Prada Took Over Katz’s Deli for Pastrami Sandwiches, Caviar, and Dancing

Reported by Vogue.

Katz's Deli has shuttered its doors to the public only a handful of times since 1888. Wednesday night was one of them — and instead of hungry tourists crowding the Lower East Side institution's formica tables, the room was full of Prada. Literally: the windows had been papered in silver, the menu had been surgically reimagined, and the guest list read like a fever dream of prestige TV and downtown cool. Prada Mode had arrived in New York.

Now in its 14th edition, according to Vogue, Prada Mode functions as a roving cultural platform — part art salon, part dinner party, part provocation — designed to dissolve the boundary between fashion and everything else: cinema, technology, literature, art. The evening drew Hunter Schafer (acid-green sequins, yellow floral boots), Myha'la, Allison Williams, Molly Gordon, Maya Hawke, Amanda Gorman, and Ziwe, among others. Schafer put it plainly: "Miuccia and Raf are very perceptive and cognizant of the times. They reflect that in really interesting and subversive ways." Cole Escola, resplendent in a trim suit and an architectural bouffant, offered a looser theory of Prada's cross-disciplinary impulse: "All the arts are an orgy."

Two Venues, One Vision

The deli's menu got the full downtown-chef treatment: Sam Lawrence of Chinatown restaurant Bridges served caviar on cucumbers, umami tomatoes rubbed in pastrami spice, and deli sandwiches finished in pepper and cognac sauce. Martinis, palomas, and negronis kept the crowd loose enough that a makeshift dance floor materialized organically — before Grandmaster Flash formalized the moment around 9:30 p.m. and the whole room gave in. (A spontaneous cheer mid-set turned out to be dual-purpose: the Knicks had just beaten the Spurs.)

Earlier in the evening, The Chelsea Hotel hosted a different kind of conversation — a tête-à-tête between director Nicolas Winding Refn, fresh from Cannes, and legendary video game designer Hideo Kojima. The two have built an ongoing collaborative project called Satellites, which is almost poetic given that they share no common language. "Satellites is the essence of the conversation between Hideo and me," Winding Refn said, "one which we'll never have because we don't speak the same language." The Chelsea programming also included musical performances, DJ sets, interactive workshops, and an aperitivo hour, all live-streamed in the style of late-night public broadcasting — with space-age-suited assistants stationed throughout and silver Prada-branded taxis idling outside.

Through the weekend, Prada Mode opens to the public, expanding to the brand's SoHo boutique and a film series at the Angelika Theatre — because the best fashion statements aren't just worn, they're walked into.

Read the original at Vogue.