Hollywood With Nicole Kidman, Kendall Jenner, More

After every crew member, model and actor moonlighting as a model disappeared inside Stage 18 on the Paramount Pictures lot to close Vogue World: Hollywood on Sunday, Kathryn Hahn got out of her seat and tried to wrap her head around the right words to describe what she and 400 others had just experienced during a 45-minute show.

“I am so overwhelmed,” said the actress, in a sleeveless wine-colored Lanvin that wouldn’t have been out of place on the concrete runway she was standing on. “Going to my first fitting with the costume design team always feels like Christmas morning. It’s when the magic happens. To be here witnessing so much beauty, so much history and so much reverence for filmmaking, fashion and costume design is so moving. I just feel so charged by this evening.”

Hahn nailed it: As Los Angeles events go, this was by far one of the more electric as Anna Wintour and her Condé Nast comrades brought their Vogue World franchise to Hollywood after previous iterations in New York, London and Paris. A-list guests were everywhere, and it helped that the intimate affair was free of entourages, plus-ones and the typical crush of most industry events. Miley Cyrus was seated 30 minutes before showtime. BTS member V posed for photos in front of a Starbucks pop-up, one of several corporate sponsors who supported the show along with eBay. Dakota Johnson caught up with Demi Lovato. Tracee Ellis Ross turned heads in a blonde wig and an oversized trench. Machine Gun Kelly held court with Taika Waititi and Rita Ora. Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz-Beckham traded content on their phones. Jennifer Connelly kept close to Nicolas Ghesquiere. CAA’s Bryan Lourd, in a blue velvet tuxedo, stopped by Wintour’s seat to offer congratulations before Governor Gavin Newsom took his seat next to her with Casey Wasserman not far away.

Vogue World launched as a mission-driven live event, and it’s always been a mouthful to describe. Wintour once said it best: “Vogue World is a party, a runway show and a cultural happening all rolled into one.” Plans had been in the works to bring it to L.A. since last fall to help revitalize the industry in the wake of labor strikes. Catastrophe struck again with January’s wildfires so they pivoted to make it a benefit for costume designers that lost homes. (At a March event at Chateau Marmont at which insiders revealed the first wave of details, Oscar winning costume designer Colleen Atwood brought her charred Oscar, a devastating symbol of what was lost.)

“Mixing fashion and the arts and culture in the center of a city, and by raising funds for a vital cause, Vogue World has become a runway show as a rallying cry, a way to fix the attention of a huge global audience, to bring awareness and sound and unmistakable notes of positivity, creativity and hope,” Wintour explained earlier this year. Sunday night’s show raised an impressive $4.5 million that will benefit the Entertainment Community Fund.

While the funds are necessary, Hollywood desperately needed the fun. Between cutbacks, layoffs, consolidation and an ongoing production exodus, the blows have felt constant. Having the chance to sit back, relax and enjoy a show, especially one mounted on the iconic Paramount lot (change in ownership and momentary layoffs aside), delivered welcome good vibes.

“Often, everyone feels so anxious and self-conscious when they’re at any industry event, and this was an event where everyone was smiling, people were dancing, people were laughing, everyone was having a great time together,” explained Jay Shetty to The Hollywood Reporter. “It felt like a celebration of the arts, a celebration of film, a celebration of costume design and a little drama. I had the best night.”

Same for Demi Lovato. “I don’t even know how to describe it. I was dancing, I was cheering on the models, cheering on the artists,” she said name checking the night’s performers Gracie Abrams and Doja Cat. “They absolutely smashed it and I had the best time. I grew up on sound stages, so it felt like coming home for me. To bring fashion into it was so inspiring and creative.”

Vogue World: Hollywood was separated into seven acts with each act defined by a collaboration between a costume designer and a creative director from a top fashion house, and each one infused by a surprising showing of movie stars and major models. Costume designer Catherine Martin and Miuccia Prada teamed for “Act 1: Hollywood Glamour” to honor Hollywood’s Golden Age; “Act 2: The Renegades” paired Colleen Atwood and McQueen’s Seán McGirr; “Act 3: Historical Heroines” brought together Milena Canonero and Louis Vuitton’s Nicolas Ghesquière; “Act 4: Summer of Love” featured costume designer Arianne Phillips and Marc Jacobs; “Act 5: Avant-Garde” married costume designer Sandy Powell and Valentino’s Alessandro Michele; “Act 6: Afrofuturism” paired Ruth E. Carter and Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing; and “Act 7: New World” brought together costume designer Jacqueline West with Alaïa’s Pieter Mulier.

The cast didn’t just walk, they worked the runway as they were often flanked by production crew members, carrying props, costume racks and other pieces that added to the feel of it being a working set. Julia Garner, in an ensemble from Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, lit up the runway with a gleeful sprint. Anok Yai captivated as Edward Scissorhands. Hunter Schafer ate an apple while wearing an original costume from Sally Potter’s Orlando. Teyana Taylor and Danai Gurira drew cheers and wild applause in original looks from Black Panther, complete with weapons and a slew of backup dancers, before making way for Angela Bassett who brought guest Brian Tyree Henry to his feet.

“Such an undertaking and a lot of work,” said Black Panther Oscar winning costume designer and Vogue World participant Carter. “But tell me first of all, the electricity tonight was on another level. And the support! The support we got was unbelievable. I was especially excited to see the crew intermingling with these beautiful costumes as they went down the runway. It was a real snapshot of what it’s like to be on a movie set. It was so glamorous — Hollywood glamour at its best.”

Speaking of work, the show’s movement director Stephen Galloway, who just launched his own agency to support the art form, said they rehearsed the show for three days. “It was all evolving with changing looks, different passages, new additions. It felt like live TV for three straight days,” he said in a post-show glow. “I’m a huge lover of film and a huge lover of fashion so it was this incredible mirage of mixing these two things we love so much. I really wanted to figure out a way to make actors, who are on the runway not necessarily in a specific role, to feel as fabulous as they could be and help the models feel like they were in the film world.”

Some, like Nicole Kidman, looked right at home doing both. The Oscar winner was tasked with opening the show with her longtime friend and Moulin Rouge! collaborator Baz Luhrmann. “Reverse tracking, reverse tracking. Keep the focus!” Luhrmann yelled out as Kidman emerged from behind a white screen. As she took direction — “She rejects. She sees her future, hold the thought” — Kidman paused in the middle of the runway until Luhrmann yelled “cut!”

He then turned his attention to the audience by saying, “We’re paying you guys in the front row double time. This is not a normal fashion parade. Energy, cheering,” he said. “Please give me more!”

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