Lynn Wyatt Hosts Glamorous Fashion Leaders in Her Houston Home, Puts H-Town Up There With New York, Paris and London

It was a glam good time with a high-fashion theme as Lynn Wyatt opened her home for a cocktail party with an international crowd, including a leading advocate for emerging designers and the co-founder of a premier luxury online website. Wyatt and Aliyya Stude co-hosted the chic gathering with Moda Operandi founder Lauren Santo Domingo to celebrate Tania Fares’ new book, Fashion in L.A.

“The one thing about fashion is wherever you go, the greatest thing is it always brings people together,” says Santo Domingo, who flew in from New York for the party before heading to Dallas for a luncheon to promote Fares’ book. “I’ve known Tania forever from fashion weeks together.

“When I heard about her book and it celebrates young designers and that’s what Moda does, it felt nice to do something together.”

Santo Domingo, a former Vogue magazine editor and fashion publicist, founded Moda Operandi eight years ago to sell the latest in designer fashion directly from the runway. Customers can pre-order the newest styles and have them delivered before they make it into stores.

“It’s for the woman who knows about fashion and invests in fashion. It’s the opposite of fast fashion,” she says. “Houston is similar to New York or Paris and London. The women here really know and care about fashion.”

She admits that she felt some pressure to look her most stylish when she realized she was coming to meet Wyatt, an international fashion icon. “I asked myself, ‘What Would Lynn Wyatt Do?’ she says. “(I figured) a sequined skirt with a button down, sure.”

Santo Domingo paired a spectacular full-length gold brass mirrored disc skirt from the much-talked-about Paco Rabanne designer Julien Dossena (“One of the top designers on our site right now,” she notes) with a simple gold button-down blouse by the Australian brand Toteme.

Wyatt, who wore chic gold-and-black patterned Chloe slacks and a gold L’Agence blouse, purred her approval of Santo Domingo’s ensemble.

Santo Domingo was impressed with the high-style of the Houston women and was particularly enamored with a vintage Tiffany medallion necklace worn by Sara Dodd. “All the fashion girls in New York are wearing them, but theirs aren’t real,” Santo Domingo says with a laugh.

Also spotted among the fashion-forward crowd were Leigh Smith, Gracie Cavnar, Marcy Taub, Meredith Flores, Alexandra Knight, Elisabeth McCabe, Karol Barnhart, Katie Barnhart, Isabel Lummis, Zeina Fares and Whitney Crane, whose husband, Astros owner Jim Crane also made a brief appearance before the couple headed to the Rockets game.

Also on hand were the Moda Operandi team, including Brian McCulloch, Charlotte Bentley, Lauren Anderson, Shay Cauley, and Jenny Corona.

From Britain to Los Angeles

Tania Fares, who lived in Houston for six years in the late 1990s-early 2000s but now splits her time between Beirut, London and Los Angeles, has become a leading fashion advocate as an ambassador for the British Fashion Council, heading up a fund that supports promising British designers. She also recently founded Fashion Trust Arabia, which offers grants to promising designers in the Middle East and northern Africa.

Now she has is focusing on Los Angeles, which she believes is going to be the next great hub of design.

“I felt L.A. was the best fit because there is so much creativity, so much happening in L.A. not just fashion, but design, art, and food. It’s a very exciting time for Los Angeles,” says Fares, who has previously co-authored a book on contemporary British fashion, London Uprising: Fifty Fashion Designers, One City.

The new book from Phaidon ($80), which Fares co-wrote with veteran Vanity Fair writer Krista Smith, focuses on  41 Los Angeles designers, including jewelry designers Irene Neuwirth and Jennifer Meyer, high quality eyewear from Mr. Leight, milliner Janessa Leone, and fashion labels The Brock Collection, Rosetta Getty, and Rodarte, “who are the essence of fashion in LA,” Fares says.

Despite the turmoil in fashion today, including the recent surprising closure of Zac Posen‘s business, Fares believes it is an exciting time for young designers.

“It’s a new time for fashion,” she says. “One very important thing is sustainability. Everyone should be conscious about the right materials. The designers are trying to get direct to the consumer where they can sell. It’s a new time and a new way of being.

“Everyone is wearing young designers, helping and supporting more and more. Of course we all love the big brands, too, but it’s nice to mix,” continues Fares, who was wearing a polka-dotted dress from emerging British designer Emilia Wickstead.