We joined the likes of Chloe Wise, Cleo Wade, Ben Bronfman, and many more for the VIP launch of Maison St-Germain, designed by Lily Kwong at the High Line.
When will “Lily Kwong can do no wrong?” become a thing people say? The name might not be household yet, but in the many circles she functions in, Lily Kwong is nothing short of a legend. Her interests bounce around urban design, fashion, modeling, and business and she’s a woman of exceptional taste with a comprehensive eye. For her latest effort, it’s all about landscape. St-Germain, the elderflower-based liqueur brand, tapped Kwong to assemble a French garden at the narrow, elevated High Line Park in Chelsea.
What actually came to fruition? A remarkable and sprawling “Labrynth” of special proportion and considerable detail: several hundred feet of privet hedge and elderflowers, weave their way past carts serving Maison St-Germain cocktails (including one designed by Kwong herself), passed vintage French furnishings- delicate gilt wood tables, overstuffed Louis XV sofas, even tattered rugs- a full-sized bar featuring bartenders and plenty of passed hors d’oeuvres which gracefully transitioned from caviar and creme to chocolate and lollipops as well as cocktails designed by Ambassador Camille Ralph Vidal.
Mia Moretti spun a groovy set through the night, punctuated by performances by artistic director Mafalda Millies and choreographer Nathan Mitchell, who teamed up to present the The-Solar-Do-Nothing-Dance which keenly honored the early days of solar electricity on the longest day of the year.
We found ourselves lounging around the sofas and snapping 180-degree photos while watching guests like Jenné Lombardo and artist Cleo Wade dance to the music, Ben Bronfman joke with Mia behind the DJ booth, Timo Weiland chat under a wall of foliage (not to forget the many hanging from the ceiling), Sabine Heller have a walk through the 13,000 elderflowers and more. It was models and artists galore, too: Chloe Wise , Martha Hunt, Jacquelyn Jablonski, Georgia Fowler, Britt Maren, Mariah Strongin, Aurora James, Browne Andrews, Garrett Neff, and so many more.
Following the VIP opening, the installation will be up for select consumers today, then the florals and foliage are donated to non-profit organization, Roots of Peace, which is led by model-turned philanthropist Kyleigh Kuhn. We snagged a few loose roses for ourselves; a keepsake from the magical French garden of Lily Kwong and Maison St-Germain!
