A turn-of-the-century library filled with floating silk butterflies; oysters and caviar served upon a Tim Walker–worthy garden centerpiece; stars (one Katie Holmes) and all the glamour one would hope they might inspire—leave it to Marchesa’s Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig to turn an otherwise doldrum New York evening into an old-school (Hollywood-style) fairy tale. Such was the scene last night, when the designers brought together friends (including Karen Elson, Helena Christensen, and Rachel Roy) and colleagues for a midnight feast to fete their new position as St. Regis Connoisseurs.
“I remember actually, when we first moved to New York, some of our first meetings with celebrities—they often stayed at the St. Regis,” recalled a fall 2014–clad Chapman from the hotel’s chandelier-lit entrance, as Marina Rust Connor and Francesca Amfitheatrof made their way in. “It was sort of our introduction to glamour in New York.”
The storied allure of the property served as inspiration for the team’s new role—Chapman and Craig will be designing couture wedding dresses exclusively for St. Regis, joining Nacho Figueras and Jason Wu as fellow Connoisseurs, as well as for the celebratory night. “There’s such a sense of history here and I feel like that is something that is always thought about at Marchesa: classic style, [a look that is] slightly historical,” said Craig, with Chapman chiming in that "it’s the sense of drama" that brings the brands together.
The dinner, which included a cinnamon-dusted butternut squash velouté and Colorado rack of lamb, culminated with the presentation of a towering, gold-painted wedding cake, which the two designers cut with a silver sword as Elson snapped away (with just enough pause time to, as she was quick to admit, “get the right filter!”).
“I’ve known Georgina for a long time and Keren, too, of course,” said Christensen just before dessert arrived, “so I wanted to come here to support them, and I mean—just look at the room: There are a lot of beautiful events, a lot of events with beautiful decorations and all, but this is really special.”