West Chelsea saw a true fashion pilgrimage last night as figures like Tory Burch, Marina Muñoz, and Jamie Johnson flocked down 22nd Street, navigating around a film shoot for the TV series Damages that had brought local traffic to a standstill. Nothing deterred them from their mission: attending the opening of Annie Leibovitz’s Pilgrimage exhibition at The Pace Gallery, hosted by none other than Anna Wintour, the formidable editor-in-chief of Vogue.
Expectations for the event were high. This marks Leibovitz’s first entirely digital project, and the subjects of her photographs are not the famous faces typically seen across the pages of Vanity Fair or Vogue, but rather places and inanimate objects that hold personal resonance for the photographer and cultural significance in history.
Surrounded by images of Emily Dickinson’s last remaining dress, Elvis Presley’s television, Sigmund Freud’s couch, and Abraham Lincoln’s hat, photographer Claiborne Swanson Frank shared details about her forthcoming debut book, while “It girl” Lily Kwong laughed about sourcing an evening dress on a strict budget for an upcoming Vogue.comfeature: “Give me 200 bucks and I’ll make it work!” Coco Rocha made a brief appearance alongside husband James Conran en route to a dinner party. The couple is preparing to host a benefit next week for Lakay Pam, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting children in Haiti. Marking Rocha’s third fundraiser for the organization, the evening will feature the premiere of the documentary Letters to Haiti alongside an exhibition of photographs taken by Victoria’s Secret Angel Behati Prinsloo during their visit to the country last year.
On an evening where fine art shared the spotlight with fashion, Chuck Close’s presence served as an anchor for the night’s core purpose: celebrating art and historical memory. Close reflected on Leibovitz’s latest direction: “It’s interesting to see an artist of her caliber step out of her comfort zone to shoot inanimate objects. The result is beautiful. I’ve never been someone who takes casual photographs—I don’t think I’ve ever taken a picture on vacation. I prefer keeping those moments in memory, so seeing these personal subjects documented this way is fascinating.”
The reception unfolded seamlessly in the gallery’s warm atmosphere. Over white wine and canapés, Karen Elson, Narciso Rodriguez, and Prabal Gurung mingled alongside Catherine Newell-Hanson, Eugenia Gonzalez, and Michelle Harper. Leibovitz signed monographs for friends and guests, and right around 8:00 PM, the gallery began to empty promptly—an understated departure typical of such an exclusive crowd.
Photographs from Pilgrimage will be on view in New York at The Pace Gallery on December 1, 2, and 3, and will travel to the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., running from January 20 to May 20, 2012. The accompanying book, Pilgrimage, is published by Random House and available now.
*Originally published on Lookbooks.
