Chanel Celebrates New Fragrance at NYFW Party in NYC — SkimNews
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- Chanel hosted the NYFW launch party for its new Coco Mademoiselle Crush Absolu fragrance on Thursday night at Balthazar in SoHo, with attendees walking a carpet shielded from the street by deep-red streeteries.
- Balu Brigada performed a live set at the event, as guests including "Sterling Point" stars Ella Rubin, Keen Ruffalo and Amélie Hoeferle, "The Shards" actors Igby Rigney and Hayes Warner, and "SNL" cast members Sarah Sherman, Marcello Hernandez and Veronica Slowikowska rocked out in Chanel attire.
- Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast, in the final days of her pregnancy, carried her late mother's decades-old black quilted Chanel bag, telling Variety: "I knew it meant so much to her, so whenever I carry her purse, it feels really meaningful to me."
- Paige DeSorbo showed off a new metallic lambskin Chanel handbag she picked up at the Venice Film Festival earlier that week, musing: "I walked by Chanel and this was in the window, and I said, 'No one can have this but me!'"
- The restaurant's downstairs was transformed into a clandestine party space with a deep-maroon couch beneath Chanel signage and a backlit alcove featuring a vintage rotary phone, while the mirrored bathroom was stocked with Chanel beauty products for mirror selfies.
- Guests were served cheeseburgers, salmon crudo, shrimp cocktail, and an endless stream of white wine and champagne, with pavlova, chocolate mousse and mini profiteroles served later — and croissants and éclairs packed to-go, because "it's 2026 and models eat carbs."
- Adam Friedland appeared as a surprise guest without a Chanel accessory, deadpanning: "They just told me to come here. I don't know what I'm doing. What is this event? I thought it was a runway."
Why it matters: Chanel timed its Crush Absolu fragrance debut to coincide with New York Fashion Week's celebrity gravitational pull, generating buzz among a curated mix of Hollywood breakout talent and cultural figures. The choice of Balthazar — a restaurant, not a runway — signals Chanel's ongoing bet on intimate, experiential marketing over traditional fashion-show spectacle. Sentimental accessories worn by Zauner and Sherman gave the event earned-media storytelling beyond product placement.
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