All That Glitters 2014 CFDA Awards Cocktail

“I’m so moved by the CFDA,” said Dree Hemingway stunning in a swirling Diane von Furstenberg dress at yesterday’s star-packed 2014 CFDA Awards cocktail, “from the beauty of Tom Ford’s designs over the years to the always inspirational Bethann Hardison.” (Both, by the way, were winners last night.) Many no doubt shared Hemingway’s feel-good sentiment, as guests happily filed their way down the red carpet, despite the early-summer heat (one attendee apologized to an ethereal Giulietta-clad Jessica Stam for forcing her to stand in the sunlight for an introduction, thus causing the model to shield her eyes).

But inside the angular Alice Tully Hall’s glass-ensconced atrium, all was cool and glare-free (except for maybe the flashbulbs when Blake Lively arrived on Michael Kors’s arm, shimmering in an Aurelian, scallop-hemmed mini by the designer).

For one of the American fashion industry’s biggest and most important events, the A-list quotient was in full swing. Here, Lupita Nyong’o stopped to talk jewelry with designer Jennifer Fisher, a nominee for last night’s Swarovski Award for Accessories.

Nyong’o continued to turn heads throughout the preshow, thanks to her colorful barcode-motif jumpsuit from Suno. And a vampy Joan Smalls locked elbows with BFF Prabal Gurung (he designed her knockout gown). And if you needed flawless examples of Proenza Schouler’s flocked-velvet wood-grain dress from fall, look no further than Jamie Bochert and Gia Coppola, who alighted with, you guessed it, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez.

And, sure, while Naomi Campbell radiated in Marc Jacobs and Rihanna sent the crowd into a tizzy with her leave-little-to-the-imagination Adam Selman, it was Alexander Wang’s unexpected invitee actor Chris Kattan’s hyperactive “Mango” persona that won the most Instagram kudos.

No stranger to bringing back meme-ish characters (remember Bon Qui Qui?), Wang prompted one guest to say, "You gotta love Alex for it."