With a Candlelit Dinner, Athena Calderone Welcomed Guests to Her New TriBeCa Apartment

When EyeSwoon founder Athena Calderone moved from her Brooklyn townhouse to a TriBeCa apartment previously owned by Thierry Despont, it was a decision so noteworthy that it made The New York Times. So it’s no surprise that when invites went out for the inaugural Saratoga Supper Club hosted at her new downtown home, very few (if any) were turned down.

Lily Allen, Martha Hunt, Derek Blasberg milled around one of Calderone’s new sitting rooms, where a candle-lit caviar bar had been carved out of ice. At dinner, Architectural Digest editor-in-chief sat in animated conversation with interior stylist Colin King, whose recent Rizzoli book Arranging Things now sits on many well-appointed coffee tables. Other famed decorating names in attendance? Nate Berkus, as well as Jeremiah Brent.

In the dining room, brutalist ice sculptures adorned the table. Ahead of the four-course meal by Chef Buddha Lo, Calderone explained her aesthetic ethos of the evening was the element itself: “As a designer, the concept of using water as a design material felt fresh and unexpected. Water is one of our greatest common denominators, a conduit for connection. I wanted to capture its elusive beauty in all of its forms to create an interactive space in my home that immersed guests in the art of water,” Calderone, wearing Oscar de la Renta, said. Lo also found inspiration in the Saratoga Springs, crafting a meal that included scallops and caviar presented amid dry ice as well as chicken en-croute—an elevated play on the club sandwich. (Many believe the classic American dish was invented at the Saratoga Club in upstate New York.)

The night hit an emotional pinnacle when writer Cleo Wade read a poem from her new book, Remember Love. Titled “That Sounds Great,” the piece was in part inspired by her young daughter.

As the dinner went on—and the ice slowly began to melt into the tablecloth itself —guests stayed dry by getting up and socializing. As they eventually headed back into the night, they received a parting gift of a custom Saratoga bottle so everyone could continue to test the waters.