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    Can't Believe Our Eyes

    The fabulous 80th summer of Lynn Wyatt, dining with Prince Charles, birthdaying with Elton John

    Shelby Hodge
    Jul 23, 2015 | 4:00 pm

    Summer for Lynn Wyatt has always been a glorious time — jaunts through Europe, sublime birthday parties at her summer home on the French Riviera, bunking with Elton John, etc. But this July as Houston's grande dame turned an unbelievable 80, her social calendar soared to even greater heights.

     

    Dinner with Prince Charles, a birthday dinner for 20 hosted by Elton, houseguesting with the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon at Highclere Castle (aka Downton Abbey) and more filled her dance card for two weeks of stratospheric hobnobbing.

     

    "He was so adorable," Lynn cooed over Prince Charles, who was her table host at a Prince of Wales Foundation dinner at Windsor Castle. (She had enjoyed his company at a private dinner party in Washington D.C. only two months before.) The foundation was celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, making this evening particularly momentous.

     

    Before settling in London, Lynn spent several days at Highclere, where the Carnarvons entertained a tony house party of seven night and day. "I'm just crazy about her," Lynn said of Lady Carnarvon, who "cuts her own flowers, decorates her own tables and she's a writer."

     

    The hosts arranged for their guests to visit a quaint country fair, attend a cricket match and savor an outdoor luncheon complete with fancy umbrellas and formal table settings on the grounds of the five-acre estate. Lynn says that the castle is so immense that every luncheon and dinner was held in a different dining room.

     
     

    And as an international A-lister and philanthropist, she was invited to present a talk to the Oxford Guild — as in Oxford University. 

     

     

    As they are BFFs, Lynn has an open-ended invitation to visit Elton and David Furnish at their country estate near Windsor and this summer they hosted a birthday party for her with 20 of her nearest and dearest in Europe. With a special dessert of pecan pie and ice cream in her honor and a surprise chocolate birthday cake with candles, Lynn says "It was just the most memorable thing. Friends and family are the most important thing."

     

    Those whirlwind two weeks included prime seating at Ascot as guest of Lord and Lady Mansfield in the Queen Elizabeth suite, equally prime seating for High Society at the Old Vic Theatre with London's uber philanthropist Vivien Duffield and an elegant Sunday lunch with Jacob Rothschild and friends. And as an international A-lister and philanthropist, she was invited to present a talk to the Oxford Guild — as in Oxford University. Her topic: "Giving Back: How Philanthropy Touches One's Soul."

     

    Lynn celebrated her actual birthday, July 18, with three of her four sons in New Orleans, where they bunked at the Windsor Court and had what she describes as a less than memorable dinner at Antoine's.

     

    But the celebrating goes on. When Susie and Sanford Criner return from their summer home in Maine, Sanford will once again host his annual "Lynn's Boyfriend Lunch" in honor of her birthday. In early September, she heads to Monaco for the grand Red Cross Ball, this year chaired by Prince Albert and Princess Charlene. Lynn chaired that event several decades ago and will enjoy this as a another birthday sojourn. In October, Lynn chairs the Museum of Fine Arts Houston Grand Gala Ball, yet another form of celebrating Houston's leading lady. That according to MFAH director Gary Tinterow.

     

    As Lynn says, "This is too big a birthday. I'm just going to celebrate it all year long."

     

    "What fun," we say. "Yes," she responds. "'Fun' is my middle name."

    "Lady Carnarvon picks her own flowers, sets her own tables. I'm just crazy about her." — Lynn Wyatt

      
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    "Lady Carnarvon picks her own flowers, sets her own tables. I'm just crazy about her." — Lynn Wyatt
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    Silk and Sequins

    Cultural fashion takes center stage at Runway to Asia in Houston

    Joel Luks
    Jul 10, 2025 | 12:30 pm
    Asia Society Runway to Asia fashion show 2025
    Photo by Annie Mulligan
    Rekha Muddaraj, Shazia Sultan, Danny Nguyen, Zang Toi, Bonna Kol, Phoebe Tudor, and Leigh Smith.

    If fashion is a language, Runway to Asia spoke it fabulously fluently.

    The ballroom of The Post Oak Hotel shimmered with silk, sequins, and sartorial splendor as Asia Society Texas debuted its first-ever Runway to Asia style-studded affair — a glamorous gala-meets-catwalk moment where heritage was hand-stitched into haute couture.

    More than 300 guests filled the swanky venue for the event, greeted by models perched like living mannequins in Danny Nguyen’s Fall/Winter 2025 collection, each ensemble a fabric-forward love letter to cultural identity and avant-garde vision. This was a glamnifesto on what it means to wear your roots with pride and purpose.

    Leading the stylish charge were co-chairs Leigh Smith, Shazia Sultan, and Phoebe Tudor, who curated the afternoon like seasoned couturiers. Attendees noshed on a three-course lunch before the real feast began: a full-throttle catwalk presentation honoring two design dynamos — Danny Nguyen, Houston’s own silhouettist supreme, and international fashion luminary Zang Toi.

    Rekha Muddaraj, former KHOU 11 anchor turned emcee extraordinaire, welcomed the crowd with poise, passing the mic to Asia Society Texas president Bonna Kol, who framed the gathering as more than just fashion, but part of the nonprofit’s mission to celebrate cultural diversity through art.

    The applause crescendoed when Michael Buening, the organization’s director of performing arts and culture, announced the event had raised more than $300,000 to fund more than 20 annual programs.

    Pro tip: philanthropy always looks better in couture.

    Then came the honors. Nguyen was honored with the Texas Trendsetter Award, praised by Shazia Sultan for blending traditional elegance with avant-glam silhouettes. Meanwhile, Tudor crowned Toi with the Global Icon Award, charting his runway rise from Malaysia to Manhattan.

    Toi’s “Opulence of the Orient Express” collection brought the house down with 37 jaw-dropping looks: Ottoman-inspired caftans, midnight velvet suits, pearl-dusted evening gowns, and coat-dress hybrids that defied the laws of layering. Each ensemble whispered luxury and screamed craftsmanship.

    The raffle added a thrill of retail roulette with prizes including a luxe Hill Country escape, personal styling sessions with the honorees, and golden tickets to Zang Toi’s Fall 2026 New York show.

    Soaking in the scene were Sushila Agrawal, Nancy Allen, Fady Armanious, Kristy Bradshaw, Divya Brown, Tripp Carter, Theresa Chang, Anne Chao, Molly Crownover, Kari Dagley, Chloe Dao, Debbie Festari, Kathy and Marty Goossen, Brigitte Kalai, Mandy Kao, Sippi Khurana, Karen Kwok, Teri Lee, Kelley Lubanko, Christy Lynn, Petra Martinez, Sneha Merchant, Duyen Nguyen, Cabrina Owsley, Akemi Saitoh, Miya Shay, Sue and Randy Sim, Shawn Stephens, Y. Ping Sun, Ileana Trevino, Janae Tsai, Stephanie Tsuru, Heidi Turney, and Asha Virani.

    Asia Society Runway to Asia fashion show 2025
      

    Photo by Annie Mulligan

    Rekha Muddaraj, Shazia Sultan, Danny Nguyen, Zang Toi, Bonna Kol, Phoebe Tudor, and Leigh Smith.

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