Kiernan Shipka Hosted a Holiday Dinner in Los Angeles with Roger Vivier and Gherardo Felloni

Fresh from receiving the Footwear News Designer of the Year 2023 award in New York last week, Roger Vivier, creative director Gherardo Felloni, touched down in Los Angeles for a dinner hosted by Laura Brown and Kiernan Shipka in his honor. The event took place at Villa de Leon, a historic, 35-room, Beaux Arts meets Italianate palazzo perched high on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. “This house certainly feels like it has some surprises in store,” said Shipka of the villa, which famously featured on the cover of Procol Harum s 1973 album “Grand Hotel” and in Lady Gaga s “Paparazzi” music video. “I’m really excited for whatever we get up to tonight.”

The French footwear and accessories brand, founded in 1937 by Roger Vivier, has a storied history. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II wore a pair of gold leather, ruby-encrusted, custom Roger Vivier heels at her coronation in 1953, Catherine Deneuve sported a pair of the brand’s heels featuring its signature silver buckle in “Belle de Jour,” and everyone from Marlene Dietrich, Josephine Baker and Brigitte Bardot to Katie Holmes, Anne Hathaway, and Jennifer Lawrence have worn the house’s playful creations. Tuscan-born Felloni took the reins in 2018, building on the brand s bold offering of vibrantly hued and opulently embellished accessories.

Despite it being early December, it was a balmy night in Los Angeles so upon arrival, guests including Alexandra Daddario, Zooey Deschanel, Alexandra Shipp, Allison Janney, Danai Gurira, Jurnee Smollett, Lily Rabe, Larsen Thompson, Anna Diop, Audrey Corsa, Camille Razat and Bella Heathcote, made their way on to the terrace for champagne and caviar topped blinis.

As the crowd took their seats inside the mahogany paneled grand salon for a candlelit supper of polenta topped with autumn mushroom and confit egg yolk and seared diver scallops, Felloni thanked his hosts and guests for their continued support. “Some French brands can be a little bit square, but Vivier, never. There s always a sense of humor and fun,” Ines de la Fressange, brand ambassador for over 20 years, told Vogue as she took in the scene. “Los Angeles has a taste for fantasy, obviously, so it’s a brand that fits really well here.”