In Los Angeles, Neiman Marcus Fêted the Unveiling of This Year’s Fantasy Gifts

Tessa ThompsonStefanie Keenan/Getty Images

It wouldn’t be the annual unveiling of Neiman Marcus’s Fantasy Gifts without a party as extravagant as the gifts themselves. On Tuesday night, two stories of Los Angeles’ legendary Hollywood Athletic Club were transformed into a holiday wonderland, complete with ornament-clad trees, gingerbread espresso martinis, and plenty of diamantés.

In attendance were Tessa Thompson, Lupita Nyong’o, Scottie Pippen Sr., Jonathan Simkhai, and more. As guests wandered around the cocktail party, they encountered various Fantasy Gift vignettes. One display case proudly held a 1935 art deco Cartier diamond tiara that transformed into a necklace halfway through the evening. A long hallway draped in velvet curtains and pink lighting led guests to a one-of-a-kind hot-pink Maserati Grecale Trofeo SUV in collaboration with Barbie.

“It’s funny because I think the gifts I m increasingly more interested in, in general, are experiences—experiences with people I love,” actor and host of the evening Tessa Thompson tells Vogue. To wit, Thompson’s favorite Fantasy Gift is a Napa Valley experience that includes a private cooking class at the Culinary Institute of America with lauded Chef Thomas Keller. Academy Award-winning actor Lupita Nyong’o mirrored Thompson’s sentiment. “I heard this year there was a Napa experience with chef Thomas Keller. I love food. That sounds like a good one,” she said.

“It’s really exciting to hear Holiday music and see holiday decor,” one guest said to another ascending the stairs with a gingerbread espresso martini in hand. This sentiment was heard many times throughout the room. Though homes are still adorned with pumpkins and gourds, Neiman Marcus gave a warm and exciting welcome to the holiday season ahead.