Diane Von Furstenberg dinner in honor of Carlos Jereissati

Hostess Diane Von Furstenberg welcoming the guests and acknowledging her love for Brazil

Tuesday night, at a very intimate dinner in honor of Brazilian entrepreneur Carlos Jereissati, Diane Von Furstenberg delivered a very inspired speech describing Brazil, the "most pleasant country of the Bric’s group to invest in today." She was referring to the business promising emerging countries: Brazil, India, Russia and China. “Brazilians are so full of joy, and they really enjoy shopping. When they like something they don’t just buy it for themselves, but for their friends, in another color, for their daughters!,” shared Ms Furstenberg. And that would be a fact, as she shared with her guests that since her first South American store opened at the Iguatemi mall six weeks ago, they’ve already sold a million dollars.

The party, held at her studio in the Meat Packing District and catered by St Ambroeus, gathered the who's who of the Brazilian fashion and design society in NYC (Carlos de Souza, Francisco Costa, Giovanni Biancho, Carlos Junqueira, Gloria Kalil, Cristiana Mascarenhas), as well as several international personalities from the fashion industry (Todd Eberle from Vanity Fair, Richard Pandiscio, Isabel Rattazzi, Marco Giacometti, Jeffrey Podolsky amongst many others.)

Carlos de Souza and Carlos Jereissati

Carlos Jereissati is the CEO of his family owned Iguatemi shopping mall empire. The group owns 17 malls around the country and attracts 1.5 million visitors each month. It’s flagship mall is in Sao Paulo, a city in which more than $1.8 billion is spent on luxury goods every year. “But you have to understand that Iguatemi is not a mall, but a community, it does not feel like a mall, it’s where people go to gather, eat, meet, take their kids and have a great afternoon,” points out the gracious hostess. Jereissati didn’t make a speech, but was super friendly and all smiles surrounded by people who truly appreciate what it takes to build a chic and esthetically appealing shopping mecca.

Brazilian media first lady Joyce Pascowitch and NY PR powerhouse Nadine Johnson, who orchestrated the event

Gloria Kalil, Carlos de Souza and Isabel Rattazzi

Francisco Costa, Diane Von Furstenberg, Alex Von Furstenberg

All photos on this post by BILLY FARRELL / PatrickMcMullan.com.

For more of DVF's party photos visit Patrick McMullan's site