At Last Night’s Moda Operandi Cocktail Party, Lauren Santo Domingo Was—Once Again—the Ultimate Hostess

As everything she touches seems to turn to gold, it would seem Lauren Santo Domingo has the Midas touch. But in the case of her just-relaunched e-commerce site, Moda Operandi, the gold had to go. “The color doesn't necessarily translate online, so while it was great in our showrooms, it wasn't really helping us digitally,” she explained of her new Moda Operandi logo—dichotomous in its design.

In a satiny all-black look that evoked hostess pajama dress of the 1940s, Santo Domingo sat on a velvet bench on the ground floor of her Gramercy Park home. Surrounding her was her close-knit, culture-making crew—Mary-Kate Olsen, Sienna Miller, Vogue’s Hamish Bowles, Sara Moonves, Mark Guiducci—who had all gathered on day one of New York Fashion Week.

It only made sense to host the cocktail dînatoire chez Santo Domingo; it’s a study in restrained indulgence, and perhaps there’s nowhere else in Manhattan that does it better. It seemed many guests were familiar with the home, knowingly making their way to the bar—stocked with hand-painted Lobmeyer glassware, but of course—and snaking through the colorfully dressed crowd (in looks seemingly pulled from a Moda trunk show).

From the onset of the party, Sarah Staudinger could be seen floating about in a blue frock a few shades more vibrant than the Yves Klein statue nearby, and Diane von Furstenberg appeared tranquil despite her hectic week ahead. Oscar de la Renta duo Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim arrived together and were later joined by Miller and Poppy Delevingne, who had much to catch up about.

The invitation read “Casual Dinner,” and Santo Domingo had some fun with that interpretation. In lieu of a set table, bites were passed, and eventually—to the delight of all—out came caviar served out of porcelain potato skins. One can have serious taste and not take themselves too seriously after all. It’s this lack of rigidity that Santo Domingo has applied to her site and it’s clearly working. “38 percent of our customers check our site every day,” Santo Domingo said, adding, “We’re treating Moda the same way we would treat breaking fashion news; we’re not waiting till the end of Fashion Week to distill trends.”

So what’s next for the LSD? A dinner with Brock, an event at the Toronto Film Festival, and then off to London for an event timed to Frieze. Seems she’s a hostess with the mostest in every which way.