Olivia von Halle is only in New York for three days, so there is little time to sleep. A worthy cause to stay out late on Wednesday night came in the form of a celebration to mark a collaboration between the designer of the industry’s favorite silk pajamas with a New York institution where everybody would want to have a sleepover: The Carlyle, a Rosewood Hotel.
Lisa Aiken, Olivia von Halle’s fellow chic Briton and Vogue’s executive fashion, beauty and lifestyle director, was on co-hosting duty for the dinner party—kitted out in an ivory set with prowling panthers. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt more comfortable on a night out than I do now, both physically and emotionally with all these wonderful guests,” Aiken laughed.
Attendees arrived at Dowling’s and were greeted immediately with a chilled martini or glass of Champagne. Naturally, those libations feature within the bespoke hand-drawn print that’s screen printed onto the Lila pajama and Audrey eye mask from the collaboration. Designed to resemble a sketch artist’s doodles of the Upper East Side, the print is a Where’s Waldo-esque mélange of scenes from Central Park, The Met, Café Carlyle, and Bemelmans Bar.
Speaking of! Guests were thrilled to take their seats at the floral-laden table to find personalized place cards. The illustrations featured glamorous hand-drawn portraits of each person modeling the Lila pajamas and clutching a cocktail, custom created by Blair Breitenstein Williams, aka New York artist Blairz.
Over family-style plates of burrata, Jonah crab cake, shaved Brussel sprouts and pear salad, and roasted jumbo shrimp cocktail, von Halle told the room, “This opportunity—it’s been a dream; a dream come true.” For the occasion, she was in a plush purple velvet set, and iced out with a diamond necklace and ring by Jessica McCormack. The duo have also collaborated before, and London-based McCormack, who is readying to open her own digs on the Upper East Side in the new year, was beaming back at her from the dinner table.
As the evening stretched on and main courses of seared scallops, cavatelli, roasted chicken, and lamb arrived, there was one slight mishap—or happy accident, depending on how you look at it—when a guest’s pristine white skirt became the victim of a spilled glass of red wine. The Olivia von Halle team quickly whisked her upstairs to their suite, and she was back in time for the Bananas Foster dessert in a fresh pair of 19-momme silk pajamas. The incident prompted everyone else to wonder whether they should tip a Cab Sav into their laps too, although now that they had their own OvH x The Carlyle Audrey mask as a parting gift, they opted to play it safe and head home to catch their forty winks. Sweet dreams, indeed!
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