West Coast Launch of Claiborne Swanson Frank’s Latest

The evening celebrated the West Coast launch of Claiborne Swanson Frank’s newest book

Words by ELIZABETH VARNELL

Cucinelli dnner celebrates Swanson's book — Zach Baylin, Gray Malin, Eka Darville, Claiborne Swanson Frank, John Pearson, Nacho Figueras.

Photographer Claiborne Swanson Frank’s new volume, Father and Child, includes images and interviews with more than 50 dads, and a number of them gathered at Casa Cucinelli in West Hollywood on Wednesday, May 21, for a dinner hosted by Brunello Cucinelli to celebrate the book’s launch. Polo player Nacho Figueras, with his wife Delfina Blaquier and son Hilario, joined photographer Gray Malin and his husband Jeff Richardson for the evening, as did actor and entrepreneur Eka Darville, screenwriter Zach Baylin, and model and Mr. Feelgood cofounder John Pearson, all of whom were included in the book. “It’s so beautiful to be here in L.A., the fathers that came tonight are truly dear to me, they brought so much heart and soul to the pages of Father and Child, and their families brought so much love,” said Swanson Frank, as guests took their seats. On display for the evening, her newest work from Assouline exploring modern fatherhood included memories, stories and insights from the fathers assembled in L.A. and many more based in New York and elsewhere.

Also on hand were Claiborne’s sister Alexis Traina, as well as Liz Culley, Casey Fremont, new father and Los Angeles Kings star Adrian Kempe, Mandana Dayani, Rebecca Ramsey, Amanda Alagem, Joseph Cassell, Warren Alfie Baker, and Katie Bofshever. They all dined under strings of sparkling lights on a menu of antipasti including Umbrian cheese and bruschetta with olive oil from Solomeo, Italy, rigatoni, and beef tagliata topped with a dessert of vanilla ice cream with berries, acacia honey, and local pistachios and paired with Italian wines including a 2021 Antinori Tignanello and a 2022 Jermann Vintage Tunina.

Cucinelli, the book’s sponsor, was photographed with his daughters in Solomeo, the historic village housing his company headquarters. On this evening, Swanson Frank’s new volume joined shelves filled with his favorite books inside his Los Angeles showroom. Gianluca Farinazzo, director of West Coast operations for the Italian house, felt particularly drawn to the new work. “This book reminds us of a special bond between a father and a child, and any parent and a child,” he said. “Simple shared moments are precious and we should hold onto them. I’m lucky that I became a father 16 months ago, and it resonates very deeply with me. Thank you, Claiborne, for reminding us to value the shared time we have with our children and our loved ones.”