Edition, a partnership between hoteliers extraordinaires Ian Schrager and Bill Marriott, got off to a successful start last year with the unveiling of its first property, the beach-chic Waikiki Edition, in September. Next up is its 15-story, 78-room tower (with a 2,900-square foot floor-through penthouse) in Istanbul's Levent neighborhood, which soft-opened February 10. The hotel was designed in collaboration with the New York architectural firm Gabellini Sheppard, whose résumé includes retail spaces for high-fashion names like Giorgio Armani, Vera Wang and David Yurman—so it's no surprise that its style is modern yet understatedly luxurious. Each room has a silver-gold and bronze palette, hardwood floors with silk carpets, custom furniture, seating areas and wall-to-wall windows overlooking the city. (Book one of the Superior or Loft rooms with a teak-floored terrace.) There's also an in-house Cipriani restaurant, a three-story, 20,000-square-foot spa by Espa with private Turkish hammams, a screening room and a nightclub and bar. Rooms start at $415, but special introductory rates can be found on the hotel website through March 6. At 136/1 Buyukdere Cad.; 90-212/317-7700; editionhotels.com.
Since the 2006 opening of its first location on Manhattan's Upper West Side, SoulCycle has gained an impressive following obsessed with its high-intensity, full-body bike workout. Cofounders Elizabeth Butler and Julie Rice have built their company at an equally energetic rate over the past five years with two more NYC openings, outposts in Bridgehampton and Scarsdale and a pop-up location at the Mondrian hotel in Miami. SoulCycle's seventh location—a two-story, 60-bike studio with full-service locker rooms and a sleek in-house boutique carrying private labels and SoulCycle's own clothing line—opened in Union Square in early February. Its signature 45-minute candlelit SoulCycle workout, which combines spinning, hand weights and a mentally challenging course, and the much-raved-about Bands class, a 60-minute ride that tones the upper body and the core using resistance bands suspended from the ceiling, are both on offer. At 12 E. 18th St.; 212-208-1300; soul-cycle.com.
Anyone who has seen Shine, Shakespeare in Love, Exit the King or most recently The King's Speech knows that everything Geoffrey Rush touches turns to gold, and his current theater engagement should be no exception. The Diary of a Madman, which opened last week for a one-month run at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, showcases Rush as Poprishchin, an unaccomplished civil servant living in 1830s Russia during the reign of Nicholas I. Based on a satirical short story by Nikolai Gogol, the play details the protagonist's descent into insanity as told through his diary entries: He suspects two dogs of swapping love letters and spies on their affair, believes himself to be heir to the Spanish throne and falls in love with his superior's daughter. If Rush's past performances offer any clues as to how he will play a man held captive by a rigid social structure and a debilitating mental state, it's a safe bet to expect brilliance. At 651 Fulton St., Brooklyn; 718-636-4100; bam.org.
Palm Springs is always worth the trip, and especially so during Modernism Week, an annual lineup of events that celebrate mid-century art and design, with a special focus on local architects like E. Stewart Williams, Don Wexler, Bill Krisel and Albert Frey, whose residence, Frey II, temporarily opens for visits. Now in its sixth year, the festival is gaining in popularity: Last year's attendance was nearly double that of the one before. Among the panel discussions, gallery exhibits, screenings and lectures (there will be one from designer Trina Turk), the highlights of this year's event, held from February 17-27, include an exhibition of vintage Braniff Airlines uniforms by Pucci and Halston, architect-led private tours of renowned modernist homes—among them, Frank Sinatra's Twin Palm Estates, the George Randolph Hearst Estate and Sand Acre, where Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe hid out—and vintage car and Airstream shows. There will also be silent auctions, cocktail receptions at landmark buildings and a gala to benefit Modernism Week. modernismweek.com.
Speakers made expressly for iPad docking are starting to roll out, and so far the best is the new iD9 portable system from iHome. Running on a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, it also serves as a stand and a charger, and its SRS TruBass circuitry (providing extra bass) and Reson8 high-end drivers deliver a full, non-tinny sound. The iD9 also works in tandem with iHome+Sleep (a free app that functions as a clock radio and a weather report) and iHome+Radio, which gives the user access to 10,000 Internet radio stations. Apple devotees can use it with their iPhones and iPods as well. At $100, it's an inexpensive yet sleek little package. ihomeaudio.com.
Lanvin's fourth stateside boutique, a 4,520-square-foot space that recently opened on Rodeo Drive, adds a bit of old Hollywood glamour to the house's signature style: Mixed in with antique chandeliers, parquet flooring, animal-print rugs and brushed steel panels are Art Deco accents and black-and-white photos of Lanvin models from the 1930s. The first floor is home to women's and men's accessories, while the ready-to-wear collections—in addition to the Blanche, 22 Faubourg, Denim and Swim capsules—are on the lower level, along with made-to-measure and tailoring services. A corridor of mirrors leads to a private fitting area. It wouldn't be Lanvin without a dose of whimsy, so in addition to more traditional gift items like umbrellas, stationery and perfume, the boutique offers playing cards, music boxes and hand-painted porcelain dolls. At 260 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills; 310-402-0580; lanvin.com.
