At The Fifth Avenue Hotel’s Grand Opening, Sarah Jessica Parker Topped Off a 16-foot Champagne Tower

On the last evening in November, New York’s chicest gathered in NoMad at the grand opening of The Fifth Avenue Hotel alongside founder Alex Ohebshalom. To say that partygoers raised a glass in celebration would be an understatement—icon Sarah Jessica Parker marked the occasion in iconic fashion by topping off a 16-foot, 1,200-coup champagne tower anchored in Café Carmellini, the hotel’s signature restaurant by Chef Andrew Carmellini.

“It was an honor to be asked to toast the opening of The Fifth Avenue Hotel in grand style by pouring champagne into a 20-foot tower from a balcony in Café Carmellini," Sarah Jessica Parker told Vogue. "The hotel is a real beauty and a brilliant addition to our city."

Guests included Martha Stewart, Derek Blasberg, Ivy Getty, Charly Sturm, Sean O’Pry, Noor Pahlavi, Alex Assouline, Peter Som, Amah Modek, Annabelle Moehlmann, Patrick Janelle, Andrew Carmellini and artist JR.

Upon arrival, guests were greeted with passports, ushering them through discovery moments around each corner. From there, guests were taken on an experiential journey that unfolded throughout the hotel and was designed in collaboration with celebrated event designer Bronson van Wyck. Prior to the evening’s fanciful fête, prospective partygoers had only previously gotten a sneak peek of The Fifth Avenue Hotel’s Café Carmellini, when Moda Operandi’s NYFW trunk show for Oscar De La Renta, before the hotel officially opened its doors.

Inside the Hotel’s Portrait Bar, guests indulged in five signature New-York-City-inspired cocktails by Bar Director Darryl Chan and light bites amidst the ambiance of live jazz performed by Claire Khodara. Music in Café Carmellini was mixed by Grammy-nominated artist Maimouna. Next, at The Study, attendees grazed at an abundant charcuterie table alongside a potato chip and caviar. Nearby, The Conservatory offered a Rococo-inspired lavish dessert display fit for Marie Antionette herself, as harpists played classical versions of modern tunes, à la Bridgeton. Between bites of delectable confectionaries, the French photographer and street artist JR captured large-scale portraits of partygoers, later printed and wrapped in custom-branded art tubes as souvenirs. The evening’s plentiful festivities concluded with a final toast led by Founder Alex Ohebshalom.