We met up with our friends at NYLON last night to celebrate their new Music issue, on stands now. The dinner and afterparty hosted by Editor-in-chief Marvin Scott Jarrett and the inimitable Florence Welch took place in the Mondrian Soho Hotel. We started with dinner in the beautiful penthouse, which ended up being delayed over an hour after fireworks unexpectedly went off over the Manhattan bridge, but the views of the city were well worth the wait.

Though we arrived a little late, the afterparty downstairs at Mister H was still in full swing. Guests like Leigh LeZark from the Misshapes and Harley Newton were treated to beats by DJ Josh Madden. We also spotted Portia de Rossi, Shenae Grimes of 90210, and “Twilight” alum Kellan Lutz, who is now the face of the Dylan George men’s line. Was he spying on us?

Florence faced the cameras in an Anna Sui floral print dress, paired with a black fedora, ankle strap pumps, and a Chanel Mademoiselle bag (don’t tell Gucci!) . She continues on tour with Florence + The Machine through the summer and will also open for U2 on select dates. If you are in New York, you can catch them playing Central Park this Friday.

By now you might have heard of Florence Welch, the red haired British import who records under the name Florence + the Machine. After she was discovered performing in a small club in London, she has quickly gained fame in both the US and Europe, and her debut album Lungs has gone gold, selling over 500,000 copies and peaking at #1 on the Billboard Heatseeker charts. Her voice has been likened to Kate Bush, with occasional touches of Bjork.

She really hit the mainstream this year when she earned a coveted spot on MTV’s Video Music Awards  to perform her single “The Dog Days Are Over”. She has since followed up with high profile performances during the Oscars, The Brit Awards, SNL, Dancing with the Stars, and the Grammys, where she was nominated for Best New Artist and paid tribute to Aretha Franklin alongside Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Martina McBride and Yolanda Adams.

She puts some real vocal power behind unusual melodies to make soulful, emotional music that hits all the notes. We love “Girl With One Eye”, perhaps the most minimal song on the album, and “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)”, an epic battle cry and the most recent single.

We also can’t take our eyes off her fashion.  Her uncoventional looks have landed her recent spreads in Elle, The New York Times T magazine and Vogue, and she was all over the blogs for her looks during Paris Fashion Week. She’s a 24 year old that could pass for 38, with light skin, vermilion red hair, and long, thin legs that people just won’t stop talking about. It’s features like these that help her pull off nearly any look, from basic jeans to the ethereal, vintage dresses she loves to wear on stage.

You can catch Florence performing (with the Machine) during her U.S. tour, which starts in June.