Before diving in to recounting the caviar fueled escapades of the past week, I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself to the readers. My name‘s Claire Comai and I have just joined the team at Iconic Style as a Style & Culture Editor and the author of a new weekly column: On The List & Off The Record. Here, I will document my tales of gallivanting through the streets of Manhattan, gala hopping in couture, and wringling my way onto the list of some of the most exclusive parties. As someone who is chronically overdressed, overbooked and over-caffeinated, I promise to deliver a weekly dose of excitement, scandal, and style.
For those of you who don’t know me, I have been in the fashion industry since I was a little baby PR intern at 18 years old. I’ve gone on to launch my clothing brand REHAB and showed at New York Fashion Week. I am also the Founder & Creative Director of REHAB STUDIOS, the creative studio & PR firm behind the Break Free NYFW Designer Showcase. In this column, I will be sharing the most fabulous events I attend each week, the coolest (and the best dressed) people I meet there, and the outfits I wear there… all wrapped up into one snarky little column.
The Latest: Gala Season Kicks Off at Casita Maria Fiesta! the Plaza Hotel
I absolutely adore gala season and how it feeds my penchant for caviar and being perennially overdressed. And as someone who has dedicated a large part of her life to philanthropy – and to attending fabulous parties – it feels like the perfect fit.
I kicked off the season at the Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education’s annual Fiesta! Gala. Based in the South Bronx, Casita Maria provides free, high-quality arts and education programs for young people, including academic support, arts training, paid teen apprenticeships, career readiness, and preparation for college and the workforce.
The event took place at one of New York’s most storied venues: The Plaza Hotel. It was a fitting setting for an event with such a glitzy legacy- past honorees include Audrey Hepburn, Pablo Picasso and Oscar de la Renta. I wore a flowing silver dress cut from Italian silk and felt very glamorous. The evening began with drinks in the Terrace Room where I caught up with Jean Shafiroff, reigning queen of the gala circuit and chair of tonight’s gala alongside Jackie Weld Drake and HRH Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia. She’s wearing a stunning, bright blue gown. “Malan Breton Spring/Summer 2027,” she tells me. “I saw it at their show [during New York Fashion Week last month] and loved it so much, I bought it right off the runway.”
Following drinks, we head upstairs to The Grand Ballroom for dinner and to present the honorees of the evening: philanthropist Sonja Gutt de Haim and artist Hunt Slonem (whose iconic bunny rabbit motifs have been an obsession of mine since I attended his Through The Looking Glass exhibit launch party at One Art Space in Tribeca).
I’m excited to be seated next to Indira Cersarina, founder of The Untitled Magazine and owner of the trendy downtown gallery Untitled Space, who I met just a few weeks ago at the cover party for the Untitled Magazine’s DREAM issue.
The party moves to the dance floor and I spot one of my favorite fashion designers, Frederick Anderson and I snap his photo for the best dressed list. “Who are you wearing tonight?” I ask, already knowing the answer. “Myself!” He exclaims, spinning me around with one hand and cheersing his champagne flute with the other, “Myself, of course!”
Behind the Look: Inside the Mythical World of Designer Michelle Palmer
I need an appropriately over-the-top look for my next black-tie affair of the week, so the next day I jump on the NQRW over to Times Square. Michelle Palmer works out of a studio absolutely stuffed to the brim with glittery trims, feathers, mannequins sporting shimmering jumpsuits and intricate lace dresses, and the most intricately designed, mythical headpieces. She describes her designs as “magic” and stepping into her design studio, right in the heart of the very ordinary hustle and bustle of Midtown Manhattan, it does feel as though I am entering somewhere enchantingly otherworldly.
Michelle’s work is no stranger to editorial shoots and runway shows. Her pieces have been featured on the NYFW runway at Cesar Galindo and Theophilio, worn on stage by performer Loredana Groza, and in print editorials for Photobook Magazine and Harper’s Bazaar Vietnam. Most recently, Julia Fox wore one of Michelle’s black lace masks for Tush Magazine.
Michelle’s designs stood out to me because they successfully perch on the very thin line between costume and couture. As a chronic overdresser, I believe it is truly an art to create looks and design pieces that have the editorial edginess seen on the most grandiose runways, while still being wearable outside of the fashion bubble. My aim today is to put that to the test and find the perfect look for this week’s Hudson River Park Gala.
