Priyanka Chopra, Nicholas Braun, and Nicky Hilton Rothschild Kick Off Fashion Week at Vanity Fair’s Best-Dressed List Party
On Thursday night playwright Jeremy O. Harris took a break from tech—his acclaimed Slave Play begins previews at Broadway’s Golden Theater on September 10—to celebrate a very different form of art: fashion. Harris joined the crowd celebrating Vanity Fair’s Best-Dressed List for 2019, presented by Vanity Fair and Saks, and held at the bar at L’Avenue at Saks, the department store’s ninth-floor restaurant. Harris, who is on this year’s list, only moved to Manhattan just this week. After a congratulatory greeting from Anna Wintour, he talked about his whirlwind month. “It’s so exciting that these things are happening at once,” he said.
“I’m wearing Givenchy from head to toe,” Harris said of his black slacks and sheer white shirt with a half tuck. “I wanted something that evoked a sense of classic Broadway chic.… I’m in a 1920s mode, but also a bit of the bizarre and the drama thrown in.” It’s in line with his advice for dressing on hot, sultry days. “Go for the drama,” he added. “The drama can be shorts that are too short, or tanks that are too sheer, but go for it.”
Fashion week often raises the average height of partygoers in the city, but this was just fine for Harris and his friend, Nicholas Braun, the actor who plays Succession’s breakout character Cousin Greg. In a mock turtleneck and tweed blazer by Salvatore Ferragamo, Braun acknowledged that the vibe was far from Ray’s, the bar he co-owns with Justin Theroux, but he was happy to have a reason to dress up and bask in some of his viral success. “I’ve never experienced it before,” Braun said. “When I go to Twitter, the conversation is nonstop. People make memes of me!” He was also happy to run into his former costar, Mackenzie Davis, with whom he worked on a film back in 2015.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas, another Best-Dressed honoree and one of the party’s hosts, held court in a nook of the party opposite the DJ, between eaves of glass-encased memorabilia, talking with Vanity Fair editor in chief Radhika Jones and actor Stephanie March. Chopra’s husband, Nick Jonas, was performing with his brothers in Columbus, so she brought her mom, Madhu, and brother, Siddharth, as her dates.
In the elevator up, it was easy to hear chatter about fond memories of the original L’Avenue in Paris from the groups in town for New York’s Fashion Week. But model Cara Taylor, the face of Ferragamo’s new fragrance Signorina Ribelle, was reminiscing about the treat she loves to have when she’s in New York: mochi. In a black jumpsuit by Calvin Klein, she shared some travel tips about her favorite foods. “In London, my favorite thing is Vietnamese and Indian food. In Milan, Italian food, of course—Sicilian [specifically]. Then, in Paris, I love açai bowls,” she sad. This week was already wearing on the 18-year-old. “My feet hurt, but it’s better when I stand on the carpet.”
Janet Mock and Dyllón Burnside held an impromptu Pose reunion near the bar, while Sadie Sink and Natalia Dyer were there representing Stranger Things. Dascha Polanco, another Netflix star, wore her hair a Louise Brooks–esque black bob. Brittany Snow, in a navy J. Mendel dress with a palm leaf pattern, was excited for her first Fashion Week as a New York resident. She thanked her fiancé, Tyler Stanaland, for his help moving boxes in the punishing heat.
On the same day his new show, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, launched on Hulu, Shameik Moore wore a coral brocade overcoat by Givenchy, and talked about how he’s been splitting his time between New York, Los Angeles, and Atlanta these days, but how he wants to go to Tulum or Cabo once he’s done with his busy year. He also shared his secret for getting ready to play Raekwon on the screen: “I talked to him on the phone every day,” Moore said. “Just about the early years.”
For the models walking and designers showing at Fashion Week this year, it was the calm before the storm. Hilary Rhoda, in a red silk dress by Ronny Kobo she said had “Dynasty vibes,” lounged with Damaris Lewis, who was wearing gold lurex Batsheva.
Tory Burch was there in between preparations for her upcoming show at the Brooklyn Museum. “We had a foundation event there, and when I saw the space I said, ‘Oh, it’s so beautiful,’” she said. “[It’s] on Sunday, and when I get through that, we’re going to the U.S. Open.” Model Elsa Hosk had a similar idea—she came to the party after watching matches at the Arthur Ashe Stadium earlier in the day.
For Nicky Hilton Rothschild, the hard work was already done: She showed her debut shoe collection in her apartment earlier in the week. “I wanted it to be intimate with just family, friends, and a few editors,” she said. In a white Misha Nonoo jumpsuit, she said she likes these Fashion Week parties. “It’s a good excuse to dress up!”