"It was all understated opulence as usual, but he really broke out in the details," raved Cate Blanchett at the Musée d'Art Moderne dinner after the Armani Privé show on Wednesday night. "I am such a magpie, I love everything that sparkles." The Oscar-winning actress, who is said to be wearing Giorgio Armani to the Academy Awards ceremony next month, wasn't alone in her enthusiasm. Rena Sindi, Fiona Scarry, Erin Flanagan Lazard, and Tinsley Mortimer were all on hand to congratulate the designer, who described the modus operandi behind his collection as "stealing jewels from the India of the maharajas and making them more feminine and modern."

The previous evening, MAC beauty icon Raquel Welch was the guest of honor at a dinner hosted by Paris Vogue's Carine Roitfeld. "Raquel is le rêve—an absolute beauty," said the Balenciaga-clad editor in the winter garden of the Meurice Hotel, as she awaited Welch's arrival with guests Nicolas Ghesquière, Azzedine Alaïa, and Ungaro's Peter Dundas. "I have not been to Paris for 15 years," the icon revealed when she finally appeared, wearing Dolce & Gabbana set off by large Cartier chandelier earrings. "So many friends, such wonderful memories." Dita Von Teese, her fellow MAC face and a much more common sight in the City of Light, was dressed in an Elie Saab cocktail number. Musing about the Lebanese designer's wedding gown, a silver sequin confection with a matching veil that required three attendants, the recently separated burlesque star said, "I wonder if I could have one of those in black?"

— Tina Isaac