Ariana DeBose made a special appearance for Alice + Olivia‘s “Camp Pride” party. Stacey Bendet’s 2023 iteration of the brand’s annual affair in New York City was held in celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community, Pride Month and the Ali Forney Center.
The occasion also marked DeBose’s first major outing since hosting the Tony Awards on Sunday — an achievement she’s been reflecting on, though it “flew by.”
“I would be lying if I say I didn’t feel the pressure — I definitely felt it, just because of the circumstances and also because the Broadway community means so much to me,” DeBose exclusively shared with Footwear News. “I wanted it to be a great night for all involved, and I think that it was.”
DeBose is readying for the warm weather season to kick off in full swing. The Oscar-winning star admits she’s feeling a vacation in her future — destination unknown — but wants to go somewhere “with a beach, and some lovely fruity drinks.”
In tandem, she’s also stepping into a new rotation of summer shoes — even ones that have previously been a secret. “I’m terrible because I love a Birkenstock, which should be no one’s shoe of the summer — but I do love it,” DeBose admits, though she also favors slick heels as well.
“Honestly, I’m a Valentino girl — I love Valentino pumps, I love that they can always give you a good stiletto, and then they can turn around and give you a good thicker, chunkier, heel. It’s always giving unique shapes — even if you’re just wearing a black mini, the shoe is always saying something.”
DeBose is also taking essential time, however, to reflect on Pride Month and her own LGBTQIA+ circles. As a queer woman, occurrences like the 520-plus anti-LGBTQIA+ bills introduced to state legislatures this year have made the “West Side Story” star advocate for LGBTQIA+ community support more than ever before — and find value and support in her allies, as well.
“I want to express that true community is very important, because I think ‘community’ is a word that gets overused sometimes,” DeBose shares.
“Community in the space of truly coming together, expressing what allyship is, and when you see something, say something. We want to see allyship in action. We want to see queer people of all colors of the rainbow expressing themselves in the loudest, proudest ways they can think of. I think visibility is paramount, and community is paramount when we come together and we put our advocacy into action.”
Alice + Olivia’s Pride party featured an “Alice + Olivia’s Camp Pride” theme, with activations and activities inspired by summer camp — including friendship bracelet stations, ping pong and snacks and refreshments from Neat Burger, ShopRunner, Ketel One Botanical, Astral Tequila, The Beach Rosé, Juneshine and Flow Water.
Guests including Katie Holmes, Nicky Hilton, Ariana DeBose and Dylan Mulvaney were also treated to performances by Kenzie Ziegler and Ty Sunderland to close out the evening at The Close East Lawn.
