Jackie Kennedy Arm Wrestled Queen Elizabeth at Last Night’s Roger Vivier Event

A maid greeting guests, burlesque performers in feathered outfits dancing down the stairs, ballerinas practicing at the bar, these were just a few of the highlights—all occurring at the same time—at the Roger Vivier Hotel installation. Last night saw the third edition of the fashion house’s interactive hotel-themed presentations, with Catherine Deneuve, Inès de La Fressange, Lottie Moss, and Leaf Greener snapping photos and chatting with the many characters the French maison’s creative director Gherardo Felloni dreamed up for the occasion.

“It’s really important to me to not use models and to use real actresses,” Felloni explained in the garden area of the space, where Café Vivier was serving coffee and authentic crêpe Suzettes. “The actresses are using their own costumes and it feels really real in a way.”

In one room, model Anna Cleveland staged a humorous interpretation of French couture, spinning around a room set up like a designer’s studio with an actress, dramatically posing with pink swaths of fabric. “It’s a parody of Schiaparelli and an homage to French couture,” said Felloni with a laugh.

Down a dark set of stairs, in a separate, incredibly immersive room dubbed “Le Fumoir Vivier,” actresses were dressed as iconic women in history who have donned the Vivier brand: Josephine Baker, Marlene Dietrich, Queen Elizabeth II, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Brigitte Bardot. Of course, each space, from a locker room with cheerleaders to another one with bunk beds, was filled to the brim with the brand’s Spring 2020 collection, including colorful, crystal-buckled embellished renditions of the Viv’ Clogs, the Vivier Queen Sandal, and the Tiki Viv’ Mule.

Hotel Vivier culminated with a runway show every half hour, with all the actresses walking a raised platform. “It’s like a joke, nothing is taken seriously,” said Felloni. “It’s very ’80s.” Nearby, models such as Coco Rocha, Valentina Sampaio, and Cindy Bruna watched on.