Lauren Hutton’s Easy “ALL-AMERICAN” Style, Circa 1975 – Is it Back?

TEXT, VIVIAN KELLY
Yesterday, at the Mall, I stopped into H&M to see if there was anything there that I could pick-up for under $40 that with my genius tailor’s nimble hands, could be elevated to be worthy to wear to the upcoming Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week.
It took some time, but it was there – a safari dress, not in the usual khaki, but in the still fashionable gray. As I rubbed the fabric between my fingers I had visions of UBER-MODEL, LAUREN HUTTON, AT THE TOP OF HER GAME, CIRCA 1975. Transfixed on the floor at H&M, I was transported back to the age of that effortless “all-American dressing” that HALSTON and then RALPH LAUREN, did so well. [I still maintain that one of Ralph’s best-evers was his SAFARI COLLECTION, and those fragrance ads still hold-up, years later.
Back home, while trolling galleries of images of Lauren, I came across a wonderful article on her life in this period, by Lee Wohlfert on www.maryellenmark.com

In May 1975, Lauren was an “IT GIRL”, and anyone who was anyone, raved about her style and specialness.
She was on of then VOGUE EDITRIX, DIANA VREELAND’S DISCOVERIES. Said, Ms. Vreeland, “"She is the best of America," says Diana. "She is the person people want to look at. I am always amazed at how many moods she can project. Sometimes she has the eyes of a baby, the questioning look of a child. Then she has this very special electricity. Her reactions are so fast. I like her speed, her timing."
This all leads back to the big question: WHAT can we expect to see at the spring/summer 2010 NY shows? Will designers go back to all-American dressing? There are hints in the September Vogue and Harper’s issues that just hit my doorstep, that we may be going back to that uncomplicated “American” look. TOMMY HILFIGER JUST INVESTED IN 6 PAGES OF JUST THIS LOOK – SEVENTIES TAILGAITING – in the front of the September book. A few pages before, there’s a spread for MICAHEL KORS. Long-time model, CARMEN KASS is in a classic camel coat and has a yummy brown satchel bag on the crook of her arm. The year could be 1970, and if you reverse the models’ hair color, they couple could well be ALI MCGRAW and RYAN O’NEIL in LOVE STORY.

I’m circling back tomorrow, and getting this dress and dropping it with Kaitlin at R&E Cleaners and Tailors. I'll be sporting my $39.95 find at Fashion Week, channeling a little bit of Lauren Hutton.

Welcome To Miami – Kicking Things Off With TRINA TURK’s Swimwear Line

TEXT, VIVIAN KELLY

It’s here, my favorite time of the year, sweet, sweet summertime! My absolute part of the summer is the month of July. Firstly, it’s my Birthday month [Yes, I continue to celebrate, age, my damned]. Secondly, it’s Mercedes Benz Miami Swim Wear at the Raleigh. Even on years that the shows aren’t so great, the Raleigh is a joy to behold and to hang out at.
This year, things are looking decidedly up. One of my favorite designers, TRINA TURK, will be kicking things when she debuts her Spring 2011 swimwear collection on Thursday, July 15, 2010 – the day we fly in, and my birthday. Seeing a great collection is one birthday gift I’m ALWAYS happy to receive.
According to her PR’s press release, we can look forward to lots of yummy gold hardware on the suits. Face it, swimsuits are kind of boring without some quality hardware to add a touch of glam. There will be black and white, which is always chic, as well as some vintage inspired prints. Trina was inspired by the city of Acapulco in the 1960’s & 1970’s. It’s hard to get more glamorous than that. Back the, Acapulco was one of the international jetset’s go-to getaways. Makes me think of The Taylor-Burton VILLA SCALA - I couldn't resist putting up an image of their famous lovenest.
Trina Turk is one of those designers you should know about, so here’s a thumbnail sketch. She started designing in 1995, when she introduced a collection of contemporary clothing for women which she’s carefully grown into a successful lifestyle brand which includes: women’s apparel, swimwear, accessories and home furnishings.
We were toying with the idea of making a trip over to the Bal Harbor Shops to check out the retail scene. Now that we’ve found out that Trina will make a personal appearance in her store there, on Saturday July 17th, 2010 from 4-6p.m., we’re there, no ifs ands or buts. There’s also an extra reason to attend – spend $300, and you’ll go home with a raffia clutch purse as your special gift. See you there!
To view Trina Turk’s brand, visit www.trinaturk.com

