An Evening of Haute Couture, Collage, and Community in New York
Chanel hosted a private dinner at New York’s storied Doubles Club to celebrate the launch of Chanel Haute Couture, the latest book from director and longtime house collaborator Sofia Coppola. The evening drew a tight-knit crowd of artists, actors, and friends of the house for a dinner that felt more like a reunion than a press tour—complete with a soundtrack by DJ Jean d’Armes.
Held beneath the iconic Plaza Hotel at 783 Fifth Avenue, the gathering marked the debut of Coppola’s second book, a lavish 450-page tome published by Éditions 7L under her imprint, Important Flowers. Chanel Haute Couture presents an immersive visual journey through the house’s most exquisite creations—featuring never-before-seen sketches, intimate photos of clients, archival runway images, and behind-the-scenes glimpses of the ateliers.
“Chanel Haute Couture is an enthralling visual history of the House of Chanel’s inimitable Haute Couture designs,” notes the publisher. “Edited by Sofia Coppola in collaboration with Chanel and Éditions 7L, the book covers the era of Gabrielle Chanel through to Karl Lagerfeld and Virginie Viard.” It’s a story of design passed from hand to hand across a century of couture—and Coppola, whose relationship with the house began with a summer internship at age fifteen, brings her signature sense of collage to the narrative.
The result is part scrapbook, part love letter: “This luxurious and compelling volume,” the press notes continue, “unfolds through unseen sketches, photographs of Chanel clients wearing creations, runway photographs, and archival ephemera. Encompassing the distinct eras of Chanel’s lead designers—Gabrielle Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, and Virginie Viard—their teams, famous clientele, and the models of each period, as seen by renowned photographers, this book is a definitive guide to the extraordinary creations that have influenced generations of designers.”
Attendees included Sofia Coppola and Thomas Mars, Gracie Abrams, Kirsten Dunst, Bill Murray, Jon Hamm and Anna Osceola, Romy Mars, Havana Rose Liu, Abbey Lee, Alex Wek, Chase Sui Wonders, Karen Elson and Scarlett White, Louisa Jacobson, Lulu Tenney, Sasha Pivovarova, Sunday Rose Urban, Veronica Webb, Iman, Quannah Chasinghorse, Questlove, Dan Colen, Derek Blasberg and Nick Brown, Colby Mugrabi, Rachel Chandler and Nate Lowman, Cecile Winckler and Sanam Salek, Eileen Kelly, Kate Young, Selby Drummond, Molly Howard and Ben Lovett, Lauren Santo Domingo, Laura Love, Vanessa Traina, Bella Massenet, Pamela Hanson, Charlie Klarsfeld, Rebecca Schwartz, Sean Koons, and many more.
The night was not just a celebration of a book, but of decades of dialogue between film and fashion, family and fabric. And in true Chanel fashion, it all unfolded with grace, glamour, and just the right amount of mystery.
