Chloé’s Natacha Ramsay-Levi Hosted a Starry Dinner in Honor of Marianne Faithfull and All the Women Who Inspire Her
Marianne Faithfull is the quintessential muse. Girls have long emulated the acclaimed songwriter, singer, and actor’s ’60s style; she was an égérie to the Rolling Stones; and in 2011, she was awarded the Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres—one of France’s highest cultural honors.
Following Chloé’s fall 2020 runway show—where Faithfull’s voice recited poems by Lord Byron, Frances Harper, and an excerpt from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Beautiful and Damned, soundtracked by French musician Jackson—the maison’s creative director Natacha Ramsay-Levi brought together the label’s entourage for an intimate dinner to honor the collaboration.
The event was held on Thursday night at Castel, one of Paris’s legendary night spots of the Left Bank, in the center of Saint-Germain-des-Prés—a landmark of the art scene that attracted the likes of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, Françoise Hardy, Mick Jagger, Brigitte Bardot, and Catherine Deneuve in the ’60s.
“We’re celebrating Marianne Faithfull tonight,” said Ramsay-Levi upon arrival with Lucy Boynton, both wearing designs from her just-unveiled collection. “We did this collaboration for the show, and I think it was important to celebrate what she is, what she represents: someone who reinvents herself, someone who’s always known not to be afraid of the unknown and to capture the spirit of the times,” she continued.
Boynton, who looked ravishing in a flowing shirtdress printed with the painting of Rita Ackermann (another artistic collaboration from the show) paired with a Twiggy-inspired makeup look, was delighted to be there. “I’m just so honored, the show was such a beautiful art exhibition, so to get to wear one of the dresses from the collection is a tremendous honor; I love that Chloé feels like a brand for everyone, it’s not exclusive, it’s very much inclusive and you can make it anything that is your own,” commented the actor.
The soirée began with Champagne and cocktails at the bar decorated with mural frescoes, black moldings, and its infamous risqué carpets. To follow was a dinner divided in the salons of the three-story private club and restaurant. Guests including Katie Holmes, Kate Bosworth and Michael Polish, Alexa Chung, Camille Bidault-Waddington, Pixie Geldof, Houda Benyamina, Rila Fukushima, Hailey Benton Gates, Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Venetia Scott, and Allegria Torassa enjoyed a menu of artichoke carpaccio with truffles and asparagus with poached egg, followed by parmesan and black truffle risotto, French seabass, and roasted pineapple with rum, with vanilla ice cream to finish.
For Ramsay-Levi, whose idea of community is very important, the event was a celebration of women’s creativity and the women who inspire her. “This is what makes me like to do this job. Yes, I love clothes, but inherently I love artists and creative spirits. It’s the idea of putting everyone together and to carry a message together; it’s generous, it’s friendly, and it’s a good way to approach life, I think.”
As the dinner ended, night owls congregated downstairs to the club for a few drinks and dance moves to the great DJ sets of Phoebe Collings-James and Pandora’s Jukebox until late.
Photo: Mark Kucler for Chloé1/12Alexa Chung
Photo: Mark Kucler for Chloé2/12Lucy Boynton
