THE CROWD:

In days past and for generations long forgotten, the home was the center family and social interaction. In contemporary times this axiom is not so true. There’s the mall, hotel ballroom, country club and gym, but not the home.

With burgeoning wealth in Orange County and the transformation of the chaparral-covered hillsides into avenues lined with neatly trimmed pittosporum trees framing Mediterranean mansions, it is ironic when there is still that rare occasion when the home becomes the central focus of social activity.

Last week at Pelican Crest, the ultra-tony enclave of the O.C., hosts Jackie and Colt Melby welcomed the crowd into their chic new residence for a party that was so stylish it would have been worthy of Vanity Fair coverage.

Let’s begin with a little housekeeping, no pun intended.

The gathering was the underwriting reception for the 2007 Harvesters’ fall fashion show and luncheon fund-raiser, set for Sept. 27 at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach.

Fendi underwrote the Melby party at Pelican Crest, brought in Crème de la Crème catering and had the hippest party designers set a scene worthy of a Park Avenue bash from a late ’60s or early ’70s New York.

They covered the swimming pool with Plexiglas and turned it into a dance floor illuminated from underneath. Fire pits blazed with volcanic-sized flames, and people expected Nero in robes to appear.

Gilded 8-foot bird cages encased go-go dancers showing off the latest Fendi fashions as a squadron of more gorgeous Fendi models paraded through the party, showing off winter furs on a sultry September evening when the temperature was 78 degrees.

The residence was adorned with flickering candlelight throughout, and magnificent floral arrangements were strategically placed. Suited guards stood at attention throughout the Melby home, directing guests to the focal point of the party: the lower level of the estate featuring a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean at sunset and a party pavilion room that was certainly right out of a James Bond movie. Called for 7 p.m. last Friday evening, the turnout mushroomed into a full house rapidly with ultra-thin blondes in gold sparkling mini-dresses and 5-inch Manolos.

The hostess, Jackie Melby, 30-something and eight months pregnant, wore a Fendi couture minidress fashioned entirely of cocoa brown fall feathers. Jackie was the talk of the party. Husband Colt, appropriately named as he is an heir to the Smith & Wesson gun fortune, recently moved his family from Dallas to the Newport Coast. The Melby’s hired the young and talented designer Wendi Carrido-Young of Newport Beach to transform their mansion into a home.

This story surely could be all about Carrido-Young’s design as it was the most sophisticated taste level this reporter has come across in some time.

Carrido-Young has artistic vision. She and her team including Katie Dumont have managed to create a very contemporary palate that is multilayered with the incorporation of traditional elements, fine art and whimsy.

The exquisite and luxurious choice of finishes, fabrics and colors is artful to say the least. What a treat for the more than 300 guests who converged upon the Melby home to sip pomegranate martinis and view Karl Lagerfeld’s fall/winter couture collection for Fendi.

In the crowd was Fendi’s North American president Gianluca Flore, mingling with local Anaheim Duck’s star Chris Pronger and his wife, Lauren.

Social standout Sally Crockett attended with cardboard box mogul husband Randy Crockett, and major Harvester underwriters including Vicki Booth, representing the Uberroth Family Foundation; Eden and George O’Connell; event chair Robin McMonigle with her husband John; Jennifer and Anton Segerstrom; John Campbell; Maria Cooper;Debra Gunn-Downing and Kathryn Glassmyer, representing South Coast Plaza; the Bucky Oltmans; the Charles Cottons; the David Beadors; the Mark Posts; the Mike Bellows; the Norm Moraleses; and Dr. and Mrs. Miland Ambe.

Underwriting dollars, almost $400,000 to date, raised by the Harvesters, will be donated to the Food Bank of Orange County and will also support the spectacular fashion show produced by South Coast Plaza.

Estimates run as high as nearly 450,000 homes and families each week that need support of the Food Bank for sustenance.

In addition, a capital campaign is underway to help raise $8.5 million to rebuild a facility at the El Toro Marine base that has been donated to the food bank, enabling the organization to double its capacity to help the needy.

The 15th annual Harvesters’ Fashion Show and Luncheon is expected to bring in significant dollars to support these goals.

THE CROWD runs Thursdays and Saturdays.