Driving logistics are everything in Los Angeles. Alexandra von Furstenberg celebrated the opening of her new Robertson Boulevard store on Thursday night with cocktails in the bright white space, followed by a small dinner a few doors away at old-school Italian eatery Il Piccolino. As guests including Monique Lhuillier, who’s headed to Doha for a fashion show; Minnie Mortimer; Crystal Lourd; Laurie Feltheimer, who’s bringing her Hot in Hollywood collection to QVC from HSN; Jacqui, Rosetta and Balthazar Getty; Nate Berkus, and Olivier de Givenchy walked up the street, von Furstenberg said, “We thought about doing a dinner at our [her and husband Dax Miller’s] house, but then people would have to get back in their cars, and nobody wants to do that.”
Indeed, the low-key restaurant, hidden behind an ivy-covered corner wall, was an ideal place for her friends and family — ex-husband Alexander von Furstenberg was also present, and their daughter Talita made an early appearance — to gather for a carb- and dessert-filled four-course meal. And they weren’t the only ones who liked the discreet location. Taylor Swift and Alana Haim also enjoyed dinner in the front room, apparently carb-loading before hitting Gigi Hadid’s 21st birthday at another Italian joint, The Nice Guy, in Hollywood.
Swift’s small party kept to themselves, but did cause several heads to turn when they got up to go to the powder room. Designer Mary Alice Haney, sitting at von Furstenberg’s table, spotted the pop star wearing another one of her leg-baring Haney dresses — she donned the first one at the GLAAD Awards last month — and jumped up to go introduce herself. When she returned to the table, she got a mini round of applause. “I went up to her and said, ‘You’re wearing my dress!’ related Haney. ‘And she said, ‘Well, they keep sending them to me.’”