Fashion Field Trip: Jeffrey Kalinsky

Long before Samantha Jones of Sex and the City moved to the Meatpacking District, thusly making it a desirable New York zip code, it was a dingy enclave dedicated to meat carcasses and transvestite hookers. But somehow, store owner and retail maestro Jeffrey Kalinsky saw the potential in the area and opened up his high-end designer store Jeffrey there.

Featuring a mix of luxury classics like Prada, Dries Van Noten, Lanvin and Yves Saint Laurent hanging next to avant garde creations by Thom Browne, Rick Owens and Ann Demeulemeester, it ushered in a level of sophistication that attracted a slew of other fancy stores. We got a chance to talk to the man behind the story, who you may remember from our feature on his yearly fundraiser Jeffrey Fashion Cares, to hear his daring-do retail philosophy and how he came to choose the once shady district as the home of his emporium of fancy wares.

-- MAX BERLINGER