New York City - Luxury womenswear designer Douglas Hannant presented his Spring 2010 collection and celebrated the opening of his first retail boutique at The Plaza Hotel on Monday, Sept. 14. The collection, which was displayed on mannequins atop pedestals flanked by floor to ceiling drapery, was inspired by classical mythology, with Venus serving as the muse.

Designer Douglas Hannant with actress Marcia Gay Harden at the opening.

The new boutique, which opened in The Plaza Retail Collection in August 2009, will feature the ready-to-wear collection, as well as a new line of accessories including jewelry, shoes, hats and evening bags, which will be exclusive to the boutique. The Plaza Hotel serves as the perfect setting for Hannant's "Timeless Classics" and is conveniently located near his devoted Park Avenue following.

"I am elated to open my first free-standing boutique in the legendary Plaza," said Hannant. "At last I will be able to showcase my unedited vision in a retail setting, and what a setting it will be! A new era in luxury retail has arrived. I believe that in this new world the designer must take possession of his own destiny. With the opening of the flagship boutique, we will create an ambience, service, and shopping experience of a superlative level."

The boutique's interior is designed by Geoffrey Bradfield, whose acclaimed work has been featured in numerous magazines, including Architectural Digest, which has named him "Dean of American Design." "It is particularly interesting for me, as a 21st century designer, to be creating a space in the Plaza Hotel, currently celebrating its 100 year history," said Bradfield. "My intent was to reinterpret the chic spirit of an Art Moderne fashion salon, but with a decidedly contemporary point of view. It is essential that the space act as a subtle foil to the high fashion Hannant Couture. I have used signature elements to achieve this sense of all out glamour: white Venetian plaster and mirrored walls, white marble floors, acrylic furnishings and pale grey and ivory color accents. Douglas and I have always shared an aesthetic vision and this boutique is the perfect expression of these ideals."

Long-time friends and fans including Marcia Gay Harden, Beverly Johnson, Tinsley Mortimer, Alexandra Lebenthal, Barbie Bancroft, Annie Churchill, Dalia Oberlander, Sarah Bradford, Jamie Jo Harris, Bettina Zilkha, CeCe Cord, Elaine Sargent, Douglas Friedman, Michele Gerber Klein, Carrie Cloud, Nicole Mar, MSNBC's Contessa Brewer, Eric Villency and Kimberly Guilfoyle Villency, Geoffrey Bradfield, Kipton Cronkite, Lydia Fenet, Gillian Miniter, Jennifer Creel, Melissa Berkelhammer, Patty Raynes, Rosemary Ponzo, Roger Webster, Valesca Guerrand Hermes, Gillian Hearst and Christian Simmonds, Lucia Hwong Gordon, Alexandra Lind and Louis Rose, Christian Leone, Susan Chin, Lisa Anastos, Anthony Todd, Dana Hammond Stubgen, Felicia Taylor, Edward Tricomi, and Nicole Hanley were on hand to toast the designer, and partner Frederick Anderson, on the boutique opening and to view the new collection.