Up a chipped blue staircase so steep you feel like you might die if you put a foot wrong is a door. And behind that door is Silence Please, a listening room and tea house fitted out with hi-fi speakers from the brand itself. On Thursday night, the space was filled with guests of Highsnobiety and Sage Elsesser, a.k.a. Navy Blue, who figured it was worth risking their necks. 

Long tables in the main room were dotted with the spring issue of Highsnobiety featuring Elsesser on the cover in his signature hue. Incense holders were perched on various surfaces burning a custom scent created for Highsnobiety by Unknown Variable. A corner bar served Lalo Tequila cocktails. Farther back, in a room set up to look like a record store, rows of little Elsessers looked down from both walls like a battalion made up of just one guy. 

The man himself seemed at ease, hugging friends and flitting around the space. At one point he could be found chatting it up in the back room with the musician Jack Harlow. At another he was huddled with some friends and his sister, the model Paloma Elsesser. “My brother is quite shy, and for him to let himself center his vision and his artistry is really important, really impressive, and makes me really proud,” Paloma said. 

“Obviously I do this all the time, and I can understand his vulnerability,” she added. But “the images feel special and sacred, and I’m so happy everyone came out to celebrate him because he’s deserving of such.” 

The night was soundtracked by DJs Saji and Ade Kassim, both of whom were tapped by Sage. And the musician Nick Hakim performed midway through: just him and a mic and vocals that sounded ripped from his chest. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch; phones were raised, and heads bopped along to a semi-intangible beat. 

“I’m a deep, deep admirer of what he makes,” Sage said of Hakim. “He’s special. I’m intentional in everything I do, [and] I wanted to give opportunities to people I know and love.” 

As the night wound down, Sage said goodbye to some friends who were off to The Odeon. Others Googled the nearest dollar slice (“more like $8 now”). The room emptied out, but a few people lingered on the Togo leather sofas to catch the waning notes.