“There’s nothing more important right now than human connections, good food, friends, and joy,” Gabriela Hearst said on Wednesday evening at her ultra-cool Bar Oliver to a high-fashion crowd that included designers, industry friends, and notables such as Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites of The Lumineers, Oz Pearlman, and Colombian superstar Nanpa Básico.

“And so,” she added, “if we can have all that today, I would be very, very pleased.”

Consider this a mission accomplished. It was fabulous.

CFDA members and designers included Daniella Kallmeyer, Edmundo Castillo, Beckett Fogg, Batsheva Hay, Edvin Thompson, Prabal Gurung, Ji Oh, Alejandra Alonso Rojas, Maria Cornejo, Sander Lak, Ashlynn Park, Gemma Kahng, Elie Tahari, Emily Smith, Lizzie Fortunato, Bonnie Young, Gigi Burris O’Hara, Matt Murphy, Stephanie Suberville, Mara Hoffman, Jonathan Cohen, Gemma Kahng, and Steven Lagos.

They connected with industry friends such as Glenda Bailey, Camilla Nickerson, Julie Gilhart, Lindsay Peoples, Ronald Burton III, Grace Cha, Lauren Levison, and Yao King.   

“Gaby and I were at an event during Fashion week, and she said, ‘You know I own a bar downtown in Chinatown,'” Steven Kolb, President and CEO of the CFDA which co-hosted the cocktail, recalled. “I had no idea. and I thought, ‘We should have a CFDA party,’ and she immediately said yes. 

“I want to thank you for having us, for the creativity you bring to our industry, and how you represent American designers, not just here, but also bringing our voice and talent very proudly to Europe.”

Indeed, the fashion world came together in Two Bridges, and we loved it!