To celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday and the launch of her new namesake wine, Gia Coppola gathered friends in her LA home for a festive Friendsgiving. An intimate gathering of candlelight, her trio of inspired wines, and dinner served on brightly colored floral dishes and platters from the Found By Kindred Black archive. We caught up with Gia a few days later to talk family, tradition, and her art of entertaining.
Your family is well known for entertaining and there seems to be a long history of being a sort of social epicenter. Were you influenced by that growing up?
I think I’ve been taught that if you’re going to do something; whether wine, movies, hosting a dinner at my house, whatever — it should be an extension of me of and what I like. With my family I recognize that they all do things that are very individual and true to who they are, while still involving tradition.
Is there a specific event or gathering that stands out to you, something especially memorable?
My mom used to have pretty epic Halloween parties at our home. I remember once Kate Moss as a vampire was in my bed.
Any epic fails that you can remember?
No, never any fails. Maybe just things getting too rowdy and things breaking or spilling on furniture.
After Friendsgiving, we got to thinking of your parties as being sort of modern day salons – interesting people, with unusual backgrounds, stories, and talents coming together to eat and socialize, with fabulous table settings and tiny, unique treasures setting their places…do you pull this kind of crew together often and when you do, how do you decide on your guest list?
I learned from my family to love table settings and cooking. I don't like to go out, I much prefer for my friends to come over and hang out.
Do you have any tips for getting a party going? Anything that you fall back on if things seem stilted or awkward at first?
I think you can’t be too rigid. You have to do your best to build the production and then just let it roll. I think bad music can kill the vibes.
What’s the most important element of any party?
Booze and music.
Some people love them, some people hate them – what’s your opinion of games at a party?
I’m very picky about what games I like. I like card games, or more mental strategy games. I don’t like the performance ones.
What’s on your party playlist this year?
Oh as a teenager I was much cooler and listened to all the underground punk and British new wave etc. Now I’m lazy and uncool and listen to top 40’s on the radio.
What are some of your family traditions around the holidays?
Around Christmas we have a pretty strict menu. I just forget the order. I think it’s a honey glazed ham two nights before, and it’s Italian tradition to have a sea food dinner the night before, then Christmas we do Thanksgiving again…
Do you have any New Years rituals or unusual ways that you ring in the new year?
That’s my birthday! So that’s my favorite holiday because the whole world celebrates. I think the hats and decorations are my favorite — no matter where I am I always pack them.
The 3-0 (three zero) series – In numerology the number 30 is sometimes referred to as the limitless 3 – the highly creative and social energy of the digit 3 followed by the unlimited digit 0. This piece is part of the series, collaborations between Kindred Black and some of the many talented female creatives we’ve met along the way. A collection of lookbooks, interviews, conversations, and more highlighting eco-fashion and the Kindred Black sustainability ethos, 3-0 is our way of creating a space for the imagination and creative expression of the women that inspire us.
Photography by Kate Parfet