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Where the Wild Things Are

There were beauties and beasts at Mulberry yesterday, not to mention some very clever party planning. Having organized their post-show soirée at the Savile Club just a few doors down from Claridge's, site of the label's runway show, creative director Emma Hill and co. cannily repurposed the morning's stage dressings, placing bunches of padlock-shaped gold balloons in various nooks and throwing hairy goatskins (a nod to the Fall collection's Where the Wild Things Are vibe) over leather couches.

Mulberry's takeover gave the likes of Michelle Williams and Elizabeth Olsen a reason to party at a place where the fairer sex is only allowed in after six. During her team's initial walk-through, Hill recalled, "we were probably the youngest people by about 40 years." (One member interpreted Hill's workaday outfit of tights and denim to mean she was a gymnast.) Then again, this is the first time the brand has put its show on the official London fashion week calendar—maybe, in a way, Mulberry is ready to join the establishment.

Alexa Chung lingered at the raw bar downstairs as guests were summoned up to dinner, declaring the oyster shucker's chain-mail glove "a good look." Michelle Dockery, somehow looking even more luminous than she does on Downton Abbey, stumbled on the grand staircase as a photographer's flash went off. "Delete that," she half-joked. Happily, Lana Del Rey made no missteps during her after-dinner concert. Hill, recalling the time the trending songstress (and namesake of Mulberry's latest bag) performed for the brand in Los Angeles, enumerated what might be Del Rey's most impressive trait: "the ability to silence 40 editors." This time, too, you could have heard a pin drop the moment she took the stage.

The opposite was the case over at Vivienne Westwood's after-party at The Box, where you couldn't make out anything Damien Hirst was saying to his host, Francesca Hammerstein, even if the two of them were sitting right next to you. Florence Welch cheered exuberantly for the club's hopped-up burlesque—a slightly more conservative version, it should be noted, than in New York—from her table near the stage. In the back, meanwhile, Westwood shook her head in disbelief as two young gentlemen performed extraordinary feats of strength and balance in their underwear. Wild things, indeed.

—Darrell Hartman

Fast Company

Belstaff has undergone a reorientation of sorts since changing hands in June, and the motorsports-inflected heritage brand shifted into high gear last night with a spirited party at Mark's Club, the late, legendary London restaurateur Mark Birley's private club just off Berkeley Square. Inside the Mayfair town house, guests sipped Champagne surrounded by portraits of dogs and horses, tuxedoed waiters shuttled shepherd's pie and bacon sandwiches up to the likes of Poppy Delevingne and Tallulah Harlech, and most everyone in the place tried to get a word in with co-hosts the Earl of March and the Earl of Mornington. (The latter happens to be next in line to be the Duke of Wellington.) In the words of Belstaff's new CEO, Harry Slatkin, "I guess this officially makes us British."

"Again," he might have added. Since acquiring Belstaff from the Malenotti family, Labelux has been steering the 1924 brand back to its roots. That's meant many trips to the archives for creative director Martin Cooper, who said he's been studying the original performance fabrics and steeping himself in a time when "you had English aristocrats buying motorbikes and open-cockpit airplanes as toys." Cooper is also working on a lower-priced capsule collection with the Earl of March, whose country estate, Goodwood, is the site of one of the country's major classic-car races.

If the size of the crowd was any measure, it's a revamp everyone wants to be a part of. Squeezing into the second-floor parlor, Eddie Spencer-Churchill couldn't resist teasing Lord Mornington's wife, Jemma Kidd, for inviting him to a standing-up dinner party with "a thousand of her closest friends." The Countess shooed him off, as if to say: different occasion, different speed.

—Darrell Hartman

Stella McCartney Dinner

Belstaff has undergone a reorientation of sorts since changing hands in June, and the motorsports-inflected heritage brand shifted into high gear last night with a spirited party at Mark's Club, the late, legendary London restaurateur Mark Birley's private club just off Berkeley Square. Inside the Mayfair town house, guests sipped Champagne surrounded by portraits of dogs and horses, tuxedoed waiters shuttled shepherd's pie and bacon sandwiches up to the likes of Poppy Delevingne and Tallulah Harlech, and most everyone in the place tried to get a word in with co-hosts the Earl of March and the Earl of Mornington. (The latter happens to be next in line to be the Duke of Wellington.) In the words of Belstaff's new CEO, Harry Slatkin, "I guess this officially makes us British."

