Affordable Luxury
International Herald Tribune, June 19, 2007Forget the designer shoes, the luxurious lipsticks from high-end fashion houses and the sweet smelling scents emblazoned with brand names on the bottle.When it comes to “affordable” luxury — the eyes have it.For more from Jessica Michault, go to http://www.jessicamichault.com
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STY LE
The limited edition ‘‘Harlot’’ from Oliver Peoples, ¤5,000.
International Herald Tribune
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
11
f ash f i le
‘I
Suzy Menkes
Roland Mouret: Back in the folds
don’t draw — I drape and it is so much easier to explain with the hands,’’ says Roland Mouret, taking a white napkin from the table at Costes in Paris and folding it into a stand-away collar, a panier skirt or the sleeve of a coat. These are all shapes that Mouret will offer at a show during July haute couture — the first presentation since the French-born, British-based designer walked out of his eponymous company and ultimately launched 19RM with Simon Fuller, the media and entertainment mogul famous for inventing ‘‘Pop Idol.’’ Mouret’s couture debut is in fact a pre-spring 2008 collection that will be in the shops in November — but the designer is trying to re-think Catwalking.com the fashion system for the ‘‘I want it now’’ generation. Instead of aiming for a new ‘‘ga la xy’’ dress — his 1940s style beloved of the star Scarlett Johansson — Mouret has made a capsule collection of 21 pieces for varied body types. Top of his list is the bottom-heavy woman whose pear-shape is gently shadowed by a coat opening up in triangular folds or a skirt with pouchy pocket. Each piece slots in with others to make an interchangeable wardrobe where a coat — flat at the front and curving at the back — can slip over a dress, shorts or slim pants. Betting on a return of ethnic inspirations in street culture, the designer has insinuated a Mediterranean woven stripe fabric as a panel on a dress or as a jacket. ‘‘I’m doing what Zara and Co. can’t do,’’ says Mouret, referring to the complex folds and drapes of clothes that look deceptively simple. And where did the designer learn the skills that are making magic out of the table linen? He traces it back to sitting, bored, in his father’s butcher’s shop playing with the cloths and unwittingly creating his future career.
The ‘‘Belle Vivier’’ with side buckle, ¤290. The bubble-gum pink Louis Vuitton ‘‘Ursula’’ sunglasses, ¤395.
The last af fordable luxury
The whiteframed 1950sinspired ‘‘Moff it’’ from Oliver Peoples, ¤288. A pair of iconic Fendi yellow and double-F logo shades, ¤249.
Naoki Takizawa honored
eceiving the French honor of ‘‘chevalier of arts and letters’’ at the Quai Branly Museum in Paris was a fitting tribute last week to Naoki Takizawa. For the Japanese designer’s creative instincts are not only driven by the natural world — like the artifacts displayed by the museum. He also contributed to the Jean Nouvel building on the banks of the River Seine by making massive curtain-screens that represent in their patterns and movement the African, Asian and Oceanic continents, their soils and falling waters. In his address, Stéphane Martin, the museum’s president, called the designer ‘‘a great artist and Naoki Takizawa Design a magician of form and material.’’ Takizawa wearing his medal. Takizawa, a protégé of Issey Miyake, described as ‘‘a great experience’’ the result of a cooperation with the French factory over a two-year span, as the workers strove to understand the ideas that the designer brought to their country and to realize them in terms of texture and visual effects. ‘‘Mr. Miyake has always said that teamwork is very important,’’ sa id Takizawa. ‘‘I cannot do anything alone. I am privileged to receive this honor, but I will share it with my team.’’ Takizawa was creative director of the Miyake brand for more than a decade, taking over first the menswear in 1993 and then the entirety. But the Paris ceremony marked a new phase in the designer’s creative cycle. He is now to launch his own label, under the Miyake umbrella, with his debut show in New York in September.
R
Red-hot Chanel shades with Coco’s favorite camellias adorning the temples, $375. Pale gray Burberry glasses with stoney sides, ¤190.
Bottega Veneta’s vintage look with natural horn frames and matching strap with butterf ly clasps, ¤1,600.
