This Week’s Parties: Alexa Chung at Mulberry, Karen Elson Sings and Designs Shoes and Mischa Barton Looks Really Good

This week’s party highlights were for two very different brands, but both drew a similarly fabulous crowd (especially stylish Brits) and memorable music performances. Hayley danced the night away and drank margs with Alexa Chung Monday, while Dhani took in an amazing performance by Karen Elson and chatted with Mischa Barton Tuesday. Read on for deets and pics!

On Monday, Mulberry celebrated their 40th birthday in only the way that the quirky-cool English brand could pull off: With an all-out rager atop the Skylight Studios and all of fashion’s cool crowd in attendance.

We could hear the party’s heavy base from about two blocks away. Once inside, we were excited to find the party already booming, with a packed dance floor (which was a classic Seventies style, with lit-up squares and all), and party-goers enjoying margaritas and yummy snacks like mini grilled cheese sandwiches and delicious cupcakes. Once the band, Kasabian, went on, we saw Alexa Chung (wearing a trench tied around her waist, and a blue ribbon in her hair) and Harley Viera Newton get down on the dance floor.

Guests were treated to balloon animal hats (yes, like the kind you got at sixth grade birthday parties) and Rumi Neely and Bryanboy both treated themselves to some festive balloon sculptures, we’re particularly partial to Neely’s balloon fairy wings!

We capped off our night by taking a picture with Mulberry’s infamous blow-up bag, which for this momentous night had been made in shiny gold. Happy 40th Mulberry!

Last night, further downtown, Karen Elson and Nine West celebrated the launch of their collaboration with a soiree hosted by Paper magazine at hipsteraunt Beauty & Essex.

The highlight of the evening began around 10pm when Karen Elson and her band took the stage, but not before a glowing and accurate introduction by Sarah Sophie Flicker, who described her friend as a “quadruple threat”: model, singer/songwriter, designer and dancer. And she’s pretty remarkable at everything she does. We were blown away by her performance. Girl can sing. Her voice reminded us a bit of Neko Case and when she closed her performance with Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” we got goosebumps. That is one hard song to sing and she completely did it justice.

Unfortunately, I had to tweet about how that song will forever remind me of The O.C. and oddly enough, after she show ended, I turned around to see none other than Mischa Barton (whose very dramatic death on the show was scored with that song), who we hope is making a comeback. She looked AMAZING (seriously, see below for pics). Obviously, we had to talk to her.

She and stylist June Ambrose were being dragged out, but she had just enough time to tell us, in her subtly British accent, that she was wearing a Phillip Lim dress, those Miu Miu shoes, and a bag of her own design. She had just gotten into town to do “some stuff” for said bag line which is apparently in its ninth season. She wasn’t sure if she was going to any shows. Then, I told her about how that song always reminds me of The O.C., to which she replied, “Oh wow! No totally…um, that resonates for a lot of people.” June offered, “See, I think of Shrek.” Click through for more pics of Karen and Mischa.

**Photos via Getty and TK Stuart-Deely

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