The petite bar at Caviar Kaspia’s New York outpost was packed wall-to-wall with stylish iconoclasts and industry stalwarts on a rainy Monday evening—all gathered to fête the inimitable Linda Fargo’s birthday.
The face of Bergdorf Goodman arrived in a scarlet Schiaparelli keyhole dress, layered with a wash of inky black and punctuated by a sculptural gold bangle. Guests had been instructed to dress in a bold palette of “caviar black and a kiss of red”—a fitting directive for the mood of the night. Cherry-hued cocktails circulated as golden balloons floated overhead, their metallic streamers catching the light. With 75 designers, stylists, retail veterans, and fashion legends in attendance, the evening was as much about style as it was about celebration.
A longtime devotee of Caviar Kaspia, Fargo chose the legendary venue with intention. Her first-ever visit to the Paris Fashion Week hotspot was alongside stylist Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele and Carlos Souza. “I think I had just been made fashion director at Bergdorf’s, and Carlos took me and said, ‘You have to know Caviar Kaspia. This is the fashion cafeteria,’” she recalled. One unforgettable moment? “Liza Minnelli came in and stopped by our table. We admired a ring she was wearing—she took it off, and we dropped it! It rolled away, and we couldn’t find it. So I couldn’t possibly forget that night.” The ring, eventually recovered, became part of Fargo’s ever-growing archive of glamorous memories—and marked the beginning of a lasting friendship with Caviar Kaspia CEO Ramon Mac-Crohon.
Once cocktails and caviar blinis had been enjoyed, the party transitioned to the dining room for a three-course feast. Champagne flowed, and Kaspia’s famously ice-cold vodka (not for the faint of heart) made its rounds. Dinner began with a shrimp and crab salad, followed by the pièce de résistance: the restaurant’s hotly anticipated caviar baked potato, which had guests buzzing.
Before it was served, Fargo stood to toast the room: “We’re toasting to a good time just for good time’s sake—because we need it!” she declared. “It’s been a crazy, weird winter, and it’s time to look ahead and have some glamours of joy, some fun, be with new friends and old friends.” Among those joining the toast: Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele, Christopher John Rogers, Wes Gordon, June Ambrose, Alina Cho, and Prabal Gurung.
As the signature potato was cleared, dessert arrived: intensely rich chocolate pearls shaped like caviar, served in tiny tins branded with “Linda’s.” And as a final flourish, each place setting included a miniature keepsake—a black jeweled bracelet, flecked with gold, designed in collaboration with Fargo and Caviar Kaspia.
During the dessert course, a towering birthday cake appeared, glowing with celebratory candles. As guests broke into cheers and song, the room shimmered with conversation, sparkle, and joy. It was a night of indulgence, fashion, and friendship—exactly as Linda would have it.
