At The Fifth Avenue Hotel, Moda Operandi Hosted a Real Life Trunkshow for Oscar de la Renta

On a cool Thursday afternoon, at the end of New York Fashion Week and the beginning of autumn, Moda Operandi’s co-founder and chief brand officer, Lauren Santo Domingo, welcomed 88 guests to celebrate Oscar de la Renta’s co-creative directors Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia. They previewed the house’s Spring 2024 collection with lunch and a salon-style presentation at the soon-to-open-to-the-public Fifth Avenue Hotel’s signature restaurant Café Carmellini, followed by a trunk show in The Fifth Avenue Hotel’s ballroom.

“My toxic trait is that I am an oversharer,” Lauren Santo Domingo said with a chuckle, as she stood before friends, stylists, and tastemakers at the lush soon-to-open Cafe Carmellini at the Fifth Avenue Hotel. “I wanted to share access to fashion that I knew others didn’t have. I wanted to share fashion; I wanted to share designers, with everyone. And today, we’re flipping the switch a little bit.” At Moda, customers and fashion lovers are able to pre-order off-the-runway finds and exclusives. On Thursday, they were able to buy items off the model’s trotting directly in front of them, before anyone else. An IRL trunkshow. “You’ll have the exclusive opportunity to shop the collection right now. It’s such a treat for us to be the exclusive partner for [Oscar De La Renta] Spring 2024.”

De la Renta’s collection wasn’t the only first look the guests experienced that afternoon. The Fifth Avenue Hotel will officially open its doors in October—welcoming travelers and New Yorkers alike to an alluring experience in the soul of Manhattan. For the special event, guests were able to try on pieces in the comfort of the aptly designed rooms. “The Fifth is the realization of many years of dreaming and discovery,” Founder Alex Ohebshalom explains, with a creative spirit and whimsy at the forefront. The 153 guestrooms and suites, some of which feature private terraces, are inspired by the yore of the neighborhood and the heritage of the building—which is a transformed mansion designed for the artful traveler. The acclaimed Martin Brudnizki Design Studio created an aesthetic that embraces Bohemian romanticism, the glamour of the Gilded Age, and contemporary intrigue. The ideal establishment to soak in Oscar De La Renta’s imaginative collection.