In terms of performance, de Souza insisted, his influence has been minimal."I like the complexity of Art Nouveau, the torture," Gaia Repossi said last night. The jewelry designer was hosting a dinner in the most exquisite of torture chambers, a room at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs encased in intricate turn-of-the-century boiserie and full of Art Nouveau porcelain. Joining the historic objets were a pair of newer ones, the chain-gang-inspired silver cuff and necklace Repossi recently created with input from her label's stylist, Vanessa Traina. The two of them shared a center table with, among others, Shala Monroque and Haider Ackermann, who gleefully made off with one of the cuffs. "He has a shoot, he said, so he wants to play the muse," Repossi explained.

Following a deliberately paced Japanese dinner, many of Repossi and Traina's guests—including Aaron Young and Laure Heriard Dubreuil—ended up at the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild, in the eighth arrondissement, where Valentino's Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli were hosting a bash of their own to celebrate that day's Couture show. Umbrella-toting doormen escorted revelers inside the mansion, where Champagne and platters of strawberries awaited. Few present were in a more festive mood than the label's PR and party mastermind, Carlos de Souza. Not only had the collection—"the incredible artistry of the little hands of those Roman ladies who've been working more than 45 years with Valentino"—impressed him, but his sons, Sean and Anthony, were at the decks. (The Brazilian duo has been making the global rounds since January, when Madonna heard them at Valentino Garavani's Gstaad chalet and subsequently tapped them to deejay the premiere party for W.E.) On the bookings front, Dad's connections couldn't have hurt. In terms of performance, de Souza insisted, his influence has been minimal. "I teach them how to dance," he said. "But on music, no—not at all."
POST: 2024-11-25