The chic shops of Paris have added a few new members to their ranks in early 2011. A month ago on the Rue St.-Honoré, Michael Kors opened his first store here, which, at 7,000 square feet, is his largest retail space to date. The focus is on accessories, with a lineup of handbags, shoes, eyewear, watches and fragrances featured prominently on the first floor. Up the dramatic staircase and under the expansive glass ceiling are the women's ready-to-wear collections. A few blocks away, the Herrera mother-daughter team debuted their 3,330-square-foot CH Carolina Herrera boutique earlier this month. Lit by six enormous windows, the interior is a combination of dark woods, silk, raw linens and aged-brass fixtures. The space is divided into four distinct atmospheres: women's, men's, handbags and footwear, and special home and travel items. Not to be missed and exclusive to this store is the Paris shopping tote ($940) featuring a colorful map of the boutique's elegant neighborhood. A special side note: For an après-shopping lunch with the international fashion set—Christian Louboutin, Bruno Frisoni and Lanvin's Alber Elbaz have all been in—take a 20-minute walk through the Tuileries and across the Seine to Ralph's, the American restaurant Ralph Lauren has opened adjacent to his St.-Germain flagship. The fare includes Maine lobster and strip steaks from Lauren's Colorado ranch. Michael Kors, 279 Rue St. Honoré; 33-1/70-36-44-40. CH Carolina Herrera, 10 Rue Castiglione; 33-1/58-62-41-03. Ralph's, 173 Boulevard St.-Germain; 33-1/44-77-76-00.
Photo Clockwise from top left: Courtesy of Michael Kors, Courtesy of CH Carolina Herrera, Courtesy of Michael Kors, Courtesy of CH Carolina Herrera, Courtesy of Michael Kors
The arrival of bathing suit season offers a few chic styles we found particularly exciting. First up is Vilebrequin, celebrating its 40th anniversary with special-edition swim trunks ($550). The patchwork design features many of the company's most memorable pastel prints, including salamanders, starfish, fruits and kangaroos. Tommy Bahama's fast-drying Hybrid of Paradise trunks ($98) double as sporty cargo shorts with a fixed waistband, a proper zipper, a button and belt loops for those beach clubs with strict dress codes. Orlebar Brown continues to roll out its Edition series (a selection of shorts with the same visual theme) such as its the Dog collection ($285), featuring digitally printed close-ups of man's best friend, and the Alan Aldridge collection ($325), displaying colorful illustrations by the artist. For serious surfers, there's the new Blade short ($110) from Oakley. It has a saltwater-durable inner compression short to increase muscle power and therefore the rider's control of the board. The outer short fabric has a nanotech coating that repels waters rather than allowing the fabric to absorb it, and it can stretch up to 120 percent.
For women, there's the debut of Thom.Dolan, a new line from Bill Blass and Ralph Lauren veteran Thomasine Dolan. Her Whitney suit ($165), an all-cotton, madras triangle-top bikini, is lined with a men's striped-shirt pattern that would be right at home on Nantucket. Cult designer Lisa Marie Fernandez has debuted a few new wetsuit-inspired numbers, including the amethyst-hued neoprene Nikki bikini ($345) with self-tie straps, curve paneling details and low-rise briefs.
At a cocktail party last week in his SoHo boutique, designer Elie Tahari introduced the fashion set to his new Emmy bag, designed in collaboration with actress Emmy Rossum. Available in four different sizes and in materials like natural raffia and soft glove or metallic leather, the bucket-shaped bag is as functional as it is polished, the kind of piece that can be carried everywhere, every day of each season. It has multiple interior and exterior pockets, is lined with soft cotton canvas, and comes in six classic colors: natural, black, white, mushroom, yellow, and washed metallic with yellow contrast stitching. A portion of proceeds will be donated to Safe Horizon, an agency aiding families affected by domestic violence. Tahari has also announced the launch of T Tahari jewelry, a collection of necklaces, bracelets, statement rings, earrings and brooches due out this fall. True to the Tahari way, the pieces will be replete with hues of gold, tassels, black diamond briolette-cut stones and clear crystals. The Emmy bag ranges from $400 to $800 at Tahari, 417 W. Broadway; 212-334-4441; elietahari.com.
Fashion exhibits have been rolling into museums as of late: Balenciaga at the de Young in San Francisco and Roberto Capucci at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, to name a few standouts. This week, two important shows will join the ranks. April 28 marks the opening of "Inspiration Dior" at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow. The venue’s second tribute to a fashion house (the first was to Chanel in 2007), it will comprise more than 120 Dior pieces, including couture, jewelry, watches, accessories and perfumes. Alongside them will be artwork that echoes Dior’s "New Look" aesthetic from masters like Picasso, Renoir, Cézanne and Gaugin. In New York, the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art will debut its highly anticipated retrospective "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" on May 4. The tribute to the late designer will feature 100 of his provocative masterpieces, among them the famous Bumster trouser, vertiginous Armadillo shoes and flower-adorned Sarabande dress. Don’t miss the June 27 personal tour led by the show’s curator, Andrew Bolton, followed by a private lunch in the gallery ($350). Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, 12 Volkhonka, Moscow; 7-495/609-9520; arts-museum.ru. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave., NYC; 212-535-7710; metmuseum.org/alexandermcqueen.
