On Thursday evening, guests headed to the New York City Ballet’s Fall Fashion Gala were within striking distance.
“Live ballet needs live music.” “Live music moves you.”
“Pay the orchestra.”
As the black-tie attired crowd made their way up the stairs to Lincoln Center Plaza, a cluster of SAG-AFTRA protesters hoisted signs from Dante Park across the street, joined by a group lobbying for pay increases for the New York City Ballet’s orchestra. Several trucks passing by on Ninth Avenue honked their horns, seemingly in union solidarity, as a brass band kept the mood lively.
Up on Lincoln Center Plaza, attention was focused on the ballet’s new season, which marks the renowned company’s 75th anniversary. Guests took advantage of the warm fall weather to mingle during an extended open-air cocktail and take in the colorful sartorial scene.
“I was thinking: it’s the 75th anniversary, we need to bring it,” said current “Real Housewives” star Brynn Whitfield, dressed in a floral Richard Quinn gown.
At the end of the carpet, Jordan Roth, in hooded Rick Owens, greeted Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch with double cheek kisses, while Justin Theroux mingled with Zanna Roberts Rassi and Mazdack Rassi nearby. Ariana DeBose, dressed in what proved to be the evening’s most popular color choice — neon yellow — caught up with Sarah Jessica Parker, who founded the fashion gala in 2012, as photographers and onlookers documented the moment.
Molly Ringwald, accompanied by Zac Posen and his fiancé, NYCB principal dancer Harrison Ball, had selected an ice blue gown for the occasion.
“This shade I very much associate with the ballet,” said Ringwald.
“It’s Balanchine blue,” said Ball, to which Posen — also in blue — further clarified: “Water of the Nile. That’s the name of the color.”
“Honestly, I just thought ‘am I going to match my dates?’” added Ringwald.
Diane Kruger and Norman Reedus also had matching in mind when selecting their looks. “She took awhile. I took about five minutes. We tried to match a little bit,” said Reedus, asked how they’d approached dressing for the evening.
“I love to come to this specific gala because of the outfits. It’s so special every year to discover that,” said Kruger, wearing Givenchy. The actress offered a PSA before moving on: “You just missed the reveal on the carpet, by the way,” she added.
Behind her, corps de ballet dancer Gilbert Bolden III had stripped off his green overcoat revealing a red gown underneath; by the end of the carpet he’d taken the gown off as well, unveiling a bedazzled tulle jumpsuit. He designed all of the outfits himself.
As guests including Amy Sedaris, Andy Cohen, Naomi Watts and Christy Turlington filed into the theater, an usher attempted to ease the congestion. “Please pick up your train!” they called out to unaware guests. (The attempt was futile.)
The evening continued with a gala performance of Balanchine’s “Who Cares?” featuring a one-night-only live accompaniment by singers Patti LuPone, Vanessa Williams and Joshua Henry. The performance also debuted new costumes designed by Wes Gordon for Carolina Herrera.
“It’s a very New York, fun piece. It’s fun music, the backdrop is the skyscape of the city, and it’s just a happy, optimistic, very Herrera piece,” said Gordon, adding that it was also a ballet with historical precedent. “This is the fourth costume design for it,” he added. “These will now become the official costumes for this piece. It’s quite an honor; it’s really amazing — but there were parameters in place. So it was about finding subtle ways to inject Herrera-isms into these pieces.”
After the performance, which also included Jerome Robbins’ “Glass Pieces,” guests made their way upstairs to the promenade for post-show dinner and dancing.