If you thought awards season was jam-packed with parties, fetes, galas, and other high-profile ceremonies—gird your loins for spring. Between April and June, there’s a whole slate of celeb-filled events on the calendar: starry store openings (Tiffany is cutting the ribbon on its revamped New York City flagship on April 27), art-world celebrations (The Bronx Museum will throw its annual Gala and Art Auction on April 24), and premieres (The Little Mermaid red carpet, anyone?). Kicking off the party season this week was the Save Venice Ball, held on Friday, April 21 at the Plaza Hotel. Maggie Gyllenhaal, dressed in a black and gold woven jacquard gown from Lafayette 148, was one of the biggest stars in attendance, along with LaQuan Smith and Cara Buono. And, of course, there is the penultimate springtime event: The Met Gala, slated to take place this year on Monday, May 1. The 2023 theme celebrates none other than Kaiser Karl Lagerfeld and his indelible mark upon the fashion industry, with a sprawling exhibition titled “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” to go with it. Attendees have been instructed to wear looks “in honor of Karl”—and although the carpet will surely be the most watched space in NYC that evening, we’ll also be keeping an eye on the numerous celebrity after-parties to follow. Keep up with all these events and more, here.
On Saturday, May 20, New York’s art world glitterati traveled an hour and a half north of the city to celebrate this year’s Dia Beacon Spring Benefit. The annual event honored the elusive conceptual artist stanley brouwn; Robert Irwin, whose multicolor light installations have made his work instantly recognizable; Senga Nengudi, the if-you-know-you-know abstract artist who is having her moment in the sun at 80 years old; and the American painter and sculptor Jack Whitten. Stars—even those outside of the realm of visual arts—came out in kind, including Yara Shahidi, who brought her mother Keri as her date for the luncheon.
Bottega Veneta was a heavy presence at the event—which makes sense, since creative director Matthieu Blazy (left) is a Dia Beacon co-chair. Here, he poses with Lauren Santo Domingo (wearing a dress and stole from the label’s summer 2023 collection,) and Derek Blasberg.
Antwaun Sargent wore a riff on the look that Kate Moss debuted on Bottega Veneta’s spring 2023 runway—pairing the all-leather button-down and trousers with his signature cap.
Kennedy Yanko inside one of Dia Beacon’s galleries.
Glenn Ligon and Charles Gaines at the Dia Beacon lunch.
We’ve seen a lot of things at The Boiler Room, the charmingly dive-y East Village gay bar, but until last night Jemima Kirke hadn’t been one of them. The actress and her nude-illusion top were on of the first things we spotted when walking in Wednesday night for a party thrown by JW Anderson and retailer SSENSE celebrating the brand’s new Bumper Hike Sneaker collection.
Anderson, who held court in one of the bar’s back corners, seems to love a good old fashioned gay bar. The Art Basel Miami Beach party he threw at South Beach’s Twist with Loewe remains the stuff of fashion party legend, and the Boiler Room affair provided another not-to-be-missed night.
Dominque Jackson, who we all know understands the power of a good shoe moment, came clad in orange.
Tommy Dofrman shined in a sparkly shorts suit set.
Of course, the guest who commanded the most attention with the legendary fashion diva herself, the JW Anderson Pigeon Bag who gamely posed for photos. Apparently her rumored role in the upcoming second season of And Just Like That... hasn’t quite gone to her head just yet.
Iconic French restaurant La Grenouille is perhaps most famous for two things: its historic high society cliental and its legendary floral arrangements. Keagan Ramsamy, co-founder of the jewelry brand MAZARIN alongside Louise de Rothschild said they decided to bring in even more flowers for the dinner they hosted with Moda Operandi on Tuesday. All those extra blooms helped celebrate the eco-minded line’s American launch on the e-tailer (the diamonds are lab grown, the gold recycled, and a portion of the proceeds benefit elephant conservation).
Actress AnnaSophia Robb was amongst those who came out to toast the line.
Pat Cleveland kept it simple but elegant in all black.
The Summer I Turned Pretty actress Minnie Mills put some of MAZARIN’s wares on display.
The first week of May in New York City may have started strong with the Met Gala, but it ended with a bang at Avedon 100, the landmark exhibition in celebration of the famed photographer’s centenary. To commemorate Avedon’s extraordinary life and legacy, Gagosian Gallery and the Avedon Foundation called on more than 150 people—including Kate Moss, Kim Kardashian, Cindy Crawford, Elton John, and more prominent artists, designers, musicians, writers, and curators— to choose a photograph by Avedon and elaborate on the impact of the photographer’s work today.
Opening night kicked off at the gallery’s Chelsea outpost, where attendees lined up around the block to get a peek at the work (and all the stars in attendance). Inside, there was Lauren Hutton in the same hat she wore when Avedon photographed her, Karlie Kloss (who recently announced she was pregnant) mingling with Iman, and Gigi Hadid and Precious Lee taking in the art with the exhibition’s co-curator and collaborator, Derek Blasberg.
