Houston Billionaire’s Pricey Penthouse Suite Morphs Into a Fabulous Fashion Land With Carolina Herrera and Shelby Hodge
Teasing a Major River Oaks Store Opening
BY Shelby Hodge // 06.11.25
Hosts Carolina Herrera president Emilie Rubinfeld and Shelby Hodge at the invitation-only fashion presentation in the penthouse suite of The Post Oak Hotel (Photo by Michelle Watson, CatchLightGroup.com))
Even if I say so myself, the invitation was simply too fabulous to resist — a cocktail and fashion evening with Carolina Herrera president Emilie Rubinfeld and myself, the society editor for PaperCity. No surprise then that the only refusals for the event in the storied Penthouse Suite of billionaire ambassador Tilman Fertitta’s Post Oak Hotel came from those who were already off to Aspen, New York, or the Hamptons for the Houston summer.
The exclusive penthouse’s going rate is $125,000 a night and available by invitation only, making this invitation beyond rich.
Surprisingly, there were enough swans who had yet to escape the summer heat to fill the suite with some 50 fashionables, almost each of whom has at least some Carolina Herrera in her closet.
The champagne and canapé infused early evening was in celebration of the Carolina Herrera store opening in River Oaks District in August, if all goes according to plan. For the festive event the Houston billionarie’s 22,000-square-foot penthouse suite was filled with blush-hued roses with blossoms even floating in the swimming pool on the expansive deck overlooking downtown.
“Carolina Herrera has enjoyed a connection to the Houston community from the very beginning,” Rubinfeld told the gathering.
Indeed, fashion diva Lynn Wyatt and Carolina Herrera have been close friends for decades. Herrera having visited Houston often and attended the Houston Ballet Ball in which Wyatt was honored, among other special occasions. Current designer Wes Gordon has visited the city as well and is noted for his modern interpretation of classic elegance.
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“We appreciate how the Houstonian women have always embraced our collections and have worn our clothes with style and grace, embracing the essence of what we do — empowering women through fashion to look and feel their most confident, beautiful and unapologetically themselves,” Rubinfeld notes. “We couldn’t be more excited to fortify our connection to Houston with a home in the preeminent chic shopping destination — River Oaks District.”
In homage to the popular brand, many among the group donned Herrera for the evening. Among them Brittany Sakowitz, Lexi Sakowitz Marek, Hallie Vanderhider, Ann Ayre, Monica Hartland and Stacey Lindseth, who had her outfit overnighted from New York for the occasion. Quite the ticket this evening turned out to be with Hartland and Kathryn Smith both delaying travel plans in order to attend.
There was enthusiastic shopping as racks of current styles and pieces from the dramatic Fall 2025 collection beckoned. The trunk show continues today (Thursday, June 12) at the Post Oak Hotel and is open to the public.
PC Seen: Laura Mercier cosmetics founder Janet Gurwitch; Houston’s top residential real estate agent Laura Sweeney; Greg Fourticq, who worked directly with Carolina Herrera in New York; PR and brand management force Megan Hotze, whose wedding gown was a strapless Carolina Herrera with a custom bolero jacket necessitated for having her wedding in the Vatican; family law attorney Bucky Allshouse and Cynthia Allshouse; Joy Care founder Monica Hartland; attorney and Houston Best Dressed Hall of Fame honoree Roslyn Bazelle Mitchell; Jenna Lindley, Discovery Green Conservancy development director; and generous philanthropist Hallie Vanderhider.
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