At least one person has something nice to say about Blake Lively.
The actress made headlines with a quick-fire series of tone-deaf episodes during the press tour for her new movie, “It Ends With Us,” and then journalists and social media users took it as an opportunity to air their grievances with Lively going back years.
But Olivia Cheng, the woman behind the small designer brand Dauphinette whose colorful floral creations Lively wore to promote the new flick, tells Page Six that the actress has been a delight.
“She’s very kind,” Cheng told us during New York Fashion Week event, where she was being honored with the CFDA and Genesis House AAPI Design + Innovation Grant. “From my personal perspective and my interactions with her, she is exactly who she seems to be. I think she genuinely wants to use her platform in a positive way.”
The barrage of bad press began with Lively getting called out for being too flippant about the film’s serious subject matter, domestic violence. There have also been several resurfaced interviewsin which she has seemed rude to reporters. On top of that, there is also much speculation over her apparent falling out with director and co-star Justin Baldoni.
“I know there has been a lot [of backlash],” Cheng said. “From my perspective she has been very kind, supportive and she actually very much does style herself. She came into the store and picked out what she liked and we went from there.”
Cheng began her brand in 2018 and uses upcycled pieces and items like flowers preserved in resin to create her looks.
Her store is in the West Village, not far from her Tribeca apartment.
“It was very hometown,” she said of the experience of working with the “Gossip Girl,” actress. “I think she lives not too far from my store and she just went by and thought ‘Wow, this is something that could feel organic for me.’”
Lively wore several Dauphinette pieces during the recent press tour including a blue dress with pastel feathers, a beaded floral minidress, a colorful sequin and rhinestone coat, painted floral shorts and a painted floral leather jacket, and a similar look consisting of a painted floral tank and skirt.
“Of course she has so many relationships with massive fashion houses and I think it is very thoughtful of her to stop in on her own and in person and take the extra time to emphasize a small designer,” Cheng says. “I don’t think people realize when you have the co-sign of someone who is so well known and so received by the public, it really does make a difference not just for your perception, but for your business.”
Cheng says she has seen a Blake bump in her bottom line.
“For her, I am very grateful in that sense,” she says.
Along with Cheng, designers Bach Mai and Kozaburo were awarded a grant a the party in front of guests including Monse’s Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia, Eva Chen and Alina Cho.
The organizations gave three designers $40,000, and the rising fashion stars will travel to Seoul, South Korea, to gather inspiration for their collections. They will grant another $60,000 to the winner, with the collections shown at Genesis House in NYC in February.
