On Bond Street, it was all about the “Bs” on Wednesday evening: butter, baguettes, and babes. As Uber drivers wondered what was causing all the camera flashbulbs and craned their necks to check out models teetering down the cobblestone stretch between Broadway and Lafayette, one thing was clear: the Italians were in town.
Almost 100 years after it first opened its doors in Florence, LuisaViaRoma has cut the ribbon on its first international store. A New York address was a no-brainer, given that America is home to the luxury retailer’s most devoted customer base outside of its native country, and, when better to throw a very European-feeling festa in the city than on the eve of NYFW?
Proving the eclectic mix of fashion lovers the boutique caters to, the unveiling brought out everyone from Hollywood heavyweights to continental content creators who’d flown in for the upcoming shows. Fresh from the editing room where she’s cutting next year’s The Bride, actor Maggie Gyllenhaal slipped into a pair of slouchy Margiela jeans and Miu Miu ballet slippers to swing by for a cocktail. While she’s not typically a fashion week goer, she told Vogue she might ‘sneak’ into a show during the week with her daughter Ramona, particularly if it means they can cheer on her brother Jake’s longtime model girlfriend, Jeanne Cadieu.
Another red carpet fixture who popped by to offer his congratulations to CEO Tommaso Maria Andorlini, was Matt Damon. Elsewhere around the room, aspiring supermodels in low-slung jeans and body-con minis looked excited to catch a glimpse at runway legends Amber Valletta and Helena Christensen catching up in the corner. Proenza Schouler’s Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez even called in to say cin cin, mere hours after presenting their Spring 2025 collection to editors downtown.
Someone who’d been sitting pretty in the front row at the designers’ show was Charlotte Lawrence, an emerging actress and musician who’s currently gracing screens in the black comedy Bad Monkey. Dressed in Dries in her favorite hue of lucky green, Lawrence had a treat up her sleeve for attendees as she performed a short set of two original songs and a request specifically from the LuisaViaRoma team. “They want me to play Girls Just Want To Have Fun,” she told Vogue of the song choice. “It’ll probably sound like a sad version as it’s just me alone with my guitar, but I’m really stoked about it.”
Now, back to the butter—because one thing Italians are always going to do is express their love through food. Upon arrival at the 11,000-square-foot split-level concept store, people peeled themselves away from looking longingly at the racks of Jil Sander and Chloé to see if the rumors were true. Indeed, downstairs, amongst the limestone-washed blush walls, culinary artist Laila Gohar had installed museum-worthy busts sculpted out of butter. Also arranged on plinths were dark chocolate figurines and rows upon rows of glazed baguettes, which were being broken apart by hungry attendees and washed down with a salty Grey Goose Espresso Martini or two.
Who said the fashion crowd don’t eat?! Not if the Italians have anything to say about it.
