Fashion designer Bach Mai broke down in tears after a speech by chef Angie Mar this week, at Mar’s luxury restaurant, Le B.
Guests at the event honoring Mai included famous ballet dancer Misty Copeland and “Avatar: The Way of Water” star Bailey Bass.
Mar said she thought about the parallels between haute cuisine and haute couture when she arranged the four-course dinner with OpenTable.
“It’s so much an expression of one’s creativity and one’s soul in its purest form, before we get into the economics and whatever of it all. It is the truest expression of oneself,” she said. “Bach, you do so well every day.”
Mai’s work has been worn by Venus Williams, Heidi Klum, Lucy Liu and Tessa Thompson. The designer will show at New York Fashion Week in September.
Mar went on to call the designer — who was born to Vietnamese immigrant parents in Texas before working at Oscar de la Renta, and under John Galliano at Maison Margiela in Paris — “the symbol of the American dream.”
“Your dad is so proud of you,” Mar said.
Mars’ own grandparents arrived in America from China.
Jessica Wang, Debby Soo, socialite Sharon Coplan Hurowitz, RéVive skincare director Elana Drell-Szyfer and Kate Lanphear also attended the dinner, which featured a menu of Tasmanian sea trout, salmon and roast duck.
Mar, who was previously behind the Beatrice Inn restaurant, has teamed up with Masterclass for his GOAT series, showing how to make the perfect gourmet burger in streaming courses.