Tory Burch and Jessica Alba Party With Lauryn Hill in Paris

Tory Burch and Jessica Alba at the designer’s party in Paris. Photo: Getty Images

Tory Burch has a soft spot for Morocco. It’s where her parents - Buddy and Reva - honeymooned, and her Tory Daily blog and Pinterest board regularly feature snaps from trips there, showing Tory sitting in the Majorelle Garden, say, or sharing ‘Marrakech Express’ finds like decorative tile work and souk goodies. Her current collection also channels a luxe Moroccan theme.

Sticking to the storyline for a bash for her spanking new flagship on the Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris on Tuesday, Burch transformed the courtyard of the H?tel de Sully into a Moroccan riad for the night, erecting a vast tent filled with cushions and rugs for guests to lounge on and sprinkling lanterns, sweet treats and plates of oranges throughout the garden.

“Oh, it’s just a few extra scraps from the collection that I threw together,” laughed Burch, who sure was in the mood to party having tapped Lauryn Hill as the night’s headlining act. Burch was the first up to dance - joined by friends of the house including Melanie Laurent and Lola Bessis - as the petite dynamo commanded the stage. IPhones aloft, the adoring crowd bellowed along to signature hits including “Doo-Wop (That Thing)” and “Killing Me Softly.”

“I loved dancing with Tory, it was so much fun,” said Jessica Alba, relaxing, as she ordered a mint tea after the show while taking in the decor. “Oh my god, it’s gorgeous, I feel like I’m in her environment - I feel like I’m in the Tory blog, Tory Daily,” she cooed, like butter wouldn’t melt, before suddenly dropping the sweet act when asked “parlez-vous fran?ais?”

“I’ve been coming to Paris since I was 18; I’m no spring chicken, honey,” shot back the actress-turned-entrepreneur, who had elegantly poured herself into a printed dress from the house’s Morocco collection. Alba chatted about how surreal it was to land the cover of Forbes magazine last month, in an issue dedicated to America’s richest self-made women. “It was totally insane,” she said, laughing at the magazine’s claim that – as founder of her billion-dollar The Honest Company – she now “moonlights” as a Hollywood actress. “It just takes up more of my time and I miss acting, but if there’s a good enough role, I’ll do it,” said Alba, who is readying a feminine care line and is set to launch a beauty line in the fall. “There are 87 SKUs, it’s skincare and color cosmetics,” she said. When asked about how she felt about fellow lifestyle entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow taking objection to the media comparing women in the same field, she said: “I think as business people, we’re all very different. You know, some people might get frustrated by being lumped into a thing but at the end of the day, we’re all happy and we’re all grateful.”

Burch, who cozied up to French beau, LVMH bigwig Pierre-Yves Roussel, for most of the night, was still buzzing from Hill’s performance. “She’s inspiring, brilliant, divine,” she said. “She speaks to women and her style is impeccable, but it’s not even about what she’s wearing, it’s about who she is, and that’s what I love about her.”

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