Trust Donatella Versace to reinvent the in-store cocktail party. Proving that she's back in top form, the designer hosted a blowout at her newly revamped Fifth Avenue boutique that was more like a movie premiere than a promotional event. Better make that three movie premieres, because the celebrities mingling on the store's top floor included—and this is just a partial list—Jennifer Lopez, Halle Berry, Kate Hudson, Heather Graham, Nicolas Cage, Naomi Campbell, Hilary Duff, Claire Danes, Cindy Crawford… you get the picture.

The above was merely a preamble for the private dinner that followed at the penthouse apartment of One Beacon Court (currently on the market for $17 million, in case you're looking for a pied-à-terre). The hundred or so guests included yet more stars (Benicio Del Toro, Harry Connick Jr., Maxwell), as well as a front row's worth of fashion editors (Vogue's André Leon Talley, Vogue Italia's Franca Sozzani, Style.com's own Candy Pratts Price, and W's Patrick McCarthy and Bridget Foley). Danny Meyer's new catering company, Hudson Yards, provided a lavish dinner, and later, musician Angela McCluskey got busy serenading in each of the establishment's three candlelit rooms. Kate Hudson, meanwhile, discreetly smoked in a room with open windows looking out on the city lights. "It's cold in here," said the actress, who was less than covered up in a dramatic Versace iridescent-green dress with a plummeting front. "I live in [Donatella's] clothes," she said. "They are so comfortable and suit my body. Plus, I love anything that's plunging."

The next day found the evening's hostess still in an expansive mood. "I was incredibly touched that so many of my friends were in attendance," Versace said. And though the designer was heading off to Milan to finish up her fall '06 collection, it didn't sound as if she would be grounded too long in Italy: "New Yorkers have such a great sense of style and a wonderful energy. I can't wait until I am back in town again!"

—Sarah Cristobal