Nylon Nights
NYLON Party Report Card: Inside A Foot-Themed Party At The Russian And Turkish Baths
Tombolo celebrated their new collection, shoes discouraged.
Welcome to NYLON’s Party Report Card, where we give you the Who, What, Where, Why, and When on this week’s hottest parties — plus all the gossip you missed. It’s the inside scoop you need to feel like you were on the invite list. Sorry in advance for the FOMO.
WHAT: A bathhouse party, shoes discouraged
WHEN: Thursday, Dec. 7
WHO: Lachlan Watson, Arianna Margulis, Del Water Gap, Matt Weinberger, and Allyson Camitta
WHERE: Russian and Turkish Baths in the East Village
WHY: To celebrate Tombolo’s new collection, inspired by the work of Pop Art artist Tom Wesselmann
THE VIBE:
“Who’s ready to lick some toes?!” one of the women at the door yelled as my friends and I ascended the steps. I immediately regretted not getting a pedicure.
The Tombolo x Tom Wesselmann Estate event wasn’t not billed as a foot-fetish party — the invitation prominently featured an illustration of two red-polished feet and the line “Put your best foot forward...” But while it wasn’t immediately clear whether we’d be bathing or just touching toes, upon arrival, we were handed slippers from the collab to fit the “shoes discouraged” dress code.
The foot-fetish gimmick didn’t let up: In the bathhouse area, performers tickled one another’s toes with feathers, while a woman laid on the side of the cold pool with her legs in the air. Upstairs, an eerily realistic-looking prosthetic foot was passed on a silver tray — guests could pay to tickle it with a feather in exchange for a donation to CityArts, an organization that engages kids with professional artists.
Camp, for sure, but the party achieved a level of panache reminiscent of club Bed, as famously seen on Sex and the City, without any of the expected fashion-party unfriendliness — this was one of the most genuinely fun parties I’ve ever attended. Guests actually gabbed in the steam room, and there’s something weirdly democratizing about being forced to wear matching terrycloth white slippers. It was a rare gathering that felt like you could actually feet people — I mean, meet people.
BEST DRESSED: The bartenders, who wore shoes, but also wore shirts from the collection.
OVERHEARD: “I feel like I’m in Love Is Blind.”