The Cynthia Rowley Resort 2011 Collection

TEXT, VIVIAN KELLY
Images of Resort 2011 RTW & Accessories, Richard Spiegel
Backstage Image - Bobbi Brown [L], Cynthia Rowley, [R]

Thanks to Cynthia’s on-the-ball PR Director, Michelle Finocchi, this talented designer is on my radar screen again. It’s not that there’s any lack of talent here, it’s simply that the amount of information and designers is overwhelming, and it takes clever marketing to get your work noticed.
Cynthia and Michelle understand this and get an A+ for their latest marketing coup. “The new busy is not the old busy” is the tagline someone who regularly emails me says. Truer words have not been spoken. With that in mind, they invited editors to:

“Join us tomorrow at one of our "on location" street-side presentations

Tuesday, June 15

1:00 - 2:00 PM, Condé Nast - W. 43rd St. between Sixth Ave. and Broadway
3:00 - 4:00 PM, Hearst - W. 57th St. between Eighth and Ninth Aves.
5:00 - 6:00 PM, Time, Inc. - W. 50th St. between Sixth and Seventh Aves.”

The option was to schedule a private showroom appointment, which we did, the following day, at the 376 Bleecker Street store. The C.R. store is full of affordable goodies, which have that quality that makes you want to pick them up and play with them. That sense of playfulness and a low [for designer] price point has always been a part of the Rowley DNA and key to why she’s still around and thriving.

The concept of “Resort” as in – “I’m going to Jamaica for 1 week in the dead of winter” is not really what Resort is about anymore. Resort has turned into a collection that is often a little more experimental [and thus more special] and keeps the offerings on the retail floor fresh while we all wait for fall 1 deliveries to arrive.

Cynthia designed her Resort dresses to be worn year-round, provided you’re in a 60-degree plus climate. Most of the prints are on the accessories, as seen on the wedges we loved. Like the Resort of old, there’s some swimwear on the line too. If you haven’t already, have a look at the suits Cynthia designed for Roxy. [The black cut out and striped scuba suit shown are on the line].
What really caught my interest though, were the surfboards that Cynthia and designer/innovator THOMAS MEYERHOFFER collaborated on. The project started when Thomas created a few experimental boards in his Bay Area studio. He took it to the next level and put them on the market for surfers to try. They were a hit with the surfing set, who praised them for their "truly unique performance characteristics". The boards meet Meyerfhoffer's criteria of creating products that alter user perception. Design critics took notice too, and prototypes of the boards were put on display in the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum.
The Rowley-Meyerhoffer boards are for sale at Collette and the new C.R. store in Montauk. To better understand his work, dop over to www.meyerhoffer.com.

Going back to Resort, maybe you'll just choose a pair of the sunglasses [$125-250], or go the whole 9 yards and
pick up a dress, a pair of wedges, some sunnies, and a surfboard, and dive-in head first into the laid-back Cali surfer vibe. No matter which way you go, you're buying into a winning brand that makes it all feel like F-U-N again.


To view Cynthia's empire, visit, www.cynthiarowley.com

The Khirma Eliazov Trunk Show -bags, bags, bags!

TEXT, VIVIAN G. KELLY-VAN ZUTPHEN
Images, Richard Spiegel

"… I did not want to just design arm candy, but rather, sophisticated, luxury handbags identifiable for their high quality construction, distinctive aesthetic and versatility that lends itself to complement a favorite pair of jeans, a cocktail dress, poolside, or at the MET - feminine, functional and timeless." – Designer and Founder, Khirma Eliazov

WHAT: A 1-year-old bag line created by a former Vogue editor and stylist.
Event: Khirma Eliazov Trunk Show
When: April 22-25th (Thursday-Sunday)
Where: Henri Bendel (56th Street and 5th Avenue), right up front and to the right of the door.

Last year, in the depths of what www.cnbc.com has termed, “a deep recession”, it seems fool-hardy to launch a bag line. That’s what Khirma laughingly told us her parents’ reaction was when she broke the news to them that this was just what she was going to do.
And, that’s true, many aspiring designers come and go, and the projected lifespan is akin to that of a fruitfly’s.
Not this young lady – she’s got some great bags, a Vogue pedigree, AND a little help from some very influential friends. Her bags have already been featured in major publications such as Vogue, Elle, Teen Vogue, Glamour, Style.com, Star, and The New York Post.

A FEW WORDS WITH KHIRMA

TheFE: What do you do besides design the bags?You’ve tightly edited yourself, but why now?