"Again," he might have added. Since acquiring Belstaff from the Malenotti family, Labelux has been steering the 1924 brand back to its roots. That's meant many trips to the archives for creative director Martin Cooper, who said he's been studying the original performance fabrics and steeping himself in a time when "you had English aristocrats buying motorbikes and open-cockpit airplanes as toys." Cooper is also working on a lower-priced capsule collection with the Earl of March, whose country estate, Goodwood, is the site of one of the country's major classic-car races.

If the size of the crowd was any measure, it's a revamp everyone wants to be a part of. Squeezing into the second-floor parlor, Eddie Spencer-Churchill couldn't resist teasing Lord Mornington's wife, Jemma Kidd, for inviting him to a standing-up dinner party with "a thousand of her closest friends." The Countess shooed him off, as if to say: different occasion, different speed.

—Darrell Hartman

H&M Goes Hollywood

Last night's Marni at H&M launch party drew a mix of A-listers and next-gen talent to a private residence in L.A.'s Los Feliz neighborhood. Among them, Drew Barrymore reconnected with Molly Shannon, Rashida Jones caught up with Annabelle Dexter-Jones (no relation), and Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain mingled with Lily Collins. Marni's Consuelo Castiglioni, H&M's Margareta van den Bosch, and Sofia Coppola, who made a short film celebrating the collaboration starring up-and-comer Imogen Poots, were the evening's hosts.

"I think she captures boredom in modern-day society so well," Poots said of Coppola. "I knew that she'd bring something extra and character-driven to what could just be otherwise perceived as one-dimensional." There was nothing boring about this fête—not with Bryan Ferry (whose song "Avalon" is featured in the video) playing some of his biggest hits, and not with all the pretty girls wearing Marni's geometric prints.

"All the elements that make Marni are in this H&M collection: the brocade and the patterns," the designer said of the capsule pieces, set to hit stores March 8. "It's really everything that I like."

—Alexis Brunswick

Family Dinner

"I would like to thank everyone here for coming out to support me tonight; it means everything to me." So said what must have been a very jet-lagged Victoria Beckham, who had just returned to London from her New York shows, to a very intimate gathering at Harvey Nichols. The retailer was toasting the arrival of her Victoria, Victoria Beckham line.

Roland Mouret and British Vogue's Alexandra Shulman flanked the designer during dinner, but Anja Rubik, Charlotte Dellal, Gordon and Tana Ramsay, and War Horse ingenue Celine Buckens were also in the crowd, along with a few members of VB's family. No David, but dad Anthony, mom Jackie, sister Louise, and niece Liberty were in attendance, and to hear her mother tell it, Beckham's design process is very much a family affair. "Victoria is 37 years old and still calls me at least twice a day for advice. Motherhood? If you think it ends when they reach their teens—forget it. It is a lifelong commitment. For not just my daughter, but for all of us." Hear that, Harper?

—Afsun Qureshi

Rock of Ages

"I wonder if anyone's going to come?" a PR girl admitted to worrying before the L'Wren Scott dinner at Rose Bar last night, citing fashion week exhaustion and the rain as potential causes for a poor turnout. That would have been a fair concern for both the Scott dinner and the Nur Khan Electric Room concert session taking place across town, except for one thing: When there are rock stars on the bill, the crowds always turn out in full.

Amber Heard, Ellen Barkin, Terry Richardson, and Jen Brill were all present and correct when Scott walked in on the arm of Mick Jagger. During cocktails, the Rolling Stone retreated to a corner of the room while Scott made her rounds. "I think the three Es sum up how I'm feeling: enthusiastic, excited, and exhausted," she said, adding one more E to the list: eat. "I had caviar and potatoes at lunch today; then I went home and ate some more."

At the bar, Scott's close friend Daphne Guinness was chatting with the artist Walton Ford. After we commented on Guinness' striking ensemble, Ford said, "It's amazing. She's one of those women who will have her bathrobe on when you get to her house and will tell you she'll be ready in five minutes. In five minutes, she comes out dressed like this." To which Guinness remarked, "Oh no, I'm old-school, really. I just don't want to put too much thought into it. If you do that, it doesn't really go well." At that, they were summoned to the dinner table: "I hope I'm seated next to Mick," one guest confessed. Don't we all, honey.

Meanwhile, a far less subdued affair was kicking off at Hiro Ballroom, where Guns N' Roses was set to perform as part of Nur Khan's DeLeón Tequila-sponsored music series. As eager fans including Justin Timberlake, Matt Damon, and Jimmy Fallon started to pour into the smoky room, Khan told us, "I first saw Guns N' Roses play with Metallica. I forget what year, to be honest." When Axl Rose and co. finally took the stage after midnight, it was indeed a jungle, complete with leather bodysuited dancers doing acrobatics from the ceiling, flying tequila shots, and a knock-down-drag-out set that included "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "November Rain."

