Tag Archives: Paris

Louis Vuitton Travels to the Future with New, Cobalt-Cool Leather Goods

Perhaps the most iconic fashion house, french label Louis Vuitton looked to the future with the brand’s Homme Autumn/Winter 2014 runway show. Inspired by the digital aspects of travel—think new age craftmanship, aerial photography-inspired textures, and refined fabrics) the collection provided a technical contrast between technology and luxurious, hand-crafted pieces. Paired with bold silhouettes and futuristic-knitwear, Louis Vuitton also unveiled a new collection of cobalt Damier canvas pieces built around three universes: city, travel and small leather goods. These items, 16 in total that rage from messenger bags to bill folds, reinvent the brand’s legendary checkered canvas into a deep, timeless, and modern blue. Pieces will be online starting the 16th of January, and in-store starting the 31st.

Images courtesy of Louis Vuitton.

Viktor & Rolf’s New Paris Flagship is All Grey Everything

11 Replies

For those of us not particularly educated in Eastern European literature, in 1989 Russian dissident Irina Ratushinskaya penned Grey Is the Color of Hope. While in the poet’s case, the color was surely a breath into another, politically-oppressed discussion, it is the pervading duality of grey—the intermediacy between the dark and the light—that keeps the hue pertinent to this day, now the focal point of fashion brand Viktor & Rolf’s new Paris flagship store. Spanning over 7,000 square feet, the completely-monochromatic boutique—the first store for the company—houses all of its lines: women’s ready-to-wear pre and show collections, menswear, handbags, shoes, small leather goods, accessories, and eyewear. With an all felt-floor, felt strip-backed facade, and felt-effect needle-punched staircase (did we mention felt?), the location truly takes neo-classicism into contemporary design. As always blending the lines, this time grey finds a balance between anchored structure and openness. In a statement the company released upon the store’s opening, “We have always considered Paris to be our fashion home and are therefore very proud to open a flagship store, a proper place of our own. With the avant-garde design of neo-classically inspired ghost architecture, executed in all grey felt, a new code of the house is introduced, the point of reference for future expansion.”

Viktor & Rolf’s new store is open now at 370 rue Saint-Honoré.

Images courtesy of Viktor & Rolf.

Berluti Unveils New Parisian Maison, Partnership with Arnys

3 Replies

Image: Berluti.

Iconic bootmakers Berluti brings handcrafted, European style under one roof with their newly opened headquarters at 14 Rue de Sevres in Paris.

Image: Berluti.
Inaugurating the methodically styled two-floor maison—which takes traditional French classicism (using restored pieces from Regence, Louis XV and, Louis XVI) and re-interprets it in the context of 20th century modernism—is the brand’s newly created custom-suiting and footwear Grande Mesure service. With an in-house team of cutters and tailors from the famed Arnys atelier, the location offers men an unprecedented access to a bespoke wardrobe from head to toe.

Image: Berluti.

The new Berluti Maison at 14 Rue de Sevres, Paris is open now.

This Holiday Season Smell Like a King

Leave a reply

Unless you are of European royalty—and if so, hi!—chances are you haven’t heard of Cire Trudon. Even though the candle makers have been around for decades—officially established as the Maison de Cire Trudon in Paris in 1643, they are literally the oldest wax-producing factory to date—their scents have been kept close to their chests; saved for royal courts (Louis XIV; Queen Marie-Thérèse) and holy churches. Fortunately now—and perfect for the holidays—these sacred scents are available for your own private palaces: whether to set the mood in a way that only expensive candles can, or to switch out that old Diptyque glass with something new. Available in three seasonal scents, each candle comes in a champagne bucket shaped, artisan crafted glass from Vinci, Italy, adorned with Maison de Cire Trudon’s historic emblem.

Maison de Cire Trudon’s seasonal collection ranges from $85 to $510, depending on size, and is available at ciretrudon.com.

Images courtesy of Cire Trudon.

John Galliano SS’14 Collection

1,323 Replies

Brilliance and vibrancy resonate through John Galliano’s Spring 2014 collection. Bright blocks of color-robin’s egg blue suits, shirts and slickers of neon orange-jump into the eyes and swim there, compelling us to follow the models long after they have vanished from the runway. Elsewhere, pants and jackets are printed in dots large and small, patterns in their own way as loud as the colors that previously appeared. Bill Gaytten’s new work possesses an immediacy, a call for us to live in the moment.

[nggallery id=338]

Key Looks: Dries Van Noten SS’14

775 Replies

Dries Van Noten takes us into a verdant garden for their Spring 2014 collection. The line is dominated by floral prints, bursts of petals and stems that look as fresh as new-cut blossoms. Not all of it is bursting with color, however; the collection makes strong use of blacks and whites, stark shades that only highlight the striking shapes of nature. The silhouettes are loose, with wide-cut pants and flowing coats in gossamer-thin fabrics. Where color does appear, it appears all at once, sudden bursts of kaleidoscopic hues that dazzle the senses. Dries Van Noten swings between severe and lush, inviting us to consider both the inimitable joys of Spring and the season’s fleeting nature.

