Blazé Milano and Dree Hemingway Host L.A. Dinner Party at San Vicente Bungalows
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Blazé Milano is on an American tour.
Between a visit to Art Basel, hosting an event with gallerist Nicola Vassell, and a stay in New York for press appointments, brand founders Corrada Rodriguez D’Acri and Delfina Pinardi found time to fly west to Los Angeles.
More from WWD
“The intention was to reconnect with friends, community,” said Pinardi at Blazé Milano’s dinner party in L.A. on Tuesday night, held at San Vicente Bungalows in West Hollywood.
She launched the brand with D’Acri and Sole Torlonia when the three were fashion editors at Elle Italia. The idea for the line came amid fashion week in 2012 after observing a trend on runways, seeing the likes of Haider Ackermann and Jil Sander: the return of the blazer.
“We had a feeling it was coming back,” Pinardi explained. Observing trends was nothing new to the women, but this one sparked a thought. Why wasn’t there bespoke tailoring offered to women like there has been for men?
“Being Italian, tailoring is in our DNA, our veins,” she said. “We started to say, ‘All you need is a blazer to be put together. If you have a blazer on, you’re fine in any circle, in any occasion.’”
They began creating custom-made blazers, starting with three models: the double-breasted “everyday,” “midnight smoking” and sportier “weekend” style.
“We started just with jackets, for six, seven years,” continued Pinardi. The brand, celebrating its 10-year anniversary in 2023, has grown to include more categories, from blazer-inspired minidresses, long coats, jumpsuits and blouses to more casual T-shirts, hoodies, knitwear and jackets. Retail partners include Matchesfashion, Moda Operandi and Saks Fifth Avenue.
The U.S. being a key market, the visit was of value, Pinardi said.
“And we wanted to have a celebration,” she said of the evening.
Friend of the brand, actress and model Dree Hemingway was asked to host.
“She has to celebrate other things,” Pinardi added of Hemingway, moments before her arrival. “You will straight away see what she has to celebrate.”
Hemingway, it turned out, is expecting. Six months along, she had the pregnancy glow, arriving in Blazé Milano’s cream blazer robe and matching banker trousers, with fiancé Nick Delli Santi.
“I fell in love,” Hemingway said of the brand. “It’s very much my style. It’s androgynous, but there’s a femininity. Also being a mountain girl, growing up in Idaho, there was also that element. It just felt right.”
She met the founders in Rome through a mutual friend in early 2021 and was asked to model for the brand.
“I had gone to Italy, because that’s where my fiancé’s from,” she explained.
“I love them so much,” she said of the women. “Corrada and Delfina have become really good friends of mine. Corrada’s sister also grew up with my fiancé, which was a coincidence, and has now become one of my best friends. It’s this family affair.”
During dinner, Pinardi stood up to thank Hemingway, turning it over to her to say a few words.
“I love you all, new friends, old friends,” Hemingway said.
Langley Fox Hemingway, Ally Hilfiger, Djuna Bell and Nikolai Haas, Natalia Bonifacci, Danielle Levitt, Jen Azoulay and Harry Eelman were among the guests.
“Family…” chimed in sister Langley Fox to laughs.
“And my Italian family.”
