Sofia Coppola’s Chanel Haute Couture Book Party Was a Family Affair

On Wednesday, September 10, Sofia Coppola and Chanel hosted an intimate gathering at Doubles Club, the private restaurant tucked inside the Sherry-Netherland Hotel that’s been an Upper East Side haunt since 1976. The evening doubled as a celebration and a reunion: Coppola’s close friends, family, and collaborators—including Kirsten Dunst, Iman, Karen Elson and her daughter Scarlett Teresa White, plus her Lost in Translation muse and star, Bill Murray, were all in attendance.

The reason for the party was Chanel Haute Couture, Coppola’s new book edited in collaboration with Chanel and Éditions 7L and published by her Important Flowers imprint at Mack. The lavish, 450-page volume is bound in mirrored gold and filled with intimate photographs, rarely seen sketches, and archival gems charting the evolution of Chanel’s couture from its earliest days. “There were so many images—it kept growing because we kept finding pictures we loved,” Coppola told W. With her team of researchers, she sifted through the archives of photographers like Richard Avedon and Helmut Newton to unearth fresh perspectives on the maison’s history.

Chanel marked the release with a gathering on the eve of New York Fashion Week. Gracie Abrams, Chase Sui Wonders, Questlove, Havana Rose Liu, and Laura Love were among the house’s extended family who turned out for cocktails, dinner, and dancing to beats by DJ Jean d’Armes.

“When I was a kid, my parents stayed upstairs and I would see grown-ups going down to the disco in the basement,” Coppola said of the setting, where she was joined by her husband, Thomas Mars, and their daughters, Cosima and Romy Mars. “So I’m thrilled we get to be here.” It was a full-circle moment: Coppola was seen embracing Cosima, 15, on arrival, while Romy, 18, snapped photos with Sunday Rose, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban’s daughter. Of her progeny’s verdict on the book? “My younger one is more the fashion person, so she loves it,” Coppola said. “But Romy’s the one who likes to dress up.” Here, a look inside the exclusive event.