Maggie Gyllenhaal, Matt Damon and More Welcome LuisaViaRoma to New York

Downstairs at LuisaViaRoma‘s New York flagship on Bond Street, artist Laila Gohar was chipping away at one of her latest works: a chocolate head. After a few whacks, the head split open, and guests were invited to have a taste. A chocolate foot, propped on a museum-style plinth nearby, had already been shattered, and sculptural butter molds accompanied self-serve slices of baguette.

Welcome to New York Fashion Week.

“The sculptures are different fragments of statues,” Gohar said of the edible installation, which also included two cakes, displayed alongside a curated rack of eveningwear. “There’s Apollo, a Venus, and then several parts of David. They are fragmented and look like artifacts, or remains,” she added. “I was interested in the architecture of this space, and how vast and beautiful it is. Doing something that is a little archaeological felt fitting in this space.”

The shows might not officially get started until Friday, but the parties are already in full force. On Wednesday night, the Italy-based retailer hosted a cocktail party to unveil its new bilevel boutique. Guests included Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez — who had shown their latest Proenza Schouler collection earlier in the day, just slightly ahead of the official calendar — Matt Damon and wife Luciana Damon, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Amber Valletta, Nicky Hilton and Charlotte Lawrence, who later in the evening performed a surprise set for the crowd.

Models Calum Harper and Kit Price, who have both cultivated large TikTok followings, were anticipating what the rest of the week might have in store.

“It’s my first one [New York Fashion Week], so I’m kind of new to it, but it’s a cool city to be running around,” said Price, who, like Harper, has worked with brands including Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Prada. “I’ve probably spent a grand total of about a month here, so still learning the ropes. I live around the corner — it’s cool. It’s a lot, it’s quite intimidating, even from London.”

“Our schedule, we get it the day before — so I don’t know what my schedule looks like, or the rest of my week,” said Harper, adding, “I think New York Fashion Week is my favorite fashion week out of all of them.” Why?

“Because people are a little bit more fun.”