Editor at Large ALEXANDER HANKIN braves Hurricane-like rain to hit parties all over New York.
I’m running late – yet again – and off first to Casa Cipriani for the launch of the Hennessy Paradis x Loewe collaboration. The exclusive handbag collection is designer Jonathan Anderson’s final collab as Loewe’s Creative Director (Proenza Schouler designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez recently took over at the Spanish fashion house). Casa is buzzing. The first person I see is Spike Lee. Ashley Strouse, in a black and white Loewe cape, hands me a glass of Ruinart champagne. I join Bailey Foote and Henry Campos and Nic Corrao, Hennessy’s Private Client Manager. “They are dedicating their life’s work to something they will never see,” Corrao tells us, referring to the actual cognac makers. Anderson’s Loewe x Hennessy bags come in three colors inspired by the lifecycle of oak wood. Oak is vital in creating Hennessy as it forms protective layers in the barrel where the cognac magic happens.
Sebastian Trujillo and I hop into an Uber for the Velour Medical party – a new glamorous location with vaulted ceilings and endless rooms from the famed med spa. “Real Housewife” Countess Luann de Lesseps rocks a fedora—she’s owning this new jazz singer phase! I run into the popular Kori Butler known as “Injector Kori” by clients for her deft syringe skills. COO Zach Goldstein dances on stage with his parents overlooking a sea of clients and friends – all with smooth, glowing skin, bien sûr!
I race over to 1 Wall Street where Printemps, the luxe French department store, is opening a flagship American location. Flying through the front door I immediately see Ivy Getty in a fiery red dress. Printemps is bursting with fabulous people: Katie Holmes, Daniel Boulud and wife Katherine Gage Boulud and fitness guru Isaac Boots. I can hardly take it! The Art Deco shoe salon takes my breath away. I can’t wait to do beaucoup shopping here. Red and gold mosaics by master muralist Hildreth Meière, completed in 1931, race from floor to ceiling. Once a vast banking hall for the Irving Trust and Bank Company, it’s now pure Paris chicness.
Printemps CEO Jean-Marc Bellaiche welcomes everyone and introduces the always edgy Noah Cyrus who performs. Parker Posey and I laugh over our choice of silk outfits – outside a torrential downpour drenches the city. Posey – (currently stealing every scene in The White Lotus) wears Palmer//Harding and carries a white Gucci handbag, just like her character on the cultish series. I eye the bag and wonder if there are any Lorazepam stashed in her purse. Ooh la la!
