When a designer appeals to every woman s most basic desire—referring of course to the desire to be, or at least appear, French—it s no wonder that when Barneys throws a party for her, everyone turns up. Such was the case at the cocktail party and dinner thrown in honor of Isabel Marant whose fans flocked to Sixty-first and Madison to pay homage to the Parisian denizen of cool. A quarter of the department store s seventh floor was transformed into a faintly tropical-themed café/nightclub, with coupes of champagne and cornets of French fries on offer. Marant wove through the crowd, which included Anya Ziourova, Athena Calderone, and Laura Remington Platt, amongst the racks of wine-hued leather pants, tassel-fringed smock-tops, and tuxedo-inspired jumpsuits. Lily Rabe, in a sky blue dress by the designer, said of Marant, "She s my favorite. You really can live in her pieces even though they re each so incredibly special." Below on the street, the windows feature only Marant s designs, including an exclusive collection only at Barneys.
Dinner followed at the home of Barney s CEO, Mark Lee, and his partner, Ed Filipowski (of KCD), an apartment straight out of the pages of Architectural Digest with stunning city and Hudson River views. Here, fashion insiders ate tiny hamburgers and small plates of buttery ravioli and sang continued praises of Marant. Actress Mamie Gummer proclaimed herself a "lucky, lucky lady," in that her wardrobe is perhaps "a solid 30–40 percent" Marant. "It s a wonderful cocktail of cosmopolitan and bohemian.” The relationship between Isabel Marant and Barneys is a long one. “They were one of the first clients I had in the States,” explained the designer in husky tones. “We started to work together in 1996, and we still work together after all these years!” For good reason: Isabel Marant, in all of its laid-back, just-threw-this-on glory is one of Barney’s best sellers. Surely a 20th anniversary celebration is in order. Til next year!