Summer parties are back—and as of June 2022, they’re in full swing. It seems every evening of the week this season is filled with galas, cocktails, events, and premieres to attend—from a Memorial Day Weekend bash in the Hamptons at Surf Lodge (in which Questlove made a surprise DJ appearance celebrating his new partnership with Zegna, just one day after the musician Aluna gave a performance of her own at the Montauk restaurant-slash-club-slash-bar-slash-art-outpost), to openings at art galleries and celebrity-filled fashion fetes. We’re keeping track of all the best parties happening right now; check back often to stay updated on what your favorite celebrities, artists, socialites, fashion plates, and public figures are up to this summer.
What does it take to get director Darren Aronofsky, Chloé designer Gabriela Hearst, Ronan Farrow and everyone’s favorite psychotherapy podcaster Esther Perel to a former iron mill in Redhook Brooklyn on a balmy Tuesday night in July? Artist Dustin Yellin, of course. The VIP crowd assembled for the cultural hub’s Midsummer Benefit. The night also doubled as something of a welcome back for the group that grants artists residencies and offers free cultural programming for the community: it was the first major event in the space after months of renovation work.
Above, Aronofsky, Perel and Hearst pose before dinner.
Above: Ronan Farrow and Radhika Jones.
The night started out in the garden outside where guests mingled over drinks, and mostly stuck to the suggest dress code: monochrome.
Above: Perel hugs on Dustin Yellin.
Inside, guests noshed on a Caribbean-influenced dinner (that included a much discussed, and ultimately surprisingly taste “carrot steak”) from chef DeVonn Francis. Though, of course the night wouldn’t be complete with out a touch of performance art. Audio composer and choreographer Kinlaw (an artist-in-residence alum) staged numerous mini-performances interspersed throughout the night that explored sound, rhythm, and one of the building’s newly built balconies.
Just three weeks after closing out Paris Fashion Week with his spring 2023 collection for Kenzo, the newly minted creative director, Nigo, popped up in New York City on Saturday, July 16 for a party at the New Museum’s Sky Room to celebrate the second drop of his fall 2022 line. That collection, which showed during Paris men’s in January, heralded the storied BAPE designer’s first outing with Kenzo since his taking the helm at the French house—so it was certainly reason to party.
As such, Nigo’s roster of BFFs came out in droves: there was Pusha T (pictured here,) who gave a performance midway through the party; Selah Marley; the photographer and artist Quil Lemons, and Evan Mock, along with Vashtie Kola and Nico Hiraga—all of whom were dressed in looks from Kenzo.
Jaden Smith, who also made an appearance at the party, was the singular holdout. He opted to don a look from his sustainable clothing line, MSFTS.
On the weekend of June 25, New York City was chock-full of LGBTQ+ splendor, with parties celebrating Pride Weekend happening left and right. The popstar Tinashe, (Nashe if you’re nasty), participated in the revelry, taking to the Boom Boom Room atop the Standard Hotel for The Blonds x Moto Razr's party on Saturday, June 25. The event gave the girls and the gays a taste of her new dropped single, “HMU For a Good Time,” from her 2021 album 333—whose music video surprise released just two days before the party.
The energy at Boom Boom Room was infectious as soon as the elevator doors opened to the sound of the 1976 classic “Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel” by Tavares blaring out of the Standard’s speakers.
At The Blonds x Moto Razr’s party, which was also attended by Angelica Ross and Maye Musk, guests were immediately transported to a world of disco, glitz, and glam—one you wouldn’t dare think about leaving early.
It seems like everyone’s in Europe these days. The convergence of summer vacation, the men’s spring 2023 fashion shows, and the upcoming couture presentations mean celebrities the globe over have flocked to France, Italy, and Spain, where there have been no shortage of parties. The latest: Acne’s celebration of its new store opening on rue Saint-Honoré in Paris. On Wednesday, June 22, the musician Kaytranada (shown above) joined Rosalía, Rauw Alejandro, Snoh Aalegra, Russell Westbrook, and many more for a party at the shop. The fete was followed by an after party at the old Cercle Haussmann card room, where DJs including Sampha performed.
Rosalía, who’s rumored to be engaged to Alejandro, attended the event in a full Acne look, sporting leather pants, a gray blouse peeking out from underneath her oversized black blazer, and chunky motorcycle boots.
Alejandro, meanwhile, coordinated with his girlfriend—donning a gray hooded suit and a pair of even chunkier boots, nodding to the details in Rosalía’s look.
After shuttering during the pandemic, Verōnika, the opulent bar and restaurant housed on the second floor of New York’s Fotografiska museum reopened on June 16th. To celebrate its return, Josh Wyatt, CEO and co-founder of Cultureworks (which owns NeueHouse and Fotografiska) hosted two nights of dinner parties that fittingly brought out photographers David LaChapelle and Ellen von Unwerth. The occasion marked the first time that Unwerth, who provided the cover art for the eatery’s menus, had met her legendary c. Joining them were New York nightlife icon Amanda Lepore, Khaite designer Cate Holstein, Waris Ahluwalia, Jessica Joffe, Zoe Buckman, Maxwell Osborne and more.
