Harney and Sons - A lesson on Tea Making With Michael Harney

TEXT, VIVIAN KELLY

Our winter trip to visit friends in Lakeville, CT ended up with a stroll through Millerton, NY, just off Route 22. My primary target destination was 15,000sq.ft. Millerton Antiques Center, where I hoped to find a piece of 1920's or Thirties' gold jewelry to take home at a nice price. After nearly an hour, a victory! I left with a sapphire channel eternity band set in 18K gold for $80 with a few missing baguettes, which I will not replace, as I like ring's antique look, as is.

After a successful HUnt, I was open to Sandy's suggestion that we visit Harney & Sons, a little further down the road. Part of the motivation was the possibility that I might sight Keira Sedgewick, who's apparently a regular there. [She was not there]. In we went, me clutching the remainder of my cafe latte from the Irving Farm Coffee House.

I was most decidedly not a tea lover before walking in that day. Meeting Michael Harney changed all that. The charismatic founder of Harney & Sons was making a rare personal appearance at the store and graciously talked about tea, how to brew it and why his are so wonderful in our short video interview below.

Although my visit to Millerton was on THe HUnt schedule, I wasn't expecting to shoot an interview that day, so I only had my Blackberry on me - sorry for the shaky vid!

Sandy introduced us and I tried unsuccessfully to hide my coffee cup as I was now officially in the land of fine teas.



Michael showed us and let us sniff various blends, some so delicious that people have been known to use them as potpourri.

After the tutorial he gave us on how to brew "a perfect cuppa", I dallied over the adorable Union Jack tea mugs and finally bought a travel tin of the Holiday Tea. Now that I know better, I'm hopping online to buy a full size tin as the travel one didn't even last me a long weekend away in Orlando.

I have a feeling that the Harney's in Soho at 433 Broome Street will be one of my main watering holes over the upcoming NYFW.

Keep up with the super busy Michael Harney and learn some more about some really great teas at www.harney.com

THE CHIC SUITE: Oakland, CA's VERRIERS + SAKO

TEXT: LIZA MULVENNA ARGUE
EDITED BY: VIVIAN G. KELLY-VAN ZUTPHEN
IMAGES: Courtesy of Verriers+Sako

WHEN & WHERE: New York Fashion Week, The Chic Suite Trunk Show at the Flatotel February 23-24, 2010

Situated high in a lofty yet welcoming suite on the 41st floor of New York City's Flatotel in Midtown, the Chic Suite Trunk Show offered an eclectic mix of fabrics, classic silhouettes, and modern aspiration from a group of promising independent designers. The designers are represented by several retailers, in common are Legends (Nantucket), Nikki Laura (NYC), and America Rag (Los Angeles) among many other boutiques across the US and internationally.

Verrieres + Sako

Made for the contemporary woman who must seamlessly transition from the daily work world to an evening of adventure at a moment's notice, the new fall 2010 Verrieres - Sako merges classic & modern silhouettes with tailored details and ruching. Stephanie Verrieres and Kimie Sako gained recognition for their rendition of a flattering pencil skirt featured in Instyle magazine a few seasons ago that continues to fly out of stores.

A favorite for fall 2010 was a basic sleeveless shift dress, accented with strategically placed grommets and tie drawstring at the waist, with a slight v-cut back. Worn under a jacket or light sweater during the day, the dress carries very well into cocktail hour. We also adored the lovely Dior inspired houndstooth tailored jacket (with double lapelled collar, fitted waist with peplum and oversized wrist cuffs), and skirt in matching fabric with black and piping art deco details that catch & lead the eye around figure flattering lines.

Verrieres - Sako are also known for their couture hand sewn ruching technique on luxurious gowns that capture silver screen glamour, and were seen at several red carpet events from the Academy Awards (Oscars) to the Obama Inauguration.
One gorgeous silk taffeta number boasts over 5,000 hand tacks and over 25 yards of fabric. THe story behind this stunning purple gown was reported on by The San Francisco Gate in their Jan. 28th edition.
The SF publication reported that " this hand-ruched purple strapless gown was floating on the dance floor at one of the presidential inauguration balls; the next evening, it was worn to the San Francisco's Ballet opening night gala by guest Jenny Georges. The gown was designed and made by Oakland's up-and-coming Verrieres & Sako label. The taffeta creation was first worn by Alejandra Campoverdi, who is dating President Obama's speechwriter, Jon Favreau. Jenny Georges, a good friend of designer Stephanie Verrieres,needed a gown in a hurry, and presto, she had it in hand the next evening for her big night out."

