Peter Marino Played King of the Castle – in Leather and Lace

On Saturday night, the king of the castle wore head-to-toe black leather — with a small ruff of lace and two strands of black pearls.

Peter Marino was presiding over a gala fundraiser at Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte that encompassed a rapturous, playful piece of Baroque opera conducted by William Christie, a lavish three-course dinner, gobsmacking fireworks and a Louis Vuitton tableware launch.

Concert pianist Hélène Mercier-Arnault, her watch executive son Frédéric Arnault, Paloma Picasso, Susan Gutfreund, Haider Ackermann, Jean-Michel Othoniel, Christian Louboutin and Marisa Berenson were among the beau monde that piled into the fairy-tale venue for the black-tie affair, oohing and aahing over the fabled and recently restored Charles Le Brun ceilings and André Le Nôtre’s exquisite gardens, bathed in golden-hour light.

The event, benefiting International Friends of Vaux-le-Vicomte, was also hosted by Vuitton chairman and chief executive officer Pietro Beccari, film producer Christine Schwarzman and La Comtesse Patrice de Vogüé, whose family owns the storied castle about an hour southeast of Paris.

Berenson was the belle of the ball in an elaborately beaded vintage Antonio Marras gown, which she topped with a Paul Poiret cape and multiple necklaces of her own design. “It’s all vintage,” she said of her outfit, set off with sparkly tinsel dotted through her curls, courtesy of hairdresser Alexandre Zouari.

The actress noted she had filmed the TV movie “Julie,” at Vaux-le-Vicomte, in which she played Madame de Maintenon.

Othoniel and his partner, sculptor Johan Creten dressed in an Etro tuxedo with paisley prints splashed on one side, chose to walk the long, cobblestone driveway leading to the castle before posing for photos with Marino, who stood at the top of the steps to greet everyone.

Othoniel is gearing up for his biggest art show yet, which will sprawl over 10 museums in Avignon next summer and encompass more than 200 works, plus a performance work with choreographer Carolyn Carlson and ballet star Hugo Marchand.

The event brought out some head-turning fashions. Louboutin, wearing a fez, brought Natasha Poonawalla in a face-framing Harris Reed creation. Princess Paula Al Sabah of Kuwait wore a black Oscar de la Renta gown topped with silver feather embroideries and carried a sparkling dove-shaped minaudière by Judith Leiber.

Ackermann was fretting because Marino didn’t mention the black-tie dress code. Nevertheless, he looked uber-chic in a slouchy black suit accessorized with a black hoodie and a narrow silk scarf wound just so.

In an interview earlier in the week, Marino noted that France is home to some of the best palaces in the world, and he believes they should be celebrated. “Life’s a cabaret,” he said, quoting a line from the Liza Minnelli song: “When I go, I’m going like Elsie!”

Asked about his favorite elements of Vaux-le-Vicomte, considered the precursor to Louis XIV’s Versailles, the American architect said sheepishly: “I really love the gardens and the fountains. I suppose I should adore the architecture, which I do like. As you know, the architecture is meant to impress and it is overly impressive, but it’s the grandeur of the gardens that I relate to.”

To wit: Saturday’s fundraiser had as its objective to modify an underground reservoir and repair decrepit plumbing so that the gravitational system designed by Le Nôtre will be able to operate the garden’s 22 fountains on a daily basis.

Vaux-le-Vicomte receives roughly 400,000 visitors a year.