Saks and Toby Milstein Schulman Hosted an Idyllic Dinner—and Movie Night—in Watermill

When it came to hosting a soiree in the Hamptons, Saks and Toby Milstein Schulman wanted to do some elevated yet easing: August, after all, is summer’s finale that brings a lazy, lackadaisical energy along with it.

So they married two concepts that, at first, may seem to have little in common. The first: a Parisian dinner party, catered by L’Avenue at Saks, all set on a far-reaching table with waterfront views of a scenic inlet. Designers like Tanya Taylor, Markarian’s Alexandra O Neill, and Kimberly Goldson dined on everything from a king crab salad to morel rigatoni. The most-requested drinks of the night were Sancerre or rosé.

The second: movie night on the lawn. Guests curled up on hot pink couches with bags of truffled popcorn as opening credits began to play on an outdoor screen. 

The idyllic night attracted a creative and well-mixed crowd: Pose star Leyna Bloom was in attendance, as was civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen and interior designer CeCe Barfield Thompson. Lauren Picciano, Associate Vice President of Public Relations and Influence Saks, served as a co-host along with Milstein Schulman.

By the end, the thread between the night’s two overarching concepts became clear: Saks and cinema are two things that will never go out of style.