On the official eve of New York Style Week on Thursday night, a blinding group descended on Soho to toast Maria Cornejo and her model Zero + Maria Cornejo. Robin Standefer, co-founder of Roman and William, performed hostess to the revelry at  La Mercerie.

The celebration started within the new Guild Bar. There, Cornejo’s buddies and muses—together with mannequin Paloma Elsesser, designer Jenna Lyons, and Vogue’s Nicole Phelps—mingled and sipped cocktails served in glasses handmade by artists represented by RW Guild.

Downstairs, the town’s chaos disappeared as company had been transported by La Mercerie’s lavish non-public eating room: a navy cocoon wrapped in chinoiserie wallpaper and appointed with dazzling objet d’artwork.

All through the evening, company referred to Cornejo in lots of toasts as “authentic downtown lady.” Whereas that’s true, the designer’s life was formed by the forces of historical past and globalization. As a toddler, she fled Chile to flee Augusto Pinochet’s violent dictatorship and spent her teenagers in the UK. Her profession took her to Paris and finally to New York. In 1998, Zero opened on Mott Road. 25 years later, the model (renamed Zero + Maria Cornejo) stays a heavy hitter within the style world.

Laughter, gossip, and reminiscences crammed the intimate dinner.  Cornejo’s heat and ease set the tone. Various in age and trade, her attendees mirrored the essence of the Cornejo lady. Actress and fellow New York icon Marisa Tomei shined in a blue jumpsuit. Photographer Francesca Sorrenti sported black velvet.

The French feast that adopted—filet de boeuf au poivre, halibut au beurre blanc, and poulet fermier croustillant—defied any assumptions in regards to the mild fare so typically served at style week fetes. Lavish shows of charcuterie and oysters on ice coated the desk, embellished with bouquets of tulips and tapered candles.

The night served as a fantastic kick-off to per week devoted to design, innovation, and class—all attributes personified by Cornejo.