Jamie Foxx Fetes Prive Revaux’s First Boutique in New York

She slipped in quietly after 9 p.m., long after the red carpet had broken up and reporters and photographers had cleared, but Katie Holmes wasn’t going to miss the debut of the first Prive Revaux boutique in New York. In a chic black Zac Posen strapless dress topped with a coat in salmon pink, Holmes arrived after an event commemorating the 20th anniversary of Wag the Dog at the 92nd Street Y; she wasn’t taking any questions, but was on hand to support the guy who quite simply was the life of the party — and perhaps take another small step toward making their relationship public.

Jamie Foxx (whom Holmes has reportedly been dating since 2013) was the consummate host at this official opening celebration of the New York flagship for Prive Revaux, the sunglass brand the actor founded with a quartet of partners, including Hailee Steinfeld and Ashley Benson. When Foxx wasn’t posing for selfies with guests inside the store’s graffiti-adorned subway car or standing along the windows so passersby on 42nd Street also could grab a photo, he was assisting Angel + Dren with DJ duties and encouraging people to hug Odell Beckham Jr. “No, really, hug Odell, you will love it, also because he smells really, really good,” Foxx told the crowd.

Indeed, you haven’t truly been hugged until Odell Beckham Jr. has hugged you: The New York Giants wide receiver enfolds you in those long, football-catching arms and doesn’t let go. Meanwhile, what is that lovely scent, the faint notes of sandalwood and bergamot that linger around him? “That’s just me,” Beckham said, and good luck getting him to name the fragrance. “Really, it’s just me,” he repeated.

Nicki Minaj and New York Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo were also among the guests who turned up to christen this first U.S. brick-and-mortar retail location for Prive Revaux, which launched in June under the premise that every pair, every style, is priced at $29.95. The goal of the brand, Foxx said: to disrupt the industry. “I love sunglasses, but I’d spend too much money, and then I’d lose them,” he explained. “So I got together with some friends with the idea of creating a cool company. We want to make sunglasses that are dope and that people can afford.”

Foxx also decided to practice what he was preaching: that cool gray coat he was wearing on the red carpet? It was from Zara. “You don’t have to spend a billion dollars to look great,” he said. “We almost made that mistake with the advertising campaign. The original concept was to show how much the clothes cost against how inexpensive the sunglasses were. But people were infuriated about a $12,000 coat. So we changed it up. This cost $29, and it looks good, right?”

Steinfeld and Benson are likewise appearing in the campaigns, while Jennifer Lopez, Cara Delevingne and Ashley Greene are among the celebs who have posted their Prive Revaux-wearing moments on Instagram. But don’t call them ambassadors. “The only ambassadors are our partners — Jamie, Hailee and Ashley [Benson],” said Dave Osokow, a Prive Revaux partner and the VP of celebrity relations. “Everyone who’s wearing the brand is doing so because they’re great friends, but also because they really like what we’re doing,” he said. “We just saw Martina Navratilova, and the first thing she said was, ‘Send me some sunglasses!’” Steinfeld is also scheduled for an in-store appearance on Dec. 14.

With new styles arriving every six months, how involved is Foxx in designs of the China-made sunglasses? “I’ll get a text from him at two in the morning: ‘I just saw these, we have to do something like this,'”said Prive Revaux founder David Schottenstein. “He’s very vocal and very involved, on everything from design to quality.”

As well as public relations, it seems. The party was still in full swing when Minaj arrived after 10 pm, while outside on 42nd Street, the crowd continued to gather, smartphones all held aloft. Inside, Foxx’s energy showed no signs of waning as he joked with attendees, posed for every photo requested of him and championed the practice of affordable style. Every guest — including a certain actress who slipped in quietly after 9 p.m. — surely found such a combination nothing less than irresistible.

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