Chanel and Charles Finch have turned the night before the Oscars into one of the most anticipated of all awards season nights, thanks to their pre-Oscar dinner. Held at the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel, the annual affair — now in its 16th year — drew a mix of film stars, fashion folk, artists — and Jeff Bezos — out for a night of mingling.
Several of this year’s Oscar nominees came out, including Demi Moore (in Chanel shorts), Adrien Brody, Fernanda Torres, Ralph Fiennes, Colman Domingo, Felicity Jones, Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong.
Chanel mainstays Lily-Rose Depp, Riley Keough, Phoebe Tonkin, Ava DuVernay and H.E.R. were in attendance, as were Mick Jagger, Lupita Nyong’o, Danielle Deadwyler, Elle Fanning, Dakota Fanning, Kim Kardashian, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Patrick Dempsey, Maude Apatow, Willem Dafoe, Molly Gordon, Rita Ora, Gayle King, Michael Keaton, Natasha Lyonne, Olivia Munn, John Mulaney, Olivia Wilde, Zoey Deutch and many more.
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The courtyard outside the Polo Lounge was lit with heat lamps and scattered with waiters bearing trays of skinny margaritas, as well as red and white wine. Fiennes was the first to arrive, in a crisp navy suit, and was somewhat charmingly handed a black wristband, which he gamely slipped on before heading to the bar.
“Do I look cute?” Odessa Young asked a photographer as she tried a few poses.
Keough, dressed in a feathery white Chanel mini, was momentarily stumped when asked to describe the dress in one word.
“It’s great, it’s a great look,” Felicity Jones offered as she walked by.
The Fanning sisters caught up with King as they waited for their moment on the carpet, each in a caped dress look.
“Always a treat, never a chore,” Lyonne quipped as she adjusted her leather jacket around her red curls before hopping in front of the cameras. She posed with boyfriend Bryn Mooser as Regé-Jean Page began his turn for photos.
“They’re both my boyfriend,” she said, motioning between the two.
Mulaney looked on from afar while Munn posed for photos.
“Oh good, the only two troublemakers in Hollywood,” Lyonne said as soon as she spotted them.
Maude and Judd Apatow had a father-daughter moment, with Maude attempting to give Judd some guidance on how to button his jacket for photos.
At an event filled with people accustomed to seeing the most famous of the famous, the arrival of Jagger still managed to cause a commotion. The legendary musician indulged the crowd for some photos before giving a little wave and heading off into the room with girlfriend Melanie Hamrick in tow.
Kardashian, new to the Chanel party circuit, walked the step-and-repeat twice, so as to give her Claudia Schiffer-inspired hairstyle and archival look their proper due. Jeff Goldblum had a Chanel fashion moment in an oversize blazer and a lapel-full of camellias, while Miguel opted for tweed and a Chanel western ribbon tie.
Toward the tail end of the cocktail hour, Finch gathered everyone’s attention in the garden by standing atop a ledge and addressing the crowd.
“It is a difficult time, as you know, I’m prohibited [from] making long political speeches,” Finch said, before moving into safer territory.
“It’s not about that tonight. It is about the greater movies that happen here and the great people that are here tonight. We have nominees, we have amazing filmmakers. The party started really many years ago, 30 years ago, when you were all children. And it was a night where we welcomed really independent filmmakers to come and have free food,” he said. “Nothing has changed. My passion for cinema remains the same.”
After cheers-ing (and one final pointed remark from the host: “We will not give into tyranny”), it was time to find seats — and Finch took a fork to a plate to corral people as such.
“I didn’t see you at Diane von Furstenberg,” a gentleman said by way of greeting to another guest.
“I don’t go to day events,” came the reply.
“Are you here?” Elle Fanning asked Depp as she and Dakota slid over into their booth to make room for her.
Those who skipped the cameras popped up at tables inside the restaurant: Al Pacino and his much-younger companion, who waved off photographers on the actor’s behalf; Stan and his girlfriend Annabelle Wallis were late arrivals, and lingered outside deep in conversation with Dan Stevens; Leonardo DiCaprio materialized, black baseball hat on, taking a seat at a round table in the back, which he requested. The only pictures he took were for Brody’s mother, who snapped a few of her son and DiCaprio on her iPhone.
