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Party Coverage: Scene City

By MAX BERLINGER

Immediately after Todd Snyder’s runway show on Monday night, which opened the latest iteration of New York Fashion Week: Men’s, the benches were whisked away and replaced by waiters carrying trays of appetizers.

Parties can say a lot about the designer brand hosting them, and this one was relatively flashy for this lesser-known fashion week — even if the man of the moment was there only briefly. Thirty minutes after the show ended, Mr. Snyder left Cadillac House and was headed to the airport to fly to Italy for work.

However, the musician André 3000 was there, as was the actor Matt Bomer, though he wasn’t speaking to reporters. Avocado and squid crostini were washed down by Champagne and vodka by the stylish crowd, who wore a range of streetwear and preppier outfits, reflecting Mr. Snyder’s go-to aesthetic.

Sean O’Pry, one of fashion’s top male models (and star of Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” video), took a break from the runway to sit front row. Mr. O’Pry is harnessing his social media popularity (612,000 Instagram followers) as an “ambassador” for the three-day showing of men’s wear collections on behalf of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

“Honestly, it’s so crazy, I have no idea what I’m doing,” Mr. O’Pry said, steely blue eyes flashing, and wearing a white Todd Snyder bomber jacket. “But it’s a blast.”

Danny Miller, frontman of the musical duo Lewis Del Mar, which performed during the show, was fielding well-wishers. “Whenever you’re performing in a space that’s so brightly lit, you feel very exposed,” he said. “What’s cool is all the models and the crew backstage. They’re very excited.”

A more intimate party took place on Tuesday night, following Raf Simons’s “Blade Runner”-inspired collection, shown to a standing crowd in a back alley Chinatown market near East Broadway. Mr. Simons, who is the creative director at Calvin Klein, still puts out his own men’s wear brand. And unlike the blowout that marked his debut show for Calvin Klein in February, Mr. Simons hosted an informal dinner party for 100 or so friends at Bacaro, a cavelike Italian restaurant on the Lower East Side.

Plates of juicy steak, decadent risotto and a much-talked-about tiramisù were laid out for friends who included Humberto Leon of Opening Ceremony, the model Hanne Gaby Odiele and the singer Lissy Trullie. This being a fashion party, much of the food went untouched.

Revelers in track pants and graphic T-shirts danced to electronic music played by the D.J. Justin Strauss, while a small crowd of smokers gathered outside in the sweltering heat. Luka Sabbat, Ashton Sanders of “Moonlight” and Nic Galway of Adidas were spotted on the dance floor and in various basement nooks, chatting with friends wearing Mr. Simons’s avant-garde designs.

“I think that Raf is a revolutionary in every way, man,” Mr. Sanders said at the bar upstairs. “He’s always been ahead of his time.”

At 2 a.m., the crowd thinned out, but those left, including Mr. Simons and his boyfriend, Jean-Georges d’Orazio, were dancing to thumping music with little inhibitions. After all, it was just friends.