While the fashion flock was busy traipsing around Paris, Sunday in New York was all about the next generation of royalty. Or more accurately, fictional royalty as the Cinema Society and Stuart Weitzman hosted a screening of Disney’s Cinderella at the Tribeca Grand Hotel. Inside, the nighttime hot spot Paul's Baby Grand was transformed into a veritable palace, where guests including Patti Smith, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Lee Daniels joined chic moms Jill Kargman, Kathryn Neale, and Carolyn Murphy at a tea party and nibbled on sugary, sweet confections. Everyone swooned when Scottish actor Richard Madden entered dressed like a Manhattan version of Prince Charming in an Aquascutum coat, John Smedley turtleneck, Acne Studios trousers, and Christian Louboutin shoes. So now that the young actor has played the world's most famous prince, what else is there left to do? "I'd love to be Aladdin," joked Madden. "He finds himself in a crazy world."
But what about Cinderella herself? Has she had her fairy-tale moment yet? "I feel like I'm having it right now getting to wear all these amazing clothes," said Lily James. She looked every part the posh princess in a Dolce & Gabbana skirt suit with a rose motif, no doubt a subtle reminder to the namesake character she plays on Downton Abbey. Having played Cinderella, are there any other childhood favorites she hopes to play on the big screen? "I want to play them all!" exclaimed James before slipping into the screening. But perhaps the most important element of the story is the glass slipper that Swarovski created for the film. However, shoe maven Stuart Weitzman, one of the day's cohosts, knows a thing or two about a dazzling shoe and contributed to a capsule collection in celebration of the film. "The most romantic shoe is the the shoe that sets her heart thumping," mused Weitzman. "Generally, it's sexy, it's high, and it's versatile. You want to wear it with more than one outfit." And, most likely, before and after midnight.
