be the dreams of the men and women inside that reach for the heavens. (A lofty ending, but with just one pun at the top—I would say we’re even.) CF

ILLUSTRATION BY DANIEL O’LEARY

THE LONG-STANDING HEIGHT ACT HAS ITS SUPPORTERS—AND DETRACTORS—BUT WHO REALLY HAS THE RIGHT POINT OF VIEW WHEN IT COMES TO ITS LIMITS? BY JOHN BOBEY

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