The duo also used this ruching technique on the waistband of a winter white knee length coat, and the collar of a cropped black bolero jacket. Both are highly wearable wool and lycra pieces featured in their RTW fall 2010 collection.

For more information about the collection check out their website www.verriers-sako.com

*In our next two reports on The Chic Suite, NYC; Another Important Culture (A.I.C), Katharine Kidd, and Anjali Kumar.

John Bartlett's fall 2010 collection - the English country squire

TEXT, VIVIAN G KELLY-VANZUTPHEN
Images, courtesy of John Bartlett
Wednesday night, Feb. 10th, the Wall Street area, NYC

This was our first show of Mercedes-Benz NY fall 2010 Fashion Week. After slogging through as of yet unplowed snow, we were excited to see one of our favorite designers’ latest. You’ve got to love John Bartlett – he’s been beaten down, most recently for his participation in the ill-fated Liz Claiborne deal. A fellow editor told us she’d picked up a dozen or so shirts for her boyfriend at deep discount for $10 a shirt!
Despite the setbacks, he always manages to get up and come back for another round, and always, with a big smile on his face.
He showed equestrian chic with perhaps a reference to a long-ago lumberjack themed collection. The men’s’ and women’s’ looks were quite similar and worked well together. There were some great textures – wide wale corduroy, neutral tweeds and herringbones accented with some brilliant orange here and there. The women’s collection in particular was Ralph Lauren-ish in a “life at the country estate” sort of way. For the hunt ball, there’s a black satin tux with a matching bowtie for the guys. As always, Mr. Bartlett added a little bit of edge, this time by way of leather tees and gauntlets.
If you like vest and the English Country Squire look, you’ll be all over this collection come fall.

GEREN FORD - AN UP +COMER FROM LA WITH A NEW YORK ART SCENE VIBE

Text, Vivian G. Kelly
Images of the fall 2009 Collection, Richard Spiegel

We walked into the loftspace that resembled a cool Downtown Gallery opening, rather than yet another fashion presentation. As with anything that IS genuine, you know it when you see it. It’s just this vibe that so many fashion houses/PRs try for but few achieve because it’s just not a part of their DNA to begin with, and they’re merely borrowing for the occasion.
This is not the case for GEREN LOCKHART, the LA-NY cool girl hybrid who designs the up and coming GEREN FORD line.


Luckily for us, her energetic C.O.O, ALEX KNIGHT, swooped in and rescued us as we were busy taking a deep breath at the entrance, trying to get our bearings in the jammed venue. Mr. Knight’s a dead ringer for actor-heartthrob, JUDE LAW, with the accent to match. His infectious enthusiasm though, was all-American, as he gave us the 411 on the line’s growing popularity with editors and retailers.
THE FASHION EXAMINER: There’s a lot more here than what you showed last season.

ALEX KNIGHT: Yes, all the majors are carrying us now.

T.F. EXAMINER: What’s your biggest retail coup?

A. KNIGHT: We just got on the new Contemporary Floor at Saks, they selected only a handful to be there,
T.F. EXAMINER: What’s different in terms of the collection?

A. KNIGHT: This season you can really see the progression of Geren’s collection, it a whole lot more involved. There are leathers, Italian wools and of course the she’s known silk dresses and tops that act as the underpinnings. This season, they serve as the core of the collection.

T.F. EXAMINER: She did some interesting prints. What’s the inspiration?

A. KNIGHT: It’s based off YVES KLEIN.
[*A Wikipedia search yielded the following entry, “ Yves Klein - a French artist considered an important figure in post-war European art. New York critics of Klein's time often classified as neo-Dada.]
The print Ms. Ford created was not dissimilar to Klein’s Monotone Symphony.
Geren’s whole world is art, she’s been steeped in it since childhood. She’s a seventies Art Rat, her Dad is JOHN FORD, and she’s very networked with the art world.

T.F. EXAMINER: The jewelry, it’s wonderful!

A. KNIGHT: It’s BYLU; they provided their jewelry for this presentation.

*ENDNOTES: We left with a little bit of Geren Ford’s latest around our neck – a luxurious silk scarf and couldn’t wait to try “ironic”, the rocker girl mica silver eye shadow she gifted us at the door by OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE COSMETICS.

