Fashion News: Shopping, Style, and Retail Report April 2017

Raf Simons’s first collection as chief creative officer of Calvin Klein is made-to-order. The launch of Calvin Klein By Appointment—a 14-piece women’s collection—was announced online in late January, without notice, and immediately had the fashion world exclaiming, “Calvin Klein haute couture.” Appointed in August, the Belgian-born Simons (previously the creative director for women’s at Dior) has total creative control of the brand, putting him in charge of men’s, women’s, jeans, and tighty-whities. The last leader with such control? Calvin himself. Appointments start April 1. —Erin Kelly

Spinelli Kilcollin, Los Angeles-based fine jeweler known for its signature linked ‘Galaxy’ rings, expands into bridal jewelry on April 1. With bands, stones, and earrings ranging from $1,000 to $38,000 in white, yellow, and rose gold, the collection offers a variety of chic, minimalist options. spinellikilcollin.com.

Just in time for this year’s Salone del Mobile, Armani Casa completes its new flagship showroom on central Milan’s tony Corso Venezia on April 3. Inside, a glass-clad staircase connects four levels of more than 16,000 square feet of exquisite showroom space—the largest Armani\Casa showroom to date. The interior architecture features the brand’s signature muted hues with touches of platinum and pale oak. The triangle-shade Logo lamp, originally created by Giorgio in 1983 for his fashion design studio, plays as a motif on the 16 giant windows found on each floor. New pieces, such as this season’s curvaceous Morfeo bed and walnut-and-leather Musa bookshelf, will be displayed on the ground floor, with fabrics, wallpapers, and accessories on the mezzanine above. The third level displays the permanent collection and limited-edition pieces, and the basement plays host to kitchen and bath décor.

Piaget enters the online retail space with luxury e-commerce site, Net-A-Porter, on April 3. The first collection available on the digital platform is the Swiss Maison’s latest line, Possession, which includes both fine jewelry and watches in 18-karat white and rose gold varieties with more colorful stones than the brand has ever used before. Olivia Palermo, the brand’s face for the second year in a row, also promotes the debut with a campaign shot by her husband, model Johannes Huebl. net-a-porter.com.

British accessory designer Charlotte Olympia partners with luggage brand Globe-Trotter on a capsule collection of four pieces: a vanity case, a 20-inch trolley, a 40-inch trolley, and an eight-compartment shoe case. These leopard-print travel companions are available from April 3 – 30, and range from $1,290 to $4,550. Available at modaoperandi.com and charlotteolympia.com.

Sotheby’s has seen larger diamonds (including the 118.26-carat oval diamond in October 2013) but on April 4, during the Sotheby’s Hong Kong’s “Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite,” the international auction house broke records when it auctioned the 59.6-carat “Pink Star”—the largest internally flawless pink diamond as graded by the Gemological Institute of America. Having already set a new precedent during a previous sale of $83.2 million in 2014 (which failed after retracted investments), the Pink Star set a new world auction record for any diamond or jewel when it was acquired by Chow Tai Fook for $71.2 million. sothebys.com.

Credo, a clean beauty boutique that first launched in San Francisco, opens its second New York outpost on April 5, following the launch of the NoLIta store last summer. The new shop, located in Williamsburg, will house a carefully curated lineup of green beauty brands that meet its healthy-ingredients standards. The shop also offers skin-care consultations, mini-facials, and makeover events with brand founders. 99 N. Sixth St.; credobeauty.com.

Cosmetics industry pioneers and rivals Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein changed the standards of feminine beauty when they waged their entrepreneurial battle throughout the first half of the 20th century. This month, after a successful run telling their story in Chicago, director Michael Greif (Rent, Next to Normal) brings the musical production to Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre with Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole in the starring roles, opening April 6. 208 W. 41 St.; 212-921-8000; warpaintmusical.com.

Acne Studios’s cult favorite denim gets a makeover with the launch of the brand’s latest collection, Acne Studios Blå Konst, Swedish for “blue art.” The permanent collection of clothing and accessories revolves around six jean styles for men and women and is available in Acne stores and online on April 6. acnestudios.com

Louis Vuitton’s Damier Azur—the brand’s iconic, checkered canvas—gets a Tahitian-inspired update for summer. The print is a reinterpretation of LV's signature monogram, bolstered by a pink spray-painted effect. Available on April 7 in stores and online, the collection includes the French fashion house’s Keepall, Speedy, Neverfull, and Nano Noe handbags, as well as leather keepsakes like a mini pochette, toiletry pouch, and coin purse. us.louisvuitton.com.

