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SAKS IN THE CITY TWO NIGHTS AND A DAY AT SAKS FIFTH AVENUE'S RESPLENDENT NEW SHOPPING MECCA CATHERINE D. ANSPON REPORTS. PHOTOGRAPHY EMILE BROWNE, PRISCILLA DICKSON, WILSON PARISH. JUNE | PAGE 12 | 2016 T he unveiling of Saks Fifth Avenue's newly minted gem of a store at the Galleria defined this spring as a once-in-a-lifetime event for one of America's most storied retailers — one with a century- old pedigree (founded 1902) and an iconic address. On September 15, 1924, the first Saks Fifth Avenue opened along Upper Fifth Avenue in New York, a shopping tradition that continues to today; Saks has held court in Houston since 1974, moving to the Galleria in 1997. After nearly 20 years, it was time for a new look, but much more was literally in store. In fact, an entirely new store has risen at the prime corner of Westheimer and Sage. The 200,000-square-foot temple to fashion and beauty is ascending towards one day soon becoming the number-two store in the Saks crown. During the last week of April, there was little room for anything in the social datebook beyond what Saks Fifth Avenue had planned to fête its new Galleria Houston flagship. The upper echelons of our society were on hand to see and shop three days of retail bliss. The first-event in the new store benefitted Houston Grand Opera and involved our grandest dame and an emergent swan: An opulent dinner at the resplendent in-store restaurant, 51Fifteen Cuisine & Cocktails, made for a dazzling occasion with chairs Lynn Wyatt and Isabel David. The following night, MD Anderson Cancer Center created an impressive cocktail fund-raiser to kick off the hospital's 75th year — the guest list swelled to near 1,000. A ribbon-cutting ceremony the next morning welcomed the public, complete with monumental black-and-white Saks ribbon, large scissors and fanfare. Saks cut no corners for the big nights and day, filling the spacious two-story store with cirque-themed characters and bowers of flowers by Swift + Company, with a nod to the Rothko Chapel's landmark Barnett Newman's Broken Obelisk, rendered in blossoms and foliage. For more designer dish regarding the new Saks, peruse papercitymag.com. VERY VIP Saks Fifth Avenue top brass, president Marc Metrick, chief merchant Tracy Margolies, EVP of stores Larry Bruce, and Saks Houston team VP/general manager Bobby Dees and PR and fashion director Sylvia Forsythe; the fashion designer headliner of the moment, Erdem Moralioglu, in from London (many of the femmes turned out in Erdem for the occasion); MD Anderson cocktail chairs Yvonne and Rufus Cormier, Isabel and Danny David, Courtney Hill Fertitta and Jason Fertitta, Janet Gurwitch, Denise Monteleone, and Claire Cormier Thielke and Rick Thielke; and glam heavy-hitters Mindy Hildebrand, Margaret Williams with Jim Daniel, Joan Schnitzer Levy, Cheryl and Percy Creuzot, Brian Teichman and Andy Cordes, Donna Josey Chapman, Molly Crownover, Shari Simon, Lucky Chopra with Luisa Alzate, Dancie Ware, Kelli and Eddy Blanton, Becca Cason Thrash, Diane Lokey Farb, Anne Carl, Penny Wright, Sheree Frede, HGO's Patrick Summers and Perryn Leech, Tony Bradfield and Kevin Black, Stephanie and Ernie Cockrell, Estela and David Cockrell, Jan Duncan, Cathy and Giorgio Borlenghi, Barbara Davis, Becky Cooke, Laura Chiles, and Jana and Scotty Arnoldy. Ana María Martínez Gaby Attal Kelli Blanton Denise Monteleone Janet Gurwitch Ron Franklin Joan Schnitzer Levy Leslie Walker Janet Walker Cheryl Creuzot Diane Lokey Farb Percy Creuzot Margaret Williams Marc Metrick Brian Teichman Andy Cordes Sylvia Forsythe Kevin Black Tony Bradfield Bobby Dees David Cockrell Estela Cockrell George Lancaster Wezy Dees Michelle Smith Blair Beal Joshua Bell Michael Landrum Melissa King Amy Pierce Courtney Hill Fertitta Jason Fertitta Yvonne Cormier Rufus Cormier Claire Cormier Thielke Sarah Bray Erdem Moralioglu Isabel David Dancie Ware Pat Breen Mindy Hildebrand Lynn Wyatt Opening morning crowd, including Beth Muecke (in blue) Larry Bruce, Marc Metrick, Tracy Margolies, Bobby Dees Sheridan Williams