—Kristin Studeman

P.S. We Love You

"I am so not cool enough to be here," Rachel Zoe said last night on her way out of Le Baron, where Proenza Schouler's Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez were hosting their after-party. Zoe was calling it an early night because of her Tiffany's gig this morning and a week and a half of Oscars prep waiting for her back in L.A. But the nightclub was plenty crowded without her. Terry Richardson and Jared Leto were running around together taking pictures on the staircase. And nearly everyone who passed through the hot spot's doors took a spin on the dance floor, Jack and Lazaro included.

"I feel so relieved—every season we have major drama backstage," said McCollough. "I don't know why, but this time we didn't at all." The drama came afterward with the crush of fans eager to congratulate them.

The designers have a two-week vacation in the not-so-distant future to look forward to. They aren't the only ones who could use one. "All I want to do this weekend is sit in my pajamas and watch Downton Abbey," said one reveler posted up at the bar. "Is that too much to ask?"

—Kristin Studeman

Last and Best

The Last Magazine has evolved in the three-plus years it's been around—and not just what's on the page. "We decided it's really nice to sit down and talk to people rather than dance all night and have the police shut us down," Last co-founder Magnus Berger said last night at the downtown mag's celebration at Acme.

There was that sort of party, too, later on in the restaurant's basement. But the dinner upstairs beforehand had the friends-and-family synergy that fuels this particular breed of trend-predicting culture outlet: Richard Chai installed in a back booth, Julia Stegner chatting over brie-on-toast and Arctic char with Jacquelyn Jablonski. (The latter appears in a spread in the latest issue shot by Steven Pan, who happens to be Stegner's ex-boyfriend.)

Of course, get-togethers held at the end of fashion week tend to have a less frantic vibe. "Thank God it's over!" Phillip Lim exclaimed. "I'm re-socializing"—not to mention planning a vacation to the extremely fancy Amanyara resort in Turks and Caicos. Stegner, who walked Altuzarra and Zac Posen this season, was hefting one of the oversized magazines well before she headed out. "It fits nicely under your arm—it's a nice accessory," she decided.

So were the Prism sunglasses that served as the first course. The eyewear brand co-sponsored, along with Kanon Organic Vodka, and designer Anna Laub had opted to gift sunglasses to dinner guests rather than put together a traditional presentation. Acme, with its mirrored walls, was the perfect venue for trying them on, and certainly a place that's welcomed those who wear sunglasses at night. "I'm actually not OK with that look," Laub admitted. "But tonight I'm making many, many exceptions."

—Darrell Hartman

Appearances Count

"You cannot express beauty in one image anymore," W editor Stefano Tonchi declared last night at the Park Avenue Armory. Inside the cavernous room, he had two of the biggest screens you've ever seen to back him up. On them played a sumptuous film loop of Lara Stone, her body a spliced-up vessel containing changing elements—her head becoming a bird's, her midsection a flower, nothing staying what it was for long.

Created by Norwegian photographer Sølve Sundsbø and creative consultant Jerry Stafford, the video work was inspired by the form of Surrealist art experiment known as "exquisite corpse." It recalled the Surrealist strain of the Marc Jacobs show from the night before and magnified what you might call the flow of today's beauty business. "It's not [just] west to east," as Tonchi pointed out. "It's east to west, too." W's partner on the project was P&G Prestige, which had done a different sort of transcontinental operating to ensure the opening was a blockbuster, flying SK-II global ambassador Cate Blanchett over from Australia.

Felicity Jones, the face of Dolce & Gabbana's makeup, was also in the house. The up-and-coming actress told Style.com that she's prepping to play Charles Dickens' mistress in a film co-starring Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas. (She's also planning to hit today's Proenza Schouler show.) Glancing up at the colossal images, it occurred to her that playing on a huge screen adds a few extra inches to the legs—"always a good thing," she said.

—Darrell Hartman

Business or Pleasure?

Fashion isn't all fabulosity—it's big business, too. That's the raison d'être of The Business of Fashion, Imran Amed's Web site devoted to the dollars and sense behind the seams, which celebrated its fifth anniversary last night with a party co-hosted by Phillip Lim and Julie Gilhart at Chelsea's Hôtel Americano. But guests were exploring the more playful side of the biz. A white board and camera was set up for the live-est of live-tweeting on the theme "What Do You Love About Fashion?" (Scrawl your answer on the board, take a photo in front of it, and tweet it to the world.)

