Caviar, Cold Vodka, & Carey Mulligan: Inside Chanel's Fine Jewelry Dinner

“What are you all drinking? Vodka?” Gracie Abrams asked a packed crowd on the evening of Feb. 7. “Whiskey!” shouted a rapt fan, positioned right at the front of the stage. “Jealous,” Abrams said back, before launching into her song “I Know It Won’t Work.”

It’s the kind of banter you’d expect from the on-the-road artist, but this was no regular gig. Instead of a sold-out stadium, Abrams was in the basement of the former Abercrombie & Fitch store on Fifth Avenue, performing an intimate solo set. The rapt fan was Sadie Sink, decked out in full Chanel and a neck of diamonds. “Everyone looks so hot,” Abrams remarked at one point.

The performance was just the cherry on top of a starry night to celebrate the opening of Chanel’s Watches and Fine Jewelry flagship boutique. The evening had actually kicked off nearly five hours earlier, with a cocktail reception at the new store. “This is a really impressive crowd,” a fellow editor noted to no one in particular — high praise, especially on the eve of New York Fashion Week. But, yeah, it was. Among the guests spotted milling around the two-story store: Seth Meyers, who made a beeline to greet former Late Night guest Cazzie David; Carey Mulligan catching up with fellow Oscar nominee America Ferrera; Phoebe Tonkin debuting new micro bangs; former It Girls Chase Sui Wonders and Molly Gordon in matching hair bows; even more NYLON It Girls in Abrams, Victoria Pedretti, and Francesca Scorsese; Kerry Washington, Rose Byrne, Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen, Michelle Williams, and so on and so on.

Around 7:30 p.m., everyone began to migrate over to the dinner location, just two doors down from the store. Inside, guests were met with an array of drink trays offering up Champagne and old fashioneds (Katie Holmes sidled up to the bar to request a glass of white wine; there were also plenty of martinis being ordered). The dinner itself was also on par with the glamor of the guest list: fresh oysters, a baked potato topped with caviar, and poached lobster. Between the oyster and caviar course, waiters came around to offer shots of vodka. “Don’t worry, they’re cold,” one reassured my hesitant seat-mate (she eventually caved). By the time Beverly Nguyen started crafting ice-cream sundaes, it was nearly 10:30 p.m., but there was no need to start planning the afters: Chanel had that covered. So it was to the basement, for the nightcap of Abrams and her piano — and some more vodka.