The Heaven by Marc Jacobs Party Was A Tribute to ’90s Rave Culture

“Are you still going to Heaven?” a friend asked me on Saturday night while I was putting on my Bushwick best (Telfar durag, Luar top, Eckhaus Latta jeans). I responded, “I think the Vatican is still debating this.”

Of course, she was not talking about the place micro-managed by H-I-M and, instead, the NYFW rager being thrown by the ’90s rave-clothing line Heaven by Marc Jacobs and retail titan Dover Street Market. The late-night bonanza took place at the popular Brooklyn venue Elsewhere, which sits on the border of Bushwick and East Williamsburg and flogs red bull vodkas for $28. The lineup included Doja Cat, Charlie XCX, Pinkpantheress, and Kaytranada. Naturally, an event stacked with some of pop’s finest was bound to get leaked — the invite made the rounds on TikTok.

The result: A party that started at 10 PM and was over-capacity by midnight, hundreds of twenty-somethings lined up outside, hoping to get inside. “We don’t have tickets, but we’re gonna find a way to get in,” one person told me. They had heard about the party on social media.

Inside: a visual buffet of outfits that fit into the exact ’90s grunge and rave-inspired scene Heaven by Marc Jacobs has so brilliantly captured since launching in 2020. I spoke to a guy who wore a very Y2K-inspired hairdo, his shocking red hair spiked up like Sonic the Hedgehog. “Lots of gel,” he explained of the creation process. “I actually didn’t know what I was doing cause this was my first time wearing it like this, but I just grabbed pieces of hair and went for it.”

Outside in the smoking area, a well-dressed guy and girl got in because “my brother’s girlfriend put us on the list since she’s out of town,” the girl told me. She wore chunky Prada boots, and her friend, who resembled Adrian Grenier in The Devil Wears Prada, wore a Rick Owens tank and furry Margiela boots. Did they work in fashion, given that they were wearing such expensive and coveted pieces? Nope.

A little after midnight, Charli XCX came out on stage and performed her hit songs “Vroom Vroom” and “Boys,” proclaiming, at one point, “I’m so drunk right now.”

A casual and fun energy continued with Pinkpantheress’ performance when the singer belted out the chorus to Taylor Swift’s “Welcome to New York” with gusto. “New York is like London in a lot of ways,” she said into the microphone. Some boys created a mosh-pit to the hyperpop singer’s song, “Just for Me.”

Then Doja Cat performed. The dance floor became packed with people. There were some technical difficulties—according to Doja her team had gotten the wrong tracks. “I should’ve checked into that I’m sorry,” and she killed time by taking shots from a bottle of Jameson. She decided to “just get out of here” with a closing performance of her fan-favorite hit “Get Into It (Yuh,)” the audience rapping along to every word. “Get fucked up,” she said, walking offstage.

The DJs started spinning again and A-list names like Madonna and Jared Leto made the rounds.

Outside, social media star Ricky Thompson chatted with fans, showing off his Heron Preston trousers and sheer slip dress, and proclaimed he was off to the next party. A long line formed outside the halal cart and taco truck. There were hundreds of people—who didn’t have invites and had found out about the party on TikTok—still waiting outside, hopeful.

The next day, someone uploaded a TikTok about sneaking into the party.