On Saturday afternoon, Canadian jewelry brand Mejuri hosted a pre-International Women’s Day celebration at newly opened Tribeca restaurant Mena. Guests including Charli Howard, Ruby Aldridge and Ella Purnell sipped martinis and browsed the brand’s IWD capsule collection, displayed in the back of the restaurant. Embroidered cocktail napkins throughout the space offered words of encouragement as guests drank coffee martinis: “your identity,” “your signature,” “your story,” “buy yourself the damn diamond.”
Founder Noura Sakkijha noted that the brand likes to go all-out for International Women’s Day, and this year is no exception. The brand is continuing its collaboration with Jenna Lyons, who created a capsule collection of pinky rings. A portion of the sale proceeds will support Mejuri’s Empowerment Fund, and the campaign for the collection features Tommy Dorfman, Allyson Felix and Noor Tagouri.
Related Galleries
Earlier in the day, Lyons was at home getting ready for the event when her friend texted her that there was a line outside of the SoHo Mejuri boutique. “She thought it was because of me and I was like, no — my stuff hasn’t launched yet,” said Lyons, who was introduced to the brand by way of her teenaged goddaughters and became enamored with its accessible approach to fine jewelry.
Felix, who’s the mother of a three-year-old and the most decorated U.S. track and field Olympian, had flown into New York earlier in the day from Los Angeles, and was headed back West shortly after the party. Although missing out on fashion week, Felix has plenty to cheer on from Los Angeles: the Rams, competing for the Super Bowl on Sunday, and many of her friends who are currently competing in the Winter Olympics.
“The Olympics are so heavy, there’s a lot of high moments, but it’s also heart-breaking moments,” said Felix, adding that she’s been watching the skiing events and is excited for bobsledding to start. (Lyons, for her part, was fascinated by curling, which opened the Games.)
“It’s really cool because everything’s so different from what I do and so extreme that I’m like, I could never,” added the athlete. “But I have so much appreciation for watching it.”
Later in the night, it was a party at the Plaza for LoveShackFancy designer Rebecca Hessel Cohen’s 40th birthday.
Guests, including Lili and Howard W. Buffett, Serguelen Mariano, Stephanie Nass and Asia Monet, were greeted by servers outfitted in Regency-era costumes at the bottom of the hotel’s ballroom staircase. Those in need of a last-minute accessory were offered their choice from platters of lace gloves and adorned masks — the masquerade kind — on their way to the main event.
“My birthday is the day after Valentine’s Day, so we wanted to celebrate love, life and all things beautiful,” said Cohen, the train of her pink tulle gown floating behind her as she made her way through the pink-hued room. Large pink balloons dotted the ceiling, pink ribbons trailing toward the ground. “It’s Valentine’s meets Versailles. It’s a little naughty — LoveShack gone bad. Effortlessly imperfect in a perfect way.”
Inside the grand space, pink LoveShackFancy lampshades adorned every light, the brand’s signature bows were scaled up to giant proportions and hung from the walls, and pink adorned every surface from the projected dance floor to the plush vintage lounge areas. Performers were outfitted in the new LoveShackFancy soiree collection, and an installation of cakes in the room — some real, some faux — would later be repurposed as decor for LoveShackFancy boutiques.
“Apparently it’s not what they usually do here,” said Cohen as she surveyed the extravagant space, adding that her personal frame of reference only included CR fashion week parties and Bat Mitzvahs from back in the day.
A brand of cool usually reserved for deep Brooklyn filled the lobby of The Standard East Village hotel late in the evening thanks to Eckhaus Latta, who were celebrating 10 years of their brand with a post show penthouse bash.
After the 9 p.m. show concluded, the design duo and friends moseyed over to the hotel, where a lucky few made it up early while the crowd swelled downstairs (an entry system that involved four per elevator? Not ideal). The line looked straight out of the ’90s, down to the sitcom haircuts and ribbed knits sported by many. A man dressed in a throwback-style printed fleece and a Miller High Life-branded baseball hat checked vaccination cards and manned the elevators.
Upstairs, the stark space spilled out onto the surrounding terraces, where guests like Richie Sazam, Hari Nef, fresh from walking in the show, Evan Mock, Paloma Essler, Tyler Mitchell, Katerina Tennenbaum and Ruby Aldridge danced and milled about. The unusually balmy February day allowed for smoking and Peroni-sipping on the terrace, while inside the occasional dance circle broke out.