Banks performed at the fashion-centered event.
Some have compared it to a cinnamon bun and others, a UFO -- but on Wednesday night, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Guggenheim felt most like a solar system. While caviar-garnished amuse bouche and flutes of Veuve circulated at a Dior-hosted pre-party for the museum’s International Gala, guests including Marion Cotillard, Alexa Chung, Dope actor Shameik Moore, Chvrches' Lauren Mayberry and Makenzie Leigh moved 'round and 'round the museum’s curved concrete ramp -- setting into an orbit that revolved around R&B singer Banks, who lit up the space with a performance just after 10:30 p.m.
"This is a place I visited when I first came to New York," designer Rachel Roy told Pret-a-Reporter just after bumping into designer pal Wes Gordon. "My brother started his career taking tickets at the Guggenheim and now he is chief curator of the MoMA, so I have a soft spot for this space."
Hannah Bronfman was similarly nostalgic: "I grew up in New York and went to school right here, but I haven’t been back in a few years, so it feels so good to be here tonight," she said. Dressed in a black-and-white leopard jacquard jacket and pants from pre-fall 2016, she noted her outfit was "something I tried on over the summer and thought 'how could I afford this?' and had to leave the store without it -- so I’m really excited to be wearing it this evening.”