One thing to love: Fashion is a business with a packed party schedule. Fashion weekers' itineraries last night were so crazed that even Diesel honcho Renzo Rosso himself couldn't make it to the opening of the brand's new Black Gold store in Soho earlier than halfway through. When he arrived from the W party uptown, he had Johan Lindeberg and Jefferson Hack waiting for him on the sidewalk. Hack croaked out a greeting, having temporarily lost his voice.

No time to recuperate—the train swiftly made its way to the Gramercy Park Hotel, where Claire Danes was hosting pal Narciso Rodriguez's celebration. While the designer himself greeted guests sipping a drink named after him ("I must have a Narciso!" one guest crowed), Gloria Estefan was coaxed onto the dance floor to shimmy along to her 1985 hit "Conga." The dance floor was packed, too, at Rodarte's bash at Acme, where generations boogied together. Ikram Goldman and Michelle Harper represented the adults—well, the sort of adult who'd pull up her Peter Pilotto dress and vintage YSL couture underskirt to delightedly reveal a pair of Pilotto panties, as Harper did—and Tavi Gevinson and Harry Brant, the under-21s. All in all, stress relief done right. Kate and Laura Mulleavy's stylist, Shirley Kurata, admitted that producing a show is so taxing, "sometimes we think, I can't wait for the show to be over so we can get to the party!"

Speaking of relief: It was February 14, after all, and Colette, Araks, and the Ace Hotel took up that challenge with a V-Day "Sex Party" at Le Baron, where party favors included racy lip appliqués and arty condoms. (Careful! They were, according to the packaging, "NOT MEANT FOR USE.") The second floor in particular was elbow to elbow, with Terry Richardson and Jared Leto among the crowd. Leto also ended up at the Top of the Standard's erotic-themed bash, which paused at 1 a.m. for a crowd-pleasing striptease by Dita Von Teese that ended with her doing a wet frolic in a giant martini glass. Just another night on the job. Her business is pleasure.

—Matthew Schneier (BoF, Rodriguez, Rodarte) and Darrell Hartman (Diesel, Colette, Standard)

Obsessed Much?

From the old freight elevator ride up to the loft on Cleveland Place to the winding, black-curtained entryway, arriving at Miu Miu's bash for A Woman Dress last night felt a little like walking into a haunted house. And that was rather fitting, considering that the short film on show was a twisted tale of women and their do-anything-for-it obsession with the label. The clip starred the girls of electric pop group Au Revoir Simone.

Although it felt more like Halloween, guests were in a Valentine's Day spirit. "I love this holiday, even when you aren't in love," Leighton Meester told Style.com. "I saw the Vera Wang show earlier today, the Empire State Building is all lit up—how can you complain?" Everyone looked happy except, that is, the Miu Miu PR team. "Someone stole the sunglasses earlier and they're still trying to track them down," a photographer reported, referring to the new Miu Miu Culte shades that had been on display. Guess someone's love affair with the brand is a little too intense.

—Kristin Studeman

Marc Kills It

After countless air kisses and congratulations and even more backstage interviews at the Armory last night, Marc Jacobs was whisked off to the Pierre hotel to celebrate his new collection with the brand's traditional friends-and-family bash. As he walked inside the grand ballroom, the man of the hour was greeted by another round of applause.

"I think it might have been Marc's best show ever," gushed Dakota Fanning. "Those hats were insane." Over dinner, the chapeaus and Rachel Feinstein Currin's elaborate sugar frosting set were the center of conversation. "There was actually talk of building a bridge and maybe even a moat at one point," one Jacobs employee revealed. "That got axed though—too complicated."

As dinner came to a close, the Kills took to the stage for a special surprise performance. "I am a huge Kills fan—I love them!" Fanning told Style.com. "Especially 'Pots and Pans.' " During the short set, the actress and assorted other partygoers really let their hair down, forming dance circles and getting on each others' shoulders despite being in their party dresses. By the end of the night, they'd not only kicked up their heels but they'd kicked them off, too. We spotted two partygoers walking out barefoot with stilettos in their Marc bags.

