Hermès inaugurated its first stand-alone menswear store last night with a celebrity-packed cocktail party, followed by a lavish private party at the Park Avenue Armory. The 690 Madison Avenue space stands directly across the street from the flagship store. It was formerly a Luca Luca store.

Plans for the store didn't falter even as the luxury sector took a pummeling. "We plan out for many years ahead," said Robert B. Chavez, Hermès president and CEO. "We don't change our strategy just for one or two years. We know the potential for this type of category is really great."

The four-story building allows an expansion on Hermès's menswear merchandising, which was previously confined to one floor. The fourth floor of the new space, nicknamed the "dream floor" by executives, features a bespoke and made-to-measure lounge where customers can have everything from ties and sweaters to jacket linings sewn to their specifications. A made-to-measure shirt starts at around $850, while a made-to-measure suit might start at $6,000. A bespoke suit starts at at $9,000. (Fittings are in New York but everything is sewn in Paris.)

For the really big spenders, Hermès offers the options of custom jackets in exotic skins. The opening range for a custom made jacket is $50,000.

The splashy cocktail party at the store drew out the paparazzi to shoot Katie Holmes, Gossip Girl's Kelly Rutherford, Mad Men's John Slattery and Martha Stewart. Despite the threat of a midnight snow storm, hundreds came out for the after-party at the Park Avenue Armory. Diversions included a live music room with a set by Locksley, a "sea dock" room with dim sum and sea gull sound effects and a watercolor portrait artist. In the game room, guests played ping pong, pool and pinball. The real draw of the night was the main room's dancefloor where an all-ages crowd boogied without inhibition.