To read more and to shop the Geren Ford Collection, visit:
www.gerenford.com
www.saksfifthavenue.com


To view some more of Obsessive Compulsive’s well-priced shadows [$10 a pot], visit their official website,
www.occmakeup.com

ADDITIONAL PHOTO CREDITS
Image of Bylu Ring, from www.bylu-nyc.com
Image of Yves Klein, from www.wikipedia.org
Image of Paris Hilton in Geren Ford from www.photobucket.com
Image of Monotone Symphony from www.chromiumoxidegreen.com

RETAIL GURU – CONSULTANT ROBERT BURKE

Text, Vivian G. Kelly
Image of Robert Burke from www.robertburkeassociates.com

Image of Robert Burke, Andre Leon Talley, Tara Rockefeller& Philip Bloch, from www.newyorksocialdiary.com
Image of Michelle Obama in Jason Wu, A.P.
Image of Jason Wu and his fall 2009 collection, from www.newsday.com


TIME & PLACE: At the POLECI Presentation, New York Fashion Week
The POLECI STORE, 32 Gansevoort Street, the Meatpacking District, NYC

In response to our question, “What do young girls want to wear now?”,
Retail Consultant Robert Burke, immediately brought up Jason Wu.
For those who aren’t familiar with the dapper Burke, he is now providing “strategic consulting [and very successfully at that] for the luxury sector”. He’s been in this role since leaving his long-time post as Senior Vice President of Fashion and Public Relations at Bergdorf Goodman. Prior to that, he oversaw the world of Ralph Lauren, men’s women’s AND home. If anyone can spot a winner, he can, and we jumped on the opportunity to ask him what he saw in his crystal ball this season.

Said Mr. Burke in a conversation at the filled to capacity Poleci event, “Jason Wu is what young girls want to wear now.”
Small wonder, if they hadn’t heard of Wu before, they certainly have since Michelle Obama wore his white chiffon dress as her Inaugural gown.
THE FASHION EXAMINER: What kind of young girl do you think Jason’s appealing to? What’s she like?
ROBERT BURKE: He has designed a collection that will appeal to young girls with an elegant sense of style. Perhaps they’ll be wearing Oscar in a few years, but for now Mr.Wu is a great option.

T.F.EXAMINER: What is it about his work that first caught your attention?

R. BURKE: What drew us in from the beginning was the ease and fluidity of these clothes and the easy femininity of the ruffled dresses and the vaguely retro New Look cinched skirts. The options are all there, lean and fitted for those who love a graceful column or A-line for those who want less exposure.

T.F. EXAMINER: He has been described as “edgy”. What of the clothes’ shelf life? Everyone’s concerned about that these days, it seems.

R. BURKE”:These gowns can be worn more than once, Mr. Wu must have had that in the back of his mind when he was designing this well edited collection.

The LORIS DIRAN fall 2009 Show

Text, Vivian G. Kelly
Images from the following sources:
www. Thefashiontribune.blogspot.com
www.farm4.static.flicker.com
www.nowpublic.com


Time & Place:
New York Fashion Week -
Thursday, February 12, 2009


THE ALTMAN BUILDING
The Chaos at the door fell into calm once everyone was allowed into the venue. The show was about 80% full. This designer has an impressive resume under his belt. He’s worked for Chanel and Versace and dressed such celebs as Sarah Jessica Parker and Beyonce. For his fall showing, he was wise to stick to a wearable chocolate brown and gray palette that could be mixed and matched a myriad of different ways.
He started right with a well fitting skinny men’s tweed suit accessorized with a fun brown leather aviator hat. For a more casual day there’s the cream cardigan with cable knit detail and the chunky brown chocolate brown hoodie bathrobe coat.


