Kid Cudi Lead the Conversation at This Year’s Youth Anxiety Center Dinner

Last night at Saint Theo’s in the West Village, a group came together for a family-style meal. Guests took over the restaurant in a mix of banquettes and round-tops, and chatter buzzed beneath the painted tin ceilings until the evening’s main dialogue took place—one between Kid Cudi and Vogue.com editor Chioma Nnadi. The topic? Youth anxiety, depression, and the importance of self-care and treatment.

Organized by Tory Burch, Brent Saunders, and Anna Wintour, the dinner supported New York-Presbyterian Hospital’s Youth Anxiety Center. Founded 11 years ago, the center hosts a clinical and research program committed to addressing the epidemic of anxiety and depression in adolescents and young adults. It’s a cause that feels especially topical and pressing since the onset of the COVID pandemic: Figures cite depression rates in teens increasing by over 50% during the past two years.

“Before I actually had therapy, the music was there for me. It was the perfect way to express myself and feel safe doing it,” shared Kid Cudi, an artist who has not shied away from sharing his own experiences with depression and drug addiction. He lost his father at the age of 11, and now, as the parent of a young daughter, Cudi understands the grave importance of mental health care in youths. “I’m always asking my daughter if she s cool. I m always checking in with her,” he told Nnadi. “That s important; I feel like that s good for our connection.”

Cudi and Nnadi’s conversation followed opening remarks from Zandy Forbes, who has been a longtime supporter of the YAC. “This center really is unique in that it doesn’t only treat patients,” she explained. “There are five clinics and there are about 3,000 people treated and 50,000 visits each year, but this isn t just for the local area. There are lots of ways in which all of [the YAC’s] information, all of that learning, can be disseminated to the larger population, such as through an app that s being developed that enables you to get cognitive behavioral therapy anywhere in the country.”

Sitting in the audience was a wide-ranging group of thought leaders and creatives, but the VIPS were most certainly the doctors at the center: Dr. Herbert Pardes, Dr. Shannon Bennett, Dr. Cristiane Duarte, Dr. Francis Lee, Dr. H. Blair Simpson, Dr. Carolina Zerrate, and Dr. Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele.

The guest list was also designer-heavy, with Batsheva Hay, Mike Eckhaus, Hanifa’s Anifa Mvuemba, Tamara Mellon, and Kenneth Nicholson all in attendance. Selah Marley was there, in a dress that once belonged to her mother, Lauryn Hill; Jordan Roth wore a white Loewe suit; and Huma Abedin looked elegant in vibrant red.

The power of fashion and mood was something of a theme for the night. Closing his conversation with Nnadi, Cudi mentioned how optimistic he was about the future, one that will be led by a generation open to new ideas and passionate about self-expression. “At no point has my daughter ever asked me why I paint my nails. She thinks they re cool,” he said. “I don t care what anybody says when my daughter thinks it s dope.”