Marc Audibet to Vionnet
hen Marc Audibet was 14 years old, he visited a Paris museum to see an exhibition of Paul Poiret. The presence of the legendary designer’s elderly wife and an introduction to the curator, brought the stripling Audibet to a turning point in his life: a chance to see a cache of the work of Madeleine Vionnet. ‘‘I was fascinated by the fluidity, the extraordinary intellectual play — don’t forget that this was the era of Courrèges and of fashion architecture,’’ says Audibet, 52, who went on to develop stretch Lycra with DuPont in the 1980s, to work with Miuccia Prada from 1990 to 1996, then at Hermès and Ferragamo. Now Audibet is coming back to his first love as design director at Vionnet. The fact that his mother was a dancer meant that he was fascinated by ‘‘the idea of liberty of movement’’ and he says that Vionnet’s fluid, bias cut dresses fit precisely with his own aesthetic. Vionnet ‘‘My work started with Vionnet, A new sketch via McCardle,’’ he says, referring by Audibet. Claire McCardle, the American inventor of feminized sportswear. The Vionnet label was dusted off last year by its family owner and chairman, Arnaud de Lummen, who did an exclusive deal with Barney’s New York, after picking the designer Sophia Kokosalaki. But she left after the Italian Diesel company invested in her own fledgling label. Audibet says that he defines fashion designers as those from the school of construction — like Christian Dior and those who focused on the body, like Vionnet and Madame Grès. The former dealt in side seams, zippers and buttons. But he is with the latter’s slithering ease — even if his tough mission Vionnet is to capture couture draping as ready-to-wear in A 1930s Vionnet original. just six weeks.
W
By Jessica Michault
Giorgio Armani’s wraparound shades, with the distinctive GA logo on the arms, ¤264.
F
Tom Ford’s ‘‘Shelby’’ Aviator glasses, ¤399.
PARIS orget the designer shoes, the luxurious lipsticks from high-end fashion houses and the sweet smelling scents emblazoned with brand names on the bottle. When it comes to “a ffordable” luxury — the eyes have it. Sunglasses are the last bastion of hope for those who want to bask in the luxury-label sunshine but ca n’t afford to keep up with the skyrocketing prices for designer handbags and clothing. While shoes, makeup, and perfume might still be within reach for most, they will never have the instant impact — even from a distance — of a pair of logo-labeled shades. ‘‘True fashionistas use glasses to make a bold statement that they are beyond the benefits of sunglasses and more into the impact they make,’’ says Marshal Cohen, the chief analyst of the retail research group NPD. ‘‘Now take this and add it to the fact that there are many more brands of less expensive glasses than there are in other accessory categories and you have the perfect storm brewing.’’ Picking up where the matching of handbags and shoes left off, the more affordable pairing of sunglasses to an outfit is now the name of the game. Putting together a “sunglass wardrobe” filled with all different shapes, sizes, adornments and details is an economical way to update an ensemble, keep up with the latest styles and create instant individuality. Still a staple of summer dressing, sunglasses have recently become an evergreen accessory that can be
worn year round. Gone are the days when buying a pair of shades was based purely on protecting the eyes from damaging UV rays. And the current fascination with oversize sunglasses reflects a need to care for the wearer in a whole new way. They act as a disguise that can mask a multitude of sins: The residual effects of a late night, the no-makeup pit stops for a carton of milk, or that all-important function of avoiding unwanted eye contact. According to Larry Leight, chief designer and cofounder of the Los Angeles-based company Oliver Peoples, the trend in sunglasses is starting to move away from these “ginormous” styles made famous by the skinny lawbreakers Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. For Leight, sunglass styles are starting to turn back the clocks. ‘‘We are seeing a return to a retro 1950s style,’’ says the designer. ‘‘Plastic frames are back, with a modern take on the cat’s eye — think Marilyn Monroe — very popular right now, also crystal transparent frames; they are the new black.’’ Time is of the essence when it comes to building a collection of brand-name sunglasses. Start snapping them up before these affordable luxury lenses find their way onto the same fashion endangered-species list that is the home to the reasonably priced designer handbag. The first signs can already be seen as brands start to promote the use of rare materials (Bottega Veneta’s new natural horn frames), jewels (Oliver Peoples’ 20th-anniversary Harlot sunglasses set with diamonds), and that current fashion favorite, the “limited edition,” to entice consumers to aspire to shades that sell for thousands instead of hundreds of dollars.
