It’s here. The day Americans can finally say, “Canadians, they’re just like us!” But also, the day we finally get our very own Saks Fifth Avenue. The famed New York department store has officially opened its pearly, designer-laden gates (they’re cutting the ribbon as we type) and, well, it’s pretty spectacular. The 25,000 square foot fashion mecca is home to many Canadian firsts: swanky in-store boutiques like Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Balenciaga and Chloé as well as beauty brands like Trish McEvoy, By Terry and Nest. The store also comes complete with its famed “10222-SHOE” footwear department (a.k.a. the NYC shoe floor that has its own zip code), the private Fifth Avenue Club (a super specialized personal shopping quite), and later in the year, a food hall in partnership with Pusateri’s.
On Tuesday night, Toronto’s moneyed dance fans got a first peek at the store at a special cocktail in honour of The National Ballet of Canada. As guests took in impromptu performances by the corps de ballet, they shopped for a cause (or at least that’s what they told themselves), with all proceeds of the night’s event going to the ballet.
1/18
Saks Fifth Avenue Toronto Opening
Stella Zheng and Cola Xia
2/18
Saks Fifth Avenue Toronto Opening
Teddy Wilson and John Muscat
3/18
Saks Fifth Avenue Toronto Opening
Vanessa Mulroney, guest and Jane Hanrahan
4/18
Saks Fifth Avenue Toronto Opening
Lance Chung and Kirsten Wendlandt
5/18
Saks Fifth Avenue Toronto Opening
Guest and Nadia Saad
6/18
Saks Fifth Avenue Toronto Opening 06
Jay Strut
7/18
Saks Fifth Avenue Toronto Opening
Randi Bergman, Corey Ng, Alex Laws and Joanne Jin
8/18
Saks Fifth Avenue Toronto Opening
Sara Koonar and Christopher Turner
9/18
Saks Fifth Avenue Toronto Opening
Guillaume Cote and Heather Ogden
10/18
Saks Fifth Avenue Toronto Opening 11
Chan Hon Goh and Evan McKie
11/18
Saks Fifth Avenue Toronto Opening 12
Saks Fifth Avenue president Mark Metrick and National Ballet of Canada artistic director Karen Kain