She Makes Accessories, Too! Khaite Designer Catherine Holstein Celebrated Her Line’s Expansion With a Fashion Week Dinner

In a street-style Instagram seen around the world, Katie Holmes made cashmere as sexy as black lace in an unbuttoned cardigan and bra set. The maker of the modern-day twinset? Khaite, but of course. Shortly after Holmes’s off-duty look went viral, those cashmere Khaite bras sold out across retailers.

The unstaged piece of fashion photography (Holmes revealed she purchased the cashmere goods online herself!) proved many things. First, that Khaite designer Catherine Holstein knows what women want. “The bra was not a new design, it’s been available for a couple of seasons but it didn’t catch on,” explained the designer last night. “Many people told me to discontinue the item but I’m so glad I didn’t!”

And second, that women want Khaite. Lucky for us, there’s a whole lot more to want now that the label, beloved for its somehow simultaneous masculine and feminine designs, is releasing a line of accessories exclusively at Net-a-Porter. From sumptuously sparse leather handbags to pony-haired boots with little heels positioned at a clever angle, the whole assortment is available online now. It was an occasion that many felt like celebrating, and so they did last night at Babs—hands down the chicest spot on MacDougal Street.

Holstein culled a discerning crowd which included Haley Bennett, Camille Rowe, Giedre Dukauskaite, Emma Greenwell, and Phoebe Tonkin for an elegant dinner party at the newish brasserie. The evening began with a cocktail hour, the Khaite-clad guests rubbing their exaggerated chiffon shoulders together both inside the venue and as they spilled out onto the sidewalk in the perfect pre-fall weather.

Eventually, everyone took their seats—Khaite leather card cases made each place setting all the more inviting. Holstein, in a ruched, tutu-esque frock of her design, sat at the center of the table, holding court as pieces from her label were brought to life around her on the bodies of some impossibly cool women. Bennett, sat by her side, spent the evening painting watercolors at the table, seemingly inspired. And she wasn’t the only one. Midway through caviar and steak dinners, Net-a-Porter’s Alison Loehnis rose to sing Holstein’s praises. “It’s a young brand and it s a huge accomplishment, not just to achieve so much success in ready-to-wear, but also to branch into accessories. We’ve been selling for exactly four days, and the nice thing about online is you know things instantly, and things are going really well. So it’s fantastic.”

Holstein, who is also coming off a well-reviewed Spring 2020 collection shown a couple of days earlier, closed out the night with heartfelt remarks. “Thank you everyone here for supporting us. I’ve known a lot of you for a long time and this has been a wonderful journey. It’s amazing what you can do with an idea.”