Anna Wintour and Karl Lagerfeld
I do not know how or where Karl Lagerfeld got a button with Anna Wintour's face on it but I'll pay any amount of money to have one of my own.
Linda Evangelista, Karl Lagerfeld, guest and Anna Wintour
Perhaps they were party favors; that would be A DELIGHT. I see Karl has his fan even here. Linda looks, of course, gorgeous.
Linda Evangelista
I do not know what she is wearing but that's true for almost everyone at this party. I think people were instructed to be festive but I don't think it was inherently a costume party. Welcome to a game we GenX know fairly well: Costume Party or the Early 90s?
David Bowie and Iman
Every single photo of them from this event has this exact same vibe: They are CRAAAAZY in love with each other. They'd met earlier this year, but this was their first public appearance. And they are SMITTEN. Please also note the cigarettes on the table. People smoked everywhere in 1990.
Naomi Campbell and Steven Meisel
As evidenced here by Naomi Campbell, who looks MARVELOUS, and Steven Meisel, who, if I recall correctly, always dressed like that. He LOVES a hat.
Steven Meisel, Herb Ritts, and Christy Turlington
Christy is also smoking and ALSO looks marvelous. To orient you in time, this was AFTER Herb Ritts (obviously an iconic fashion photog) directed Madonna's "Cherish" music video, but BEFORE he directed the "Wicked Game" video.
Anna Wintour, Carolyne Roehm, and Donna Karan
There were a LOT of sequins at this party! Carolyne Roehm was a socialite who'd worked for Oscar de la Renta and was briefly a fashion designer herself, who was also president of CFDA at the time and she basically spearheaded this whole idea, so good on her. She was (and still is) $$$$$$$$$$ and basically walked away from fashion because it was hurting her marriage to her financier spouse, per this very juicy and mildly bitchy contemporaneous piece in the LA Times.
Donna Karan and Anna Wintour
I assume they're laughing about sunglasses.
Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren and Betsey Johnson
Ralph Lauren honestly looks and dresses EXACTLY the same now as he did then.
Elizabeth Saltzman and Marc Jacobs
I have true and sincere concerns about what Marc Jacobs is wearing here, even through the lens of 1990. Elizabeth Saltzman is a VERY successful stylist -- she does Julia Garner and Julianne Moore and Sandra Oh and Saoirse Ronan and a bunch of A listers. So these two did well for themselves.
Patti LaBelle
Patti LaBelle, I believe, also performed at this event and she looks like she's very annoyed to be interrupted in this photo!
Martha Stewart and Ivana Trump
First of all, Donald did not attend as he and Ivana were in the middle of a HIGHLY CONTENTIOUS DIVORCE. But I pulled this photo because (a) Martha and (b) in case you ever wondered who Ab Fab's Patsy Stone was based on, I literally did a double take here.
Giancarlo Giammetti and Valentino Garavani
STILL TOGETHER! (Although I believe they famously have a rather open and unconventional relationship.) I once sat directly behind Valentino at Oscar de la Renta -- IT WAS THRILLING!! -- and he is much oranger now than he was in 1990.
Betsey Johnson and guest
This feels like peak Betsey Johnson.
Diane von Furstenberg and Calvin Klein
But this ensemble is NOT Peak DVF and is, in fact, quite terrible. Calvin is like, "DO NOT LET THEM TAKE YOUR PHOTO IN THAT." (They've been friends for a million years.)
Ric Ocasek and Paulina Porizkova
Speaking of models and musicians in love! They also had a ton of pics from this event of them looking adorable and canoodling.
Paulina Porizkova
Cheers, Paulina!