Chloë Sevigny, Hari Nef, and Mickalene Thomas Just Partied at the Brooklyn Artists Ball.

The Brooklyn Museum’s annual benefit doubled as the opening for designer Iris van Herpen’s new show, drawing a crowd as style-forward as they were art-world attuned.

On Tuesday evening, the Brooklyn Museum transformed into a grand tableau of fashion and art for the museum’s annual ball and the opening celebration of the “Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses” exhibition. A crowd of artists, patrons, designers, and downtown fixtures descended on the museum in an array of evening gowns and imaginative looks, drifting through a showcase featuring more than 140 haute couture creations.

The Locale: The Brooklyn Museum came alive after dark as guests navigated an exclusive preview of the Iris van Herpen exhibition in their finery—clinking glasses and admiring the looks on view before settling in for the evening.

The Crowd: Guests included event hosts Fabiola Beracasa Beckman, Sylvana Durrett, Jordan Roth, Lizzie Tisch, and Amanda Waldron; co-chairs Regina Aldisert, Megan Brodsky, Victoria Rogers, and Carla Shen; CULTURED Editor-in-Chief Sarah Harrelson; designers Iris van Herpen and Wes Gordon; musicians Peggy Gou and Swizz Beatz; artists Mickalene Thomas, Keisha Scarville, Paul Arnhold, and Miles Greenberg; writer Derek Blasberg; and gallerist Saam Niami.

Memorable Moment: To punctuate the evening’s pomp, dancers from the New York City Ballet delivered a special performance. Moving with striking precision and near weightlessness, the performers appeared in winged costumes flashing with red and gold, offering a living extension of the exhibition’s fascination with movement, metamorphosis, and the body in motion.

The Entertainment: As if exclusive after-hours access to the exhibition and a ballet revue weren’t enough, the evening crescendoed into a booming afterparty soundtracked by DJs Swizz Beatz and Runna. The elegance of the night’s first act transformed into a buzzing dance floor, with guests lingering deep into the night beneath the hall’s moody lights.

Parting Gift: A special, site-specific photo strip produced at artist Keisha Scarville’s photo booth—which was constructed exclusively for guests at the ball.