Rei Kawakubo hosts party after Met Gala
“I thought everyone would at least come kiss Rei Kawakubo’s ring and then go on,” observed one befuddled guest of the celebrity deficient turnout for the official Comme des Garçon Met Gala after-party at the National Academy Museum in New York late Monday.
While masses of A-listers flocked to late-night downtown soirées hosted by Rihanna and Katy Perry, the scene at the Upper East Side affair was filled with a mix of avant-garde club kids and fashion industry insiders including Rick Owens and wife Michele Lamy, Brendon Babenzien, Simone Rocha and, of course, the woman of the hour — Rei Kawakubo.
The taciturn Japanese designer floated demurely through the museum’s imposing rooms with husband Adrian Joffe at her side. Guests undulated to the pulsing beat of a heavy dance track and refreshed with Dom Pérignon and Fiji water. “It’s Comme, obviously,” said former Japanese Ambassador Caroline Kennedy with a playful roll of her eyes. “Isn’t it fantastic?”
Kennedy’s elegantly ruffled frock was in stark contrast to the bulbous red Kawakubo design donned by Helen Lasichanh who carefully shuffled through the crowd with husband Pharrell Williams.
Others on hand to toast the designer’s exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute included Björk, Thom Browne and Anna Cleveland. Shortly past midnight many filed into the ribbon of black cars waiting along Fifth Avenue as they moved on to the next party.
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