It girls and boys took over a section of the High Line on June 22 for the latest instalment of a must-do summer happening, a party presented by Coach in support of New York's favourite repurposed urban space. As expected, bright young fans of the brand came out in droves, among them, the next generation of some well-known names. I spotted a Rockefeller (by marriage) Indré Rockefeller, and the grandson of photographer Richard Avedon, Michael Avedon, a young gent who, like granddad, is making a name for himself behind the camera. Also in attendance was Riley Keough, a striking model/actress who is the eldest granddaughter of Elvis Presley.
It wouldn't be a New York happening without at least one heiress. While the scion of a railway fortune would have been fitting – the High Line, after all, was built atop a railway spur – a firearms heiress would have to suffice: Lauren Remington Platt, founder of glam-on-the-go service Vênsette, is the great-great-great granddaughter of the founder of the Remington Arms Company, Eliphalet Remington.
The party was hosted on the Diller-Von Furstenberg Sundeck and under the Chelsea Market Passage. As is tradition, the festivities were underwritten by fashion label Coach, a generous move that allows 100 per cent of the event proceeds to benefit Friends of the High Line – the organization raises 98 per cent of the annual budget to support the operation of the park in the sky.
Rexy, a cartoonish tyrannosaurus rex, was a reoccurring figure throughout the evening. The brand's mascot was created by Coach creative director Stuart Vevers, and could be found on buttons pinned to guests' strappy summer dresses, blazoned on garments and boxy leather bags from recent collections, and even as an impressive Instagram-worthy topiary set up near the DJ booth, where Ross One and Sam French kept people grooving throughout the evening.
Magnificent garden walls were erected for the occasion and wove through the covered Chelsea Market Passage. The popular activity among the few hundred in attendance was not taking a selfie with a celeb or noshing on tequila-infused shaved ice, but lining up to create headwear at flower crown stations. Nothing says summer in New York quite like a gaggle of floral-festooned it-kids lollygagging on the High Line on a balmy Big Apple night.
Others out and about included: actress and Coach campaign star Chloë Grace Moretz; singer Meghan Trainor; models Hailey Baldwin (daughter of Stephen), Lottie Moss (sister of Kate) and Luisana Gonzalez, all of whom were dressed by Coach; singer Sophie Auster, daughter of authors Paul Auster and Siri Hustvedt; designer and stylist June Ambrose; event co-chairs Julia Capalino, co-founder and co-CEO of Bloomerent, and Serena and William Marron (kin of investor Donald Marron and Catie Marron, current chairman of the board of directors of Friends of the High Line); urban studies theorist Richard Florida and his wife Rana, CEO of Creative Class Group; and co-founder and executive director of Friends of the High Line Robert Hammond.