Hutton Wilkinson first began his career within the design industry at age 17 when he apprenticed for decorating icon, Tony Duquette. In the years that followed, the duo worked on numerous big projects together and hosted some of the most opulent soirees of the time. With each party and get-together came a valuable lesson that shaped Wilkinson into the host he is today. Now as the Creative Director and President of Tony Duquette Inc., Wilkinson continues to design interiors and events for A-list clients around the world. Here, he reveals his most-coveted entertaining advice in this edition of "Cocktails & Conversation."
Party Style
From whom did you learn what a good party should look, taste, smell, and feel like?
HW: My parents were the consummate host and hostess. They entertained "at home" (never at restaurants or clubs) once a week, sometimes seated dinners, sometimes lavish cocktail buffets, (never at lunch). When I was 17, I went to work for Tony Duquette. Tony and his wife, Elizabeth, were leading Hollywood hosts and legendary party givers. They had at least one seated dinner for 10 to 30 guests per week, and a dinner dance with an orchestra in their ballroom once a month. The dances were formal affairs and often, themed parties requiring costumes too.
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What is the most memorable party you’ve ever hosted?
HW: For my birthday party a few years ago, my wife and I hosted a "Return to the Raj" party where the decorations and the guests' costumes recreated India during Colonial times. We had cocktails in our new house and went next door for dinner under Indian umbrellas in Tony Duquette's garden, and after dinner, there was dancing inside the Duquette house which had been cleared of furniture and draped with Moghul Tent Panels.
For clients in Palm Beach, I've planned and executed a Circus Ball complete with clowns, acrobats, and high wire performers, fireworks, and synchronized swimmers. The circus tents were draped in black velvet and hung with tens of thousands of mirrored chandelier crystals...against which we hung giant Antique circus posters—the guests danced until 2 a.m.!
And for my clients in Venice, Italy I planned and executed an Undersea Ball, and for another client, a Caribbean Ball which took place on the deck of a Spanish Galleon constructed specially for that event.
What separates a good party from a bad party?
HW: Bad guests! It's hard work to be a good guest. You have to be in the mood, and you have to appreciate the efforts and lengths that your hosts (or their designers) have gone to for your pleasure. If you're not tuned in, not aware, or take things for granted, it's not your host's fault if you had a bad time.
Now then, if the hosts are lazy, don't introduce their guests to one another, have not provided sufficient staff to wait on everyone properly, have skimped on the food, the wine, or the entertainment, that too can contribute to a long and boring experience. All the money in the world can't make up for lazy a host or hostess who doesn't put their guests at ease or wander around from table to table making sure that everyone is having a good time!
What can a guest always count on at your parties?
HW: A visual treat, whether it's the decorations or the well-dressed. Most of all, at our parties, each of our guests can count on my wife and me treating them as if they are the most important person in the room by the way we introduce them to others, we make them feel part of the family, and we make them laugh. No matter how formal or extravagant the event, we never treat it seriously. It is just another party "at home" to us, and we hope to them too.
Where do your holiday parties happen in your home?
HW: We celebrate Christmas Eve with a dinner for up to 12 close friends that we call orphans (friends without families to celebrate with). These dinners are always black ties with presents for everyone under the tree and party favors at each place at the table.
Thanksgiving dinner is less formal, but we do wear a coat and tie and cocktail attire. We don't do a 3:00 in the afternoon dinner; we like to invite people for a 7:30 traditional turkey dinner and all the trimmings.
Easter is usually celebrated with a lunch in the garden. Not more than 12 close family friends, lots of chocolate easter eggs, and specially decorated eggs acting as place cards on the table.
What is the single most important thing to you in hosting a magical party?
HW: Music and divertissement. I have a combo that I like to hire: a Black jazz band led by a guy I call "The Professor," and on a really big night, I like to hire Johnny Holiday and his ten-piece band to play Cole Porter and Jerome Kern melodies. We also like to hire opera singers to entertain after dinner, as well as Flamenco Dancers, Indian Nache Dancers, and magicians too. But, we never encourage sing-along or audience participation. Ugh!
What's your favorite holiday party to host?
HW: Besides Christmas Eve, which is a small intimate affair, we like to celebrate Christmas with our friends on January 6th, "The Feast of The Epiphany" or Little Christmas." It's supposedly when the Three Kings arrived to give gifts to the Christ Child. This party has become a tradition for our friends like an open house; it is a cocktail buffet.
Are you a better host or guest?
HW: I am a better host. I love entertaining. I've told my staff that parties are as important to me (and possibly more important to me) than business. When I entertain, it's like three parties: the one I plan in my head from beginning to end including what people are going to wear and talk about, the one that actually took place, and the one I remember with great fondness. Let me just say, I had a blast at all three parties!
Am I a good guest? I hope so. I like to think I'm what Elsie de Wolfe would call "A Trained Seal." Someone who a host can rely upon to dress properly, behave properly, have good table manners, and make people feel at ease. Do I like being a guest? Yes, very much. A hamburger and a movie or a ball in Venice, each are equal to me as far as having a good time go.
Conversation
How important is fostering good conversation?
