On Friday, W held its annual Best Performances party atop Los Angeles’s Chateau Marmont, to celebrate the magazine’s latest portfolio lensed by Juergen Teller and to unofficially kick off awards season. An intimate group of friends, family, and celebrities was in attendance, including Adam Driver, Leonardo DiCaprio, Laura Dern, Chris Evans, Quentin Tarantino, Joaquin Phoenix, Cynthia Erivo and many more.
Hosted by Editor in Chief Sara Moonves and Editor at Large Lynn Hirschberg, along with YouTube’s Derek Blasberg, the soiree (produced with support from Cadillac, Acqua di Parma and Vero Water) took on the vibe of an old-school, elegant-yet-easygoing gathering; the Chateau’s penthouse and patio felt relaxed and fabulous in tandem.
Driver would make a lap around the heat-lamp flanked terrace, saying his hellos, while Evans hung out with friends (he stayed through the whole event). Phoenix arrived with both his sister, Rain, and Rooney Mara, while Dern would soon follow, alighting in a modish, shimmery jet-black top. The directors Noah Baumbach, Pedro Almodóvar and Tarantino also all made cameos. The lattermost chatted with a bunch of young actors, who appeared genuinely starstruck when meeting the Hollywood icon.
Throughout the penthouse’s living room, supersized adhesives of the portfolio’s portraiture were applied on the walls and ceiling. In the hallway leading into this space, Beanie Feldstein, Kaitlyn Dever, Ben Platt and Molly Gordon—all close-knit friends—banded together for pictures, laughing while checking their phones in between shots. Cynthia Erivo, standing next to her own stunning closeup, mimicked her pose for event photographers.
As the night carried on, the vibe became even more settled in, akin to a house party after everyone has had a drink or two. This is also due in part to the mystique of the Chateau, which, no matter how famous you are, tends to make everyone feel at ease and familiar. As champagne flutes sparkled, laughter erupted and even a few dance moves unfolded.
Jodie Turner-Smith and Joshua Jackson made their first public appearance as a married couple. Dern would touch base with Baumbach before joining up with Moonves and Proenza Schouler’s Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez. Almodóvar reminisced with Antonio Banderas. Margaret Qualley hugged and conversed with Tarantino. Camila Morrone attended, all smiles, with DiCaprio. And so many more turned out: Ana de Armas, Awkwafina, Rashida Jones, Succession‘s Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong, Winston Duke and Taylor Russell all included.
As Hirschberg said in the concluding lines of her Best Performances essay: W is “welcoming 2020 with hopes for a new beginning.” Given the positivity in the room (and on the patio) last night, we feel we’re off to a good start.
Additional support for the event was provided by 1849 Wine Company, Absolut Elyx Vodka, Ferrari TrentoDoc, Tanqueray Gin, Tequila Casa Dragones and WhistlePig Rye Whiskey.
Scroll through the below to see photos from the party: