Sarah Jessica Parker Steps Out as a Black Angel at the New York City Ballet's Fall Fashion Gala
Last night, Sarah Jessica Parker made a grand entrance at the New York City Ballet’s Fall Fashion Gala dressed as a black angel with a pair of enormous wings. “This is Iris’s, and wearing this is the easiest thing ever,” Parker told Vogue at the glamorous affair held at Lincoln Center. “These wings weigh nothing. It’s so comfortable to wear.”
The “Iris” the And Just Like That star referred to is Iris van Herpen, the acclaimed designer celebrated for her innovative use of technology in haute couture. Van Herpen designed bold new costumes for choreographer Jamar Roberts’s original ballet Foreseeable Future, which made its world premiere at the 13th annual Fall Fashion Gala—an evening where ballet and high fashion converge in a celebration of creativity and artistry.
“Every year, I want and hope to wear a piece from the designer and choreographer, and Iris sent me images of the dress I’m wearing now,” Parker explained. “The image struck me as the most exciting and thrilling, and I’m so fortunate to wear it. She said this was the one she was hoping I would wear.” Van Herpen also dressed several other guests, including Helena Christensen, Julia Fox, and Nicole Ari Parker.
Since its inception in 2012, the Fall Fashion Gala has raised more than $33 million to support the New York City Ballet’s mission to preserve its repertory, commission new works, and make ballet accessible through education programs and online initiatives. Conceived by Parker, a longtime NYCB board member, the gala has featured costumes by more than 30 fashion designers—all created in-house at the New York City Ballet Costume Shop under the direction of Marc Happel. “I came to Marc, and he’d never done my tailoring before,” Parker said. “But in one fitting—literally eight minutes—it was done. He’s amazing.”
Parker was among the first to arrive at the David H. Koch Theater. Accompanied by her husband, Matthew Broderick, she effortlessly showed off her three-dimensional, honeycomb-like dress. A sheer black net flowed into a long train, while the wings fanned dramatically from her shoulders. “The wings were created to extend the body in a morphing silhouette,” van Herpen told Vogue. “That’s what I did with her dress and with all the costumes in the performance—to have an aura around someone. The design of the dress is like scales; it reminds me of fish in water.”
Van Herpen revealed it took four months to create Parker’s look, made from an ultra-light “air fabric” produced in Japan. “It’s the lightest fabric on the planet. One thread is five times thinner than a human hair,” the Dutch designer explained. “The bodice uses what I call the honeycomb technique—it’s three-dimensionally stitched, which creates depth and fluidity in movement.”
Foreseeable Future marks van Herpen’s second appearance at the Fall Fashion Gala—her designs were first seen in Benjamin Millepied’s 2013 ballet Neverwhere. “She wears it so beautifully,” van Herpen said of Parker with a smile. “She’s like a black angel.”
The gala opened with Gianna Reisen’s Composer’s Holiday, a 2017 original work choreographed when Reisen was just 17, making her the youngest choreographer in NYCB’s history. The twelve-minute piece featured lightning-fast footwork set to Lukas Foss’s 1940 neo-classical composition “Three American Pieces.” The audience gasped when a group of dancers lifted and tossed one performer into the air. Costumes by the late Virgil Abloh of Off-White contrasted light and dark tones, creating a visually striking tableau.
Next came William Forsythe’s flirty Herman Schmerman Pas de Deux (1992), set to an electronic score by his longtime collaborator Thom Willems. The piece included costumes by Gianni Versace and featured the second section—a pas de deux—performed in matching yellow skirts and sheer mesh tops designed by Forsythe himself.
The evening culminated with Roberts’s highly anticipated Foreseeable Future, set to a techno-inflected score by Venezuelan-born electronic artist Arca. The hypnotic, 23-minute piece merged futuristic choreography with synthesized soundscapes, earning a standing ovation from an audience that included Mick Jagger, Amy Sedaris, Bridget Everett, Christensen, and Fox.
After the performance, guests moved to the promenade for dinner beneath soaring ceilings draped with gossamer lanterns that cast a warm amber glow. Designed by Dejuan Stroud, the space was transformed into an autumnal dreamscape of toffee roses from Holland, anthuriums, and over 1,200 stems of dried pampas grass. The tablecloths, in shades of gray and khaki, echoed van Herpen’s intricate palette.
Before dinner—yuzu honey black cod with carrot purée and forbidden rice—NYCB Executive Director Katherine Brown, Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford, and Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan addressed the crowd, emphasizing how crucial the gala is to funding new works and sustaining the company’s artistic legacy.
As the dinner progressed, Jagger was seen chatting with Mikhail Baryshnikov and his daughter, Anna Baryshnikov, while Parker dined with Broderick, Sedaris, and Everett. Later, Nicole Ari Parker led the charge onto the dance floor, shimmying to Dua Lipa’s “Levitating.” Notably absent were the company’s dancers, who declined to attend due to ongoing contract negotiations.
“This fall gala is one of my favorite events of the year,” Parker said, taking a brief break from mingling. “Seeing these extraordinary dancers—performing new ballets, familiar ballets, and a debuting ballet with a choreographer making such a statement—it’s pretty freakin’ special. The quality of dancing is at its best here. To see all that talent combined with Iris’s work and the choreography—it’s my happy place.”
Sean Zanni/Getty Images1/16Nicole Ari Parker and Sarah Jessica Parker
Sean Zanni/Getty Images2/16Helena Christensen, Julia Fox, Mary Leest, Nicole Ari Parker, Sarah Jessica Parker and Iris van Herpen
