New York City’s Bryant Park (the epicenter of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week) and the Lower East Side couldn’t be at more opposite ends of this island geographically, but design houses have often aesthetically traversed that distance in recent years, liberally imbuing their lines with rock’n’roll hipsterdom. That said, Mercedes made an apt choice to host its opening night party in the heart of Manhattan’s hottest ‘hood at it’s most stately new venue, the Box.
Within the walls of this ornate, turn-of-the-century-style supper club, a decidedly modern affair unfolded, from a futuristic synth-pop set from Shiny Toy Guns (read more) to DJ Junior Sanchez’s electro rock (fun to hear Editors, Yaz, and the Raconteurs deftly mixed over a 20-minute span) to the sleek but practical threads favored by the partygoers. Oscar winner Adrien Brody embodied the look, a weather-appropriate mix of leather and denim, while Mena Suvari, in a cute yellow mini-dress and sexy tights, could have stepped right off the pages of Lastnightsparty.com. Adrian Grenier, his own entourage in tow, opted for a more formal grey suit as he attentively soaked up Shiny Toy Guns’ set, but Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz deftly avoided both the cold and coat check ridiculousness with warm, white winter wear.
And so began Fashion Week. Party time. Excellent. Now if only Mercedes Benz would let us borrow that $450,000 SLR McLaren that was parked outside for our next festival road trip… PETER GASTON / PHOTOS BY CHANCE YEH/PATRICKMCMULLAN.COM
