The king's court is open late again. Having canceled his legendary after-party back in recession-chilled February, Marc Jacobs returned to form this fashion week, throwing a bash at Hiro with V starring none other than Lady Gaga, the magazine's latest cover girl.

Co-hosting isn't the way Jacobs normally rolls, but as he explained on his way in, "I would never say no to Gaga, or V." Neither, evidently, would the hundreds of desperate Jacobeans begging to be let in. A publicist was requesting "more security and more stanchions" almost before the place even opened—perhaps to ease entry for Janet Jackson, who breezed in on the early side.

But Gaga (who'd arrived late at the Jacobs show and been forced to stand) made her wait, along with the rest of the audience. A restless Lorenzo Martone got hold of a photographer's camera and started snapping. "She's gonna walk in with a fishbowl on her head," Estelle predicted. Not quite: When the pop diva finally sat down at the piano after midnight, she was wearing red lace and a blond hairpiece that looked a bit like the Statue of Liberty's crown. Down-tempo renditions of "Poker Face" and "Just Dance" followed, along with a shout-out to cover photographer Mario Testino, who was swaying to the music alongside Lily Donaldson and Liya Kebede.

After her mini-set ended and the house beats came back on, Alexander Wang (getting down with a beyond-blonde Dree Hemingway) declined to compare his Saturday barn-burner to this one. "It's awesome. It's great," he beamed. And he went back to dancing.

— Darrell Hartman