Food, Frocks, and Fashionistas

Fashionistas, socialites, and Miami's well-coiffed elite flocked to Aventura Mall on February 13 for the grand opening gala of the newest Nordstrom department store. More than 1,700 guests mingled in the sprawling 165,000-square-foot store, which has its own bistro and coffee bar.

Guests were able to preview the new store while sipping cocktails and sampling the buffet catered by A Joy Wallace Catering Production and Design Team. Culinary stations were placed throughout the two-story store serving a variety of ceviche, Moroccan couscous, roasted vegetable salad, salmon, roast beef, and a selection of quiches. A delectable dessert table rounded out the feast with cupcakes in flavors like chocolate mint and coconut, as well as mint parfait mousse cups and dozens of jars of jelly beans.Two full-scale fashion shows were staged throughout the evening in a hangar-size tent specially constructed outside the building for the event. Ready-to-wear designs from Michael Kors, Burberry Prorsum, Moschino, and Versace wowed the crowd. In addition, Miguel Cruz & Tropical Dreams from Tropics Entertainment performed.

At the end of the evening, eventgoers-some weighed down by new purchases-were each given a silver box of Nordstrom greeting cards as a memento. More than $200,000 was raised from ticket sales to benefit the Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis (part of the Miami Project at the University of Miami), the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the Junior League of Miami.