For the women, there was a sleek vented chocolate pantsuit with skinny legs chic enough to be worn for dinner out. Mr. Diran veered off course a bit with his smoke chiffon and satin pieces – the bustier worn over a white shirt looked too retro, as did the short Judi Jetson skirt.
Strongest were the simple shapes such as a sheath were punched up with interesting pleating detail at the collar..
While we liked the black and white cashmere dress, it would have been even better done in reverse, with the accent in black, resulting in slimmer looking hip.
BEST WOMEN’S PIECES: The high waisted pinstripe pant with flowing legs and a notched belt
BEST ACCESSORIES: tough motorcycle boots that were both sturdy and sleek.
To read more about Loris Diran’s work, visit the official website,
www.lorisdiran.com

PROTÉGÉ - affordable sneakers by the Knicks’ Al Harrington

“You don’t need money to play this game, you need shoes.” -Al Harrington.
Text, Vivian G. Kelly
Image of subway billboards and black patent sneaker, VGK
Image of black/white sneaker from www.kmart.com
Image of Al Harrington, from www.sports.espn.go.com

The Knicks’ Al Harrington vowed that if and when he made it, he would come up with basketball sneaks that young boys with not a lot of money could afford. It’s a well-known fact that big sneaker companies present impressionable kids with sneaks they frankly can’t afford, without having to resort to running errands for the local drug lord. Just go watch Notorious, and you’ll get our drift.

Mr. Harrington has come-through, and is currently promoting affordable, weather resistant, high-performance basketball shoes that look like they should cost considerably more than the $34.99 they’re retailing for at Kmart.


According to MSNBC, he actually WEARS them – are you listening, you other celebrity designers out there who don’t wear your own designs while on tour and posing on the Red Carpet?

NOW, THAT’S A LAUNCH!
Protégé’s pulling out all the stops in promotion, which is what you need to do if you’re going to get a product off the ground these days.
SOME of the places you’ll see Protégé: TV, online, and inserted in-game ads on “Guitar Hero” and billboards, and on subway trains, as we did while riding the #6 Downtown during New York Fashion Week.

The COSTELLO TAGLIAPIETRA fall 2009 show

Text, Vivian G. Kelly
Images of Nail colors from www.cnd.com
Runway images from www.style.com
Image of Halsotn and models, from www.mediabistro.com

THE SCENE BACKSTAGE

CND’s [Creative Nail Design] Ruby showed us the 3 custom colors that CND Creative Director, Jan Arnold whipped together for Costello’s latest showing. The cotton candy pink had a slightly dirty tinge that gave it some guts. So did the Barbie-lavender and faded blue jean colors. The heavy eyeliner looked like something Barbie might don if she was feeling tough that day.


THE SHOW
The line sheet promised a show heavy on Ultra suede, which made us hopeful for some Halston like outfits. We were not disappointed.
The thumping rock beat and the models’ aggressive stride combined with no-nonsense grays and creams spoke of a strong confident woman. This woman’s strong and she’s also a sophisticated vixen who likes to wear stilleto heels [provided by Giuseppi Zanotti] a lot of Ultra suede and statement Swarovski crystal necklaces. When she does wear color, she’s bold about it and wears vivid sienna orange. She’s not much of one for prints, a mini toffee colored houndstooth print is as complicated as it gets. These designs show that you can produce a great dress with some artful draping in a way that’s immensely flattering to a woman’s curves.

To read more about this design duo and to view past collections, visit the official website,
www.costellotagliapietra.com

The BINETTI Fall 2009 Collection Showing

Text, Vivian G. Kelly
Backstage images of the models and CND nails, Richard Spiegel
Image of Diego Binetti from www.fashionwindows.net
Image of Jan Arnold, from www.beauty.glam.com
TIME & PLACE: Sunday, Feb. 15th, 2009
Focus Studio [45th Street], 599 Eleventh Avenue, the Forbidden Zone
BACKSTAGE
This was by far the most interesting backstage, make-up and nail-wise. The gold and silver eyebrows, and magenta lips reminded us of something we’d see at a Dior show in Paris, rather than in New York, where the look tends to be more toned-down. CREATIVE NAIL DESIGN Co-Founder, and fashion maven, JAN ARNOLD outdid herself with these silver and gold nails that look like something the ancient Egyptians or Mayans would have loved, given their obsession with gold and ornamentation.

PR Deborah Hughes got us a time slot with the genial designer, pre-show, in-between last minute adjustments he made to the models’ outfits.

THE FASHION EXAMINER: How did you approach this collection? Has the recession affected your take on fashion this season?

DIEGO BINETTI: The retailer is demanding, “Give me something that will sell” or “give me something that is very high-end.

