Michael Kors Took Over Le Rock for a VIP Rockefeller Tree Lighting Party

“I can t think of a better housewarming,” a joyous Michael Kors told Vogue on Wednesday evening. The designer was in full festive mode, welcoming a crowd to toast to his refreshed Rockefeller Center flagship nearby by bringing them together for a chic update to a New Yorker rite of passage: watching the Rockefeller Tree light up for the season.

“So many people had never done this—I mean, I’d never really done it either. Someone just asked me when the ball drops,” the designer laughed. While Kors is admittedly still reeling from the one time he braved the chaos of Times Square for New Years Eve, when someone suggested a private viewing bash of this holiday tradition at Le Rock, he was all for it.

Forget trying to blag your way into a fashion show by sweet talking security, it turns out that an even better flex is having an invite on hand to show a NYPD officer in midtown Manhattan during December. With street closures, and tens of thousands of people trying to get as close as possible to the 75-foot tree, guests of the designer were relieved to be whisked past the barricades into the surroundings of the elegant French brasserie.

Attendees, dressed in jewel-toned chubby furs and opaque tights, stopped for a Chambéry Spritz at the bar and made a beeline for a glossy Croquembouche tower. While canapés had been promised, a full spread of the restaurant’s hits awaited. A table laden with burgers proved to be a particularly popular meeting point—which came as no surprise, given that Le Rock’s award-winning chefs Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr are behind some of the best the city has ever seen. “I ll take any excuse to come here,” said Samantha Barry, global editorial director at Glamour. “It s the only place I ve found for breakfast that serves eggs in porcelain egg cups and cuts the bread into ‘soldiers’ like at home.” (Those fond of the nostalgic British and Irish tradition, take note.)