In another rare move for Katz’s, Sam Lawrence of the popular Chinatown restaurant Bridges was given free rein to tinker with the shop’s menu, offering up caviar on cucumbers, umami tomatoes doused in pastrami spices, and deli sandwiches in pepper and cognac sauce. Martinis, palomas, negronis, and margaritas were flowing freely and, as a result, the crowd began to waft towards the makeshift dance floor, swaying and then moving with more abandon.
Around 9:30 p.m., New York legend Grandmaster Flash took to the boards, bringing another wave of energy to the tiles. At one point, a cheer rippled through a small segment of the crowd. Were the attendees feeling a surge of Prada-verse excitement? Well, yes. But also, the Knicks had just scored the winning point against the San Antonio Spurs.
Hours previous, at The Chelsea Hotel—another iconic New York haunt—Prada hosted a tête-à-tête between the director Nicolas Winding Refn (fresh from Cannes) and Hideo Kojima, the Japanese video game designer. The duo have collaborated to create a sprawling, genre-spanning, and reoccurring event titled Satellites, which debuted in Tokyo last year. “We feel like satellites orbiting around the world,” ruminated Winding Refn. “So there’s a sense of self-reflection.” Despite being connected on this project and creatively in synch, there’s an actual language barrier between Winding Refn and Kojima. “Satellites is the essence of the conversation between Hideo and me—one which we’ll never have because we don’t speak the same language.”
Various programs were presented throughout the hallowed halls of The Chelsea Hotel, including musical performances, interactive workshops, DJ sets, moderated conversations, and an aperitivo hour. Many were live-streamed onto a channel playing throughout the hotel and Prada’s own website à la late-night public broadcasting. Space-age suited assistants were placed throughout and, outside, silver Prada-branded taxi cabs idled by the hotel’s entrance.
Starting today and continuing through the weekend, the program opens up from a select group of invitees to the public at large—spilling out to, yes, satellite locations around the city. In addition to The Chelsea Hotel and Katz’s, visitors can stop by installations at Prada’s SoHo boutique, and check out a film series at the Angelika Theatre.
