Last Night’s Parties: Swanky with Swarovski and Jonelle Monae Rocks MNG by Mango for JC Penney

We divided and conquered last night so we could dine in the penthouse of the Trump Soho with Prabal Gurung and Swarovski and catch Janelle Monae perform and gawk at Alex McCord and Simon Van Kempen on the red carpet at the MNG by Mango for JCPenney Party.

I attended a dinner at the glass-walled “Sohi” room at the top of the new Trump Soho Hotel to celebrate the launch of the Spring/Summer 2011 Atelier Swarovski collection. Lauren already got a peek at the collection, designed by Joseph Altuzarra, Mark Fast, Prabal Gurung, Michael Kaplan and Jenny Manik Mercian, at Colette in Paris, so I was psyched to get a first hand look at the sparkling baubles myself. They sparkled almost as brightly as the city skyline, which, from the 47th floor at Spring at Varick Sts., was a glimmering thing to behold. Gurung was on hand to schmooze with editors, and it was his collection of punked out geometric bling, and Altuzarra’s crystals set in lucite bangles that stood out. Also? The food at the Trump Soho is really good. Thanks for a fabulous dinner Swarovski!

Dhani took on the MNG by Mango for JCPenney launch party at bank-turned-fancy-party-venue, Capitale, which featured a runway show and performance by Janelle Monae.

Here’s her take: The mixed bag of partygoers included celebrities, men in business suits, random Janelle Monae fans and the few fashion people who weren’t at the Mark Ronson concert or Swarovski dinner. Attendees like Tinsley Mortimer, Alex McCord and Simon Van Kempens made sense, while I was pleasantly surprised to see Anne Heche and my personal nomination for the next It Couple: Breaking Upwards’ Zoe Lister-Jones and Daryl Wein. They’re adorable together and just seemed so normal and down-to-earth…in an off-beat, neurotic kind of way. They actually got excited when Janelle Monae took the stage, whose high-energy performance was the highlight of the evening. Everything from her voice to her dance moves to her guitarist’s hair to the band’s coordinated black & white outfits was amazing. But, I digress.

In between the red carpet and Janelle Monae was the runway show, which was given quite the introduction by JCPenney’s 59-year-old CEO Myron Ullman, who literally rode onto the stage and gave the entire speech on a segway. The clothes were what you’d expect, if not a little better. My favorite look was the final one–a long, flowy black dress with spaghetti straps that tied at the waist. Click through for our runway pics and Janelle Monae!