Meghan Markle may have skipped out on her fashion designer best friend’s pop-up shop, but a crowd of glittering A-listers were in attendance to celebrate the opening.
Misha Nonoo’s store launch in SoHo on Monday night was flooded with celebrities with Princess Eugenie, Wendi Deng, Nicky Hilton, Karlie Kloss, her husband Josh Kushner and Gayle King all seen mingling together at the event.
The 34-year-old New York-based designer is close friends with Markle, credited with being Meghan and Prince Harry’s matchmaker, and helped design the Duchess’ new women’s clothing line in aid of charity.
But despite their close friendship, Meghan was nowhere to be seen after she was spotted at the US Open to watch friend Serena Williams lose to Bianca Andreescu on Saturday.
Meghan Markle may have skipped out on her friend Misha Nonoo’s pop-up shop, but a crowd of glittering A-listers were in attendance to celebrate the opening. The designer’s store launch in SoHo on Monday night was flooded with celebrities, including Princess Eugenie
CBS host Gayle King was also in attendance, wearing a form-fitting royal blue dress, matching blue glasses and metallic silver pumps. The 64-year-old was helped across the cobblestone street by an assistant
Newlyweds Karlie Kloss and Josh Kusher, the brother to Jared Kushner, were also at the cocktail hour. Karlie stayed briefly before racing off to a Carolina Herrera store opening later that night
Model Karlie Kloss sported a similar look to the designer on her big day, wearing black leather pants, a crisp white button down ‘Husband’ shirt, paired with strappy black heels
Nonoo, who was born in Bahrain and has lived in London, happily posed for photos with guests, seen here hugging Wendi Deng
Still, Nonoo was all smiles as she greeted her guests during the cocktail party and wandered around the no-inventory showroom, which is set to run for the next four months.
The beaming designer was seen placing kisses on her fiancé Mikey Hess, 32. The oil heir proposed to Nonoo during a romantic getaway to Cabo San Lucas for Valentine’s Day this year.
Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com at her store’s launch, Nonoo said she was currently in the process of designing her own wedding dress, which she admitted has been ‘stressful’ and ‘challenging’.
‘When you’re doing a couture piece, it’s extremely difficult,’ she said. ‘I think so much about my collection as pieces that are going to work on so many women. But when you think about one piece that’s going to be worn by one person for one night, you have endless options of what you can do and I find that quite hard, having no parameters whatsoever.’
‘It’s still very minimal but more traditional,’ she teased. ‘Hopefully people like it! It’s not just [about] pleasing yourself. When I get dressed every morning, I please myself. I encourage other women to do the same; to look good for themselves so they can go about their daily life.’
‘But with a wedding dress you’re hoping, obviously, you want your husband-to-be to think you look beautiful but you also want your family and his family to think you look great too.’
Meghan was nowhere to be seen after she was spotted at the US Open to watch friend Serena Williams lose to Bianca Andreescu on Saturday (pictured)
The designer was seen giving kisses to her fiancé Mikey Hess, 32. The oil heir proposed to Nonoo during a romantic getaway to Cabo San Lucas for Valentine’s Day this year
Nicky Hilton visited the store opening before heading uptown to join Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star and family member Kyle Richards for an event
King and Nonoo’s soon-to-be mother-in-law Susan Hess posed together on Monday night
Meghan’s friendship with Nonoo goes back years, meeting through a mutual friend in Miami and quickly becoming close. Despite conflicting rumors and reports, Misha is still widely believed to be the royal couple’s mystery matchmaker, though she refuses to confirm the ongoing speculation
Nonoo, who was born in Bahrain, happily posed for photos with guests, seen hugging Wendi Deng – the ex wife of Rupert Murdoch, comparing matching outfits with model Karlie Kloss and was all smiles with Princess Eugenie.
Nonoo’s store has no inventory, meaning customers will have to have their items shipped to them after trying on styles and ordering them at the showroom, according to WWD.
Prices vary at the shop, stretching up to $450 for a dress and down to $70 for a tank top.
Meanwhile, Markle is thought to be back in London after flying in for a quick visit over the weekend to watch close friend Serena Williams play in the US Open.
The 38-year-old raced to NYC on a morning commercial flight and then took part in a public yoga class with 60 people, according to reports.
Incredibly, despite a commercial flight and astounding number of people being in the same small studio as one of the world’s most famous women, a photo is yet to emerge of Meghan’s yoga session or on her flight.
Meghan’s friendship with Nonoo goes back years, meeting through a mutual friend in Miami and quickly becoming close.
Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com at her store’s launch, Nonoo said she was currently in the process of designing her own wedding dress for her nuptials to Hess (pictured together), which she admitted has been ‘stressful’ and ‘challenging’
Kloss and Wendi Deng posed together. Deng is the ex-wife of Rupert Murdoch and is a long-time friend of Ivanka Trump. She attended Karlie and Josh Kushner’s Wyoming wedding celebration earlier this year
The pop-up store has no inventory, meaning customers will have to have their items shipped to them after trying on styles and ordering them at the showroom, according to WWD. Pictured: Nicky Hilton headed out of the event
Despite conflicting rumors and reports, Misha is still widely believed to be the royal couple’s mystery matchmaker, though she refuses to confirm the ongoing speculation. Pictured: Wendi Deng leaving the store
A shining star of the event was Nonoo’s dog Thatcher. The pooch spent most of the evening on the window ledge being petted by guests
Throughout the store, empowering phrases were displayed, with one bold message reading: ‘What’s a girl’s favorite position? CEO’
Despite conflicting rumors and reports, Misha is still widely believed to be the royal couple’s mystery matchmaker, though she refuses to confirm the ongoing speculation.
The designer was married to Harry’s close friend Alexander Gilkes until they divorced in 2016, the same year the Duke and Duchess of Sussex met.
Meghan announced her and Nonoo’s partnership for her upcoming women’s clothing line in aid of charity in British Vogue.
In the September issue of British Vogue, which she has guest edited, Meghan wrote: ‘When you walk into a Smart Works space you’re met with racks of clothing and an array of bags and shoes. Sometimes, however, it can be a potpourri of mismatched sizes and colours, not always the right stylistic choices or range of sizes.
‘To help with this, I asked Marks & Spencer, John Lewis & Partners, Jigsaw and my friends, the designer Mischa Nonoo, if they were willing to design a capsule collection of more classic options for a workwear wardrobe.
‘Taking the idea further, many of the brands agreed to use the one-for-one model: for each item purchased by a customer, one is donated to the charity. Not only does this allow us to be part of each other’s story, it reminds us we are in it together. ‘