To enter the Public Hotel’s Halloween asylum party on the Lower East Side last night, celebrities and fashion insiders like Presley Gerber, Aziz Ansari, and Instagram illustrator Julie Houts presented parchment-paper invitations headlined “Public Order of Insanity” at the door. Donald Trump and Edward Scissorhands impersonators lined the staircase leading down to the hotel’s public arts space, hidden amid thick smoke-machine fog.
As far as storied New York City Halloween fêtes go, from Heidi Klum’s legendary costumes to Bette Midler’s annual gala, this party had no shortage of outrageous costumes. People like Baz Luhrmann milled around models dressed up in pouf-y Marie Antoinette dresses and convincing skeletons. There were more Brides of Frankenstein than you’d ever imagine possibly seeing in one place.
The evening was imagined by Mark Ravitz, David Bowie’s former concert set designer, who designed Studio 54’s Halloween parties in the ’70s and ’80s (the most popular Halloween party, before the Village Parade started in 1973). Click ahead to see the costumes and get some inspiration for next year.