Serena is thrilled to find out that her mother posed nude for Mapplethorpe, whom she refers to as "the one who took all the pictures of the naked guys." Robert Mapplethorpe was a controversial New York photographer notorious for his work on the gay scene. He died in 1989.
Eleanor refers to Jenny as a duplicitous Eve Harrington. Decades ago, she was the apparently timid, but actually ruthless ingenue in All About Eve (1950), widely considered to be one of the best movies ever, garnering six Oscars among eighteen Academic nominations, and eighteen other awards.
Though Marc Jacobs is frequently mentioned in humorous vein, the only designer shown is Michael Kors. He is the guy at his show during New York Fashion Week early in the episode. Later on seen wearing sunglasses.
Madchen Amick (Catherine) and David Kelly (Noah) were both in Twin Peaks.