A Lesson in Paris Couture Party Dressing at Lauren Santo Domingo’s Fête for Giambattista Valli Home

Paris Haute Couture took a lesson in party dressing, from tabletops to crop tops, from Lauren Santo Domingo last night. The co-founder and chief brand officer of Moda Operandi, already infamous for her guest lists, hosted cocktails alongside Giambattista Valli (and with the help of Digame Events) to celebrate the designer’s exclusive-to-Moda home collection within Galerie Gismondi. Inside the three-level space that’s typically an if-you-know-you-know retreat from the city, Regny Pidansat Champagne and excited conversation flowed as attendees dipped inside to witness what Valli described as “casual intimate dinner” settings that seemed to reflect the week’s luxurious dreams—and cool personalities.

“At one point, I heard seven different languages being spoken around me,” said Santo Domingo of the international crowd that Couture Week made possible. The night’s guests—including Marie-Chantal Crown Princess of Greece and Olympia of Greece, Korlan Madi, Olivia Palermo, Raf Reyes, Jessica Aidi, Ivy Getty, and Bianca Brandolini—ranged from fashion and art insiders to emerging talents and close friends. Santo Domingo’s tweed Giambattista Valli ensemble was sourced from Brandolini’s own closet—or rather, body—after the model (who closed Valli’s show this week in a bubblegum pink confection) arrived at her Fourth of July soiree wearing it. And for evenings like this, “when the ballgown is too much, we have a silver oyster shooter,” Santo Domingo quipped of the dishes made in collaboration with Jean-Paul Vaugoin scattered across the grand table set for six (and surrounded by more) alongside roses and peonies sourced by Natur’Elle and Valli himself.

“The idea is being in the country, and the decor that you’re going to see on the tables is almost created by nature itself—there’s wind on the pergola and all of these flowers falling and insects and butterflies onto the table,” said Valli of his vision for the grand tableau, nodding at a smaller tête-à-tête setting draped in marigolds by Louis Castor of Castor Fleuriste that represented the meeting when he and Santo Domingo decided to spend the next three years scouting artists and makers across the globe to produce each piece. “It all started with Lauren sending me a message on Instagram,” said Kenza Echouafn of Santo Domingo spotting the bedsheets made by her Moroccan homeware label Atelier Houria Tazi. The family-owned studio has been employing many of the same female makers her mother began working with almost 40 years ago (their craftsmanship emerges in the collection as intricately embroidered linens).

In a black crewneck and short strand of pearls that have served as a “lucky charm for the last twenty years,” Valli greeted guests on the ground floor before exploring the next levels. The second floor revealed DJ Parea Music set up on the-ones-and-twos playing French synth hits, while the third offered a thematic peek at aurèce vettier’s Bouquets solo show featuring futuristic AI-algorithmic botanical images presented by Darmo gallery. Outside, partygoers stepped onto Rue Royale for a cool breeze (of course, central air is unusual for historic Parisian buildings). Chatting within the velvet ropes, Louis Pisano held a Telfar unisex shopping bag while taking in the crowd: “All the beautiful people are here,” Pisano pointed out. “Beautiful art, beautiful home decor—it’s couture week, it’s a fantasy.” Steps away, designers Monica Sordo and Julia Sloan agreed. “It’s making me dream of hosting my dearest friends in our future home on Napoli,” said Sordo of the layout, which Sloan described as “like walking into a jewel box.”

And in a way, they were. The gold-and-porcelain Champagne bowls gleaming within were designed by Augarten Wien, Europe s second-oldest porcelain manufactory known for their work on Marie Antoinette’s engagement service. “When you drink from a normal glass in summer, after a few minutes, it’s warm—and warm Champagne is not nice,” said the house’s project manager Alexandre Boutry-Orengo of the bowl designed for an extended chill. “They’re quite epic,” Charlotte Bentley, Moda’s PR manager and Santo Domingo’s longtime right hand, told me as she cups a saffron-colored one in her palm. The collection’s water glasses, made in collaboration with Lobmeyr and handpainted with floating roses and pollinating insects, were inspired by Valli’s personal garden. “It’s the most delicate crystal I’ve ever seen,” admitted Santo Domingo of the ethereal fruits of their couture home collaboration. “If there’s anyone who knows elegance, knows glamor, and does over-the-top in a very refined and graceful way, it’s Giamba.”