Days before New York Fashion Week was scheduled to begin on Friday, February 9, there were already scores of parties hitting the events calendar. On Tuesday night, Valentino celebrated the opening of its brand-new SoHo boutique on 98 Prince Street with a soirée at its pop-up café located across the street beneath the Mercer Hotel (Jemima Kirke, true to form, was a fixture on the dance floor, while Emma Seligman, Louisa Jacobson, and KiKi Layne were also in attendance). Farther north in the West Village, Martha Stewart rang in Lunar New Year with chef Angie Mar, New York City club legend Dianne Brill, and the luxury flatware brand Christofle. On Wednesday, H&M hosted a rager for its new SoHo location attended by Hunter Schafer, Amelia Gray, Iris Law, and more stars. Humberto Leon is throwing a Lunar New Year celebration of his own on Thursday: a dinner curated by his L.A. restaurant Chifa in downtown Manhattan. French houses are getting in on the fun, too. Chanel came to town to toast its new Watches and Fine Jewelry flagship, and YSL Beauté threw a party in honor of the viral Candy Glaze Lip Gloss Stick. Prada also launched its beauty line with a cocktail party on the 9th. And Gucci feted the reopening of its Wooster Street store (along with Sabato de Sarno’s latest Ancora collection) with a star-studded cocktail. Check back often, because we’ll be updating this report from all the biggest parties of the season.
The stars were out in full force on Saturday night, when Antwaun Sargent, Jeremy O. Harris, Elegance Bratton, and Natasha Lyonne (from left, above) joined Jessica Chastain, Jodie Turner Smith, and many more of Gucci’s friends and family for a party celebrating Sabato de Sarno’s latest Ancora collection and the reopening of the Wooster Street boutique in New York.
Chastain opted for a classic bamboo top-handle handbag for the event, and paired it with a black gown featuring a high leg slit and cheeky open back.
Maude Apatow and Iris Apatow had a sisters’ night out at the party.
Elliot Page and Jes Tom posed for photos on the step and repeat.
Beanie Feldstein held it down for the theater kid contingent.
Jodie Turner-Smith always wears the brightest, most fun pieces from Gucci’s collections to events—this evening was no exception.
Daisy Edgar-Jones brought down the raciness of a lacy lingerie dress with a heavy wool coat.
The XX’s Romy performed at the party—seen here lending the mic to host Terence Edgerson.
Prada Beauty Launch Party
The evening prior, Katie Holmes could be found sitting on a white leather couch inside Williamsburg, Brooklyn’s Domino Sugar Refinery building, chatting with reps from Prada. The cause for celebration? A major launch for the Italian label: its foray into the beauty category, with a brand-new line of skincare, makeup, and lip products.
Sofia Richie-Grainge and Elliot Grainge stopped by the industrial space—which was filled with folks dressed head-to-toe in Prada (or Miu Miu-esque) looks—for drinks and conversation.
Maude Apatow and Iris Apatow hung out in the adjacent room, where a DJ spun tunes for the crowd.
Dylan Sprouse and Tommy Dorfman chatted it up by the massive display of products that had been built for this event specifically—and which served as a perfect backdrop for selfies for the numerous influencers (like Charli D’Amelio, who also attended) who were in attendance.
Humberto Leon and Dussé XO’s Lunar New Year Dinner
At around 9 PM on Thursday, February 8, Claire Danes sat down for dinner at Casino in New York City’s Chinatown. She joined Hunter Schafer, David Byrne, and Luar designer Raul Lopez for an intimate party there hosted by Opening Ceremony and Kenzo alum Humberto Leon, whose L.A. restaurant Chifa curated the menu for the evening. The cause for celebration was, of course, Lunar New Year—and there was no shortage of Dussé Cognac (which sponsored the night) cocktails flowing.
Although there was plenty of merriment surrounding the holiday, happening this year on February 10, New York Fashion Week was still on the minds of attendees like Rowan Blanchard, photographer Quil Lemons, and Lopez, pictured here. The latter, who wore an oversize silhouette from his spring 2024 Luar collection for the event, will reveal his latest designs at his NYFW runway show on Tuesday, February 13.
The Talking Heads’s Byrne made his mustard-yellow jumpsuit weather-appropriate with a black turtleneck.
Hunter Schafer popped by for a strawberry-basil Dussé cocktail, which she toasted with Leon and friends.
Hennessy and Phillip Lim’s Lunar New Year Party
Farther uptown, a Lunar New Year party of a whole different kind was happening at the Edition Hotel in Times Square. Awkwafina, Ronny Chieng, Aoki Lee Simmons, and many more stars partied with Phillip Lim at his Hennessy-sponsored dinner—which was followed by a packed dance floor in the adjacent Paradise Club.
