opening ceremony.

WWD that Opening Ceremony, one of my favorite boutiques in NYC, will be collaborating with Hong Kong based luxury department store, Lane Crawford, for four-weeks.  The "conceptual retail extension" will start at the Hong Kong IFC mall location on April 14 and at the Beijing location on April 16.

Opening Ceremony (OC) is the creative genius of Humberto Leon and Carol Lim.  The pair are two of the most influential people in the New York downtown fashion scene, credited with introducing many international and domestic designers to the NY and broader US markets.  Their influence is undoubtedly growing overseas as well.  Leon and Lim opened their first store on Howard Street in Manhattan in 2002 as an "international creative forum" for designers both young and old.  Applying the mission statement from modern day Olympics, OC features designers from a different country every year.  Current and past designers include:  Acne (Sweden), Alexander Wang (US), Proenza Schouler (US), Rotarte (US), Hussein Chalayan (UK), Alexandre Herchcovich (Brazil), Agnes b (France).  OC has also done exclusive capsule and on-going collaborations with designers and style icons, including Rodarte and Chloe Sevigny.

In addition to the Howard Street retail location, OC has retail locations in LA (2007) and Tokyo (2008) which are built around the mini-mall concept -- each brand is housed in a unique shop-in-shop.  Most recently in 2010, OC opened its second NYC location in the Ace Hotel, catering to international jetsetters with souvenirs and travel necessities.  OC also operates a showroom representing over 20 designers around the world.

For four weeks, Lane Crawford stores in HK IFC and Beijing will be transformed into the world of Opening Ceremony by Leon ahd Lim, inspired by the geographic and cultural themes that have influenced the pair over past decade.  The stores will feature exclusive Opening Ceremony x Lane Crawford menswear and womenswear capsule collections as well as three-way collaborations with Alexander Wang, Carven, Band of Outsiders and Pamela Love.

Images from the OC Spring '11 lookbook:

images courtesy of openingceremony.us and lanecrawford.com

my pot of gold.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I took a cue from Yigal Azrouel's Fall 2011 show.  Models' nails were painted black and then the tips were decorated with gold glitter, like a twisted french manicure.

L-R: Nails from Yigal Azrouel and Jason Wu

image courtesy of refinery29.com

Instead of using a dark base color, I decided to take the more subtle route and used a pastel pink lacquer.

proud to be a minkette.

I first learned of Rebecca Minkoff through The Purse Blog back in 2008 and since then, my love for the contemporary brand has grown into an obsession.  The NY-based designer's namesake brand originally started in 2001 as an apparel line, but she quickly shifted its focus to handbags after an overwhelmingly successful launch in 2005.  The Morning After Bag and Nikki Hobo became staples on the arms of many celebrities, which catapulted the brand's popularity.  RM handbags are the perfect blend between trendy and practical, cool and functional.  The leather is durable but not too heavy, and decorated with just the right amount of hardware to give the bag some character.  The brand has such a strong cult following that Minkoff created a blog especially dedicated to the "Minkettes" of the world.

As with any rapidly growing brand (e.g., Tory Burch), RM soon expanded into offerings beyond its core product to capitalize on the momentum and satisfy consumer demand.  In 2009, Minkoff delved back into apparel with a fresh Spring 2010 collection to complement her handbags.  In Summer 2010, she launched a line of bags for men under the label Ben Minkoff, reminiscent of Kate and Jack Spade.  A couple months later, Minkoff debuted her Spring 2011 collection with yet another new product offering: shoes.  They are chic, playful, with a splash of rock & roll edge -- think metallics, snake/pebble embossed and studs.  If shipping to the Netherlands wasn't such a pain, I would order at least half the collection in a heartbeat.

There are several key lessons that up-and-coming brands can learn from Rebecca Minkoff:

1) Focus a core product offering (handbags)
2) Establish a clear marketing strategy (stylists and their celebrity clients)
3) Nuture relationships with the consumer (Minkettes, bloggers)
4) Gradually expand product offerings after the reputation of the core offering has been established (apparel, men's bags, shoes)
5) Minimze risk and capex by utilizing retail channels other than traditional brick and mortar stores (RM sells through various department stores, specialty boutiques, and an owned & operated e-commerce site)

spring is around the corner (finally)!

The sun is shining and temperatures are rising in the city of canals and bicycles.  With spring around the corner, I find myself pondering how to best prep my closet for the upcoming season.  I have the usual suspects: tank tops, t-shirts, jeans, skirts, dresses, ballerinas... the only crucial item I'm missing right now is a pair of fabulous platform wedge sandals.  Many women, including me, jump on the opportunity to wear flat sandals, ballerinas or flip flops.  Unfortunately, flat shoes, when paired with a pair of shorts or a skirt, often make the legs look stumpy.  It's no secret that heels are flattering -- the higher the better.  The beauty of the platform wedge is that it elongates the legs without pinching the toes, unlike stilettos.

I found the perfect pair by Chloé.  The beautiful combination of light grey straps, gold buckle, tan leather outline and wooden platform makes this shoe my chosen one.  Now it's time to save some $$$...

image courtesy of net-a-porter.com

will the real galliano successor please stand up?

I recently watched Sex and the City S6E18 - The Cold War (again).  My favorite scene: Carrie and Aleksandr Petrovsky are sharing an intimate moment at the star table at Pastis when they are unexpectedly interrupted by three of his friends.  They begin discussing his upcoming, long-awaited exhibition in Paris and the editor of Art Life magazine turns to Petrovsky and says:

The world is waiting with breath that is bated.