Actor Jesse Williams, fresh off the Tony Awards where he was nominated for his performance in Take Me Out attends the June 14th preview dinner at Verōnika.
You could hear the Queer as Folk premiere party before you even saw it happening. Halfway down Christopher Street in New York City’s West Village, pulsing pop music blasted from speakers outside the Stonewall Inn, where the new Peacock reboot of the late ’90s original had taken over with a fete that resembled more of an intimate bar rager than a event thrown by a major corporation. Stars Johnny Sibilly, executive producer Jaclyn Moore, Jesse James Keitel, and Devin Way (pictured here), joined their closest friends and family on June 9th to celebrate the series, which premiered that same day.
While guests played pool at the bar downstairs, the queens infiltrated the top level at Stonewall Inn, with Boyyyish, Tina Twirler, and more giving energy-filled lip sync performances that enthralled the crowd, who showered them in tips. Aquaria, shown here, gave a particularly dynamic show to Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now.”
Jamie CD (left) and BaNaka commanded the stage all night long.
Across town that same evening, a celebration of Asian excellence took place inside the Vietnamese restaurant Nam Son in the Lower East Side. To ring in Peter Do and Opening Ceremony’s brand-new collaboration as part of Farfetch Beat’s launch, Bowen Yang, Thao Nguyen, and Japanese Breakfast (pictured here), partied with DJs from the queer Asian music collective Bubble_T, while munching on banh mi and summer rolls provided by the restaurant—which was transformed into a multicolored tiki bar with a dance floor, the walls decorated with images from the campaign.
Opening Ceremony’s Carol Lim and Humberto Leon held court with Peter Do—and the three hosted a raffle midway through the evening that left one lucky guest gifted with Do’s minimalist take on OC’s signature varsity jacket from the collection.
Tomi Adeyemi, Bella Newman, Diva Smith, Coco Baudelle, and Sasha Frolova connected at the Chanel Through Her Lens luncheon on June 9 at the Odeon. The Tribeca Chanel Women’s Filmmaker program provides a platform for creative voices, mentorship for young minds, and funding for U.S.-based self-identifying women and non-binary writers and directors.
The night concluded with performances from West Dakota, Dynasty, and Panthera.
On Thursday, June 9, Chanel brought filmmakers, writers, actors, and artists together for a luncheon at the Odeon in downtown Manhattan. The annual “Through Her Lens” event, part of the partnership between the Tribeca Festival and Chanel’s women’s filmmaker program, brings all sorts of storytellers together to rub elbows and share light bites in between speeches from Jane Rosenthal and Paula Weinstein. “It is more important than ever for women storytellers to rise up and share their talent with the world,” Rosenthal announced to the collective of creators, as Zosia Mamet, Miyako Bellizzi, and Chase Sui Wonders (above) met up by the bar.
Racquel Chevremont, Bethann Hardison, Leslie Silva, Adepero Oduye and Mickalene Thomas formed a power table at the Odeon during Chanel’s Through Her Lens 2022 Tribeca Festival women’s filmmaker luncheon, bringing together the art and fashion worlds in celebration of film on June 9. Chanel’s connection to the Tribeca Film Festival is just one part of the maison’s longstanding support of cinema culture, and the 8th annual Through Her Lens Program will take place later this fall.
On June 8th, Mulberry celebrated two major happenings with an intimate party: first, to cut the ribbon on its brand-new flagship in New York, secondly, as a fete for a new creative campaign and zine starring model and knitwear designer Ella Emhoff. Emhoff, who was joined by And Just Like That star Katerina Tannenbaum, Nicky Hilton, and Margaret Qualley (who sported a messy bun and a large face mask for the evening) swilled cockatils at the recently reopened Hotel Chelsea with scores of other friends of the brand.
Margaret Qualley’s sister, the musician Rainey Qualley, (shown here) gave a special four-song performance, while the model and poet Seashell Coker, who contributed to the Mulberry zine, read aloud an original poem to guests.
Chef Sophia Roe was also in attendance, sporting the label’s Softie bag—which, incidentally, is the zine’s namesake.
On Tuesday, June 7, Fendi’s artistic director of womenswear and couture, Kim Jones, along with photographer, Nikolai von Bismarck, were finally able to celebrate a book that’s been many months in the making. “The Fendi Set,” published by Rizzoli, is a collection of photographs by von Bismarck (who happens to be Kate Moss’s boyfriend), as well as a collection of stories—paying tribute to both the legendary Roman label and the Bloomsbury Group, a noted collective of early 20th-century luminaries including Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant, and Virginia Woolf. (They’ve been such a robust source of inspiration and made such an impact on Jones that his first Fendi collection was decorated with quotes from Woolf’s Orlando.) To ring in the book’s publication, Jones and von Bismarck invited a bunch of friends of the house—including Bella Hadid (shown here posing with her image in the book), Selah Marley, and Ajani Russell—to the Fendi flagship in New York City for a book signing and cocktail party.
