It had to be Margaritaville.
“I mean, how do we not end up here more often?” said Rachel Antonoff from the sixth floor of the Jimmy Buffet-coded hotel in Times Square. On Thursday night, Margaritaville was the home to Club Ra, a poolside celebration of the designer’s summer collection. The Malibu rum drinks were plentiful, the piles of pink sand underneath the beach chairs were pristine, and coolers full of sunscreen were stocked and bountiful. The only thing missing was the sunshine.
“Our collection was themed ‘Club Ra,’ and it was supposed to be reminiscent of Sandals or Club Med — just sort of tacky, fun, singles resorts,” added Antonoff. “And when we were trying to figure out how to do a party that would encompass it, we were like: it has to be Margaritaville. And then, because my team and I really should be Bar Mitvah planners, we went crazy on the theme.”
There were plenty of travel-themed party souvenirs, in the form of cheeky commemorative T-shirts, Away luggage tags, Vacation brand sunscreen, and pregnancy tests courtesy of First Response. (Leftover tests were slated for donation to a local shelter.) Giant photo cutout boards depicted carefree boardwalk scenes, and Peter Som took the opportunity to slot himself as the face of a mermaid being pulled by a tandem bike.
Peter Som
Lexie Moreland/WWD
“Oh, margaritas! Want a margarita?” exclaimed Busy Phillips to her friend, excited to be presented with a tray of beverages upon her arrival.
Guests had colorful drinks in hand all around the pool, as trays of shell-shaped jello shots made the rounds. Jack Antonoff was huddled underneath a fringed pink-and-white umbrella with father Rick Antonoff, actor Fred Hechinger, SNL writer Celeste Yim and singer Claud, who stars in the “Re-Cast Antonoffs” summer campaign. Gillian Jacobs, another campaign star, was also mingling throughout the evening with other guests including Micaela Diamond, Ali Stroker, B.J. Novak, “SNL” writer/performer Martin Herlihy, Cat Cohen and more.
Rick Antonoff, Fred Hechinger, Celeste Yim, Jack Antonoff and Claud.
Lexie Moreland/WWD
It might have been overcast, but the party vibe throughout the evening was pure summertime.
“ Hopefully getting in the pool,” said Presley Oldham, when asked what he was looking forward to in the warm months ahead. While Antonoff was excited for outdoor dining with her dog, designers Tanner Richie and Fletcher Kasell were looking forward to taking a trip to their hometowns in Minnesota and Wisconsin in July.
“It’s just the perfect place to be in the summer. It’s not too hot,” said Kasell. “ Leaving New York: I feel like that’s the secret. And working on our patio.”
“ I feel like I’m excited for it to be nice, just so our plants can do better,” added Richie. “Because right now they’re not doing so well.”
Blu DeTiger and Rex DeTiger were on DJ-duty early in the evening, playing nostalgic summertime hits as video clips — including an ad for Sandals resorts — were projected on the brick wall behind them.
“We’re influencing, I apologize,” said one guest, busy posing for a selfie with two friends in front of the pink lifeguard stand. They were less than a foot from the pool’s edge, and the situation was getting precarious as the crowd inched closer in anticipation of a synchronized swimming performance by the Aqualillies.
“Someone’s falling in tonight,” remarked a girl nearby.
She wasn’t wrong: pretty soon, the music switched to Ella Fitzgerald’s “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” and a lineup of dancers in vintage swim caps and Rachel Antonoff swimsuits strutted their way into the pool.
