Whether or not you're familiar with the edgily glamorous biannual itself, you'd have to be living under a rock not to know that Purple magazine's parties are the ones to see and be seen at during New York and Paris fashion weeks. (For more on the pant-dropping, candle-wax-spilling NYC bash, click here.) So popular, in fact, was last October's Paris celebration at Le Montana that swamps of people spilled onto the rue Saint-Benoît and the club developed the ambience of a sardine can. "Yes, I remember last season's party: I remember being scared!" explained model Natasha Poly. "This year is much nicer, but still, I've made a mental note of where all the fire exits are, just in case there's a repeat."

The magazine's founder, Olivier Zahm, was determined not to let that happen. "Last year, I didn't know all the people that were here, and it was a madhouse," he said, a girl on each arm. "So this year, we really tried to make it exclusive, really small and intimate." André, Zahm's cohort and one of the owners of Le Montana, agreed: "This time, it just had to be a more chill vibe." To that end, they managed to whittle the guest list down to a mere 200 people. But it was definitely quality over quantity: Trish Goff, Lou Doillon, Erin Wasson, and Leigh Lezark were just some of the pretty people spread out through the two-level club—with, get this, room to breathe, dance, and flail their arms. "There's so much more fresh air in here now," Lindsay Lohan, the noted fresh-air enthusiast, said. "It could get more crowded at any minute though, especially when it gets later."

— Derek Blasberg