ONLY IN L.A.

Inside the Inaugural S.E.X. Soiree: Los Angeles’s Scandalous Answer to the Met Gala

The evening after the Met Gala in New York, Christine Chiu hosted an evening that promised a “sensuous seated dinner with expert adult presentation and xtraordinary desserts with toys.”


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Photo by Sami Drasin.

“Anytime I get asked to perform at a fetish themed party for women only, I’m in,” said Dita Von Teese.

This time, it was for a room full of Los Angeles socialites—dripping in diamonds paired with showstopping gowns—for a “strictly black tie” affair inside Chateau Marmont’s suite 64.

“I wanted to strip for all those ladies like I would for my boyfriend,” said the burlesque dancer Tuesday night in one of the suite’s bedrooms. “Everyone looks so beautiful dressed in full-length dresses. I saw a lot of sex toys out there. I’m going to check out what I don’t know about already.”

“A s.e.x. soirée,” noted the invite. “Sensuous seated dinner with Expert adult presentation and Xtraordinary desserts with toys.”

“I didn’t make it to the Met Ball this year, so I figured I’d have my own, little sex gala instead,” said host Christine Chiu, wife of Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Gabriel Chiu.

“I’m an overachiever by nature,” she continued. “I’ve been valedictorian all my life, and I firmly believe that we should be the best at everything—.”

“Hello sexy,” she said, turning to a guest walking in.

“Hi beautiful. You look gorgeous.”

“What was I saying?” she turned back. “I don’t believe we should be a 7 in the kitchen and an 8 in the bedroom and a 10 in the boardroom. I think we should be 10 all the way across and even better if we’re 20s. I love my girlfriends so much that I want to empower all of us. And sex is back. It’s back in a big way.”

Where did it go?

“It left for a little bit, because we all got busy with our careers, we forgot how important it is to dominate in the bedroom,” she said. “And in a town like L.A., where there’s always the next best thing lurking around—not even lurking, they’re very aggressive—we married women have to be on our A game. And if you’re single, damn, you really need to be on your A game, because L.A. is the hardest place to meet a man, and if I can help out with a couple of tricks and tips, I feel like I’m doing the world a favor.”

Dita von Teese, Brooke Burke, and More Turn Out for Women-Only S.E.X. Soiree in Los Angeles

Dita von Teese performs at the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.

Inside the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.

Inside the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.

Inside the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.

Inside the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.

Inside the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.

Inside the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.

Inside the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.

Inside the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.

Inside the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.

Inside the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.

Inside the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.

Inside the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.

Inside the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.

Inside the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.

Inside the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.

Inside the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.

Inside the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.

Inside the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.

Inside the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.

Inside the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.

Inside the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.

Inside the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.

Inside the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.

Inside the S.E.X. soirée hosted by Christine Chiu.

Photo by Sami Drasin.
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After the striptease, guests made their way to the large balcony, where a 40-person dining table—decorated with bouquets of deep red roses and purple tulips on an all-black table setting—dominated the space, filled with black and white candles.

There was Hope Dworaczyk Smith, wife of billionaire and Vista Equity Partners founder Robert F. Smith; TV personality Brooke Burke; Sydney Holland, former girlfriend of media mogul Sumner M. Redstone; Sarah Magness, wife of billionaire businessman Gary Magness; Julia Sorkin, former wife of screenwriter Aaron Sorkin; Irena Medavoy, wife of producer and executive Mike Medavoy; Sutton Stracke, wife of director Christian Stracke; Sylvia Chivaratanond, co-curator with husband and L.A.’s Museum of Contemporary Art director Philippe Vergne; and Lysa Heslov, wife of producer, screenwriter, director and frequent George Clooney collaborator Grant Heslov.

“Stunning dress.”

“I love that ring.”

They showered each other with compliments, as champagne flowed during the seafood themed “aphrodisiac” dinner—oysters, black truffle arancini, grilled striped bass, salmon in white soy-miso broth—by Chateau Marmont Executive Chef Dean Yasharian, while Martha Hopkins, the co-author of aphrodisiac cookbook “InterCourses” spoke of the correlation between food and sexual desire.

“I didn’t realize we were going to get a lecture,” murmured a guest. There were selfies galore, as the women nibbled on dinner, paying little attention to the speakers that followed.

A sex therapist then took the mic, followed by two sex toy experts, who discussed role and impact play. But the mood turned much more playful later, as the champagne kicked in and the ladies made their way back inside for bite-sized desserts—with names like “foreplay,” chocolate covered strawberries, and “climax,” yuzu and violet with vanilla cream set in oyster shells, created by Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire Executive Pastry Chef Chris Ford—and a sex toy presentation.

“Who wants to explore what we have here? Are you curious about anything on this table?” asked one of the demonstrators. The table was covered in sex toys.

“I want to be spanked,” exclaimed Chiu.

“Spank her! Spank her! She sits front row at Chanel couture,” yelled a guest, as they laughed.

It was 10:30 p.m., and the room was getting rowdy.

“This one is amazing,” the demonstrator said of a toy she had in hand. “And only $14.99.”

“Ha,” exclaimed another. Speaking much softer, she added, “I charge my husband a hell of a lot more than that.”

Related: Victoria’s Secret Choreographer Jermaine Browne Demonstrates the Allure of Pole Dancing