Fashion Takes Flight: Inside Sarah Jessica Parker’s Most Ethereal Red Carpet Appearance Yet
Thursday evening at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater bore witness to a sartorial apotheosis as Sarah Jessica Parker—patron saint of fearless fashion—descended upon the New York City Ballet’s 2025 Fall Fashion Gala in a creation so breathtaking it seemed to defy the laws of earthbound elegance. Clad in Iris van Herpen’s sculptural masterwork from the fall 2025 Haute Couture “Sympoiesis” collection, Parker didn’t merely arrive; she manifested as a celestial being, complete with gossamer wings that transformed the red carpet into her personal runway to the divine.
The gown itself represented van Herpen’s genius at its most uncompromising—a three-dimensional lattice of architectural black mesh cascading over a cream-colored foundation, with wings that extended majestically over Parker’s shoulders before sweeping earthward in a floor-length silhouette. The open-knit fabrication created an almost ethereal quality, as though the actress existed simultaneously in multiple dimensions. The high-low hemline offered strategic glimpses of her footwear choice, because naturally, even when wearing wings, Parker’s shoe game remains impeccable.
Those feet were adorned in Aquazzura’s Be Mine Sandal 105—a $1,360 confection of black sheer chiffon mesh and grosgrain that elevated peep-toe elegance to high art. The sparkling heels provided the perfect counterpoint to van Herpen’s avant-garde vision, proving that even celestial beings need proper foundation.
Parker’s appearance carried particular resonance given her profound relationship with the New York City Ballet. As vice-chair of its board and creator of this very annual gala, she embodies the intersection of fashion and ballet—two art forms obsessed with movement, precision, and the human body’s capacity for transformation. Her journey with NYCB began in childhood when she attended its school, making Thursday’s appearance not merely a red carpet moment but a homecoming wrapped in haute couture.
The evening’s thematic coherence extended beyond Parker’s solo flight. Julia Fox and And Just Like That… costar Nicole Ari Parker also embraced van Herpen’s fluid, high-tech designs, creating a chorus of futuristic elegance. The Dutch couturier had designed costumes for choreographer Jamar Roberts’s latest work, Foreseeable Future, a piece addressing “the perils of technology, and the importance of being in tune with nature”—an irony not lost on anyone watching van Herpen’s technologically advanced couture celebrate organic movement.
Meanwhile, Parker’s husband, Matthew Broderick, demonstrated that sometimes the most radical choice is restraint, appearing in a classic black tuxedo that allowed his wife’s wings to dominate the visual narrative. Because when your partner is literally wearing architecture, the kindest thing you can do is get out of the way.
As the gala raised essential funds for NYCB, Parker reminded us why fashion matters: it allows us to transcend the ordinary, to become something more than ourselves, to take flight even when gravity insists we remain grounded.