KHIRMA ELIAZOV: I'm the face of the company.
I’ve learned on my own – the sourcing, dealing with the production. My experience at Vogue and as a brand-marketing consultant for sure helped.


TheFE: Do you have a backer?

KHIRMA: In Spring 2009, Keira Guez joined me as a partner. She’s our Director of Production and Sales. At this point, the bags are available in over 15 stores

* [Guez is the daughter of denim mogul Paul Guez, has had her hands in the fashion industry from a very young age.]

TheFE: The bags look great, expensive. How are you pricing them?


KHIRMA: The majority is under $1000. I price them to sell – that’s my focus now.
The whole idea is affordable luxury. The little messenger bag retails for $240.


TheFE: Most special thing about your designs?

KHIRMA: It’s all about the detail, The detail is the signature gold box chain like the one my Grandmother used to wear.
I work in leather and exotics and the hand-woven comfy shoulder strap is one of our signatures.

[We hefted one onto our shoulder and it IS comfortable].

TheFE: You say you appeal to a wide age-span. How do you accomplish that?

KHIRMA: These bags are the finishing touch to a great outfit. It works for the conservative woman like my Mom's girlfriends and for my trendy girlfriends. The new collection features a big deconstructed tote, hobo and messenger – something for everyone.

THE CELEBRITY FACTOR
Khirma Eliazov handbags celebrity fans include: Jennifer Lopez, Blake Lively, Rihanna, Sienna Miller, Eve, Alessandra Ambrosio, among others. nationwide.
Lopez was recently spotted wearing Khirma’s ‘Cha Cha’ Bag.

For more information please view the collection online at www.khirmaeliazov.com

The DEVI KROELL Boutique - the Madison Avenue retail picture

TEXT: VIVIAN G. KELLY-VAN ZUTPHEN


Images, from www.devikroell.com


These days, the picture on Madison Ave isn't pretty. The top designer boutiques are filled with black clad sales people and scarcely a customer. It's true that there are crowds clustered around some of the greats over on Fifth such as Cartier, and that there was a line wrapped around the block waiting for the Abercrombie Flagship to open. Our money's on that these folks are just out of town lookie-loos.
Back to Madison Avenue. We took a Thursday afternoon jaunt down retail's golden mile - starting on Madison and 57th street to see what the action was. Not much tempted us, we passed on the corner Michael Kors boutique, Prada, and in the interest of saving time didn't go into Chanel but drooled at the bag display in the window.

1st STOP: THE DEVI KROELL BOUTIQUE
WHY THERE: We unanimously loved the yellow bag we spotted just inside and disliked the multi-colored pants/leggings in the window display and agreed we had to see more.

INSIDE: The sales girl who approached us gets a 10/10 for friendliness and her knowledge of the product on the floor.

The two-level NY boutique is a long Shotgun space, designed by Devi who's quite the designer. She conceptualized the boutique and designed the backboard in chocolate duchesse satin. "Here's one Madison Avenue designer, remarked www.thefashiontribune.comRichard Spiegel, who didn't have to call Peter Marino to design their space."

WHAT CAUGHT OUR EYE:
The python is signature, and always fabulous, whether it's in natural or shocking pink. This season, Devi also worked with leather and designed the sunshine yellow twist bag that lured us into the store.

WHAT'S HOT & SELLING:
The larger python bags can take you day to evening and for an overnight if needed. Tiny clutches aren't really where it's at but larger clutches are more on-trend and sell.
The gold peep-toe sandals with a 6" heel retail for $990 but thanks to some help from features in the March AND April issues of www.HarpersBazaar.com, are doing nicely.

THE CLOTHES:
Although the [Stock]Market is creeping upwards, it's just not the time to expand a brand. The clothes are not the stars at D.K., and are for the most part, relegated to the upstairs area. The best-seller is the long versatile metallic cardigan for $179O.

There's probably a customer out there who will buy the Michael Jackson-esque gold paillette blazer that goes for just under
$5000, but the real focus remains on the bags and shoes.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Tighten things-up, meaning, scale-down to a smaller space, restrict the RTW clothes to a bare minimum [perhaps just by special order] and narrow the focus to those great core bags and shoes we all love.


WHERE TO SHOP & TO BUY:
NEW YORK
717 Madison Avenue
p 212.644.4499
www.madison@devikroell.com

LAS VEGAS
Forum Shops at Caesars Palace
3500 Las Vegas Boulevard South

p 702.696.9944
www.devikroell.com