“It’s nice to sometimes be on a flight, turn off the Wi-Fi, and not feel like you’re working,” said Jonathan Anderson, fresh off a plane from New York. “It’s my first official trip with Dior, and it’s quite nice to be away from the office.”
It was Tuesday night on the private fourth floor of Dior’s dazzling new Beverly Hills flagship on Rodeo Drive — an art-filled space of mirrored walls and marble floors that opens onto a sweeping terrace where, on a clear day, you can glimpse the “Hollywood” sign.
Here, Anderson and Delphine Arnault, chairman and chief executive officer of Christian Dior Couture, hosted an intimate dinner bringing together Dior’s leading ladies to toast the house’s new Los Angeles era, including Jennifer Lawrence, Charlize Theron, Mikey Madison, Maude Apatow and Taylor Russell — who all wore Dior looks by Anderson, each embodying his fresh take for the house.
“I love coming to L.A.,” Anderson went on. “I wish I could be here more. I would never live here, but I love being a tourist. Palm trees never look better than here. There’s a lower horizon, so there’s no shadows on them. The lighting is amazing. I love early Hollywood films. Sometimes, when I’m in a hotel, I feel like Norma Desmond from ‘Sunset Boulevard,’” he laughed. “Everything is theatrical, which I quite like. Tonight is theatrical.”
It was, as he put it, the meeting of two worlds: his vision finding its place within the storied heritage of the house. “We’re only starting. It’s only the beginning,” he smiled.
Among the first to arrive were “The White Lotus” creator Mike White and UTA’s Dan Constable, chatting as waiters glided by with Ruinart Champagne and trays of delicate onion tarts and nori rolls topped with caviar. Out on the terrace, artist Mark Bradford sat with his husband Allan DiCastro, soon joined by Lauren Sánchez Bezos, who made a beeline for them. Nearby, photographers swirled around Ejae, whose Netflix hit “KPop Demon Hunters” has become a sensation.
Also in the mix were Greta Lee, Tessa Thompson, Odessa A’zion, Gia Coppola and singer-songwriter Sombr, alongside filmmakers and artists. When Derek Blasberg swept in, he joined Bezos with Kylie and Kendall Jenner in reminiscing over Kris Jenner’s 70th birthday on Saturday.
Lawrence took a seat with Lakeith Stanfield and Kasmere Trice — he in denim-on-denim with a tie, she in chocolate brown — one of the few not in black. Apatow also stood out in an embellished short, playful dress and Ejae in a gray, flowing pajama-inspired ensemble.
By the time Charlize Theron arrived, the room was buzzing, and guests began settling in for dinner. Two long tables dressed in Dior tableware stretched in parallel, glowing under warm light.
The menu, created by three-Michelin-starred chef Dominique Crenn from Dior’s own restaurant Monsieur Dior downstairs, was as artful as the setting: caviar with smoked fraiche and egg yolk jam served with mini buckwheat madeleines; dry aged tuna tartare with purple yam chips; violet de mer with beurre blanc and uni béarnaise, and for dessert, citrus panna cotta with passion fruit and apricot.
Before the first course, Arnault stood to toast.
“I want to thank you all for being here, the new shop in L.A.,” she said, shouting out American architect Peter Marino — and the four years it took to bring the store to life.
For Anderson, it was a quick trip to L.A. He was leaving the next day: “From here, I go back to London and then I go to Paris and then I go to Doha and then I go to China. I’m on tour. I’m on tour without any music.”
