“I’ve created a dark, magical world where the only thing pure are the tequila shots.” – Bronson van Wyck
“This is not Mrs. Claus’ Christmas party. We sent the reindeer home tonight,” quips event maestro Bronson van Wyck at the cult tequila brand LALO’s holiday party behind the secret door at La Esquina, the Mexican restaurant downtown. “The elves broke into the liquor cabinet and invited over all the wild creatures from the forest,” van Wyck continues. “I’ve created a dark, magical world where the only thing pure are the tequila shots.” Disco balls spin from the ceiling and the tinsel-strewn staircase is out of a nightlife fairytale.
The dance floor booms and Daniel Goldstein and I get down to DJ Jean d’Armes’s tunes with Neil Patrick Harris, Jessel Taank and designers Jonathan Simkhai and Jonathan Cohen. Nearby, Ivy Getty and Ian Malone are deep in conversation while Casey Kohlberg and Natalie Dougherty jostle LALO Jell-o shots. There are logo-ed ice cubes in the LALO Punch and tequila martinis. The room fills up: Brian Atwood and Jake Deutsch, David Zwirner, Maggie Davis, Alessandra Balazs, Lounes Mazouz (of Ella Funt), Nur Khan (of Maison Nur), jewelry designer Julian Polak and David Carballido who founded LALO with partner Eduardo González. Fuego! – ALEXANDER HANKIN
PHOTOGRAPHS BY Jiraurd Key/BFA.com
