Anna Baryshnikov Is Relieved Her Dad, Mikhail, Is Not in the ‘Sex and the City’ Revival

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Chanel No. 5, the first perfume ever created by a woman for a woman. To honor the centennial, Chanel held an extravagant birthday party called No. 5 in the Stars on Friday evening, transforming New York City’s iconic Rockefeller Center into a historical journey that looks back on the evolution of the iconic scent that has become the world’s most famous fragrance.

A parade of Hollywood’s newest crop of fashion-forward thinkers, including breakout star Lauren Ridloff from Marvel’s Eternals, actor Dylan Penn, the daughter of Sean Penn and Robin Wright, and Tommy Dorfman from the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, joined fashion elites Mary J. Blige, Lily Allen, and Jemima Kirke at the party to commemorate the revolutionary fragrance, decked out, of course, in ready-to-wear Chanel. Upon arrival, the well-dressed crowd strolled through the outdoor exhibition that features multisensory activations and a larger-than-life installation of No. 5 perfume bottles explaining the history of the fragrance, as well as the progression of the bottle design over the decades.

Ridloff, who plays the super-fast hero Makkari in Eternals, celebrated the end of her monthlong global press tour by attending the Chanel bash. She is the first deaf performer to appear in a Marvel movie, and looked stunning at each and every red-carpet event, showcasing originality, bold colors, and major glamour. Her fashion motto is all about having fun.

“For me it’s not about looking pretty. That’s not interesting enough to me. Throughout the press tour, I wanted to show a little bit of drama and mood and humor,” said Ridloff through her American Sign Language interpreter on the arrivals carpet. “That’s what I look for in trying things on and what makes me feel good. I approach fashion by always wanting to be true to myself and have fun.”

Penn has been setting a new standard with several standout, high-fashion moments. The newcomer appeared at the Cannes Film Festival last July to premiere her first leading performance in the drama Flag Day, directed by her father, and wore a slew of knockout Chanel dresses. She credits stylist Rachel Zoe for helping her put together all her impeccable ensembles, but it’s her mother who has influenced her fashion sensibilities.

“My mom is the one who really taught me about style and that less is more,” said Penn, dressed in a Chanel black leather bomber jacket and leather shorts, while arriving at the party. “That’s always what I think when I’m picking whatever I wear. That’s the best advice she’s given. I do dress like her. We also share clothes because we are the same size. We always have been. We have the same shoe size. I would always steal her wardrobe. When I’m not dressing up for a red carpet, I dress like a tomboy. Anything that fits that energy is what I tend to go towards. Johnny Knoxville was my fashion icon growing up. I grew up in Northern California, and it was Levi’s, T-shirts, and Converse.”

One person whom she avoids getting fashion advice from is her two-time Oscar-winning father. “My dad wears cargo shorts or pants that zip off with Italian dress shoes that are, like, $900. He has no fashion sense whatsoever,” she said while laughing. “Sometimes I try to help him. When we did our first press tour together, I had to ask him a couple of times, ‘Can you please wear this suit today? Like, can you try a little bit?’ Sometimes he listens to me. Sometimes. He’s a tough one.”

Anna Baryshnikov, the daughter of famed ballet dancer and actor Mikhail Baryshnikov, arrived at the party dressed in an elegant black Chanel iridescent tweed jacket with blue jeans. She is elevating the casual, timeless, classic look with help from her father’s style rules. “When I was a kid, there was an article that came out and listed my dad as one of the 50 best-dressed men, and my jaw dropped because I was like, My dad? Best-dressed?” the actor, who stars in the Apple TV+ series Dickinson, recalled. “I see him leave the house in the same suspenders and stretchy knitwear dance pants, and it was the weirdest combination. But I will say he always feels comfortable. He always feels like himself when he walks out the door, and I think I’ve tried to carry that with me. Even if something looks great, if I don’t feel myself in it, it’s not worth it.”

Asked if her father would be reprising his role as artist Aleksandr Petrovsky, Sarah Jessica Parker’s ex-boyfriend, in the Sex and the City revival, And Just Like That…, Baryshnikov responded, “I think his character really went out when he was supposed to go out, and every time I get to that season, I’m like, Oh, God. I just have to skip this bit.” She continued: “So I’m personally glad that I’m able to watch the reboot without having to close my eyes at any part. Do you want your parent on a show that’s called Sex and the City? It’s weird. When I was a kid, I remember seeing one of Samantha’s scenes, and it was one of the first sex scenes that I had ever heard or seen. And I just remember and noted that people yodel a lot in those moments! I’m a huge fan of the show, and he had such a good time doing it. I bug him for stories all the time.”