Bespoke suiting has become a trademark of Atlanta-based designer, tailor, and shopkeeper, Sid Mashburn. Now, in addition to his five brick-and-mortar destinations (in Atlanta, Dallas, Santa Monica, Houston, and Washington, D.C., the Southern gentleman extends his expertise to the digital space, with a new online made-to-measure program. Via comprehensive videos or private, virtual appointments with a member from his tailor team, each client will get a custom pattern built for his individual body measurements and the ability to customize the shirt, choosing between roughly 50 fabrics, five collars, three placket styles, three back styles, five pocket styles, five cuff styles, and three fit preferences. The shirts range from $140 to $215, depending on the fabric. sidmashburn.com.

Shinola introduces a Jackie Robinson-inspired timepiece to its Great American Series of limited-edition watches (others celebrate Maya Angelou, the Wright brothers, and Henry Ford). Stamped with a 42 in honor of the late baseball player’s retired uniform number, only 442 of these watches are available as part of a curated gift set for $1,500, which also includes a mini pennant, exclusive scorebook, three-pin set, four-postcard pack, and membership to the brand’s private collectors’ club, The Foundry. This model is available on April 15, Jackie Robinson Day. shinola.com.

As an extension of the Brooklyn Museum’s current “Marilyn Minter: Pretty/Dirty” exhibition (on view through May 7), the artist has teamed up with Edie Parker for a limited-edition handbag collaboration, lending her Glitter Mouth and Wet Kiss works to the brand's signature acrylic clutches. Only 15 of each limited-edition style were made, for $1,295, and are available exclusively through the museum’s shop. Online orders close April 9. Additional made-to-order requests will be available for $1,495.

Los Angeles–based jewelry boutique Broken English opens its third location (after flagships in New York’s SoHo, and Santa Monica) in Newport Beach’s Lido Marina Village on April 15. With the opening, the jewelry retailer is launching a range of home products exclusive to the location, including modern brassware and ceramics designed by the shop’s founder, Laura Freedman, as well as vintage heirlooms and rare antiques. brokenenglishjewelry.com

Brooklyn-based retailer Bird takes its cult following west with the opening of its new Los Angeles flagship in Culver City. The company’s fifth brook-and-mortar location is open now, carrying women’s ready-to-wear and accessories by designers such as Dries Van Noten, Acne Studios, and Rachel Comey. birdbrooklyn.com.

German fashion photographer and former model Ellen von Unwerth releases Heimat, her latest book from Taschen, this month. The 454-page coffee table companion is a love letter to her motherland of Bavaria, featuring original shots of top models (such as Georgia May Jagger) posing provocatively in regional settings (yes, there are pretzels and lederhosen involved). This collector’s edition comes in a run of 1,500 copies, each numbered and signed by von Unwerth, for $850, or in four Art Editions of 100 copies, each with a signed photographic print. taschen.com.

On view from April 24 to July 30, this comprehensive exhibit at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art spans the American photographer’s 70-year-long career, including his portraits of famous talents (Picasso and Capote among them) to still-life works like After Dinner Games and Cigarette No. 37. metmuseum.org.

Through May 29, the Phoenix Art Museum hosts an exhibition exploring the works of Malaysian-born, Smithsonian-awarded fashion designer Yeohlee Teng and American sculptor and artist Richard Serra. Juxtaposing Teng’s off-white and black gowns from the 1990s with Serra’s graphic, oilstick drawings, the show probes the way both artists negotiate form, space, geometry, and material in their works. phxart.org.

Jonathan Anderson, creative director of his self-titled label, director of Loewe, and Uniqlo collaborator, now adds “curator” to his CV. His exhibition for West Yorkshire’s Hepworth Wakefield gallery, open through June 18, dissects the intersection of human form and visual arts via more than 100 objects, including the works of fashion icons Rei Kawakubo, Jean Paul Gautier, Issey Miyake, Helmut Lang, and Christian Dior, and artists Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Jean Arp, and Louise Bourgeois. hepworthwakefield.org.

Late American designer Halston receives his first retrospective at New York’s Nassau County Museum of Art (in Roslyn Harbor), on view through July 9. Highlighting the significant milestones of his career and his collaborations with contemporaries (Elsa Peretti, Martha Graham, Andy Warhol), the showcase includes photographs, artwork, illustrations, and more than 60 designs that span his career—from his early days at Bergdorf Goodman’s Hat Salon to the designs he created for Betty Ford, Elizabeth Taylor, Lauren Bacall, and Jacqueline Kennedy, including her famous 1961 pillbox hat. nassaumuseum.org.

Marking 20 years since her death, “Diana: Her Fashion Story” showcases the Princess of Wales’s royal wardrobe. The exhibition, through summer, is at Kensington Palace. Yes, that’s right: her former home. Kensington Gardens; hrp.org.uk.