Your Backstage Pass To The Coolest SXSWI Party, Hosted By R29 & Kate Spade New York

They say what happens at SXSW stays at SXSW, but if that were true, there wouldn't be so much FOMO. With that in mind, we're giving you all the juicy deets on our welcome party, Style Bytes, for SXSW Interactive with kate spade new york. So, you can fake like you've seen and been seen, even if the closest you got to Texas was your Willie Nelson playlist.

Friday's party was a chance for influencers and thought leaders to come together and stir up conversations that will be defining the future of digital media for years to come. The fact that they did it over cocktails, award-winning noshes, and adorable party favors (hello, pastel fortune tellers!) was just a sweet bonus.

VPs from Neiman Marcus, Burberry's digital director, Gucci's global director, and reps from Calvin Klein, Coach, Bottega Veneta, and so many more started the evening by hamming it up in our photo booth over cocktails before transitioning to an unforgettable meal masterminded by Top Chef's season-nine winner (and international phenom) Paul Qui. All this was followed by a few inspiring words from entrepreneur/investor/CEO Gary Vaynerchuk of VaynerMedia. And, those are just the parts we can talk about. For the real inside scoop, click through our slideshow. Now, go get yourself a spray tan and prepare to tell the world about the Best. SXSW. Ever. We won't tell if you don't.