FASHION FRAT PARTY AT STELLA MCCARTNEY

I walked into Stella McCartney's autumn 2014 presentation feeling a little intimidated. It was held at the Harold Pratt House, the stately home of the Council on Foreign Relations, on the Upper East Side. I felt underdressed and uncool as I sidled past Maggie Gyllenhaal and Liv Tyler who were sipping on flutes of champagne. I left, an hour later, slightly doused in champagne, with a big grin on my face.

 Here's what happened in between.

Stella McCartney's presentations have always got a bit of whimsy about them. This one had a lot: enough sugary treats to rot holes in even the most well attended pearly whites (including giant marzipan cakes made to look like Stella McCartney bags and a chocolate fountain), hopscotch, tricked out Mini Coopers for models to play bumper cars in, and a whiplash-inducing guest list. There was Patti Smith in one corner, Alec Baldwin in another, Susan Sarandon coming down the stairs, the Seinfelds, Parker Posey, Blythe Danner, and more. 

Thankfully none of the aforementioned bold faced names happened to be upstairs in the converted bumper cars room, where models clad in McCartney's stellar (and obviously comfortable) pre-fall collection packed two and three to a car, gleefully smashed into each other, nearly missing many guests who proved surprisingly nimble in their stilettos. I was not one of the nimble ones and got in between Hanne Gaby Odiele, still holding her champagne flute from behind the wheel, and a table holding some oversized Stella bags and a few bottles of champagne. Down went the bags and the bottles, and I got a nice misting of champagne.