HW: Good conversation cannot be conjured up out of thin air by waving a magic wand. It is intangible and can be attributed as much to the luck of the draw as to your talent as a host or hostess in seating your guests. Shy people next to gregarious people, business tycoons next to starving artists. Throw in boys and girls with physical beauty, a rich heiress, down and out playboy, a rising star, and a has-been. Hopefully, the conversation will flow.
Believe it or not, I've never had an unsuccessful party in The Monkey Room at Dawnridge. The table is an oval, and it holds 12 people comfortably. It is not so big that one end can't talk to the other, nor so wide that guests can't talk across the table garniture. Most importantly the Monkey Room has very low, seven-foot ceilings, and when I asked my friend, Terry Stanfill, why these parties are always so successful she said, "because the ceiling is so low!" Tony Duquette would have said, "sitting around this table is primeval like sitting around a campfire in a cave."
What's the best conversation you’ve had at a party?
HW: When Clare Boothe Luce would come for lunch, she had so much knowledge to impart. When Dominick Dunne would come for dinner during the O.J. Simpson trials, the table would go silent to hear what he had to say. When Tamara de Lempicka came for dinner three nights in a row and insisted on being served spaghetti three nights in a row, the first night she wore gold sequins to the floor and a gold-sequined tam. The next night silver sequins and a silver-sequined tam, and the third-night emerald green sequins to the floor and an emerald green-sequined tam. When Helen Mirren came to dinner, we talked non-stop about London theatre, old and new movies, Tony Duquette, Elsie de Wolfe, and decorating! She is a great recounter.
Table and Florals
Do you develop a seating plan for dinner parties—why or why not?
HW: Seating and place cards are essential to a successful seated dinner. The host should know better than to seat husbands and wives together or business rivals or old lovers. The host should seat talkative people with shy people, and people with mutual interests or who he or she thinks might actually like each other or need to know each other for whatever reason, business or romance. The host chooses the guests. There must have been some rhyme or reason to the selection. It's the host's duty to seat the table properly and make sure it works! There's nothing worse than open seating because cliques form and the shy are left out. It's always a mess!
How “dressed” is your table?
HW: Dressed to the nines, whether a small seated dinner or a buffet. We collect antique porcelain cutlery and antique crystal that we like to mix up, so that our repeat guests will be constantly surprised by the choice of cutlery, dishes, and serving pieces. The same goes for the centerpieces, too.
What is your approach to flowers for holiday parties?
HW: We rarely use flowers on the table. We are more interested in decorative objects for our mise en place. When we do use flowers, they are usually growing plants in antique Chinese porcelains. These plants could be cyclamen, orchids, or paperwhites. We might surround these with plaster angels created by Tony Duquette in the 1940s, West Highland Terriers, Polar Bears holding votive candles or Tony Duquette Lucite "Iceberg" votive candle holders. Our collection of tabletop decorations on hand here at Dawnridge seem to be almost limitless. Also limitless are our selections of tablecloths and napkins. Of course, it is not unusual for us to create new clothes and napkins depending on the occasion.
Bar
How central is your bar? Is it part of the guest experience or more of a back-of-the-house operation?
HW: At Dawnridge, we entertain formally so the bar is back of the house, and the butler takes drink orders as the guests arrive. If we are having a buffet, we'll set up a bar with a bartender in the drawing-room or out on the terrace.
Do you have a signature drink that always seems to appear at your parties?
HW: We always have a full bar, but champagne is offered first. If the guest prefers something else, it is usually available.
Guests/Experience
Explain your thought process on the art of curating a guest list. What's the right amount of people, do they know each other, etc.?
HW: There's nothing better than dinner for eight to twelve guests. Even better if they all know each other so that the gossip is juicy or the topics or politics are known to be ones that we can all discuss with passion. On the other hand, some of the best-seated dinners were for guests who had never met before, and when everyone makes an effort, the outcome is usually memorable.
For your holiday parties, what is the dress?
HW: Black tie because it is festive, and it is a special occasion. People like to dress up and show off their best furs and jewels at least once a year. It's just sad how really badly dressed people are these days. Although, our friends know that we expect their best foot forward when they enter our house. If not black tie, then coat and tie and cocktail attire. At worse, I'll say coat, but no tie. It is very rare to see men in shirt sleeves at Dawnridge.
How important is lighting?
HW: For me, party light means candlelight. This is achieved by using the tiniest bulbs for chandeliers and candelabra, and lots and lots of candles on every surface. Tony Duquette taught me that lighting is everything. He used to tell me, "You can make burlap look like velvet with proper lighting and vice versa."
In your opinion, what should hosts think more about? Less about? In other words, what's your best hosting advice?
HW: A good host must think equally seriously about all of the above. A good host won't leave anything to chance. Then after getting it all right, a good host must sit back and enjoy the party while never taking his eye off the ball. They need to make sure everyone's glass is filled, that nobody is being left out of the conversation, and that all is running smoothly in the kitchen and with the serving staff, all while laughing and talking and eating and drinking. Being a good host is a serious task like balancing on a tight rope.