In between trying on samples and admiring Michelle’s work, we chatted a bit about her story. She tells me a bit about who she designs for: “A woman who already knows she’s powerful and isn’t afraid to let that show. She doesn’t need permission to take up space or feel beautiful; what she wants is to shine so that all the women around her feel like they have more permission to shine, too! She wants clothes that match the energy she already carries. Elegant, shameless, joyful.”
The quality of Michelle’s designs also stand out. I choose a dress for the gala that is made from the softest, most delicate lace imaginable and a sparkling snake headpiece. Wearing it, I feel like the embodiment of what Michelle describes as the inspiration behind her designs:
“I adore empowered femininity and want to elevate that with everything I make. I design from the belief that every woman has a goddess inside her, and most of us were taught to forget that. I want to give women a wardrobe that lets their inner archetypes and deities out to play. I’m drawn to vintage glamour and old-world craft, but built for women living real lives today, not performing femininity for anyone else.”
Dancing on Tabletops at Hudson River Park Friends’ MADE IN NYC Gala
Gala season continues into Thursday, when I attend the MADE IN NYC Gala hosted by Hudson River Park Friends at Pier 60 to celebrate the transformation of Manhattan’s west side waterfront and the community that keeps it thriving. The evening honors Citi, Gansevoort Square Partners-Douglaston Development, Kinwood Partners, CetraRuddy and MVRDV-and Ryan Serhant, Founder & CEO of SERHANT for their commitment to Hudson River Park and NYC.
I feel beautiful and feminine in my Michelle Palmer dress, an exquisite black lace piece with a stunning open-back silhouette. Italian fabrics are becoming a habit for me and I couldn’t be happier about it. But the true star of the evening was the headpiece- a glittering crown in the shape of a two headed snake that winds down the sides of my face.
I adore a theme party when properly executed and Hudson River Park Gala understood the assignment. The theme is chic (drawing inspiration from the worlds of 70’s fashion, music and art) and the execution is delightful (staff on roller skits, sequined performers and disco balls.) A good gala has a good crowd and a meaningful cause. A great gala has dancing on tabletops and chicken nuggets with caviar. Hudson River Park Gala had it all.
I make far too many trips to the caviar station and watch the pink and orange sunset give way to the glittering skyline at Pier 60. Performers donning sequins and feathers dance on top of tables. It is absolutely everything a gala should be.
An Art World Affair: Joan Kron Launches Her Memoir The Renegade Housewives of Pop Art
I close out a fabulous week in a more intimate setting at a private residence in SoHo. Tonight’s event is commemorating the launch of The Renegade Housewives of Pop Art, a memoir by Joan Kron detailing the untold story of two suburban housewives who crashed the male-dominated art world of the 1960s-and helped bring Pop Art to the public before its artists became icons. Joan Kron and Audrey Sabol turned an unlikely partnership into a cultural adventure, organizing groundbreaking exhibitions, staging audacious happenings, and working alongside Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, Robert Indiana, Christo, and other artists who would come to define an era.
I follow the address on the invitation and find myself at a rather nondescript entryway where a man with a clipboard directs me to an elevator. When the doors open, I step out into a beautiful townhouse that is maybe better described as an art gallery, with a dizzying array of art work covering nearly every surface. It is maximalism at its absolute finest and a testament to the intention and the taste level which with each and every piece was selected, that the space never felt cluttered or overwhelming.
I run into the Editor-in-Chief of Interior Review, who I was seated next to at the Casita Maria Gala and he fills me in on the many artists whose careers were jumpstarted by Joan’s support and investment. I indulge in a selection of gourmet French cheeses, chat with chic art world types and leave determined to one day turn my own family home into a personal art gallery.
Looking to Next Week
Next week’s schedule is already deliciously full. I just barely recovered from New York fashion week and time to RSVP for New York bridal fashion week and I’m looking forward to see what the designers have in store. And galagaal season continues and I have some beautiful silk gowns and vintage diamond jewelry all ready for their moment on the red carpet at Cipriani. See you next week!