Lee, Blasberg, and Hadid pause for a photo inside the exhibition.
Following the show, fashion’s cool crowd—including photographer Tyler Mitchell and, of course, Lee—headed to Top of the Standard for dinner, drinks, and a little bit of dancing at the after party.
Held downtown on the 28th floor of the The Water Street Associates Building, the AprésMet party co-hosted by Carlos Nazario, Emily Ratajkowski, Paloma Elsesser, Raul Lopez, and Renell Medrano was amongst many revelers’ last stops on the Met Gala after party. It may have also been amongst the sweatiest, and we mean that in the best way.
Kendall Jenner, in a custom Nensi Dojaka-designed tribute to Karl, caught up with photographer Renell Medrano. Open bars featuring her 818 tequila were also on hand for the night.
Jared Leto arrived with his Choupette-head in tow.
Recent British Vogue cover stars Paloma Elsesser and Precious Lee reunited and added fellow super Imaan Hammam to the squad for the night.
Emma Chamberlain kept her cropped Miu Miu vibes going for the afters, this time in a black-and-white version.
Boom Boom Room at The Standard in New York City was the place to be on Monday night, just a few hours after celebrities performed their fashion parade on the Met Gala red carpet. Janelle Monáe, who began her evening with a big costume reveal in Thom Browne, gave another show of sorts at the after party, where she played host—climbing onto the bar with her dancers, naked except for some well-placed body paint to belt out a few tunes and break it down for the crowd, her drink firmly in hand.
Keke Palmer was the picture of glam in Sergio Hudson, who accompanied her for the after party.
The Valentino crew held it down in the VIP section, with Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra, Pierpaolo Piccioli, Florence Pugh, and Ashley Park partying together well past 2 AM. Pugh, who debuted a shaved head at the Met Gala, rocked her buzz cut at the party—prompting many of her friends to give her head a gleeful rub.
Billie Eilish pulled up to the Standard around 2:30 AM, rushing inside with her entourage in an outfit that was the polar opposite from her Met Gala look—but no less delightful.
Lil Nas X successfully removed the silver paint from his entire body after the Met carpet—and changed into this fuzzy Eckhaus Latta top with an equally furry LaQuan Smith jacket.
Jenna Ortega joined Monáe and Kaytranada in the DJ booth, giving hugs and kisses to the host before posing for some more pictures.
Stephanie Hsu and Quinta on the dance floor.
Olivia Rodrigo hit the club in a shimmering archival Chanel dress from the label’s fall 1994 collection.
Ava Max and Christian Siriano cozied up next to each other.
Meanwhile, Met Gala cohost Michaela Coel held a raging soirée at downtown hot spot Loosie’s, located beneath the Moxy Lower East Side.
The event brought out fashion luminaries including British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful and Naomi Campbell.
Guests danced the night away to music curated by Major League DJZ, Uncle Waffles, Skyla Tylaa, and DJ Neptizzle.
Bungalow 8, the hottest club of the Y2K era, returned to its former glory on Saturday. April 29. To toast its brand new store in the Meatpacking district, Gucci invited guests including Salma Hayek, Chris Rock, Iman, Bethann Hardison, Daisy Edgar Jones, Teyana Taylor, Beanie Feldstein, Phoebe Bridgers, and many more to a re-creation of the popular nightspot complete with its famous No Vacancy sign. Idris Elba DJ’d a special set for the starry crowd while empress of NYC nightlife and Bungalow 8 founder Amy Sacco held court with familiar naughties “It” girls, among them Alexa Chung and Leigh Lezark of The Misshapes.
Phoebe Bridgers arrived with her drummer and former boyfriend Marshall Vore.
Memphy wearing a red Gucci dress opened for Idris Elba, a friend and ambassador of the house and who spun tunes late into the night.
Alexa Chung, in a sleek LBD, poses in front of the DJ booth designed to mimic the ceilings of Gucci’s new Meatpacking boutique.
It was a family night out for François-Henri Pinault and Salma Hayek who attended the party with their 15-year-old daughter Valentina Paloma Pinault.
Ahead of the Met Gala, Schiaparelli creative director Daniel Roseberry stopped by Bergdorf Goodman for a cocktail celebrating their ongoing partnership. This being Schiaparelli, however, they couldn’t help but add a surrealist touch. A portion of the department store was turned into a black and gold fashion playroom of sorts, inviting guests like Bella Thorne to pose for pictures.
Linda Fargo, Daniel Roseberry, and Bianca Jebbia hold court.
Dior and Fendi’s artistic director Kim Jones has a new, somewhat unlikely partner: Hennessy X.O. And on Wednesday, April 26, the two linked up to throw a star-studded party, marking the launch of their experiential atelier in SoHo. On the heels of the global release of their limited-edition bottle celebrating the collaboration, the VIP opening night of the X.O Lab saw Teyana Taylor and Emily Ratajkowski, shown here, pausing on the step and repeat to snap a quick photo.
Evan Mock, Dylan Sprouse, and Barbara Palvin were also in attendance, sipping Hennessy X.O cocktails that were stirred via an autonomous mechanical arm near the bar.
