Daniella Kallmeyer’s Friendsgiving Dinner at Lucky’s Raised a Glass to Strong Women
Kallmeyer, is, as the TikTokers would say, for the girls. As her eponymous label is a love letter to women everywhere, designer Daniella Kallmeyer fittingly took over a female-led steakhouse and partnered with a female-founded mezcal brand to host her traditional Friendsgiving evening on Tuesday.
As dining rooms go, Lucky’s on Lafayette Street proved to be the perfect setting. West Coasters will probably be familiar with the famed Montecito chophouse, but its new sister eatery is seasoned with a softer touch. The brainchild of the original co-owner’s daughter—who’s also behind the aptly-named The Butcher’s Daughter—Lucky’s Soho adds a much-needed and refreshingly elegant feminine air to a typically macho restaurant category.
Ahead of dinner, guests arrived and camped out at the black marble bar for a dirty Yola-tini mezcal martini over moreish chips and dip. Kallmeyer, who opened her Lower East Side boutique in 2019, has always found her footing with actresses, art curators, tastemakers, and editors with a distinct eye and a penchant for formidably strong tailoring. As such, it was no surprise to see the likes of Rebecca Hall and Louisa Jacobson looking right at home in the curved leather banquettes in calfskin leather field jackets and slinky jersey dresses. Fellow designers Jennifer Zuccarini of Fleur du Mal, Amir Taghi, and Hunting Season’s Lena Baranovsky also came out to support, as did Noah co-founder Estelle Bailey-Babenzien.
Once seated, the white linen-laid tables immediately filled with jumbo shrimp cocktail, East Coast oysters, and grilled artichokes before the decadent main event: sliced filet, mac and cheese, and creamed spinach, and mountains of crispy onion rings piled high like Jenga that were the star of the show. (“It’s like trying to pick up just one of those linking monkey toys,” laughed Magasin’s Laura Reilly.)
Standing on the leather banquette to get the attention of the chit-chatting group—as we all know, the audio levels of divine female energy can be quite something—Kallmeyer had a treat in store, even before the cheesecake arrived. Remarking that her most recent collection, Resort 2025, is inspired by the first girl she ever had a crush on, she told everyone: “I saw her from across the theater. She was commanding the room and everyone loved her and was following her around, including myself. I didn’t know I was gay then, but I was so drawn to her. So that was really the beginning.”
When she started the collection, she couldn’t stop thinking of the layered striped T-shirts that the girl was wearing, and so the Kenzie and Wynn tops were born. In the spirit of giving, each attendee had them at her seat to take home. “It’s a piece that I remember very viscerally from that particular moment, of seeing this girl. I now have a crush on each and every one of you too, for being incredibly commanding, beautiful, and creative. I hope you can walk down the street in your T-shirts and make people have a crush on you without even realizing why.”
Challenge accepted!
Photo: Maddy Rotman1/15Gabriella Khalil
Photo: Maddy Rotman2/15Chase Cohl, Brie Welch