STY LE
The limited edition ‘‘Harlot’’ from Oliver Peoples, ¤5,000.
International Herald Tribune
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
11
f ash f i le
‘I
Suzy Menkes
Roland Mouret: Back in the folds
don’t draw — I drape and it is so much easier to explain with the hands,’’ says Roland Mouret, taking a white napkin from the table at Costes in Paris and folding it into a stand-away collar, a panier skirt or the sleeve of a coat. These are all shapes that Mouret will offer at a show during July haute couture — the first presentation since the French-born, British-based designer walked out of his eponymous company and ultimately launched 19RM with Simon Fuller, the media and entertainment mogul famous for inventing ‘‘Pop Idol.’’ Mouret’s couture debut is in fact a pre-spring 2008 collection that will be in the shops in November — but the designer is trying to re-think Catwalking.com the fashion system for the ‘‘I want it now’’ generation. Instead of aiming for a new ‘‘ga la xy’’ dress — his 1940s style beloved of the star Scarlett Johansson — Mouret has made a capsule collection of 21 pieces for varied body types. Top of his list is the bottom-heavy woman whose pear-shape is gently shadowed by a coat opening up in triangular folds or a skirt with pouchy pocket. Each piece slots in with others to make an interchangeable wardrobe where a coat — flat at the front and curving at the back — can slip over a dress, shorts or slim pants. Betting on a return of ethnic inspirations in street culture, the designer has insinuated a Mediterranean woven stripe fabric as a panel on a dress or as a jacket. ‘‘I’m doing what Zara and Co. can’t do,’’ says Mouret, referring to the complex folds and drapes of clothes that look deceptively simple. And where did the designer learn the skills that are making magic out of the table linen? He traces it back to sitting, bored, in his father’s butcher’s shop playing with the cloths and unwittingly creating his future career.
The ‘‘Belle Vivier’’ with side buckle, ¤290. The bubble-gum pink Louis Vuitton ‘‘Ursula’’ sunglasses, ¤395.
The last af fordable luxury
The whiteframed 1950sinspired ‘‘Moff it’’ from Oliver Peoples, ¤288. A pair of iconic Fendi yellow and double-F logo shades, ¤249.
Naoki Takizawa honored
eceiving the French honor of ‘‘chevalier of arts and letters’’ at the Quai Branly Museum in Paris was a fitting tribute last week to Naoki Takizawa. For the Japanese designer’s creative instincts are not only driven by the natural world — like the artifacts displayed by the museum. He also contributed to the Jean Nouvel building on the banks of the River Seine by making massive curtain-screens that represent in their patterns and movement the African, Asian and Oceanic continents, their soils and falling waters. In his address, Stéphane Martin, the museum’s president, called the designer ‘‘a great artist and Naoki Takizawa Design a magician of form and material.’’ Takizawa wearing his medal. Takizawa, a protégé of Issey Miyake, described as ‘‘a great experience’’ the result of a cooperation with the French factory over a two-year span, as the workers strove to understand the ideas that the designer brought to their country and to realize them in terms of texture and visual effects. ‘‘Mr. Miyake has always said that teamwork is very important,’’ sa id Takizawa. ‘‘I cannot do anything alone. I am privileged to receive this honor, but I will share it with my team.’’ Takizawa was creative director of the Miyake brand for more than a decade, taking over first the menswear in 1993 and then the entirety. But the Paris ceremony marked a new phase in the designer’s creative cycle. He is now to launch his own label, under the Miyake umbrella, with his debut show in New York in September.
R
Red-hot Chanel shades with Coco’s favorite camellias adorning the temples, $375. Pale gray Burberry glasses with stoney sides, ¤190.
Bottega Veneta’s vintage look with natural horn frames and matching strap with butterf ly clasps, ¤1,600.
