The Moment
If you wondered where the A-list actually rang in the New Year, spoiler: it was not your living room charcuterie board and paper hats.
Kim Kardashian and Formula 1 legend Lewis Hamilton were among the boldface names spotted in Aspen on New Year’s Eve, slipping out of ultra-upscale Japanese hot spot Matsuhisa and into the freezing Colorado night on their way to Kate Hudson’s annual invite-only party.
Photos from the evening show Kim doing what Kim does best – serving a full look despite the sub-zero temps – while Lewis went the practical-but-stylish route, bundled up in winter layers. Actress Anya Taylor-Joy, of The Queen’s Gambit fame, and her partner, musician Malcolm McRae, were also seen heading out with the same party-bound crowd.
The destination, according to multiple photo sets from the night, was Kate Hudson’s private New Year’s Eve bash, a tradition that has quietly turned Aspen into a kind of snowy Soho House for Hollywood every December.
The Take
I’m just going to say it: Aspen has become the unofficial year-end headquarters for people whose net worth has its own security team.
What used to be a chic ski town for old money has turned into winter’s version of Cannes – only instead of film premieres, it’s puffer coats, fur-trimmed everything and a parade of black SUVs doing laps between Nobu-adjacent sushi and someone’s “super chill, low-key” mansion party.
This particular night is a perfect little snapshot of how celebrity works now:
- Kim Kardashian shows up in Aspen and suddenly it’s not just a ski trip, it’s content.
- Lewis Hamilton, global sports icon, is right there mixing in like it’s the paddock after a race – only the dress code is “billionaire snow globe.”
- Kate Hudson quietly hosts what might be the most powerful New Year’s Eve guest list in the Rockies, no red carpet necessary.
On the surface, it’s just stars going to dinner and then to a party. But culturally, it’s something else: the holidays have become a kind of social leaderboard. Where you spend New Year’s – and who sees you there – says as much about your status as your next movie or brand deal.
The whole thing feels a bit like high school lunch tables, if the cafeteria were a Michelin-level sushi spot and the parking lot were lined with chauffeured SUVs instead of Hondas. You’re either at the Kate Hudson Aspen table or you’re refreshing Instagram from your couch.
Receipts
Let’s separate what we actually know from what everyone is assuming.
- Confirmed:
- Publicly available photos from New Year’s Eve show Kim Kardashian, Lewis Hamilton, Anya Taylor-Joy and Malcolm McRae leaving Matsuhisa in Aspen, Colorado.
- The images are credited to celebrity photo agency Backgrid and were published on January 1, 2026.
- Kate Hudson is widely reported to host an annual, invite-only New Year’s Eve party in Aspen, and the star group was described as heading to her bash after dinner.
- Unverified / Not publicly documented:
- What exactly went on inside Kate Hudson’s party (beyond the obvious music, drinks and celebrity small talk).
- Any private conversations, deals, or relationship drama that may have happened behind closed doors.
In other words: we’ve seen the arrivals and exits. Anything beyond that is speculation, and that’s where we tap the brakes.
Kim Kardashian & Lewis Hamilton are looking cool while stepping out for Kate Hudson’s NYE party in Aspen. https://t.co/eJysnEPggJ
Pics: Backgrid pic.twitter.com/JX9tPMwO9P
— JustJared.com (@JustJared) January 2, 2026
Backstory (For Casual Readers)
If a few of these names feel more “I’ve heard of them” than “I know their whole life story,” a quick refresher:
- Kim Kardashian rose to fame on reality TV and has since become a major entrepreneur, with fashion, beauty, and shapewear empires, plus a serious push into criminal justice reform.
- Lewis Hamilton is a seven-time Formula 1 World Champion and one of the biggest names in global sports, known as much for his racing as for his fashion and activism.
- Kate Hudson, actress and wellness entrepreneur, has been hosting an exclusive Aspen New Year’s Eve gathering for years, drawing a mix of actors, musicians and power players.
- Anya Taylor-Joy broke out in The Queen’s Gambit and has since become a film and fashion favorite. Her partner, Malcolm McRae, is a musician and actor.
- Matsuhisa Aspen is a high-end Japanese restaurant from famed chef Nobu Matsuhisa, long considered a magnet for celebrities and serious food people.
Aspen itself has been a celebrity winter playground for decades, but in the Instagram age, every sidewalk stroll and dinner exit becomes a mini-fashion show beamed straight to the rest of us.
What’s Next
So what does this little New Year’s Eve caravan actually signal, beyond expensive outerwear?
- Aspen’s grip as a holiday power spot. With more stars choosing the mountains over Miami or Vegas, expect the town’s New Year’s reputation to keep growing – and the cameras to follow.
- More curated glimpses from the celebs themselves. Watch for polished photo dumps and Stories: cozy chalet shots, champagne toasts, maybe a blurry countdown video (with no sign of the photographers outside).
- Brand and fashion fallout. Outfits spotted in these candid photos tend to reappear as trends – from Kim’s cold-weather glam to Lewis’s layered streetwear. If they wore it in Aspen, it’ll be on shelves by next winter.
- The next chapter of the “who-celebrates-where” game. By next year we’ll be tracking: who’s still in Aspen, who defected to Europe, and who went “quiet” and stayed home – which, in celebrity speak, can be its own power move.
For now, the message from those snowy sidewalks is pretty clear: if Hollywood has a winter office, it’s Kate Hudson’s New Year’s Eve in Aspen.
Sources: Publicly released New Year’s Eve celebrity photos from Aspen, Colorado, dated Jan. 1, 2026, including images credited to Backgrid; prior public coverage of Kate Hudson’s annual Aspen New Year’s Eve gatherings.
Your turn: Does this kind of ultra-curated, paparazzi-adjacent New Year’s scene still feel fun to you, or are you more charmed by a low-key celebration out of the spotlight?
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