This quote epitomizes the current sentiment of the fashion world as everyone waits on the edge of their seats for Bernard Arnault to announce John Galliano's successor as creative director at Dior.  Galliano is a fashion icon, admired and revered for his fearless, whimsical haute couture designs.  During his 15-year tenure at Dior, he gave the label a much-needed makeover and delivered RTW and Couture collections perfect for the outrageously playful, chic, and sexy Lady Dior.  Galliano was fired on March 1 as a result of his recent anti-semitic drunken tirade at a Parisian bar which was caught on video.  Since then, rumors on who will take over arguably the most coveted role in fashion have been running rampant.

On March 8, Derek Blasberg, blogger for Harper's Bazaar, tweeted, "I was just told backstage at the @KatyPerry concert (of all places!) that Riccardo Tisci is CONFIRMED at Dior" and sent the entire fashion-verse into a frenzy.  Tisci is currently creative director at Givenchy, a fellow LVMH brand, and it makes sense that Arnault would consider an in-house replacement.  There has been speculation that Haider Ackermann may be in the running as well, but Cathy Horyn, fashion critic for the NYTimes, dismissed this rumor by describing Ackermann as "another unprepared designer."  Suzy Menkes, fashion editor at the Tribune, did a little investigating at Louis Vuitton show on March 9 and concluded that the fate of Dior is still uncertain.  Marc Jacobs hasn't been asked about the position yet and Bernard Arnault responded that LVMH is still thinking.

Yesterday, one of my favorite fashion partners-in-crime and I were in deep in discussion on the topic.  We both agreed that Tisci would not be suitable for Dior due to his darker, ominous aesthetic, so we threw out some other potential names: Alber Elbaz... Zac Posen... and then it dawned upon us: Jason Wu.  Known as the creative mind behind Michelle Obama's inaugural ball gown, Wu is an up-and-coming designer whose RTW collections feature a feminine, tailored aesthetic with pops of bright colors and prints that are both playful and wearable.  Currently, his namesake label lacks the drama and theatrics that Galliano brought to Dior for the past 15 years, but given the sudden nature of Galliano's exit, perhaps it is time for another makeover.  We both believe that Wu is fully capable of creating more demure collections for Dior that will match perfectly with the fashion house's famed Lady Dior it-bag.  Not to mention this gig will do wonders for Wu's already budding career and establish him as a household name.

Join Team Wu for Galliano's successor.  I should have t-shirts made.

Dior by Galliano:

    

Fall 2000 RTW

 

Spring 2001 Couture



Fall 2005 RTW

 

Spring 2008 RTW



Spring 2009 Couture

Fall 2011 RTW

Jason Wu:

Michelle Obama at the Inaugural Ball

Fall 2009 RTW

Spring 2010 RTW

Fall 2011 RTW



Lady Dior:

Marion Cotillard in "Lady Blue" ad campaign, Spring 2010

images courtesy of style.com

the return of céline.

Céline is a French luxury brand known for its classic feminine style and simple aesthetic.  Originally a children's shoe business, the company evolved into a full-fledged fashion house, and was purchased by LVMH in 1996 for $540 million.  Michael Kors was hired as creative director in 1997 and designed for the label until 2004.  He is credited for turning the fashion house around with groundbreaking RTW collections and accessories.  After Kors' departure, the label lost its momentum with lackluster collections from Roberto Menichetti (Spring & Fall 2005) and Ivana Omazic (Spring 2006-9).  Finally in 2009, Céline met its savior: Phoebe Philo.  Bringing with her the "cool" factor from Chloé, her Fall 2009 collection was a breath of fresh air for the ailing label.  Simultaneously, LVMH decided to revamp the brand's image, starting by adding an accent to the "e" -- no doubt a tactic to project a more luxurious, Parisian image.  Following the success of its latest Fall 2011 collection, there is no doubt that Céline is back for the long run.

Céline Fall Collections (2000-2011):

Michael Kors brought his expertise in classic American sportswear to the traditional Céline woman and delivered insightful, coherent collections.

Fall 2000:

Fall 2004:

Roberto Menichetti's only Fall collection deviated too much from Céline's classic tailored image.

Fall 2005:

Ivana Omazic's collections were incoherent and borderline schizophrenic.  Her silhouettes shifted constantly between structured and soft, feminine and masculine. 

Fall 2006:

Fall 2008:

And then came Phoebe Philo.  Her collections take the classically chic Céline woman and give her little 'tude, and the latest Fall 2011 collection is no exception.  Philo expresses the "luxury automobile" theme through cool leather accents: e.g., two-toned part-leather pants, leather cuffed coats, silk/leather-blocked dresses, and leather blazer/fur coats.

Fall 2011:

images courtesy of style.com

denham the jeanmaker.

Amsterdam is home to the denim brand DENHAM The Jeanmaker, founded in 2009 by Jason Denham.  I was wandering through the Jordaan today with a friend and stumbled upon the flagship store located at Prinsengracht 495.  From the outside, the store doesn't seem very large but it actually stretches through the entire block.  Both the menswear and womenswear collections are simple with a splash of attitude, expressed through small details, like the placement of a side pocket or a detachable tag with the brand's name on the chest.  The denim, durable and well-crafted, comes in a variety of washes ranging from classic darks, summer lights, and faded looks.  DENHAM also offers casual tops, jackets and accessories -- great additions to any wardrobe.  The trademark shears are indicative of the quality, craftsmanship and intricate detail in the product as well as the store.

prinsengracht 495

inside the store

men's "grade" 5 pocket jean, ss10

women's "skinny+" 5 pocket jean, ss10

men's "social" jacket, ss11

women's ferry parka, aw10

images courtesy of denhamthejeanmaker.com