Precious Lee, dressed in Fendi, made an appearance—pausing to take a picture next to the image of Naomi Campbell published in “The Fendi Set.”
Lily Allen was another attendee at the fete, which saw the Fendi flagship transformed into a physical homage to the book: its images, shot by von Bismarck, were blown up to artwork-size proportions and mounted onto the walls, while clothing used in the photo shoots were displayed on mannequins throughout the store.
Days before, a small fire broke out inside The Monster in Greenwich Village toward the beginning of Coach’s party celebrating their “Go All Out for Pride” collection on the first day of Pride Month. It was quickly put out, and still couldn’t even lay claim to being the hottest thing in the club. That title belongs to Saucy Santana’s rollicking set downstairs, which took place later in the evening. Clad in a bedazzled Coach sweatsuit, Santana ran through his hits, culminating in “Material Girl,” of course. The rapper didn’t arrive with official backup dancers, but in the spirit of queer community, members of the audience were more than happy to assist when needed.
Raja, the RuPaul’s Drag Race icon currently competing on the show’s All Winners season, made an entrance in appropriately regal purple faux fur, punctuating a guest list that sort of felt like an All Star version of pride parties. Legendary judge Leiomy Maldonado was there, along with several icons from the ballroom community. Highlighting Coach’s recent viral collab with The Eagle, the reigning Mr. Eagle NYC Kenzo Onyx was in the house with members of the leather community. There were TikTok stars, models, comedians, influencers, and actors. At times, you couldn’t move an inch without accidentally bumping into someone from your Instagram Discover page.
The event also seemed to serve as an unofficial cast party for Hulu’s upcoming Fire Island, with celebs like writer and star Joel Kim Booster and Saturday Night Live cast member Bowen Yang, Matt Rogers, and Conrad Ricamora in attendance. Come to think of it, the pride month party circuit would make a fitting setting for a sequel.
With two years of Pride parties lost, it was no wonder many were ready to show out for a good time. A pesky little fire wasn’t going to stop that.
Meanwhile, in Midtown, it was all about Lutfi Janania Zablah, the Honduran-born botanical sculptor behind the Museum of Art and Design (MAD)’s latest exhibition. (You may recognize him as the winner of HBO Max’s Full Bloom season 2.) After taking in his latest surreal creations, guests headed over to BG restaurant inside Bergdorf Goodman for a dinner where Zablah’s magnificent purple robe was on full display.
Artists including WangShui, Martine Gutierrez, Miles Greenberg, and Misha Kahn could be found all throughout the restaurant.
Producer Samuel Kareem and sculptor Kennedy Yanko caught up with Elissa Auther, deputy director of MAD’s curatorial department.
And the Mexican-American bead artist Raúl de Nieves joined Zablah in wearing a standout look.
For de Nieves, the night was just beginning. He was among those who next headed to the Guggenheim Museum for the comeback of its Young Collectors Council Party. The festivities continued all the way up the institution’s iconic Frank Lloyd Wright-designed rotunda, which artists Jacolby Satterwhite and Tourmaline did their best to transform into a “super-sensory” nightclub. The takeover was the perfect precursor to the next morning’s announcement that the museum is doubling down on highlighting technology and digital art.
The party really got started when Perfume Genius hit the stage. The musician (né Michael Alden Hadreas) and choreographer Kate Wallich have been collaborating for a few years now, and their performances have only gotten better with time. Their business suits came courtesy of the noted fashion archivist David Casavant, who also outfitted Perfume Genius in his music video collaboration with Satterwhite.
At another point in the evening, Satterwhite and the DJ and actor Maya Margarita (left) also got front and center.
X Zhu-Nowell and Ashley James, both of the Guggenheim’s curatorial department, dressed as though they weren’t on the job (and we very much mean that as a compliment).
On Sunday, May 29, Questlove and Zegna took over the Hamptons’s favorite rager outpost, Surf Lodge, with a surprise DJ appearance and a party hosted by the brand beloved for its storied approach to coded luxury. Zegna assembled a fleet of private Blade helicopters to fly celebrity guests including Liev Schreiber, shown here, to Montauk. At Surf Lodge, they enjoyed cocktails and towers of Questlove’s own vegan Philly cheesesteaks (which were such a hit that the Surf Lodge has decided to keep it on its menu for the summer) while Quest himself spun a selection of early 2010s rap and hip-hop hits. The setting sun beamed on the crowd of twenty-somethings, all of whom danced to the tunes in rollicking unison.
Violetta Komyshan and Teddy Quinlivan were just some of the friends of the brand who came out for the event—wearing, of course, head-to-toe Zegna.
Gossip Girl actress Savannah Lee Smith on the dance floor.
After his performance, Questlove decamped to Surf Lodge’s back beach patio to throw a private dinner for his guests, in a final gesture to kick off summer.
Model and activist Yves Mathieu came to dinner, but not before tearing up the dance floor with fellow attendee and model Alioune Badara Fall.
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