Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1056047
41 S o it was that we found ourselves in NYC on a chilly fall evening, cocktail-attired and ready to explore all that was 1907 Fantasy Lane. We found a massive space transformed for one night only into a mansion with several stories of rooms, each decorated in the style of this year's eight megawatt Fantasy Gifts. It was an extraordinary sight — one where models, celebs, fashion designers, and New York society were shaken up like a hot toddy. One space had been transformed into a luxurious lounge for the Indian Subcontinent experience, a $630,000 trip around south Asia — via private jet — from India to Nepal, Bhutan to the Maldives. All that was missing was a makeshift version of Mount Everest. Upstairs, Sugarfina founders Rosie O'Neill and Josh Resnick took over a nook, filling it with gobs of candy (Willy Wonka gone super chic) for the Sugarfina Candy Bar gift, which includes a trip to Sugarfina's factory in Genoa, Italy, and a candy bar to be installed in the recipients home and stocked with more than a million sweet treats. What price sugar high? A cool $325,000. Nearby, a Bond Girl-esque model invited partygoers to participate in a mid-party scavenger hunt: We were each given a riddle that led to hidden clues (and prizes for a lucky few) throughout a sleek room turned spy HQ. This was all in the name of the Secret Agent experience. A few guests were ready to pull out their pocketbooks and sign a check for $315,000 to fly private to Las Vegas for a two-night espionage extravaganza via the exclusive Invictus Experience. Of course, it wouldn't be a Neiman Marcus Fantasy Gift party without Santa, so we asked for the where- abouts of Saint Nick. Just up that flight of stairs, we were told. Indeed, there he was, the man of the hour — but not the jolly, round gent of childhood lore. No, Neiman Marcus flew in Fashion Santa from what we imagine was a mid-century modern bachelor pad in the North Pole, for the occasion: A slim and handsome man (yes, he had a beard, though his was more of the silver-fox variety, not bushy white), Fashion Santa wore a tailored, red-plaid suit and a dapper pair of loafers. We found him, not sitting on a red velvet throne, but rather playing a very stylish, reinvented version of Beer Pong, wherein red Solo cups and beer were replaced with Champagne coups and bubbly. All was to replicate a party-game version of the Tennis Majors experience — a $555,000 trip to all four tennis majors as a VIP guest of 2017 U.S. Open champ Sloane Stephens. What we would give to see Fashion Santa suited up in Wimbledon whites. After this whirlwind New York City night, we do hope we've made the nice list — you know, the kind that rewards with six-figure presents. Champagne-Pong for the Tennis Majors Fantasy Gift Costume designer Colleen Atwood's Fantasy Gift den The Neiman Marcus Serenity Solar Yacht Fantasy Gift Fashion Santa Edward Barsamian Neva Hall Peter Som, Zach Young An exotic Fantasy Gift lounge