In what La Cieca believes is the gayest photograph ever taken, Rufus Wainwright strikes a pose with Faye Dunaway on the red carpet at the Met’s opening night.

More heart-warming news from Women’s Wear Daily: Oscar de la Renta will not, after all, boycott the Met as he previously threatened.  The designer had complained to the media that no American designer was included in the roster of designers creating frocks for Renée Fleming; in fact, de la Renta even toyed with the idea of canceling his annual donation to the opera company! Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed, with Met benefactress Mercedes Bass effecting a rapprochement.

“After all this brouhaha in the papers, he is here,” said Bass. “It was just a momentary thing — he was being protective of American designers.”