A look inside the Cartier’s Trinity 100 Soiree at Hotel Chelsea.
On February 1, Cartier celebrated the 100th anniversary of its Trinity ring — a distinctive three-band swirl-like design — alongside guests including actress and activist Yara Shahidi, model Yan Yan Chan, and entrepreneur Beverly Nguyen, who was wearing not one but two gold Panthère watches.
“I feel more present,” said Shahidi, Cartier’s esteemed ambassador, who was wearing a red Fendi couture look and a gleaming variety of Cartier jewels and who brought her mom, Keri Shahidi, as a guest. She was referring to the fact that she graduated from Harvard in 2022 with an interdisciplinary sociology and Black American studies degree. “Brands can leverage the access they have, the resources they have, and Cartier does such a wonderful job.” She looked at her mother across from her, “It’s hard to want for more when you see what’s happening — I wish everyone in the world could feel the ease that I feel.”
This dinner was a kickoff for a three-event series celebrating Trinity100. The other two soirees will be in Paris and London.
For more details on the dinner, read below, where I’ve ranked everything from clothes to conversation on a scale of one-to-ten timepieces.
Celebrity Esteem:
This was an intimate event, with less than 50 people in the room. Influencer Christina Grasso exchanged hugs with model and creator Deon Hinton, and journalist Samira Nasr chuckled alongside Architectural Digest editor-in-chief Amy Astley. Other notable guests included Beverly Nguyen, Tanner Reese, Alexander-Julian Gibbson, Schanel Bakkouche, Jill Newman, Lynn Yaeger, Dora Fung Asad Syrkett, Margaret Zhang, Karla Martínez, Kareem Samy, Blanca Miró, and more. 9 timepieces.
Vibes:
The event was held at Hotel Chelsea, the bohemian sanctuary that once housed Patti Smith, Bob Dylan, and Arthur Miller (described by the New York Times as a “roof for creative heads”). The hotel recently underwent a renovation completed last year and has since been a fashion favorite. “It’s giving Bridgerton in here,” Nguyen said of the Regency Era instrumentals welcoming guests into a room adorned with faded floral wallpaper and gold hardware. 10 timepieces.
Clothes:
Nguyen stood out with a pleated, draped cherry-red Balenciaga dress — one that garnered a slew of compliments upon her entrance. Devan Wallace, Cartier’s director of public relations, also opted for color with a ruffle-sleeved Christopher John Rogers blouse. Grasso wore a tailored Wardrobe.NYC coat, and creative director Alexander Roth wore a loose black blazer atop a lived-in white tee shirt. The mood was light but the wardrobes were stark. 8.5 timepieces.
Food:
This wasn’t one of those fashion parties where food was scarce — trays of fresh oysters, caviar bites, and cheese-filled puffs made their way around the room for cocktail hour. During dinner, seasonal crudités and mini ravioli were ideal appetizers before slivers of bone-in rib eye and market fish were served. Despite dark-chocolate ice cream being available at the end of the evening, the most coos and excitement happened when the french fries were served. “Oh my God, just pour a bucket of these on me,” one guest exclaimed, while another asked no one in particular as they added more to their plate, “Oh, these are good. These are really good, right?” 9 timepieces.
Conversation:
Yara Shahidi wasn’t the only guest pondering the state of the world. I sat across from a very chic influencer from Barcelona, who was concerned about the lack of care for new mothers and fathers in the United States. Beside me, conversations were ongoing about the media industry, upcoming elections, and work-life balance — and on the other side, chatter about layering stacks of Trinity rings, the death of personal style, and hectic Fashion Week schedules that overlap with friends’ birthday parties. The group continued their chats outside the hotel with (of course) slender Tobacco Jet Vogue cigarettes. 10 timepieces.
Music:
The music was instrumental and quiet, not a big part of the evening. Instead, laughter and excitable screeches filled the room. 6 timepieces.
