Tickled Pink

On Friday night, a cavalcade of black cars made its way to a quiet street in the East Village—where the former studio of the late artist Walter De Maria glowed in the darkness. Beckoned as if by some alien homing mechanism, the cosmopolitan crowd arrived at the mysteriously phosphorescent space (originally built as a Con Edison substation) where Dom Pérignon was hosting an over-the-top bash for the launch of its Rose Vintage 2004. The cavernous second floor of the studio had been reimagine as a decadent salon, with a consortium of masked performers punctuating the swirling throngs, which included models like Devon Winsor and Cory Kennedy as well as fashionable tastemakers like Michael Avedon and Arden Wohl. A Susanne Bartsch-directed burlesque-style cabaret kept the crowd hypnotized as flecks of light and confetti bathed the audience in a maddening sea of fuchsia. “We like that this would be a once-in-a-lifetime space,” says Dom Pérignon’s Director of Communications Nicole Ruvo. “Rosé is a risk—and we wanted to take one.” Perhaps a little more maximalist than De Maria would have opted for, the midnight bash certainly made a little history of its own.