This Is What You Missed at SCHWET’s Steamy, Under-the-Radar Debut
You could be forgiven for missing one of last week’s hottest parties, which unfolded semi-secretly inside a three-story, still-under-construction space in Tribeca, where hard hats have not yet fully given way to hand towels. The guest list was tightly curated, and the soiree itself was notably phone-free by design, resulting in an evening that was anchored in the present, delightfully off-the-cuff and marked by rare discretion. Upstairs, the mood was salon-like and conspiratorial and the conversation flowed like cocktails. Downstairs, on a pool deck that has since been demolished, propriety dissolved; the empty pool, four-and-a-half feet below ground level, became for one night only the city’s most exclusive dance floor.
This was SCHWET, a new bathhouse concept, in the act of becoming. For those not in the know, bathhouses are back, and this one promises to be particularly hedonistic, outfitted with a Japanese scrub room, a red-light infrared sauna, a hot mineral pool, a bracing cold plunge, a traditional Russian banya and, crucially, a bar. Founder Mauri Waneka’s vision is a deliberate departure from typical wellness spaces that have in recent years leaned hard into the Scandi aesthetic. Hers will look and feel more like a social club—there’ll be dinner parties and artist takeovers this spring—with a side of sweat.
Among the A-listers in attendance were headline names from arts, entertainment, culture and media. There were curators Zoe Lukov and Kyle DeWoody, Pioneerworks founder Dustin Yellin, the High Line’s Robert Hammond, Creative Art Partners cofounder Brian Ludlow and artists Taylor Nelson, Ceren Arslan and Rich Aybar, among other creative types. Also spotted were designers Irina Eicke and Max Eicke, tastemaker and man about town Harry Hill and scads of people who spend their days on set, including Patrick Ball, Lauren Patten, Ben Sinclair, Linda Emond, Alden Ehrenreich, Grace VanderWaal and Madeline Brewer.