By: Melissa Saycon
Fashion Week parties rarely leave downtown Manhattan. On Thursday, September 10, GeeGee Collection’s first New York moment moved the whole scene out of downtown and into the W Hotel Times Square, produced by collectiV, a New York-based brand and culture agency, and dressed head to toe in Studio 54. DJ Pyro Tiger ran eighties and nineties house through a Don Julio open bar while more than 250 guests worked through a list of over 1,000 RSVPs. GeeGee Collection is not due to launch in the United States until July. On Thursday night, it already had a crowd.
A Party That Left Downtown
The event was called House of Stars, and it doubled as GeeGee Collection’s introduction to New York rather than its formal launch. Guests arrived in Studio 54 dress code and found a room built to feel like a fashion week party from another decade, campy where it needed to be, loud where it needed to be. People stayed and danced instead of doing a lap around the room and leaving within the hour, which is the usual fate of a Thursday night industry party during the busiest week of the year.
Studio 54, By Way Of Times Square
Times Square is not where fashion insiders expect to spend a Thursday night in September. That was the point. The W Hotel’s ballroom, redressed as a disco, gave the crowd a version of Fashion Week nightlife that has largely disappeared from the calendar: house music instead of a DJ set built for content, a real dance floor instead of a step-and-repeat, and an open bar that kept people in the room. DJ Pyro Tiger ran eighties and nineties house through the Don Julio open bar for the length of the night, the sound that anchored House of Stars from start to finish.
Who Was In The Room
The guest list leaned toward people with influence rather than people known mainly for having followers. Comedian and actor Jean Luc worked the room alongside actor Gian Caro. Writers Valentina Vapaux and Iva Dixit came through, as did Melanie Mcclain of YouTube Music and Adam Atenasio, a producer on Saturday Night Live. Levi Lomey and Darrell Lerner, co-founders of Syndicate 11, mixed with talk show host Benny Jee and model and designer Farah Jamay. It was a room of writers, actors, designers, producers, and founders rather than a single-lane influencer casting call.
The Woman Behind The Guest List
That guest list is collectiV’s signature, and its founder and creative director, Vanshika Vijayram, said the distinction is deliberate. “We care less about influencers and more about people with influence. Our job is to get the right people in a room, introduce them to a brand properly, and make sure they have a real night,” she said. collectiV’s community runs largely through New York and Los Angeles, with additional pockets in London and Paris, and Fashion Week pulled a meaningful share of that circuit into one ballroom on one night.
A Preview Before The Real Launch
GeeGee Collection’s actual U.S. launch is still months away. House of Stars was a chance to put the brand in front of the people who will talk about it before a single product ships domestically. Judging by the numbers, over four times as many RSVPs as the room could hold, the brand will not be starting from zero when February arrives.
