Following the recent expansion of Soho House to the Arts District, the opening of Spring Place in Beverly Hills and h Club in Hollywood, (to name a few), it seems as though L.A is under siege with private clubs. Just this past week in the heart of Melrose Place, founders Debbie Wosskow and Anna Jones opened their coveted female member’s club The AllBright in West Hollywood after launching two successful branches in London.
The name is derived from the Madeline Albright quote “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.” (The extra ‘L’ was added to the club name so they didn’t get sued for Copyright infringement.)
According to Wosskow, a former tech entrepreneur from London, “At the heart of it all, we feel if you can create this monster sisterhood of connected kick-ass women globally, then you can change the world. If Soho House had an ethical baby, it would be us.”
For the three-story L.A. club, even the $1.5 million-dollar art collection is by female artists, but men are welcome as guests of the members. “No men in the building didn’t make any sense since we all have men in our lives,” says Wosskow, about the philosophy, shared by partner Jones, who is a former CEO at Hearst Media. “We can let men in but on our own terms.”
To date, the club has attracted notable founding members including Olivia Wilde, Naomie Harris, Jameela Jamil, Meg Whitman, Adele Lim, Ruth Wilson, Maha Dakhil, Mary Katrantzou, and Maria Bello.
Celebs pouring into the chic, modern Built Inc. designed space on opening night included Rebel Wilson, Kaitlynn Carter, Jamie Chung, Charlotte McKinney, Delilah Belle Hamlin, Amelia Gray Hamlin, Christa B. Allen, Cody Horn, and Derek Warburton.
Guests were treated to an incredible range of cocktails and experiences throughout the glass-enclosed ground floor event space, second-floor restaurants and open-air rooftop, including a live performance from Swedish Electropop duo, Icona Pop. Refreshments on tap featured signature cocktails by Jane Walker by Johnnie Walker, Kim Crawford Wines, a Veuve Clicquot Champagne cart, that paired nicely with the caviar service and a Ladurée macaron bar. The first-floor spa (which will be open to the public), was loaded with NARS make-up specialists doing touch-ups, nails, and facial treatments by celebrity facialist Georgia Louise, plus percussive (muscle) therapy sessions from Theragun.
The dynamic duo plans to continue the expansion to New York and Washington, D.C. next year and has plans for a pop-up later this November in Hong Kong. For now, the focus is in California. “We are also building an online empire for women with motivational books and classes but so happy to get the doors open. I’ve heard a lot about the good city of Los Angeles,” said Wosskow. And, they even received a nice letter from Ms. Albright.
Visit: www.theallbright.com for membership enquires and further information.
