A swank affair! An A-list crowd including celebrities, models, editors and influencers flocked to Casa Cruz New York on Tuesday, November 1, to celebrate skincare guru Dr. Barbara Sturm’s newly opened NYC spas and boutiques — and a grand time was had by all.
Katie Holmes hosted the chic event and was joined by Justin Theroux, Sienna Miller, fashion darling Michael Kors, host of CBS Sunday Morning Alina Cho, Nicky Hilton Rothschild and mega-influencers Arielle Charnas and Tina Leung.
Stars, as well as models including Charlotte McKinney, Richie Shazam, Lindsay Wixson and Deon Hinton plus DJ Samantha Ronson and Violet Grey founder Cassandra Grey, sipped champagne and noshed on a family-style lush menu of lentil salad, charred gem lettuce, gnocchi pomodoro, blackened chicken and grilled wagyu steak in a dining room at the newly opened Casa Cruz decorated in dark woods and palm wallpaper. The private club (which reportedly costs a cool $300K to join) is housed in a five-floor beaux-arts townhouse on Manhattan’s tony Upper East Side.
After dinner, guests sauntered into an adjacent lounge where DJ Hugo Heathcote spun tunes that got the group grooving, including the good doctor herself, clad in a fun fuchsia frock by Oscar de la Renta.
Sturm was joined by her statuesque daughter Charly Sturm, an ambassador for the brand, who shared her admiration of her mother. “She was going to university, she was a single mom and she created this insane business,” she revealed, noting that the skincare guru was just 23 years old when she launched the brand. “Her entire story has always been such an inspiration for me.”
Holmes went a step further in her praise of the skincare guru, noting a vital connection between self-care, self-confidence and owning a place as a self-made woman. “Not only do you feel beautiful putting these products on your face, but because of who you are and what you stand for, you get to be a woman that’s proud and unapologetic and valued for who you are,” the actress said.
Sturm opened her sixth spa and boutique on Madison Avenue in September, with her second location in New York City opening next month. The skincare and anti-aging expert also has spas in her native Düsselfdorf, Los Angeles, London, Miami and Dallas.
With an emphasis on beauty and wellness, face and body treatments include the Signature SturmGlow (which blends cleansing, exfoliation, extraction and a lymphatic and firming massage), Super Anti-Aging Facial and Darker Skin Tones Facial plus red light therapy, a calming vibrational wave bed, high-tech microneedling using Morpheus8 and host of IV Therapy powered by Drip Hydration, all incorporating Dr. Sturm products, which, of course, are available for purchase at each location’s boutique.
Before the 2022 Met Gala, the brand road-tested an uptown spa with a pop-up at the Baccarat Hotel. Notables including Hailey Bieber and Winnie Harlow were treated to glow-giving services in preparation of fashion’s biggest night.
Scroll through to see the stars at the celebration!