Lim wore a jet-black cheongsam, or qi pao, for the event—while Lee Simmons put her own spin on the Mandarin collar.
It wouldn’t be a Lunar New Year celebration without the lion dance, which is said to bring good luck and fortune for the Year of the Dragon.
YSL Beauty’s The Candy Shoppe Party
That same night, YSL Beauty celebrated its Candy Glaze Lip Gloss—which has become the viral source of BeautyTok’s fascinations as of late—with a soirée in SoHo. Dubbed the Candy Shoppe, this space at 216 Lafayette Street is actually a YSL Beauty pop-up opening to the public on February 9. But on Thursday evening, guests including Ziwe, Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz Beckham, and Dominic Sessa were treated to an advance look.
Precious Lee vamping for the camera.
Lila Moss trying her hand at grabbing a lipgloss (or two) from the claw machine arcade game at the party.
Jack Harlow made a surprise appearance and performed for the crowd.
H&M’s SoHo Boutique Opening
Iris Law and Hunter Schafer may have worn opposite looks on February 7th at H&M’s SoHo boutique unveiling—the former, in a suit with oversize lapels; the latter, wearing a rust gown with ruching—but the pair was two peas in a pod while they posed for a photo at the star-studded event.
Quannah Chasinghorse (left) paired gray denim on denim for her look of the night, while Amelia Gray opted for supersized suiting with chunky black boots.
Aaron Rose Philip understood the suiting assignment, giving a maxi skirt an office spin with pinstripes.
A Special Evening Honoring Meryl Streep and Sophie’s Choice
Meanwhile, on February 6, Meryl Streep was the guest of honor at MoMA, where a special event giving nods to both the legendary actress and her groundbreaking 1982 film Sophie’s Choice was held.
Streep was joined by Ethan Hawke and Cate Blanchett, pictured here, for the evening.
Uma Thurman was also in attendance.
The event was something of a Sophie’s Choice cast reunion, with Kevin Kline showing up to support his friend Streep. Claire Danes, shown here, also attended, posing for photos at the step and repeat.
Valentino’s SoHo Pop-up Opening
Valentino has returned to SoHo with a new boutique at 98 Prince Street. Naturally, the brand decided to paint the town pink to celebrate. For the week, they’ve taken over Sartiano’s across the street and rechristened it as Café Valentino. On Tuesday, February 6, guests including Dylan Sprouse, Jayme Lawson, Jeremy O. Harris, Myha’la Herrold (above), and Bowen Yang gathered to celebrate. The color of the cocktails of the night? Pink, of course.
You can always count of Jemima Kirke to actually party during a fashion week party. Earlier in the night, she was wearing a matching blazer—but doffed it for a dance-floor twirl.
Yang, attending with Saturday Night Live writer Celeste Kim, came clad in a green statement coat and shorts.
Dylan Sprouse at the Valentino party.
Christofle & Angie Mar Celebrate Lunar New Year
What could get Martha Stewart, queen of domesticity, and Dianne Brill, queen of ’80s New York clubland, out to the same event? Christofle and chef Angie Mar’s Lunar New Year party, held at Le B. in the West Village (the chef and the high-end tableware company are releasing a limited-edition sculpture by Zheng Lu). Guests packed the intimate restaurant, though at one point they made room for a traditional lion dance. If this photo serves as any indication, however, the kitchen was the makeshift VIP room of the evening.
While waiters squeezed between guests to serve an array of hors d’oeuvres including dumplings and prawns, the dragon had better luck making room for itself.
Brill, the New York legend and makeup maven, also had no problem making her way about. As she was exiting, a handler reminded everyone she was “Queen of the Night,” the sobriquet once bequeathed to her by Andy Warhol.
Vestiaire Collective Celebrates With Jessica Chastain
If you need any last-minute fashion week ’fits, Jessica Chastain is cleaning out her closet. The Oscar winner, accompanied for the night by husband Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo, has partnered with upscale resale site Vestiaire Collective to sell off some her red carpet looks. Even the black Cong Tri gown she wore that night (and had previously worn for the premiere of her film Memory) was for sale. She celebrated alongside her stylist Elizabeth Stewart (who is also selling some wares), Vestiaire cofounder Fanny Moizant, and North America CEO Samina Virk with a jam-packed cocktail soirée at hotspot The Nines.
Girl about town Ivy Getty was clearly channeling her inner big cat for the evening. Leopard print never goes out of style—perhaps this can serve as inspo for your next Vestiaire purchase.
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