Raf Simons’ Concert Confession at the Dior Party

“Fashion makes my mind light up,” said ASAP Rocky from the top of the Guggenheim Museum, where Dior held a pre-party last night as a precursor to tonight’s prestigious International Gala. The hip-hopper’s brain must have been glowing from the inside-out. There were movie stars (Marion Cotillard, Camilla Belle) in couture. There were models (Sasha Luss, Shu Pei, Yumi Lambert) in straight-off-the-runway looks. And there was the London band The XX in the middle of it all—literally, they played on a pulpit smack in the middle of the museum’s iconic spiral.

“Ever since I’ve loved fashion, I’ve loved Dior,” said actress Nicola Peltz, whose red carpet looks from Prada and Stella McCartney created a Cannes Film Festival frenzy. “I love that I get to wear designer labels to events… but in the morning, they all get returned! This,” she says, tugging on her killer Dior dress, “basically turns into a pumpkin at midnight.”

Fortunately, it was a mere 10:45 pm when The XX took the stage—and fashion fans like blogger Susie Bubble and DJ Harley Newton Viera claimed prime viewing spots while Zoe Kravitz explained, in her so-cool-it’s-not-possible way, that she’s loved the British trio “pretty much forever.” (Keep an eye out for her own band, Lolawolf, which we predict will be playing museum galas in the not-so-distant future—especially if you follow Kravitz’s edict, “Keep listening, keep dancing!” Uh, no problem.)

“This is the first time I’ve met The XX in person,” said Dior’s revered (and super-nice) designer, Raf Simons. “I don’t get to too many concerts because of my stupid, busy schedule. But I’ve loved The XX’s music since the very beginning. They’re huge in Belgium, you know.”

As if on cue, his fellow Flemish fashion star, model Hanne Gaby Odiele, claimed her spot at the front of the concert, and promptly started singing along to hits like “Islands” and “Shelter.” “Yes, I know all the words,” she smiled. “Don’t you?”