Inside Chanel and Tribeca’s Cinematic Soho Dinner

Even an early summer torrential downpour couldn’t stop New York’s beau monde from coming out to Balthazar for Chanel’s annual Tribeca Festival Artists Dinner—and dressed to the nines (thanks to the French house’s creative director, Virginie Viard) no less. As stylist Beverly Nguyen, in a bubblegum-pink skirt suit, said while flitting around the iconic warmly-lit brasserie, “I could never miss it.”

In honor of the ten female artists who contributed artwork to the year’s award-winning filmmakers, Katie Holmes, Annabelle Dexter-Jones, Oscar Isaac, and festival founders Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal, wearing strands upon strands of Sidney Garber pearls, mingled over flutes of Champagne and towers of seafood before taking their seats for dinner; at one table, Sofia Coppola and Camille Morrone chatted with Derek Blasberg, while Tracee Ellis Ross, sitting beside editors Sara Moonves and Samira Nasir, held court at the opposite end. Nearby, Gohar World’s Laila Gohar caught up with casting agent Rachel Chandler and baker Lexie Smith.

But the festivity’s encounters weren’t limited to the main floor. In the powder room, where dinnergoers touched up their pouts mid-meal with Chanel’s signature black-and-gold encased lipsticks, a catsuit-clad Lola Kirke asked an obliging stranger to undo her chain belt: “I thought I would need to make friends tonight for this very reason,” the actress quipped. “I’m so happy you’re free!” Nora Zehetner replied moments before reclaiming her seat upstairs and posing for a selfie with Rachel Brosnahan.

The evening was coming to an end when trays of profiteroles and double C-stamped petit fours arrived on the peony-topped tables, which also played host to a cornucopia of Chanel bags, from classic flap purses to chainmail minaudieres. As the well-sated guests filtered back out onto Spring Street, they found that the rain had miraculously cleared, leaving the Soho sidewalks sparkling—just like the iridescent tweeds and floor-length frocks that they’d worn for the celebratory cinematic occasion.