Olivia Culpo and Jamie Chung Kick Off the Opening of The Collective at Saks

by Sydney Sadick

Designers and their muses headed to Saks Fifth Avenue’s NYC flagship last night to celebrate the opening of The Collective, the newly-renovated 5th floor that will sell contemporary brands like Jonathan Simkhai, Kenzo, Public School, and more. Last night the space transformed into a dance party, thanks to Big Boi (the rapper who was formerly a member of Outkast) who DJ’d for guests. “I think when you come to Saks, you can always expect the unknown,” Saks chief merchant Tracy Margolies said on the surprise performance. “We’re always giving our customers a great experience. We want them to have the unexpected.”

The muses who came out for the party, dressed in piece by their designer dates, included Olivia Culpo (Alexis), actress Jamie Chung (Ramy Brook), Julia Restoin Roitfeld (LoveShackFancy), Sofia Sanchez de Betak (Joe’s Jeans), Cleo Wade (Cinq à Sept), Cindy Bruna (Jonathan Simkhai), and more. Designers like Marcus WainwrightDao-Yi Chow (Maxwell Osborne is in Morocco for Hannah Bronfman and Brendan Fallis’ wedding), Tanya TaylorAndrea LiebermanMichelle SmithRebecca Hessel Cohen, and Alexis Barbara were also on scene.

“Olivia [Culpo] is the perfect woman to embody who the Alexis woman is. She’s beautiful, elegant and feminine!” Barbara told The Daily. Culpo has quite the summer in store, and if you follow her on Instagram, you can see why it’s hard to keep up with her. “I’m filming a movie this summer that I’m really excited about, and a lot more traveling is to come,” she told us. “Hopefully I’ll have a break on Memorial Day weekend, but I have some other fashion projects coming out, too.” Considering the 90-degree temperature last night, it felt only natural to ask the beauty how she survives the heat. “I have a few tricks: I usually carry around an Evian spray to help cool me down. I like doing makeup, so I’m a fan of when it gets a little warmer and things tend to get a little more glistening.”

Other guests included Nicky HiltonEric Rutherford, and Theory’s womenswear creative director Lisa Kulson, who brought model Hedvig Palm. “Hedvig is one of our favorite models. She’s been featured in several of our look books. I think she represents our brand because she’s fresh and really is a natural beauty,” Kulson told The Daily about her muse. “She’s very international, having grown up in Sweden and living in New York and traveling all over the globe, but she also has interests beyond fashion. She wants to study bio-chemistry some day, and that to me is the epitome of a Theory woman—and she wears the clothes really well.”

Ramy Brook’s Ramy Sharp was also at the party with Chung, and reflected on one of her earliest memories of shopping at Saks. “I grew up in New Jersey and Saks was in Millburn—it wasn’t even in the Short Hills Mall yet! We’d drive to Millburn Avenue and go shopping. That’s when it started.”

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