New York is so saturated with exhibitions and fabulous fashions that it’s easy to miss the hottest happenings of the moment. Never fear — Alexa has gathered a list of the best luxury shopping, gallery openings and cultural events for the upcoming week. You can sip cocktails amongst the orchids, book a deluxe helicopter ride to a Drake concert or soak up art exhibits curated by the likes of Alicia Keys. Here are a few of the see-and-be-seen events we’re adding to our calendar.
Flower power:
The New York Botanical Garden’s ultra-popular orchid show is back. This year’s theme: The NYBG tapped three rising design stars — Hillary Taymour (of Collina Strada), Olivia Cheng (of Dauphinette), and FLWR PSTL (aka Kristen Alpaugh) — to create mesmerizing installations using thousands of species of orchids. The NYBG has also brought back (on Fridays and Saturdays beginning March 30), where visitors can check out the exhibition while sipping cocktails and taking in live performances by vogueing superstars (and winners of HBO Max’s hit show “Legendary”) International House of Miyaki Mugler.
Photo call:
In 1997 Australian artist Tony Notarberardino started photographing the cast of characters he’d encounter at the Chelsea Hotel. He was incredibly prolific — ultimately documenting 1,500 of them, including the likes of Debbie Harry, Dee Dee Ramone, Grace Jones, Sam Shepard, and Ron Jeremy. Notarberardino moved into the hotel in 1994 and is one of the several dozen tenants who still live there; this is the first time these works will be shown publicly. , 173 Tenth Ave.
Fly guys:
We’re guessing that Drake will arrive at the UBS Arena for his sold-out “It’s All a Blur Tour — Big As The What” concerts on March 28 and 29 via his private jet, “Air Drake.” Mere mortals, however, can have a similarly fly experience via Blade. The that includes stage-right Spotlight Club seats with dinner and drinks, round-trip transportation via Blade helicopters, and transfer to and from the arena’s VIP entrance in a Mercedes-Maybach. For $1,975 per person, guests can “be in your feelings in a Blade, versus a traffic jam.”
Black art:
Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean) have been collecting works by living Black artists for over two decades. Swizz told Cultured magazine that “the collection started not just because we’re art lovers, but also because there’s not enough people of color collecting artists of color.” Ninety-eight works from the Dean Collection by 40 artists, including Gordon Parks, Kehinde Wiley, Esther Mahlangu, Barkley L. Hendricks, Lorna Simpson, and Amy Sherald, are now on view at the Brooklyn Museum. is the first major exhibition of their collection, and is installed in the museum’s Great Hall through July 7.
Future fashion:
Rapper and producer has just dropped. The collaboration was announced last year, a range of unisex ready-to-wear pieces that infuse streetwear into fashion, all designed by Future, a long-time fan and client of the brand. This season’s highlights include his reinterpretation of the iconic Cat Bag featuring custom eagle hardware (the eagle is a symbol of his record label, Freebandz), plus a ,” inspired by classic skate footwear.