The show that followed was interesting too, a mini art installation of sorts, in which black spandex clad dancers pushed the models on round stands across the show space. We could see what Mr. Binetti meant when he said that he was “moving into making the designs very high end.” He used luxurious fabrics, ranging from basic black to a hammered gold lame print to royal purple. Although there was plenty of fantasy in the clothing, there was also a strong undercurrent of reality running throughout. Mr. Binetti edited himself “very, very tightly”, and showed only 17 looks. The show was a ride in the time machine, there was an Edwardian riding suit in white, a twenties fringed flapper dress, and a thirties cream pleated dress and marabou fur capelet a heroine in an Agatha Christie novel would have worn to dinner while riding The Orient Express.

FAVORITE: the deep purple silk chiffon dress with shaved wool trim and bronze chains accessorized with a wide bronze belt that gave it some heft.

CND Products are available on the official website: www.cnd.com

MIGUEL ANTOINE’S SPELLING FALL 2009 MEN’S PRESENTATION

Text, Vivian G. Kelly
Images of the Collection, Richard Spiegel
Image of Fred Astaire, from www.brandimills.com
DATE & TIME: Thursday, February 12, 2009
The Soho Penthouse, @ the Regency Hotel, Park & 61st Street.

Mr. Antoine kicked off his presentation with an explanation of his design inspiration for fall 2009.
“This 49-piece collection was inspired by the gentleman of the thirties, who had an affection for tailored clothing.”

THE INSPIRATION: the debonair gentlemen of the Silver Screen, Fred Astaire, perhaps?

WHAT THAT MEANT: - Well-tailored shirts, trousers, and a nice narrow-cut gray sharkskin suit.

The designer added some eccentric touches such as making one [yes, only one] of the legs of a pair of trousers a black legging. Experimentation is well and fine, but it’s doubtful that this look will catch on with the majority of the designer’s target market.

GROOMING TIPS: A look like this requires hair that's slicked-back. The Aveda Pro Team's slicked back hair added to the natty gentleman look that can be achieved with either MEN’S GROOMING CLAY or CONTROL PASTE.

All Aveda product, available on www.aveda.com

VIVIENNE TAM – pandemonium outside the Mercer Street Store

Text, Vivian G. Kelly
Images of the Vivienne Tam Fall 2009 Collections, from www.viviennetam.com
Image of Nicole Fischelis in gray suit, from www.cachedaylife.com
Image of Meredith Melling Burke, from www.parkavepeerage.com
Image of designer, VGK



WHEN & WHERE: WEDNESDAY@ 5:20PM, FEBRUARY 18, 2009
Soho, NYC on Mercer Street


Standing outside of the designer’s Soho store, we had an endless loop of the eighties hit running through our head of, "Waiting in the Rain” on Bobby Brown's hit CD from 1989, "Don't Be Cruel".

Taking shelter under the overhang, while watching a colorful Lilly Pulitzer Jeep zoom by, filled with Fashion Week VIP’s, we noticed another VIP entering the supposedly “not ready- yet” venue. VOGUE’S MEREDITH MELLING BURKE stepped out of a private car and like her boss, Anna, her face was enough to grant her instant admission – ready or not.
While Ms. Burke was merely only doing her job, her access to the venue caused a great deal of grumbling to the varied retailers and press waiting patiently outside, Legendary Fashion Director, NICOLE FISCHELIS [now at Macy’s & who’s giving the retailer a much-needed style over-haul] tried to no avail to enter. It’s quite possible the Junior PR’s manning the door simply didn’t realize that she too, was a VIP. Ms. Fischelis left followed by her staffers, saying she would go to the showroom, “later”. Hopefully, for Ms. Tam’s sake, she did.
Once inside, the scene was noticeably brighter. The cause for the delay it seemed was that Ms. Tam kept rearranging the display.
OVERHEARD: a member of the Bloomingdales’ team speaking enthusiastically with Tam’s VP of Sales, SUSAN EISENBERG, about the collection. The retailer was happy with the dressy separates, which she seemed to think would perform well on the floor.
Pushing through the throng, we caught up with Ms. Eisenberg to fill in some details, which proved very helpful, as we weren’t able to push our way to the front of the display.

THE FASHION EXAMINER: How many collections are there here?
SUSAN EISENBERG: There are two, the signature Collection, and the diffusion Vivienne Tam Red Label.

T.F.EXAMINER: Is there a theme this season? An inspiration?
S. EISENBERG: The RED label separates are based on mesh lingerie. At the moment, Vivienne is into slashing details and there are of course, the prints, which are one of her signatures.