Daily Front Row

2010 October 27

Lord & Taylor's Home Improvement

Comments | | Print

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Ciara
CHANCE YEH/PatrickMcMullan.com View Gallery

(NEW YORK) The corner of Fifth Avenue and 39th Street buzzed with pep rally-esque spirit Tuesday night, as Lord & Taylor toasted its massive renovations during the “Ultimate Face-Lift Celebration.” Guests including Michael Bloomberg, Ciara, Denise Richards and Anna Sui roamed the department store’s expansive ten floors as aerial dancers suspended from the ceiling circled around a Swarovski chandelier and a marching band filed through the store’s main entrance. The mayor declared Tuesday, October 26th the official “Lord and Taylor Day,” and CEO Brendan Hoffman beamed accordingly. “We’re thrilled. It’s been 35 years since we’ve been able to renovate this store, and we feel like we’ve brought it into the 21st century while still being very respectful to the store's heritage. There's a lot of spectacle today, but tomorrow will be all about selling the merchandise.”

Inside, Ciara made her way to the tenth floor, which was transformed into a beer garden and VH1 lounge. In honor of the evening, Lord & Taylor will donate $100,000 to the VH1 Save The Music Foundation. Guests sipped on Stella Artois while Ciara explained, “Music gives my life light and it really gives the world light. There are the three Ms: medicine, money and music. I feel like music can cure in a way money and medicine cannot. It’s a beautiful thing.” The singer was in high spirits as she just finished her latest album Basic Instinct and also celebrated her 25th birthday on Tuesday. The night was all about renovation, and Ciara admitted that she has interior design plans of her own. “I just went to my home in Atlanta, and it's time to revamp that place. It’s so 2003 right now. I think the theme will be...modern chic.”
EMILY POPP