As women who regularly color their hair know all too well, beauty is pain. The hours-long process often leaves the scalp red and burnt. And then of course there are the potent chemical fumes the dye releases. L'Oréal Professionnel has changed all that with INOA, an odorless, ammonia-free solution that actually moisturizes and thickens hair. The secret behind INOA (Innovation, No Ammonia) is its Oil Delivery System, a new technology that uses an alkaline called monoethanolamine to impart the color, eliminating the ammonia—and, as a result, the noxious smell—from the mix. "With INOA, you have to do an extra shampoo because the oil is so rich. It's like giving your hair an olive-oil treatment," says Kathleen Flynn Hui, senior colorist at Manhattan's Salon AKS, which was the first U.S. salon to introduce the product. (When INOA launched in Paris last year, it was so popular that the company didn't have enough inventory to send to the States.) Until recently, salons may not have believed an ammonia-free product could provide the desired coverage. But the response in Europe has proven otherwise, and the trend is growing stateside. "I do eighteen clients a day, all with INOA," says Hui. "You should treat your hair like you do your face. You have to protect it." From $110 at Salon AKS. At 689 Fifth Ave.; 212-888-0707; salonaks.com. For other salons with INOA, go to inoa-us.com.
Red was out in full force at the New York fall shows, sometimes as a kicker to a mostly black-and-white ensemble, but more often as the main event. First down the runway at Chado Ralph Rucci was a neon-red Mongolian lamb jacket worn with a matching hooded dress, gloves and over-the-knee boots. Soon to follow were a scarlet-and-black chinchilla coat and a gold-and-carnelian paisley jacket lined with red mink. Michael Kors's all-crimson suit paired a dyed-fox coat with a jersey bodysuit and high-waisted wool-crepe trousers. At Marchesa, the candy apple-colored numbers included a puff-shouldered trench and lacy cocktail dresses. Ralph Lauren favored more romantic, wine-tinted hues, sending out a duo of bordeaux velvet dresses and a burgundy tuxedo jacket (while accenting the black looks with red-heeled shoes). Oscar de la Renta's collection delivered a Park Avenue meets Silk Road feel, showcasing a fuchsia and plum chiffon-trimmed alpaca coat, a bordeaux cashmere-jacquard cardigan atop a laser-cut suede skirt, and plum fox-brimmed hats. It seems that seeing red will have a whole new meaning this fall. Chado Ralph Rucci, 212-819-9066; michaelkors.com; marchesa.com; ralphlaurencollection.com; oscardelarenta.com.
Photo From left: Courtesy Oscar de la Renta, Courtesy Michael Kors, Courtesy Ralph Lauren
Since it opened, in 2007, the Webster Miami has been a pilgrimage site for fashion devotees seeking its carefully curated selection of men's and women's styles. While the three-story, neon-lit Art Deco building—which also houses a cocktail bar-cum-art gallery, a branch of Parisian restaurant Caviar Kaspia and a rooftop lounge—continues to be a destination in its own right, getting the goods no longer requires a trip to Miami: The co-owners have just launched an e-commerce operation on the boutique's flamingo-pink website. In addition to pieces from ultrahip labels like Givenchy, Balmain and Alexander Wang, the site offers an array of items exclusive to the store, including a Thakoon by Tasaki leather and pearl cuff, a bracelet of citrine spheres encased in 18-karat gold from House of Waris, a VBH stingray tiger-print clutch, Charlotte Olympia leopard ankle booties and wetsuit-inspired bikinis from cult swimwear designer Lisa Marie Fernandez. thewebstermiami.com
Pablo Picasso is one of the most recognized names in art history, but it wasn't always so. In 1900, the then-unknown 19-year-old Picasso moved to Paris and discovered the works of Cézanne, Gauguin and Van Gogh. He would spend the next seven years there, coming into his own as an artist. That period of his life and work is the focus of "Picasso in Paris, 1900-1907," on view at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam through May 29. Guest-curated by art historian (and Picasso expert) Marilyn McCully and organized jointly with the Museu Picasso in Barcelona—with loans from Paris's Centre Pompidou, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim in New York—the show demonstrates how the artist's style was influenced by his time in the City of Light, from the death of his good friend Carles Casagemas in 1901 (which marked the start of his Blue Period) to his friendship with writers Max Jacobs and Guillaume Apollinaire, who piqued his interest in harlequins. Every Friday evening during the exhibition's run, dancers from the company Dansgroep Amsterdam perform Nomade, a site-specific work that celebrates Picasso's love of the circus, alongside his paintings. Picasso is also the topic of a lecture series taking place the first Sunday of each month. On March 6, literary historian Peter Read will examine the artistic relationship between Picasso and the poets in his circle of friends. At 7 Paulus Potterstraat; 31-20/570-5200; vangoghmuseum.nl.
Photo Self-portrait with a palette, 1906 , Philadelphia Museum of Art. A. E. Gallatin Collection, c/o Pictoright Amsterdam 2011 Pablo Picasso
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