A Mad MAD Affair

The dress code called for black, white, and metallics, an invitation for the Museum of Art and Design’s patrons to turn up in lamé, sequins, fascinators, and as glittering disco balls. This year’s MAD Ball was held in honor of arbiter elegantiarum of good taste, Jonathan Adler, whose exhibition The Mad MAD World of Jonathan Adler is on view at the museum through the spring of 2026. I showed up sartorially incongruous in my green silk blouse and emerald earrings to match and was immediately embarrassed at my faux pas, realizing how seriously the patrons took the dress code. I thought I had shown up for a usual fundraiser: lots and lots of liquor and air-kisses, but when you’re at MAD, more is more. At one point, I had spotted a headpiece resembling a satellite.

Luckily, upon arrival, I spotted two strangers in hot pink and lemon yellow, respectively, and quickly rushed to make conversation with my fellow vestiary pariahs. While we collectively looked oddly-placed, long-time patrons and discerning attendees of the museum would be aware that the real theme has always been jewelry—layers upon layers of jewelry. MAD’s patrons are a stylish crowd that loves designer dresses and diamonds more than they love sitting still during a dinner. Which made things all the more fun.

The lobby reception hit all the right beats: champagne on arrival, mingling under soaring ceilings, and live jazz charming everyone into forgetting the weather outside was aggressively October. Different was that the entire building stayed open—a choose-your-own-adventure for patrons. Guests paired off to explore the galleries and artists’ studios, where artists-in-residence fielded questions. Attending were board members Susan Ach, and her husband Larry Ach, Glenn Adamson, Marian Burke, and her husband Russell Burke, Mike De Paola, Jeffrey Manocherian, Luam Melake, Cheryl R. Riley, Klara Silverstein, and Barbara Waldman. Among the many guests were also Amy Adler, Janna Bullock, Jonathan Lucas, and Nicole Miller.

As I headed to the seventh floor for more drinks, packed in the elevator with MAD’s donors, like couture-wearing sardines, panic set in. I lurked through the impossibly stylish bar, dimly lit by oversized chandeliers and the occasional flash photography, fearing I didn’t know anyone, as an artist at a gala. Luckily, that’s when I ran into a sea of familiar faces—artists from the Silver Art residency, attending the gala at the behest of their patron, Klara Silverstein, a trustee of the Museum of Art and Design. Here, between sips of Sorel liqueur and Uncle Waithley’s, a craft table was laid out where guests were encouraged to assemble their own masks for the after-party—a safety net for those like me, who hadn’t realized the gravity of the metallic memo. The vibe and artist-heavy crowd reminded me more of a glamorous house party, less of a tedious gala.

The crowd was soon guided up another flight for the main event, to ROBERT, MAD’s very own restaurant overlooking Central Park. The dinner kicked off with a fig and Manchego salad. Author-slash-television personality Simon Doonan (husband to the honoree Adler) took the mic and proved that if the ceramics ever slow down, their household can rely on Doonan’s comedy. Nanette L. Laitman Director Tim Rodgers followed with warm remarks, before Board Chair Michele Cohen presented Adler with the MAD Visionary Award. Entrées soon arrived perfectly seared: sea bass for the light-eaters and short rib for everyone else. I was seated beside the museum’s curator Alexandra Schwartz, as she explained her work in Designing Motherhood, now on view at the museum. Despite her charming disposition, my eyes kept wandering across the table where artist Saya Woolfalk was holding court. Fresh off her own MAD solo, Woolfalk looked ethereal in white lace, stacks of jewelry, and schoolgirl pigtails. The table, however, belonged to trustee Mike De Paola, who looked like the life of every party in his impeccable black suit and thick-rimmed glasses.

Then, for the grand finale. The party migrated a few short blocks to the nearby, and very aptly named, Masquerade. Nothing could have prepared us for this. A narrow, blood-red tunnel led into another, and another, finally opening into a cavernous den lit like an inferno. Blood-red lights washed over long, long, winding passages leading to the dance floor. Masks everywhere. Feathers, lace, crystals, ball gowns, top hats, and once again, tons of champagne.

The MAD Ball is long-standing; its after-party, with lower-tier tickets to welcome a larger group of patrons, was bolstered by the museum’s young members, the Luminaries and is new. As the venue filled up, I snagged a seat behind the velvet rope across the dance floor, quickly joined by old friend and after-party goer Jenny Wang, Editor-in-Chief of IMPULSE magazine, and a gracious couple who happened to be on MAD’s board. I soon excused myself from the group only to discover the venue’s most intriguing feature: a collection of grim reaper statues and gargoyles lurking at the back of the massive room. Naturally, this turned into an editorial shoot for myself, and the gargoyles did not object. After all, when the decor is this bizarre, you simply must document the fever dream.

Whether or not the after-party will catch on to become a staple for young patrons in New York (I think it will), the evening overall was a success. The funds raised from ticket sales and through the Black & White Auction with Rago/Wright will fuel MAD’s innovative exhibitions and programming, including a series of upcoming talks with the Visionary Award recipient himself, Adler. With its hands-on elements and well-dressed guests, the night was a reminder that at the MAD Ball, the party is always in service of the craft.

The exhibition The Mad MAD World of Jonathan Adler runs through April 19, 2026, at the Museum of Arts and Design. Adler will appear in two upcoming talks: On the Couch with Jonathan Adler and Rachel Federman on December 11, 2025, and On the Couch with Jonathan Adler, Elissa Auther, and Sarah Archer on February 12, 2026.

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