HOLLYWOOD'S FAVORITE HOST

NODO party like Los Angeles designer Michael S. Smith

- ADRIENNE GAFFNEY

Entertaining is a fine art for Michael S. Smith. As a child, the interior designer watched his grandmother throw dinners for 20, and saw how hosting could help a sense of community flower in all situations. He was given a unique look into it while his partner James Costos served as the American ambassador to Spain and Andorra under President Obama; these days, the pair gives three to four dinners a week for friends, in addition to regularly hosting political events, fundraisers, and book parties. During the pandemic, Smith found outdoor dinners to be a needed escape from isolation. During a particularly memorable one, a friend's son, a singer with the Yale a cappella group The Baker's Dozen, performed with his group mates.