Rock City
"I love this Bonnie and Clyde look," declared Jeremy Piven as he greeted Mary J. Blige on the red carpet at the Fashion Rocks concert at Radio City Music Hall on Thursday night. The diva, who wore a beret and a Jean Paul Gaultier trench as a dress (Mary J., we mean, not J. Piv), had given her outfit some thought. "I knew everyone else was going to be in long gowns, so I said let me just do some Mary stuff," she declared. Indeed, many of the evening's guests—including Jennifer Hudson, Jessica Alba, and Nicole Richie—went with floor-sweeping numbers. Alicia Keys wore a Calvin Klein Collection dress, but protested, "I'm totally into the leather-pants-and-vests look. I can be a rock chick, too." The proof came when she and Carlos Santana closed the show with a killer performance of Black Magic Woman.

The Rachel Papers
Meanwhile, at Socialista, Margherita Missoni hosted an intimate dinner for Rachel Zoe and her new book of fashionable tips, Style A to Zoe: The Art of Fashion, Beauty, & Everything Glamour. In between cigarette breaks, Joy Bryant, Jacquetta Wheeler, and Karolina Kurkova nibbled on Cuban-inspired fare, but it was only a matter of time before everyone adjourned upstairs to dance away the caloric intake. Antonio Berardi led the charge, while the tome's co-author, Rose Apodaca, snapped away with her new Leica camera.

Purple Reign
Olivier Zahm of Purple magazine rallied Dash Snow, Terry Richardson, and Tara Subkoff, among others too hip to mention, for a party across town at Freemans for Eric Villency's new jeans company, Restoration of the Monarchy. Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, the label's campaign star, was the center of attention in her white sailor pants. "These are my favorite," said the model-student, as Ferebee Bishop Taube tried to drag her onto the Alexander Wang party bus. But alas, even an in-demand French It girl has her limits during fashion week. "I need to go to bed," she protested.

Kiss Kiss Wang Wang
"He makes simple clothes for cool chicks," said Erin Wasson at Wang's gritty Garment District warehouse after-party. "It's really uncomplicated." In between posing for pictures at the photo booth and rocking out to a live set by the Brooklyn-based band Locksley with guests like Byrdie Bell and Genevieve Jones, Wang reflected, "All the little worries I had about shoes fitting and all that stuff just drained away, and now I can have fun." If only for a moment. "I'm going to take a couple days off," he said. "And then start Fall."

Direct Hit
Earlier in the day, Sylvana Soto-Ward of Vogue and Veronica Swanson Beard co-hosted a lunch for Donatella Versace and her new Hit bag at the brand's Fifth Avenue boutique. Demi Moore was among the lucky guests asked to choose between the red, silver, black, and beige versions by the tuxedoed waiters. When Versace herself was offered one, she laughed, but the rest of the women in attendance were just plain giddy. Mischa Barton opted for crimson. "I wear a lot of bright colors," she said.

— Jessica Ramakrishnan (Fashion Rocks); Sarah Cristobal (Missoni; Purple; Versace); Katie Hintz (Wang)