Jeffrey Kalinsky Celebrates 20 Years of His Meatpacking Shop With a Cocktail Party

Yesterday evening as sun replaced rain, the streets of New York’s Meatpacking District glittered. A perfect scene for Jeffrey, the first retail store in the area, to celebrate its 20th anniversary with a cocktail party hosted by the man behind the brand, Jeffrey Kalinsky.

As rosé and cocktails circulated, guests—Fern Mallis, Daniella Vitale, Graziano de Boni, and Mazdack Rassi among them—wandered the bright, shimmering space. The high beams and vast proportions betray the shop’s industrial past which today hosts a masterful curation of Celine, Comme de Garçons, Sies Marjan, and Dries van Noten.

To imagine the neighborhood 20 years ago is to grasp the prophetic ways of Kalinsky, who opened the Manhattan location exactly a year after making a spontaneous pledge to do so. “My father thought I was crazy,” he said of his decision to settle in the district. “But I needed cheap rent.”

“‘Meatpacking’ is not a made-up name,” Mallis laughed as she described the former congestion of noisy butchers, meat trunks, and rancid smells.

Kalinsky remembered the gamble as “a combination of belief for potential and much more. A lot of luck and definitely some vision.”

The sociological transformation—immortalized by Samantha Jones’ shocking decision to leave her rent-controlled Upper East Side apartment for a loft on W 14th Street—was rapid but hardly steady. After enjoying its 2000s heyday, the district took a hit in 2012. Hurricane Sandy ravaged lower Manhattan and flooded many luxury boutiques. In the wake of destruction, the resilience of the area grew uncertain. Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Moschino, and other big names fled, and lesser brands filled their former flagships. But throughout the turmoil, Jeffrey remained. Once again, Kalinsky’s instinct paid off, and six years later, the area now gleams brighter than ever. In recent months, Hermès, and Loro Piana opened shops nearby.

“Usually I try to keep it short,” Kalinsky joked as he mounted the podium. “Not this time.”

The entrepreneur’s gratitude shined as he saluted his early friends and supporters. From Kalinsky’s success in Atlanta (“my firstborn child” as he calls it) to the brazen, brilliant move to Manhattan, the journey was remarkable. His eyes wet with tears at the memory of his mother’s faith in his improbable venture.

“I really did feel watched over,” Kalinsky told Vogue later. “It was a miracle.”