—Kristin Studeman

One Night in the Life of Marina Abramović

Sunday may be a day of rest for some people, but not the fashion set. At the Jane last night, Nowness and Ryan McGinley hosted a dinner and after-party for Edun—the same trio of creative forces behind Beautiful Rebels, a short film of McGinley's that makes innovative use of African butterflies and debuted on the site last week. It played on monitors, at least one of which got a drink spilled on it—ah, the perils of mixing art and vodka (in this case, Belvedere). In the buzzing upstairs room, Stephen Dorff ushered Courtney Love over in the direction of Ali Hewson, who was comfortably installed on a couch in the corner, and Rose McGowan darted behind a column: "I'm hiding from someone!" Not Alexander Skarsgard, with whom she was chatting a few minutes later. Anouck Lepère drifted through: "I'm waiting for a visa renewal, so I can't work for ten days—only party," she reported. She didn't seem to be complaining.

Meanwhile, Lou Reed, Terence Koh, and Waris Ahluwalia, among others, had gathered at a private residence on West 9th Street for a special preview of photographer Tim Hailand's forthcoming photo book One Day in the Life of Robert Wilson's The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic. The event was hosted by Costume National's Ennio Capasa. "I met Marina years ago through a friend," the designer told Style.com. "She's really something, so innovative and different. I love that gang and wanted to do something in New York to promote their project."

Later, Shane Gabier and Christopher Peters of Creatures of the Wind joined their fellow Chicagoan Tavi Gevinson at the Standard East Village to celebrate her new short film project, Cadaver. As has been widely reported, Gevinson sings Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" in the movie and does a rather bang-up job of it. Before taking the mike to reprise the performance, she said, "I've been rehearsing for this all my life."

—Darrell Hartman and Kristin Studeman

Three Amigos

Bill Powers put it this way: "They may be French, but they're all-American, because what do you get what you cross red, white, and blue?" Purple, of course—and the French-inflected crowd that packed into Tribeca eatery Super Linda last night to celebrate the magazine's latest issue.

Olivier Zahm and Carine Roitfeld, a guest editor for this edition, swung by the back booth to say hi to Vinoodh Matadin and Inez van Lamsweerde; tucked in with the photographer duo was Johan Lindeberg—BLK DNM was celebrating its one-year anniversary, and earlier in the day Zahm had pretty much literally put the magazine on the wall at Lindeberg's Lafayette Street shop. Robert Longo, who'd been there signing prints, got up from his seat to chat with fellow contributor Terry Richardson, while André Saraiva, who'd had an art opening at Powers' Half Gallery earlier in the evening, held court in a dashing scarf. Lindsay Lohan wore an overcoat, having caught a chill while outside on a smoke break.

It's a Purple tradition of sorts that there be more guests than seats available, which led to cozy lap-sitting: Annabelle Dexter-Jones on Saraiva, Mark Borthwick on Waris Ahluwalia. The restaurant's Matt Abramcyk circulated, trying to keep the salads and meat platters arriving in due course. "I don't eat the head," Lily Donaldson said of the unshelled prawns that were going around. "Only French people eat the head—they like to suck out the brains." She scanned the room for Zahm, hoping he might confirm, but couldn't spot him.

Later, at the after-party at the Standard, Zahm skipped the elbow-to-elbow struggle of the Boom Boom Room for the hazy, dance-friendly freedom of Le Bain. And the only thing he was sucking down was a drink.

—Darrell Hartman

Designers in the Hot Seat

The invite said "One Chair," but there were 99 on the walls and 60 more for dinner guests at a party celebrating Reed Krakoff's new furniture-cum-art project at Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn's Salon 94 last night. As graphic and geometrically precise as his ready-to-wear, the felt-covered straight-back chairs had many admirers in a room that included Yvonne Force Villareal, Hope Atherton, Cecilia Dean, and Virginie Mouzat. "They do wonders for your posture," someone said. But Reed had some competition on the design front. His wife Delphine's madeleines were going fast when the party started winding down around midnight.

More than 100 blocks downtown at Joseph Altuzarra's Red Egg after-party, the DJ was playing a string of Whitney Houston's hits. "Look at everyone go on the dance floor," Julie Gilhart said. "It's kind of nuts but I love it." Another guest still had his mind on the designer's collection. "This was my first fashion show, ever. I had no idea Joseph was such a big deal, but he's like a big deal." He asked, "Do women really wear clothes like that?" Oh, yes.

Meanwhile, Candice Swanepoel, Brad Goreski, and other friends of Prabal Gurung gathered in the tented-over terrace of the Presidential Suite at the Dream Downtown for a dinner in the designer's honor. The space featured a long table set for 30 and a spacious hot tub. For the moment it remained covered, but maybe not for long. Joked Gurung, "The after-after-party can be here."

—Nicole Phelps, Kristin Studeman, and Bee-Shyuan Chang