Save this story Save Story Save this story Rita Ora Quadir Moore/BFA.com On Friday evening, swarms of Dolly Parton lookalikes took over the East Village for The Frankie Shop and Unemployed’s fourth annual Halloween bash. This year, the festivities tipped a rhinestone-covered cowboy hat to the late, great country music icon, with platinum-blonde bouffants, exaggerated bust lines, and plenty of pink as far as the eye could see.
By 10:30 p.m., guests sauntered downstairs to the basement club beneath Ella Funt, the East Village bistro turned late-night hotspot. The subterranean space was as ample as Dolly’s most famous asset—a surprising rarity in downtown Manhattan. Given the theme, it felt like a cross between a Brooklyn warehouse and a Dollywood fever dream, with the wood paneling and hot-pink walls illuminated by a soft rosy glow. At the center of it all was a sunken black-and-white checkered dance floor, though you could barely make out the floor underneath all the dancing Dollys.
Previous editions of the fashion brand and media company’s collaborative party have asked guests to come as Elizabeth Taylor, Princess Diana, and Uma Thurman’s Mia Wallace from Pulp Fiction. For Unemployed’s co-founders Cecile Winkler and Sophie Tabet, the magic lies in seeing how everyone makes the theme their own. “There is nothing more fun than finding yourself in a room where everyone is dressed up as that one thing, but they’re doing it in a different way,” Winkler told Vogue . “It brings you together. And it feels so absurd. You lose your friends because everyone looks the same.”
And with a legacy as celebrated as Dolly’s, there was plenty of room for interpretation. Some, including Rita Ora, opted for classic Tennessee Tuxedoes in the form of double denim, while others channeled her iconic 1978 Playboy cover. Then there were the more imaginative takes, like Salvador ‘Dolly’ and even a pair of sheep brought to life by Saltburn actor Archie Madekwe and Dorian Grinspan. It took a moment for people to realize that the pair were referencing Dolly, the world’s first cloned sheep from back in 1996, famously named after the chart-topper.
No Dolly wig or prosthetic boobs? No problem. Some of the night’s most memorable looks were improvised. One resourceful guest made do with a powdered barrister’s wig, perhaps left over from a previous Halloween costume, while others stuffed balloons of varying sizes down their t-shirts.
As word traveled across the city about the buzzy party, the line outside wrapped around the block well past 1 a.m., while inside, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” sent the dance floor into a frenzy, followed by a string of Dolly’s greatest hits that kept the momentum going. According to The Frankie Shop founder Gaëlle Drevet, her philosophy for the night was simple: “Life is short. Have fun with it.” And judging by the crowd, no one needed to be told twice.
Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 1/32 Cecile Winckler, Sophie Tibet, Gaelle Drevet
Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 2/32 Archie Madekwe, Dorian Grinspan
Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 3/32 Andrew Nixson, Kate Walsh, Tara Summers
Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 4/32 Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 5/32 Rita Ora
Meet the Women Changing the Face of Mariachi in San Antonio 13 Samhain Rituals to Celebrate the Pagan Origins of Halloween, Courtesy of 13 Witches In Suits, Suede, and Heirloom Jewels, Princess Leonor Offers a Lesson in Fall Style The Third Mercury Retrograde 2026 Won’t Ruin Your Life (But Here’s How to Protect Your Peace Anyway) Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 6/32 Francesca Pey, Danny Loftus, Gala Vrbanic
Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 7/32 Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 8/32 Gilius San
Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 9/32 Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 10/32 Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 11/32 Ines Bustamante, Carlotta Kohl
Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 12/32 Daria Strokous
Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 13/32 Isabelle Chaput, Nelson Tiberghien
In Suits, Suede, and Heirloom Jewels, Princess Leonor Offers a Lesson in Fall Style The Third Mercury Retrograde 2026 Won’t Ruin Your Life (But Here’s How to Protect Your Peace Anyway) 13 Samhain Rituals to Celebrate the Pagan Origins of Halloween, Courtesy of 13 Witches Meet the Women Changing the Face of Mariachi in San Antonio Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 14/32 Ian Felton, Flynn McGarry
Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 15/32 Jordan Barrett
Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 16/32 Quentin Jones
Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 17/32 CT Hedden
Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 18/32 Danny Loftus, Francesca Pey
Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 19/32 Ellen von Unwerth
Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 20/32 Gaelle Drevet, Chelsea Leyland
Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 21/32 Erik Maza
13 Samhain Rituals to Celebrate the Pagan Origins of Halloween, Courtesy of 13 Witches The Third Mercury Retrograde 2026 Won’t Ruin Your Life (But Here’s How to Protect Your Peace Anyway) In Suits, Suede, and Heirloom Jewels, Princess Leonor Offers a Lesson in Fall Style Meet the Women Changing the Face of Mariachi in San Antonio Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 22/32 Jennifer Eymère, Cleo Le-Tan
Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 23/32 Mariana Mona, Javier Arizu
Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 24/32 Matt Rossi
Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 25/32 Nicci Hunter, Odessa Rae, Rita Ora, Ariana DeBose
Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 26/32 Tobias Rauscher
Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 27/32 True Whittaker, Rich Woods
Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 28/32 Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 29/32 Madeline O'Malley, Sabina Szymura, Ian Malone
13 Samhain Rituals to Celebrate the Pagan Origins of Halloween, Courtesy of 13 Witches The Third Mercury Retrograde 2026 Won’t Ruin Your Life (But Here’s How to Protect Your Peace Anyway) Meet the Women Changing the Face of Mariachi in San Antonio In Suits, Suede, and Heirloom Jewels, Princess Leonor Offers a Lesson in Fall Style Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 30/32 Olympia Le Tan, Boni Reiffers
Expand Quadir Moore/BFA.com 31/32 Julia Roth, Sophie Tibet
Source: Lifestyle
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