Alexandre Birman and Caroline Constas Kick-Off Fashion Week With an Intimate Uptown Soiree

Oftentimes, the best fashion week events are the ones that are more of a whisper than they are a shout. Such was the case on the Upper East Side’s Fasano Club yesterday, where designers Alexandre Birman and Caroline Constas hosted an intimate soiree filled with close editors, stylists, and tastemakers to kick off fashion week.

 Within the cozy space designed by Thierry W. Despont, the event was reminiscent of, say, a (fashion) family reunion. Fasano has a special place in my heart,” Birman tells Vogue. “Their level of design through Thierry Despont’s involvement, hospitality, and privacy speaks to us as two Brazilian companies that have made a splash in the US. We are so happy to host in their iconic Fifth Avenue property.”

Editors wearing preppy plaid skirts and tulle red dresses spoke of their summer travels across the Atlantic. Some confessed that they stayed stateside, relying on the Long Island Rail Road to get them to their summer escapes out East. Stylists in freshly starched shirts and designers in silk spoke of summer romances both gained and lost. Models, wearing pieces from both Constas’ Fall collection and Birman’s posed for photos against the plush velvet curtains. There was statement jewelry dipped in gold on slender necks and polished pearls dangling from earlobes. 

It was important that our first NYFW event be intimate and personable,” Constas tells Vogue. “What a whirlwind the last few years have been. It feels very much like we are stepping into a new chapter, a new phase of life, one which holds endless exciting opportunities. I think everyone wanted to come together and celebrate that.” 

While many attendees spoke of different subjects, there seemed to be one unifying truth: the long, event-filled evening following. Attendees fueled up in the way folks uptown do best: with ceaseless flowing amounts of wine and tasteful hor d’ourves with light jazz humming in the background. Attending the soiree was certainly a chic calm before the storm to come. And all the while, photographs of past Upper East Side socialites watched on the lounge’s main wall in approval.