The cheery “bon soir!” that Hermès executive vice president Christian Blanckaert had for each arrival certainly indicated that a special evening was in store for the lucky 100 invited to Friday’s preview of Denver’s first Hermès boutique.
How special was it?
Words like “classy” and “elegant” don’t begin to do it justice. Add “jaw-droppingly spectacular” and you’re almost there.
After an hour devoted to champagne and a look around the store that’s part of The Shops at NorthCreek, guests followed a path of Hermès orange hoof prints along Fillmore Plaza to a once-vacant space a door or two down. Inside was a club-like scene that Raul Avila and his Hermès design team spent two weeks creating. Overstuffed couches and hassocks were set in a softly lit garden that included elements from Paris’ legendary Tuileries and the gardens of Versailles.
Boxwood and magnolias were everywhere; trees that in fact were faux were made to look real, thanks to a covering of real bark. China, crystal, flatware and linens were flown in for the occasion, adding further elegance to the buffet tables stocked with Osetra caviar and blinis, rare roast tenderloin, lamb chops, poached salmon and beet salad from Dining by Design and sweets by D-Bar Desserts.
If Denver is pleased to have Hermès, top executives from the world’s largest independently owned luxury retailer indicated that the feeling is mutual.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be here,” said Robert Chavez, president and chief executive of Hermès USA. “We knew this would be the perfect location for us; I can’t think of a happier place to be.”
Many of the Friday night partiers were supporters of the Denver Art Museum, including board chair Fred Hamilton and his wife, Jane, and such previous or current board members as Dick and Marcia Robinson, Bob and Kalleen Malone and Barry and Arlene Hirschfeld. The DAM was to receive a percentage of the opening weekend sales.
Christian Anschutz’s Western Development Group built the NorthCreek retail and residential complex, and he was there to welcome a group that also included his parents, Phil and Nancy Anschutz; Victoria and Harry Sterling; Judy and Ken Robins ; Lorraine and Harley Higbie; Douglas Kerbs; artist Ellen Beller; and the honorary consul for France, Jeffrey Richards, and his wife, Carolyn.
Richards’ predecessor, Frieda Sanidas Leason, was there with her husband, novelist Barney Leason, and accessorized her suit with a Hermès scarf that she’d purchased in Paris in 1951. It still looks brand new.
Society editor Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@ ; also,
