“She’s so stunning,” one partygoer sighed on Monday night. “So regal,” another concurred before putting a canapé into her mouth. Most eyes were on Princess Charlene of Monaco, looking consummately chic in an alabaster jumpsuit, on the second floor of the Ralph Lauren women’s flagship store where a post-screening Champagne reception was being held.
Earlier in the evening, a mix of editors, models and socials turned up to MoMA for the Ralph Lauren-sponsored viewing of Hitchcock’s “To Catch a Thief,” the event acting as an unofficial prelude to a string of New York appearances for the Princess. The Cary Grant-Grace Kelly classic was screened to pay tribute to the Princess Grace Foundation, an organization Prince Rainier of Monaco founded in his wife’s name that helps emerging artists in film, theater and dance.
Princess Charlene was squired into the theater by Ralph and Ricky Lauren. Inside, Chanel Iman, Zani Gugelmann, Bruce Weber, Toni Collette, Fabiola Beracasa, Laure Heriard Dubreuil and Julie Macklowe were nestling into their seats. Afterward, moviegoers were shuttled over to the Madison Avenue store for some post-movie cocktails and bites. Guests streamed into the store, made all the more inviting for the occasion courtesy of innumerable votives scattered throughout the space and a fleet of smiley greeters at the door.
“I’ve seen it so many times, but I’m never tired of it,” Linda Fargo said of the film. “She’s so great in it because she’s so strong in it,” she continued, of Grace Kelly’s performance, before plucking up a mini chicken potpie from a nearby tray. “OK, this is dinner,” she said.
Upstairs, Dylan McDermott chatted up a trio of models while Lauren Remington Platt posed for photographers nearby. “It’s one of my favorite movies,” Platt said after the flashbulbs crackled. “Grace Kelly was just so beautiful. She really knew the way to make a bob chic.”
Princess Charlene, pulling off the bob do with equal aplomb, commanded attention in the next room. “This was the first time I’ve ever seen the movie. Can you believe it?” she enthused.
“What stuck out to me the most was the Côte d’Azur. My country has changed so much.”