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    Shelby About Town

    Lynn Wyatt bonds with Lady Gaga at Elton John's England estate (this really happened)

    shelby hodge
    Jun 29, 2010 | 9:07 am
    Cisselson Nichols, from left, Cassie Stinson and Carrin Patman at Planned Parenthood headquarters.

    How much fun can a girl have in 10 days? Ask Lynn Wyatt, who's just back from house-guesting with Sir Elton John in England and is still giddy from the rounds of heady socializing that included lunch with Lady Gaga and Billie Jean King, both Elton house guests.

     

    La Wyatt and the tennis great were guests at Elton's 12th annual White Tie and Tiaras Ball (Lynn has attended every one of them). The benefit for the Elton John AIDS Foundation is hosted by Elton and his partner David Furnish at their Woodside estate in Old Windsor, outside of London. Lady Gaga was the entertainment in the grand marquis tent where 670 guests helped raised close to $8.5 million for the charity.

     

    "We could hear her rehearsing in the tent," Lynn recalls. Then Lady Gaga came in and joined the luncheon table. (Her outfit — a lace bra and ephemeral skirt, just sheer enough to reveal her bikini panties.) "I like her. She's very real," Lynn adds. "She is number one a showman and number two a very, very smart gal. She knows how to market herself."

     

    With music playing in the background during the lunch, Gaga started singing along to her recording of "Speechless." Lynn reports that the luncheon group joined in singing and waving their arms over their heads. Priceless.

     

    The gala that night was a who's who of celebrities from various arenas including Valentino, Dame Shirley Bassey, Elizabeth Hurley and Arun Nayar, Kate Beckinsale, Sharon Osbourne, Jon Bon Jovi, Boris Becker, Kid Rock and on and on. (See a video of Lady Gaga introducing a new song, "You and I," at the gala.)

     

    After the last limo departed, Elton and company retired to his living room for hours of dishing. Lynn says that the conversation was so lively that she and the gang including Gaga and King chatted on until 3:30 in the morning. It was a really big day for Billie Jean King who had earlier met Queen Elizabeth at Wimbledon.

     

    Beyond that spectacular experience, Lynn's dance card included lunches, teas and dinners with various Rothschilds, visits to Buckingham Palace and St. James Palace, a day at Ascot including lunch for 34 in the private Queen Elizabeth Room where she sat between the esteemed trainers for horses belonging to Queen Elizabeth and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

     

    As soon as Lynn returned to Houston, hubby Oscar Wyatt whisked his wife off to their South Texas ranch for a bit of R&R from her busy travels.

     

     From fairways to ballroom

     

    Celebrated professional golfer Jack Nicklaus takes time out from a busy schedule with his golf course-design firm, philanthropy and his role as goodwill ambassador to land in Houston Oct. 19 for M.D. Anderson Cancer Center's annual "A Conversation With a Living Legend." The Golden Bear will take the stage at the Hilton Americas-Houston where CBS Sports announcer Jim Nantz will conduct the interview.

     

    Beyond the golfing great and the Emmy-winning sports announcer, M.D. Anderson has lined up a top-notch group of chairs for the luncheon. Rose and Harry Cullen Sr., Katie and Harry Cullen Jr. and Kathy Cullen McCord and Jody McCord have signed on as a family. Joining the party as honorary chairs are members of another notable Houston family — Ginger and Jack Blanton, Kelli and Eddy Blanton and Leslie and Jack Blanton Jr. — which chaired the previous "conversation."

     

     Riding the rails

     

    It was a heady group with a decidedly Democratic party bent that saluted attorney Carrin Patman for her appointment to the Metropolitan Transit Authority at the new Planned Parenthood headquarters. Annie's List, EMILY's List, Planned Parenthood and the Center for Women in Law hosted the early-evening reception that drew close to 150 Patman fans.

     

    Top politicos congratulating Patman were Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and Mayor Annise Parker. Elected officials included State Representatives Ellen Cohen, Carol Alvarado, Kristi Thibaut and Armando Walle plus Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia.

     

    Patman's husband Jim Derrick, her mom Carrin M. Patman and friends Kathy Hubbard, Andrea White Elena Marks and Sue Schechter joined the party, as did Planned Parenthood president and CEO Peter J. Durkin and board chair Rita Lucido.

     

     Ladies, gents lunching at Fleming's

     

    Fleming's Steakhouse River Oaks has never seen such a social crowd at midday as it did when operating partner Maeve Pesquera and chef partner James Cole hosted a lunch for power brokers and society mavens. The purpose was to introduce the restaurant's new Private Luncheon Service offering customers the opportunity for lunch in a private room for small business meetings and social gatherings or the opportunity to take over the entire restaurant for a noontime event.

     

    Sampling the three-course lunch were Houston Grand Opera's Rudy Avelar and Guyla Pircher, KUHT's Linda Olson, Houston Ballet's Lindsey Conlon, Andrews Kurth's Ashley Nelly and M Penner's Karen Penner. Saks Fifth Avenue provided goodie bags (thank you Sylvia Forsythe) that were snapped up by guests including Sylvia Sullivan, Isabel David, David Wuthrich, Tim Moloney, Catherine Pierce and Priscilla Larson of Society for the Performing Arts.

     

     Getting to know you

     

     Christina Hanson, wife of the Houston Symphony's new executive director and CEO Mark Hanson, was the center of attention at a meet-and-greet luncheon held at Neiman Marcus.

     

    Among those welcoming Hanson and going home with fab gold tone/crystal bangle bracelets by Lee Angel (favors from Neiman's) were Linda Dewhurst, Nancy Heitshusen, Viviana Denechaud, Kim Sterling, Zarine Boyce, Betty Tutor, Janet Bering and Kathi Rovere.

    Lynn Wyatt is just back from 10 fab days in England where she was Elton John's house guest.

    News_Elton John_Lynn Wyatt
      
    Photo by Phyllis Hand
    Lynn Wyatt is just back from 10 fab days in England where she was Elton John's house guest.
    unspecified
    news/society

    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.

    fundraisersasia society texas centerfashion show
    news/society
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