This New Start-Up Wants to Be the “Rent the Runway of Parties”

Last week, a few very powerful women gathered around a very stylish table. There was Jessica Seinfeld, philanthropist and author; Aerin Lauder, lifestyle mogul; and Gucci Westman, beauty entrepreneur and makeup guru. The cofounder of SoulCycle, Julie Rice, was there too, as was the cofounder of The Wing, Lauren Kassan. So was actress Kate Capshaw, Edie Parker designer Brett Heyman, and author Katie Lee. There were award-winning poets, activists, and sex therapists. It was the perfect female-centric turnout for an event focused on two other powerful women who were hosting the evening, Vanity Fair’s former events director turned film producer Jessica Latham, and her childhood friend Amy Griffin, who is an early-stage investor through G9 Ventures. The dinner, held inside an old fabric shop in a walk-up on Canal Street, was in celebration of Latham and Griffin’s new business venture they cofounded together, called Social Studies. Think of it like Rent the Runway, but for personal party planning: Go online, choose a beautifully edited party kit for $30 to $50 per person, and receive said party kit in the mail, all neatly packaged with dishes, flatware, florals, and decorations and ready for you to easily unpack and set up. Social Studies, which currently delivers only to New York and the Hamptons, eliminates the necessity of party planning for smaller to medium-size events, giving hosts the option of fabulous tablescapes from designers ranging from La DoubleJ to Tory Burch.

“Party planning in general is fragmented, overwhelming, and inconvenient,” Latham explained of the market she’s aiming to improve. “I found in my experience planning parties, both for clients and myself, that there was a real lack of resources for small- to medium-size events, the type where you wouldn’t necessarily want to hire a planner. I’m talking about engagement parties, 30th-birthday parties, baby and bridal showers.” And launch events: Last week’s dinner was the first official soiree put together using the high-end decor from Social Studies. It all looked and felt intimate and individual. Personal touches included sketches of each guest by the artist Katherine Moffett. Latham and Griffin learned tidbits about each guest beforehand and had them written down on notecards so that each seatmate could learn something about the another. The food, from Legacy Records, was served family style. Latham and Griffin also asked guests their all-time favorite dessert, then proceeded to procure it for them, whether it was the Momofuku Milk Bar cake, the chocolate chip cookie from Levain, or the vanilla meringue from Cipriani.

On top of renting a kit, the Social Studies platform also offers amateur party planners tips and tricks like these, which can go a long way in elevating the mood of any event. “Jessica and I often talk about how Social Studies is so much more than just what’s on the table,” Griffin says. “We are bringing people together, one event at a time, by taking the guesswork out of hosting. We want the party host to open our kit and be over the moon about the event they are going to share with friends, without worrying about logistics.” Seeing everything come to life at their launch dinner was a proud moment for Latham and Griffin, mainly because, as Griffin says, “our core mission is bringing people together to celebrate special occasions and we were able to witness our company doing just that.”