[nggallery id=336]

A Closer Look: Mykita + Damir Doma Eyewear for Fall 2013

Leave a reply

Rounding off a few of Damir Doma’s Fall 2013 runway looks were some delectable, circular pieces of eyewear. The glasses are a collaboration between Damir Doma and tech-savvy Mykita—the second such. They play on spheroid aesthetics as well as contrasting materials and colors. The result embodies the insouciant elegance that permeated the Damir Doma Fall 2013 runway. Simply called the DD02 and DD03, both will be available at Mytika shops, the Damir Doma flagship and selected optical/fashion outlest as sunglasses or prescription frames and will be fitted with lenses from the fine people at ZEISS. Runway and product shots in the blink of an eye, right this way…

The DD02 model has circular lenses with stunning colour combinations: silver or black stainless steel coupled with bottle-green Peridot, translucent amethyst, ruby red ruby, shiny black and crystal-clear limpid for the frames, accompanied by grey, brown or green lenses. The marriage of clear acetate with green lenses creates the optical illusion of the latter floating freely inside the frame.

In the DD03 model the signature rings are linked via an extra bridge that at the same time serves as a styling element stressing the frame’s sporty credentials. The rings, visible from both sides, are again made from acetate and linked by a polished stainless-steel frame. The sleek and straight temples are a modern reference to the vintage look of the early 1930s. DD03 comes in the colour combinations black or silver with transparent limpid, ruby red, peridot or amethyst with green, grey, brown and black lenses.

Something Boxy to Open: Thom Browne Fall 2013 Eyewear

Leave a reply

A closer look at those shades on the runway at last week’s Thom Browne show in Paris. The eyewear is handmade in Japan using titanium. The model you’re looking at— TB-900— will be offered in three color options; shiny silver, black iron, and black iron with 12K gold. Clearly. Each will come equipped with clear anti-reflective coated lenses and signature temple tips. The style will retail for $550 when they become available this May. More images after the jump.

Favorite Five: Paul Smith Fall 2013 Menswear

Leave a reply

Paul Smith Fall 2013 presents a collection rich in texture and touched with modernity. Developing spring’s sun-blushed color palette, for the new season wintry shades of purple and turquoise are complimented by vivid citrus tones and contrasted with more muted khaki and black. Fabrics from the archives of artisanal Italian mills are rewoven to offer contemporary interpretations of sartorial staples. Couture cloths, often the fare of more orthodox Parisian houses, and thick alpaca bouclé is delivered in unconventional colors to create modern pieces. Belted military overcoats are lined with long haired sheepskin and quilted trousers, jackets and even a cape come in boiled cashmere cloth filled with white Hungarian goose down. With every stitch and dye, traditional fabrics are injected with fresh appeal. Print is a primary focus across the collection, particularly in magnified houndstooth patterns on shirting and in hazy marbling on outerwear. Silhouette in tailoring and overcoats gain volume in the body and trousers but are kept modern and minimal in tight shoulders, shorter length, laser cut pockets and bluff seam construction. Knitwear juxtaposes hardened edges in bright soft mohair mixed into jacquards, bold intarsia and fading stripes all on simpler crew necks. Suiting evolves from the slim, accentuated form of last season. Ties tight, shirts buttoned and trousers high, jackets come short in the body, worn under double-breasted, patterned overcoats. Prim and proper pops of color are strong throughout tailored pieces. In accessories and footwear the classics have been revitalized with modern construction; the Paul Smith holdall comes in contrasting gold and silver plated hardware against Spanish leather dyed in jewel and complimentary colors and the Chelsea boot is reworked with a zip back and trainer sole.

The tie, which pops up a few times and is worn uneven, so the back is longer than the front, has a sharp 1940's detail just on the tip. Khakis, yes but the hint of pink beneath the double breasted, burgundy overcoat brings the whole thing squarely into what we love about Paul Smith land.
With Paul Smith in space, it's easy to forget the night sky is actually black. Layered upon itself and nice, crisp lines.
Magnified houndstooth was a big point of focus for the collection, we love how the patters accrete with the tie over the shirt.
Turquoise shag sweater paired with a conservative shirt, tie and slim fit pant reminds you not to take everything so seriously, but not to spin completely out of control.
The tie, the cow hide bomber, the loose blue pants...you are having a marvelous day standing out from the pack, aren't you?

Related: Backstage: Paul Smith Fall 2013 Menswear

Backstage: Louis Vuitton Fall 2013 Menswear

Leave a reply

Waiting to climb the “Magic Mountain.”

[nggallery id=176]

Favorite Five: Berluti Fall 2013 Menswear

Leave a reply

“The Natural History Museum provides the ideal setting for this, the third Berluti menswear collection, whose theme is evolution. Alessandro Sartori set out to explore where Berluti’s past could take it in the future – hence the emphasis on genealogy. This collection builds on the attitude towards craft that has always distinguished Berluti shoes and nurtures it in new and unexpected ways, taking two elements and combining them to generate a third.”

Traditional with texture.
Shades of blue look fresh.
Some clothes make you want to go outside. This would be one that.
Pulling classic styles from different eras together (40's/80's) looks bold and new.
Simple, debonair, classic.