While much of the industry is currently battling a Parisian heatwave during the Men’s Fashion Week shows, the house of Balmain set its focus on hosting an intimate, family-style dinner in New York City coolest restaurant.
On Wednesday evening, guests gathered in the heart of downtown at Bridges—a buzzy eatery at the intersection of the Lower East Side and Chinatown—to raise a glass to Balmain’s new creative director Antonin Tron and his debut collection which walked the runway in March.
A crowd, including Indya Moore, Britt Lower, Hari Nef, Natasha Lyonne, and Tramell Tillman, were dressed in looks from the designer’s Fall 2026 offering as they entered through the nondescript doors of the Michelin-starred restaurant (which only bears the number ‘9’ for its street number). They were greeted by chilled glasses of rosé and Acqua Panna (while Manhattan isn’t Paris-level-hot, it’s still scorching) as they settled into mahogany leather banquets.
Nef and Moore were busy trading stories next to a bar which was serving up Amaro Negronis and pineapple margaritas for the room. “I really loved Antonin’s independent brand Atlein and have always been a fan of his craftsmanship. So I’m excited to help roll out the red carpet for him and Balmain tonight,” Moore told Vogue. Nef agreed: “I met Antonin three years ago on Fire Island, and we clicked instantly. I’m so happy that he chose Bridges—it is a super chic and cool place to celebrate his latest accomplishment.”
After enjoying hors d’oeuvres—including the fan favorite single-bite cured tuna with dates, which went down a treat with Vogue’s own Nicole Phelps and Virginia Smith—it was time for the dinner party to get underway.
For the occasion, the dining room had been transformed, with one long table draped in white linen and laden with hurricane candles. The menu that awaited incorporated the restaurant’s best-known hits, including Comté tarts with morel mushrooms, steamed halibut, and roasted duck. “I’ve been working so hard and hammering away at several different projects, so it’s good to come up for air and enjoy good food and good company,” said Severance star Tillman.
Between rotating pours of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, more dishes arrived—stone fruit salad and steamed rice with snow peas as vegan options, while a sumptuous dessert of warm hazelnut tart with rhubarb and chamomile rounded out the evening. Tillman’s co-star Lower, who arrived fresh from a taping of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, was dressed in the collection’s sharp cigarette pants paired with a silk tie top with sculpted shoulders. “Tonight has been beautiful, and this is such a chic dinner with lovely conversations,” the actress said. “It’s always fun to see, hear, and experience what a designer’s vision is for a legacy house, and this gathering of people with Antonin and Balmain is really exciting,” agreed Vogue’s fashion market director Naomi Elizée Blue.
Tron’s decision to toast Balmain away from its home base in Paris for the night hit the right note. “The goal was to couple the brand with the idea of the New York woman. All the different women here tonight really reflect the many levels and layers of both this city and Balmain. The response to the collection has been good, and celebrating here just feels right.”