On Monday evening, Tod’s took over Le Bilboquet for a dinner to celebrate its recently reopened Madison Avenue store across the street. The dinner followed an extended fete at the newly renovated store, where Nicole Kidman held court in a cordoned-off VIP section and greeted Baz Luhrmann and Ewan McGregor, resulting in a mini Moulin Rouge reunion. Karolina Kurkova also stopped by the store in sky blue head-to-toe Tod’s before changing into her monogrammed polo shirt for Ralph Lauren’s Central Park extravaganza.
Tod’s creative director Alessandra Facchinetti flew in just for the occasion. Asked what she likes to do on the transatlantic flight, the designer mused, “I like to fly. It’s a good time to think. I work, I don’t sleep—never, or watch movies. I like that it’s silence, no one asks me anything. In the end, it’s not a bad idea to be here for one day!” A positive attitude for someone who has to hop back on a plane the following morning to resume work on Tod’s September 19 Milan Fashion Week presentation.
Emanuele Della Valle greeted guests at the door as those arriving from Central Park shuffled in on the later side, happy to swiftly take their seats. Rachel and Tom Guinness sat at a corner table with Misha Nonoo, relieved to have her Spring 2015 show successfully behind her. Sophie Auster, looking ladylike in an A-line Tod’s skirt, conspired with Maggie Betts. Michael Avedon sat at the far end of the table from Emma Ferrer, Audrey Hepburn’s granddaughter whom he recently photographed for the September issue of Harper’s Bazaar. Ferrer, an artist currently living in Florence, chatted with dinner partner Miroslava Duma who sheathed her baby bump in Tod’s diamond-print leather.
Audrey Gelman and Natasha Rovner discussed the political situation in Ukraine, while Deena Abdulaziz, wearing crisp Rosetta Getty, greeted Leandra Medine, excited for Medine to tell her tablemates about Saudi designer Reem Al Kanhal, whose deconstructed blouse the Man Repeller was sporting. After tarte tatin and crème fraîche, it was off to bed—or more parties, depending on one s stamina.
