Animation: The Cut
Extravagant galas, lavish dinners, great art shows… Have you ever wondered how the upper crust parties? Welcome to Society Pages, the Cut’s new column on New York’s most exclusive events.
Where better to debut a high-society shenanigans column than at a New York Fashion Week cocktail hour hosted by party mayor Eric Adams and Anna Wintour? The party took place last night at Gracie Mansion, which Adams once said is full of ghosts. And indeed, there was a haunted quality to the dusty salon, in which a mix of fashionistas and city folk were packed like sardines.
I distinctly remembered when I entered that the mayor not wants to talk to me, which was good because he addressed the crowd halfway through the evening:
“New York is as cool as can be right now, here at Gracie Mansion with all this beautiful upholstered swag,” he began, before launching into a meandering series of stories about the importance of fashion (like the time he wore an embroidered tuxedo with the phrase “End Gun Violence” at the Met Gala) and how it is relevant to fashion: “New York was just a city of flannel suits … and then the mayor comes along and says he’s a nightlife mayor.”
After touching on how much money Fashion Week brings to the city (“twice as much as if we had the Super Bowl here”), Adams devoted the rest of his speech to “ angel who wears Prada,” Anna Wintour.
Photo: Taylor Hill/Getty Images
In fact, she was wearing a Carolina Herrera skirt and dark Chanel sunglasses (although the room was so dark it was practically lit by candles) and her mourning pin was the only evidence that the Queen of England had died hours earlier . Adams, apparently either unaware or disturbed by the news, ended his speech with a triumphant flourish:
“you are the wonder of New York!” he gushed, before announcing that the haunted Gracie Mansion party “is going to happen every year that I’m mayor of this town.”
So how was the inaugural event? Below, I’ve ranked its various elements on a scale of one to ten angels.
The room was filled with influencers and the most powerful people in fashion you’ve never heard of. It’s the kind of place where you go and you know everyone, but I definitely couldn’t name anyone.
I will add points because no one from Sunset for sale The cast was in attendance, and Diane von Furstenberg, Vera Wang and Tommy Hilfiger all showed up at the party — and they’re in their 70s. Emily Ratajkowski’s appearance caused a stir in the crowd and I heard that Karlie Kloss arrived extremely late. 6 angels
Since the crowd was half city folks and half fashionistas, the room was a mass of Prada and Suitsupply. Otherwise, designers were advertising their clothing brands: Batsheva Hay wore Batsheva, Cynthia Rowley wore Cynthia Rowley, juniors Tanner Richie and Fletcher Kasell were very cool in fringe suits (by Tanner Fletcher).
The best look of the night was probably Stacey Bendet, who was an Alice + Olivia fever dream in a metallic turban and feather stole. 8 angels
Photo: Taylor Hill/Getty Images
“Oh my God, Queen – can you believe it?” 1 angel
None. 0 angels
The invitation threatened that “the menu for this event will be entirely plant-based,” which, I assume, was Adams’ response to a recent New York Times hit his eating habits. (TLDR: The mayor has said he’s vegan, but Times Reporters caught him guarding the cheese at Zero Bond.)
I wish they had left it alone because I would count the canapé I ate (a radish slider?) among the worst things I’ve ever tasted. 0 angels