Marc Audibet to Vionnet
hen Marc Audibet was 14 years old, he visited a Paris museum to see an exhibition of Paul Poiret. The presence of the legendary designer’s elderly wife and an introduction to the curator, brought the stripling Audibet to a turning point in his life: a chance to see a cache of the work of Madeleine Vionnet. ‘‘I was fascinated by the fluidity, the extraordinary intellectual play — don’t forget that this was the era of Courrèges and of fashion architecture,’’ says Audibet, 52, who went on to develop stretch Lycra with DuPont in the 1980s, to work with Miuccia Prada from 1990 to 1996, then at Hermès and Ferragamo. Now Audibet is coming back to his first love as design director at Vionnet. The fact that his mother was a dancer meant that he was fascinated by ‘‘the idea of liberty of movement’’ and he says that Vionnet’s fluid, bias cut dresses fit precisely with his own aesthetic. Vionnet ‘‘My work started with Vionnet, A new sketch via McCardle,’’ he says, referring by Audibet. Claire McCardle, the American inventor of feminized sportswear. The Vionnet label was dusted off last year by its family owner and chairman, Arnaud de Lummen, who did an exclusive deal with Barney’s New York, after picking the designer Sophia Kokosalaki. But she left after the Italian Diesel company invested in her own fledgling label. Audibet says that he defines fashion designers as those from the school of construction — like Christian Dior and those who focused on the body, like Vionnet and Madame Grès. The former dealt in side seams, zippers and buttons. But he is with the latter’s slithering ease — even if his tough mission Vionnet is to capture couture draping as ready-to-wear in A 1930s Vionnet original. just six weeks.
W
By Jessica Michault
Giorgio Armani’s wraparound shades, with the distinctive GA logo on the arms, ¤264.
F
Tom Ford’s ‘‘Shelby’’ Aviator glasses, ¤399.
PARIS orget the designer shoes, the luxurious lipsticks from high-end fashion houses and the sweet smelling scents emblazoned with brand names on the bottle. When it comes to “a ffordable” luxury — the eyes have it. Sunglasses are the last bastion of hope for those who want to bask in the luxury-label sunshine but ca n’t afford to keep up with the skyrocketing prices for designer handbags and clothing. While shoes, makeup, and perfume might still be within reach for most, they will never have the instant impact — even from a distance — of a pair of logo-labeled shades. ‘‘True fashionistas use glasses to make a bold statement that they are beyond the benefits of sunglasses and more into the impact they make,’’ says Marshal Cohen, the chief analyst of the retail research group NPD. ‘‘Now take this and add it to the fact that there are many more brands of less expensive glasses than there are in other accessory categories and you have the perfect storm brewing.’’ Picking up where the matching of handbags and shoes left off, the more affordable pairing of sunglasses to an outfit is now the name of the game. Putting together a “sunglass wardrobe” filled with all different shapes, sizes, adornments and details is an economical way to update an ensemble, keep up with the latest styles and create instant individuality. Still a staple of summer dressing, sunglasses have recently become an evergreen accessory that can be
worn year round. Gone are the days when buying a pair of shades was based purely on protecting the eyes from damaging UV rays. And the current fascination with oversize sunglasses reflects a need to care for the wearer in a whole new way. They act as a disguise that can mask a multitude of sins: The residual effects of a late night, the no-makeup pit stops for a carton of milk, or that all-important function of avoiding unwanted eye contact. According to Larry Leight, chief designer and cofounder of the Los Angeles-based company Oliver Peoples, the trend in sunglasses is starting to move away from these “ginormous” styles made famous by the skinny lawbreakers Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. For Leight, sunglass styles are starting to turn back the clocks. ‘‘We are seeing a return to a retro 1950s style,’’ says the designer. ‘‘Plastic frames are back, with a modern take on the cat’s eye — think Marilyn Monroe — very popular right now, also crystal transparent frames; they are the new black.’’ Time is of the essence when it comes to building a collection of brand-name sunglasses. Start snapping them up before these affordable luxury lenses find their way onto the same fashion endangered-species list that is the home to the reasonably priced designer handbag. The first signs can already be seen as brands start to promote the use of rare materials (Bottega Veneta’s new natural horn frames), jewels (Oliver Peoples’ 20th-anniversary Harlot sunglasses set with diamonds), and that current fashion favorite, the “limited edition,” to entice consumers to aspire to shades that sell for thousands instead of hundreds of dollars.
