There’s a slight breeze in the air, which can only mean one thing in the world of parties and events—it’s officially gala season, and celebrities and socialites are gearing up for another round of fêtes celebrating everything from collection launches to museum exhibitions. So far, the New York City Ballet has thrown the event to top, inviting A-listers from every industry to celebrate 75 years of their famed fashion gala. But the Lincoln Center party is hardly all to expect this fall. There’s still the Academy Museum’s 3rd annual gala, LACMA’s celebration of art and film with Gucci, and so much more. You won’t want to miss one party dress, cocktail, or private performance from any of these events, so make sure to keep track of all the celeb-filled goings on throughout autumn, here.
On Monday, October 16th, God’s Love We Deliver celebrated their 17th annual Golden Heart Awards, honoring Ben Platt and Scarlett Johansson for their work on behalf of causes addressing AIDS, cancer, hunger, and more.
The evening began with cocktails and French-Vietnamese fusion bites from Indochine, which guests indulged in while enjoying music and choreographed performances. Later, during the seated dinner, Some Like It Hot star, J. Harrison Ghee performed before Michael Kors, Matt Damon, and more made some remarks.
In addition to Kors, Damon, Johansson, and Platt, the event was crawling with big names, like Emily in Paris star Ashley Park, former political aide Huma Abedin, and Mary J. Blige, who surprised everyone with a performance to end the night. The guests dressed almost exclusively in Michael Kors Collection, as the designer is a long-time supporter of the cause.
The evening was a successful one, raising $3.5 million for the charity, enough to fund more than 350,000 meals to the clients and families of God’s Love We Deliver.
Actor Jeremy Pope was the guest of honor at a cocktail celebrating the launch of Persol fall collection and campaign. A dinner held at the SoHo outpost Sant Ambroeus, chosen to highlight the brand’s Italian heritage, followed. Pope wore a Fendi outfit for the occasion, but of course his glasses were Persol.
Friends of Loewe gathered at a dinner in London on October 10th to celebrate the second edition of the Loewe Foundation/Studio Voltaire Award. Director Luca Guadagnino and Taylor Russell had a Bones and All reunion, while Dan Levy, Ruth Negga, Jonathan Bailey, and more guests also helped celebrate. The award provides two years of support to seven underrepresented artists through rent-free studio space, professional development opportunities, and a scholarship.
The event also coincided with Frieze London, and the opening of Artists Buttons, a project on display at Loewe’s flagship London store, featuring buttons created by ten artists—including Ai Weiwei and Jonathan Anderson (seen above with Guadagnino)—in support of the Cambridge gallery Kettle’s Yard.
Nothing goes together quite like Judy Chicago and a dinner party, but the event held on October 10th at The Bowery Hotel featured actually food and guests, unlike the artist’s famous feminist work of art. Dianna Agron, Mickalene Thomas, and Derek Blasberg were invited by Dior to celebrate the opening of Chicago’s newest exhibition, “Judy Chicago: Herstory” at the New Museum. Attendees had the opportunity to preview the show—which showcases six decades of the artist’s work—before enjoying dinner on tablescapes featuring Dior Maison designed by Judy Chicago.
Blasberg and Agron pose together at Dior’s celebration of Chicago’s latest exhibition.
Balletcore was on full display on October 5th, when The New York City Ballet held their annual fall gala celebrating the event’s 75th anniversary. Celebrities showed up in their ballet best, many in looks from Wes Gordon’s Carolina Herrera, a fitting choice as the designer provided costumes for an excerpt performance of George Balanchine’s Who Cares? during the evening. Joshua Henry, Patti LuPone, and Vanessa Williams joined the stage alongside the NYCB dancers to sing standards from the American Songbook for this one-time-only program, which finished with a performance of Jerome Robbins’ Glass Pieces, set to a score by Philip Glass.
Guests at the gala included co-chair Sarah Jessica Parker, who attended in a tutu’d Carolina Herrera dress from the brand’s fall 2023 collection. Also in attendance was Diane Kruger in a beaded Givenchy gown, and Real Housewives of New York stars Ubah Hassan and Brynn Whitfield in their own show-stopping ensembles.
Across the park on the same Thursday evening, Thom Browne and Bergdorf Goodman celebrated the launch of the retailer’s Custom Made program, a two-week-long initiative that will allow clients to order special made-to-measure pieces from the world’s top brands. Guests gatehered at Goodman’s Bar at Bergdorf’s mens store.
Of course, guests suited up in their best Thom Browne ensembles for the event, with And Just Like That… star Katerina Tennenbaum pairing a tweed corset with a black mini skirt and white button down. Martha Hunt, meanwhile, went for a more classic look in a suit jacket and tie while the upcoming star of The Hunger Games prequel, Tom Blyth, ditched the neck adornment and wore just a cropped gray jacket and pants. During the event, guests enjoyed a performance by the art collective Kreemart, featuring a model sitting at a mid-century wooden desk. Suddenly, the model began to slice into the “wood,” revealing the piece of furniture to actually be made of cake.
It was a celebration of creativity on October 2 when 400 guests gathered in Chelsea for the Dia Art Foundation’s Fall Gala. Honoring artists Mary Corse and Lee Ufan, the event set out to raise funds for the gallery, its programming, and future educational projects. Guests, including Adrien Brody and Georgina Chapman, enjoyed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres before taking in a special sneak peek of Dia’s newest exhibition by Delcy Morelos.
Also in attendance was legendary artist Takashi Murakami, seen here in front of Morelos’ installation El Abrazo (The Embrace), 2023.