EmRata, wearing vintage Chanel, roamed the space, which will open to the public from April 28 to the 29th.
Palvin and Sprouse toasted the evening, later grooving to live DJ sets by Siobhan Bell and Channel Tres.
Meanwhile, in Miami, Ralph Lauren hosted a cocktail party celebrating its newly opened Miami Design District luxury concept store. Posting up in a private waterfront estate in North Miami, guests including Joan Smalls and Lily Aldridge, shown here, lounged on blue-and-white branded cabanas poolside, taking in views of Biscayne Bay and the Miami skyline.
Tell Me Lies star Grace Van Patten and her sister Anna Van Patten made the evening into a family affair, rocking chic contrasting looks calling to the fashion sensibilities of Spy vs. Spy.
Back in New York City, the organization Apex for Youth held its 31st annual Inspiration Awards Gala at Cipriani South Street. An evening dedicated to celebrating Asian excellence, the event also raised funds for underserved Asian American and immigrant youth in New York City and beyond. Olympic medalists and brother-and-sister figure skating duo Maia and Alex Shibutani were among those in attendance on Wednesday, April 26.
Actress Havana Rose Liu, model Aoki Lee Simmons, and designer Kim Shui paused for photos ahead of dinner with Bing Chen, Agnes Chu, and Kevin Lin.
The poet Ocean Vuong, best known for his 2019 work “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous,” received honors, along with restauranteur Simon Kim.
Lynn Ban and her fellow Bling Empire: New York costar, Blake Abbie.
Uptown, Luar designer Raul Lopez stopped by the Bronx Museum for its annual gala and art auction on Monday, April 24. Lopez joined Mickalene Thomas, Stevie Wonder's son and designer Kailand Morris, and many more to celebrate the city’s only free contemporary art museum. The Bronx Museum has historically championed artists who have been systemically left out of the conversation—from Martin Wong to iconic street style photographer Jamel Shabazz.
The cause for the night: to raise money for the museum, but to also honor two-time Grammy-winning Bronx-born musician Will Calhoun, shown here, as well as the acclaimed artist Angel Otero, and arts patron Olivia W. Douglas.
Some of the biggest names from the art world, fashion industry, and Hollywood converged on Tuesday, April 25 for the 2023 Brooklyn Artists Ball held at the Brooklyn Museum. The cause for celebration? Carrie Mae Weems, the visionary multidisciplinary artist who was honored during the evening, which was made possible by Dior. Here, Weems poses with Tracee Ellis Ross, who wore a hot pink monochrome look for the night (this woman is more than deserving of a role in the new Barbie movie!).
Natalia Dyer and Charlie Heaton were in attendance at the seated dinner inside Brooklyn Museum’s Beaux Arts Court. Guests were treated to a special performance by the American-British singer, Celeste, at the end of the meal.
Pyer Moss designer Kerby Jean Raymond attended the event with Nia Beckett in matching denim looks.
Maggie Gyllenhaal stunned in a black lace dress with cheongsam-inspired closures.
Thomas Doherty and Eli Brown represented the Gossip Girl contingent, appearing on the red carpet to take photos in their finest Dior getups.
And Maria Grazia Chiuri was, of course, on hand for Dior, looking chic in an all-black ensemble and standout jewelry.
Following dinner, guests hit the dance floor for the Artist Ball After Party, headlined by producer, rapper, and Brooklyn Museum Trustee, Swizz Beatz.
On Friday, April 21 in New York City, designer LaQuan Smith hit the Plaza Hotel with French model Cindy Bruna—who wore one of his show-stopping red sequin gowns with cutouts. The incredibly photogenic duo were just two attendees at the Save Venice Ball, an annual gala which helps fund Save Venice’s cultural, artistic, and philanthropic projects (the organization has supported the restoration of almost 2,000 works of art since its inception).
But Smith was far from the only designer on the guest list: the “Slaysians” represented on Friday night, with Phillip Lim, Tina Leung, Fernando Garcia, Laura Kim, Prabal Gurung, Dorothy Wang, and Ezra J. William, shown here from left, dressing up in their own finery for the event. This year’s theme was “Byzantine,” a reference to Save Venice’s mosaic conservation project on the island of Murano.
Maggie Gyllenhaal, dressed in a look straight from Lafayette 148’s fall 2023 collection, greeted fellow actress Cara Buono with a huge embrace.
The print from Gyllenhaal’s “Leafed Pages”-printed tie neck dress and peplum blazer, done in woven black and gold jacquard, evoked the romance of the evening.
Buono, for her part, wore a charming pink caped gown with floral details from Oscar de la Renta—one of the sponsors of the night, along with Bulgari.
Rebecca Vanyo and Lauren Levison at the 2023 Save Venice Ball.
Di Mondo, Rebecca Vanyo, Cara Miguel, and Peter Miguel show off their looks for the evening—which, in Di Mondo and Vanyo’s case, won them prizes as winners of the mask contest for the night.
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