SF Fashion Elite Celebrate Opening of Pia the Store

Matt Cohler, Pia Cohler, Nina Stanford, and Michael Birch

Photo Credit: Drew Altizer

San Franciscans who are sick of online shopping, rejoice! In the past two months, three new clothing boutiques have opened up in the city by the Bay. First former Vogue editor Emily Holt revitalized the fashion community with the debut of Hero Shop in the Tenderloin. Then the beloved New York brand Intermix opened on Fillmore Street in Pacific Heights. Finally, last week Pia the Store, a luxe new retail haven from Pia Øien Cohler set up shop on Jackson Street. To celebrate the launch of the new store, Øien Cohler invited her friends, who happen to be some of SF’s most stylish movers and shakers, to a floral-soaked opening event last Thursday night.

Photo Credit: Drew AltizerA relatively new resident to the Bay Area, Øien Cohler moved to the Silicon Valley with her husband last year. A lawyer with a fashion habit, she has stocked her 414 Jackson Street boutique with pieces from over 50 international collections including Giambattista Valli, David Koma, Zac Posen, and Nina Ricci. Her brother-in-law interior designer Eric Cohler created the store’s sleek minimal decor. With white walls, high ceilings, and light streaming in from plenty of windows, Pia the Store feels like it could be a chic fashion-lover’s loft.

The stunning floral arch by Natalie Bowen Designs

Photo Credit: Drew Altizer

For Thursday night’s event, a gorgeous display of hot pink hydrangeas, draped across the front door’s archway and along the DJ’s table (created by Natalie Bowen Designs) were a pretty focal point and hot spot for taking photos. However, the most Instagrammed images from the evening were taken in a human-scale kaleidoscope installation by artist Anna-Alexia Basile. Guests were invited to stick their heads into a hole at the end of a four-foot long triangular shaped tube and snap or selfie or have a friend take a picture from the opening at the opposite end. The resulting image was a fantastic personalized kaleidoscope of your face—such fabulous fun!

Haute Living's Katie Sweeney's kaleidoscope photo — *Haute Living*‘s Katie Sweeney’s kaleidoscope photo

Photo Credit: Jessica Mullens

Notable attendees included Nicole Systrom and Priscilla Zuckerberg (wives to Instagram and Facebook founders, respectively), Sabrina Buell, Yves Behar, and Ali Pincus. Revelers sipped on colorful concoctions from the superb team at Rye on the Road and assortment of small bites—mini squash arancini and prosciutto crisps—and glasses of champagne were passed by an elegant staff. New York’s DJ Choimatic provided the soundtrack to the sophisticated and stylish soiree.