Bling, bling, bling

Houston's Fashion Icon headlines a swank Manhattan dinner: It's black leather, Bulgari & maybe a little S&M

When looking for a modern day fashion icon to headline its 130th anniversary dinner in New York, Bulgari turned to none other than Houston's International Hall of Fame honoree and social swan Lynn Wyatt. She and Barney's creative ambassador and self-proclaimed bon vivant Simon Doonan were guests of honor at the swank soirée held in Bulgari's divine flagship store on Fifth Avenue.

Bulgari North America president Alberto Festa hosted the evening for which both Wyatt and Doonan dressed in black leather and Bulgari, La Wyatt in Ralph Rucci leather and lace and Doonan in Saint Laurent leather jacket. The Daily Frontrow reported that Doonan quipped, “I’m interviewing Lynn, so we thought we would do a little S&M thing in all-leather.”

Guests crafted personal birthday wishes to the brand with individual birthday cakes served alongside tiny pots of kiwi, mango, raspberry and chocolate edible paints.

Doonan borrowed the iconic coin necklace from Bulgari while Wyatt was draped in Bulgari goodies from her bank vault. You might recall that back in May Wyatt loaned pieces from her personal archive of Bulgari jewelry for the brand’s 130th anniversary exhibition at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

Tuesday night's crowd was peppered with media stars including New York Times fashion photographer Bill Cunningham, W Magazine's editor in chief Stefano Tonchi, Marie Claire editor in chief Anne Fulenwider, Elle magazine fashion news editor Anne Slowey and Wall Street Journal fashion editor David Thielebeule.

The brand flew in executive chef Roberto di Pinto from the Bulgari Hotel Milan to prepare the dinner that featured risotto and Mediterranean sea bass. But perhaps the most delicious part of the evening was the repartee between Wyatt and Doonan, the former recounting haute couture snafus and the latter recalling the night that he dressed in drag as Queen Elizabeth for a Barney's special event.

Guests are still talking about the anniversary cake, laden with 130 gold candles and fondant recreations of the brand's most iconic jewelry. Houston's Mark Sullivan who was in the mix noted, "The grand finale? Guests crafted personal birthday wishes to the brand with individual birthday cakes served alongside tiny pots of kiwi, mango, raspberry and chocolate edible paints — culminating in thousands of unforgettable #Bulgari130yearsNYC social media moments."

Lynn Wyatt salutes the Bulgari cake with 130 candles while Alberto Festa, left, and Simon Doonan join in.

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Public memorials and services set for 'Houston's anchorman' Dave Ward

Photo courtesy of Dave Ward

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ABC13 anchor emeritus Dave Ward died on December 13 at age 86.

Members of the public are invited to pay their respects to the longtime newsman at visitations and funeral services this week. Plans include:

Wednesday, Dec. 17: Ward will lie in repose from 11 am-6 pm at the Crimestoppers of Houston Dave Ward Building, 3001 Main St., Houston, TX 77002.
Thursday, Dec. 18: Public visitation open to all at George H. Lewis & Sons Funeral Directors at 1010 Bering Dr., Houston, TX 77057 from 11 am-2 pm and 4-8 pm
Friday, Dec. 19: Funeral service open to the public at 12 pm at St. Martin's Episcopal Church at 717 Sage Rd., Houston, TX 77056.

ABC13 will carry the funeral live on television and streaming platforms.

For more than 50 years, Dave was Houston's anchorman. He began each newscast with his signature line, "Good evening, friends." That's how the legendary newsman felt about the viewers who shared his love for the city he was so proud to call his home.

His name was David Henry Ward, but he was known to thousands of Eyewitness News viewers simply as "Dave." Born in Dallas in 1939, Dave grew up in Huntsville and began his radio career with KGKB Radio in Tyler while attending college. Three years later, he joined the staff of WACO Radio as a staff announcer and quickly climbed to Program Director the following year.

Dave moved to Houston in 1962, where he worked for KNUZ Radio as a News Reporter and News Director for four years. He made the move to Channel 13 in 1966 as the station's only on-the-street news reporter and photographer, coming "inside" in early 1967 to anchor Channel 13's weekday 7 am. newscast.

Later that year, he became the first host of the wildly popular "Dialing for Dollars" program, which later evolved into "Good Morning Houston." Houston viewers flocked to see him and hear him, and by January 1968, Dave became the anchor of Eyewitness News at 6 and 10 pm.

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Read more about Dave Ward’s life and legacy, with video, on CultureMap's news partner, ABC13.com.

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