'Oompa-Loompa' Valentino's famous orange tan rub off on Sarah Jessica Parker?

He may be one of the top fashion designers around, but Garavani Valentino isn't going to set any trends with his dark orange tan.

The 76-year-old style guru's skin looked alarmingly amber as he arrived at the opening night of the New York City Ballet's new season.

And it appears Valentino's glowing hue rubbed off on his famous friend Sarah Jessica Parker as the pair hugged on the red carpet last night.

Tan and tanner: A healthy-coloured Sarah Jessica Parker looks positively pallid next to her orange designer pal Valentino Garavani

After embracing her designer pal, Parker's perfectly made up face appeared to have been soiled by a spattering of fake tan.

Despite being a healthy colour, Parker looked positively pale next to the mahogany designer.

The Italian fashion designer's year-round 'tan' has been mocked by critics and has even led to him being compared to an Oompa-Loompa from the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Valentino retired with much fanfare earlier this year and will be a tough act to follow in the fashion world.

Despite her unfortunate make-up incident, Parker looked sleek in a black bandeau dress with silver beading sleeves and hemline.

Sensibly she opted for black opaque tights to keep her warm as the New York evening plummeted to a chilly 2 degrees Celsius.

Parker in an avid fan of ballet having trained in the art as a child.

She attended the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati before moving on to the School of American Ballet - which is linked to the New York City Ballet.

Over the weekend, Parker confirmed she would be stepping into Carrie Bradshaw's shoes again to film a sequel to the hugely successful Sex And The City movie, which came out earlier this year.

She admitted writer/director Michael Patrick King has developed a plot for the sequel, but it wouldn't involve Bradshaw having children with her new husband John James Preston, aka Mr Big (Chris Noth).

Parker believes they may even start filming next summer with a possible release in 2010.

Joining Valentino and Parker at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center was Sex And The City writer Candace Bushnell and Ugly Betty star Vanessa Williams.

Blonde author Bushnell looked glamorous in a floral halterneck gown, while Williams showed off her impressive curves in a figure-hugging, strapless dress.

Meet and greet: Parker and Valentino chat to Sex And The City writer Candace Bushnell

Sleek: Parker (L) and Vanessa Williams (R) showed off their impressive figures in figure-hugging dress