This spring, L'Ermitage Beverly Hills introduced its Red Carpet package, in which guests are treated to a consultation with a personal stylist from Hollywood fashion favorite Marchesa. The stylist assists women in selecting a three-day wardrobe and handbag from the label, as well as shoes from Christian Louboutin. Next is hair and makeup at the famed Frédéric Fekkai salon for custom color, a cut and styling and beauty tips. Each night, guests try a different collector's-edition Dom Pérignon Champagne, served in Marchesa by Lenox stemware. At $25,000, the price is steep, but when one considers the other complimentary bonuses (in-room breakfasts, daily spa treatments, private fitness or yoga sessions with personal trainer Joshua Love and a chauffeured Range Rover), it's quite a lot of style in one package. At 9291 Burton Way, Beverly Hills; 310-278-3344; lermitagebh.com.
Sometime in the mid-19th century, a two-masted schooner (possibly bound for the Russian tsar's court in St. Petersburg) sank in the outer archipelago of Åland, a cluster of islands in the Baltic Sea that is now an autonomous region of Finland. Almost 200 years later, in July 2010, divers from Åland and Sweden discovered the wreck 165 feet below the water's surface. The hull was mostly empty, but lying in straw were 145 Champagne bottles from the houses of Veuve Clicquot, Heidsieck and the now-shuttered Juglar. Experts tasted the spirits and determined they had been bottled around 1840, making them the oldest Champagnes in the world. More surprisingly, they were still in excellent condition, having had little exposure to light and temperature change over the years and maintaining their bouquet of ripe fruit, golden raisins and an aroma of tobacco. On June 3, in the capital city of Mariehamn, the Åland government will auction off two of the bottles (a Veuve Clicquot and a Juglar), with proceeds going toward marine archaeology and environmental charities. There will be presentations by Champagne expert Richard Juhlin, Veuve Clicquot historian Fabienne Moreau and Anders Näsman, leader of the wreck-salvage operation. With such an unprecedented event, experts can only give a ballpark estimate: upwards of $15,000 each. To register for the event, e-mail info@ackerwines.com. For more information, go to visitaland.com/champagne.
It turns out that over the past 50 years, actress Debbie Reynolds has amassed some of the most iconic movie costumes and props of all time, with more than 3,500 items in her cache. On June 18, part of the Debbie Reynolds Collection will be auctioned at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, with public previews from June 10-12 and June 15-17. The items on the block are pure film history treasure: the Ascot number Audrey Hepburn donned at the horse races in My Fair Lady, the dress Maria von Trapp (played by Julie Andrews) made out of green and white drapes in The Sound of Music, Judy Garland's blue cotton dress and ruby-red slippers from The Wizard of Oz and the bejeweled gold velvet sleeveless gown and headpiece Barbra Streisand wore in Hello, Dolly! . Another highlight is the white halter dress worn by Marilyn Monroe atop a subway vent in The Seven Year Itch, which is expected to go for no less than $1 million. The men's collection features Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly's navy sailor uniforms from Anchors Aweigh, the tunic and cape Charlton Heston sported in Ben-Hur's royal procession and Robert Duvall's olive-green "Lt. Col. Kilgore" combat coat from Apocalypse Now. More information at profilesinhistory.com.
Red leather soles have arrived in Brasilia, where Christian Louboutin opened his second boutique in Brasil on June 21. Inside the Shopping Iguatemi complex and designed by New York architect Eric Clough, the structure is an ode to Oscar Niemeyer and Frank Lloyd Wright; the entire corner façade is covered in tiny, uncoated copper tiles that have been hand-etched with images inspired by the two legendary architects' designs. Though presently sparkling and brilliant red, the tiles will eventually oxidize and turn a deep emerald green, evolving with the goods in the store. Inside the boutique, the décor is pure Louboutin with acrylic displays, niche walls, reclaimed tin panels and hand-blown glass chandeliers that will highlight the men's and women's new winter shoe and handbag collections. At Shin Cuadra, Calle 4, Lago Norte; christianlouboutin.com.
A very special delivery is on its way to Prada boutiques in New York, Beverly Hills and Las Vegas: a chic, limited-edition crocodile bag lined in soft nappa leather and adorned with a metal tag (imprinted with a code number unique to the line). The bag comes with either a flap or snap closure and is available in three classic colors: black, tobacco brown, and red. Inside is an added bonus: a detachable mini-clutch. Only 22 of these leather masterpieces have been crafted, and they're due to hit stores next week, so move quickly. Price upon request at Prada, 841 Madison Ave., NYC, 212-327-4200; 343 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills, 310-278-8661; 3720 S. Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas, 702-740-3000..
Roger Vivier's creative director, Bruno Frisoni, has taken his limited-edition capsule collection for the fashion house, called Rendez-Vous, in a different direction for spring/summer 2012. Whereas the last lineup of shoes and clutches was very rock 'n' roll, the new collection is softer, elegant and Mediterranean-inspired. Frisoni aimed to capture the mystique of Vivier's iconic creations by using materials like blond wood, pearls, bamboo and tinted transparent acetate. Equally feminine is the color palette: powdery rose, aquamarine, pale gold and bright yellow. Our favorites are the No Secret magenta acetate clutch, the pink, gold and tan high-heeled Barbapapa sandal, and the Flower Bouquet clutch. The pieces are truly limited-edition, meaning only 10 to 20 of each has been created, and will tour Roger Vivier boutiques in Paris, New York, Miami, Shanghai, Milan and London in January before going to permanent homes. Prices upon request; 212-861-5371; rogervivier.com.
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