Vogue’s Gabriella Karefa-Johnson and Paris Georgia Celebrate the Newest Collection

Paris Mitchell Temple, Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, Georgia CherrieJackie Lee/BFA.com

Last night, well-heeled guests attended a Paris Georgia dinner at The Waverly Inn hosted by Vogue’s Gabriella Karefa-Johnson and Paris Georgia designers Paris Mitchell Temple and Georgia Cherrie. (Temple worked with Karefa-Johnson at Vogue years ago.) The New Zealand label, which launched in 2015, hinges on luxe minimalism, often curve-skimming with strategic cut-outs, and has been worn by the likes of Kendall Jenner to New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Megawatt guests arrived for cocktails, including fellow New Zealander Lorde, who stunned in an oversized blue pantsuit, Paloma Elsesser in a cream dress, Helena Christensen in a halter neck number, as well as Tonne Goodman, who was in her signature white pants, loafers, and scarf. But no matter what everyone was wearing: the dress code felt megawatt: “My feet hurt! But Paris Georgia requires a little high-femme action,” said Karefa-Johnson, “We love Paris Georgia because it is the most perfect, ’90s adjacent but not nostalgic because that’s boring, minimalist brand.”

As guests delved into The Waverly Inn’s iconic dishes, Temple and Cherrie made heartwarming toasts to their guests and their longtime supporters. “On a personal note, this is the first collection I’ve designed as a mother; it was empowering,” said Temple.

While Paris Georgia certainly has celebrity and It girl pull, the label’s ethos is based on real women. At the table, there was a book of women, from those in marketing to style directors, to wearing Paris Georgia designs in a campaign #ParisGeorgiaMuses shot by the photographer Alexandra Gordienko. “For Paris and I, every single thing in our whole brand represents powerful, amazing real women,” said Cherrie. “To be in a room full of really amazing women that is the whole essence of our designs. The more real, the more gritty.”