Tommy’s Finalists, Turning Out for Siriano, Boss in the Desert

TOMMY’S TRIO: Tommy Hilfiger’s New Legacy Challenge, a design competition developed by the Peoples Place Program in partnership with Harlem’s Fashion Row, has selected its three finalists out of the top 12 applicants. The partnership, established last year, aims to promote the upcoming generation of Black designers through a platform dedicated to amplifying their talent and vision.

The winner of the New Legacy Challenge will receive a grant for $20,000 and the opportunity to codesign a capsule collection alongside the Tommy Hilfiger design team.

Each finalist, with the guidance of a Tommy Hilfiger mentor, will reimagine six iconic prep styles, including the hoodie, the spring varsity jacket and the polo. The designers will present their final collections to a panel of jury members in March, which will be followed by an event to announce and celebrate the winning designer.

The event will also include a premiere of the new Legacy Challenge docuseries, directed by award-winning filmmaker Luchina Fisher, that will take the audience behind the scenes and share an inside look at how each designer was inspired to approach the challenge.

The finalists are Megan Smith, founder of Megan Renee, a sustainable women’s contemporary brand that draws inspiration from her travels; Johnathan Hayden, whose namesake brand balances his interaction/UX design background with a mixed cultural identity to create versatile separates for women, and Clarence Ruth, whose label Cotte D’Armes explores denim from a fresh vantage point with all all denim-based collection of bottoms, tops and outerwear while fusing military with a hint of streetwear and biker chic.

The designers will take the stage at Harlem’s Fashion Row’s fourth annual Black History Month Summit on Tuesday to share their experience and journey with the New Legacy Challenge. — LISA LOCKWOOD

 

CHRISTIAN’S CLAN: The basement of the Empire State Building saw perhaps its most glitzy crew ever on Saturday evening thanks to Christian Siriano and his front row VIPs. Descending the escalator down to the lower level, where the lengthy show took place, were the likes of Drew Barrymore and Alicia Silverstone, Siriano ubiquitors, as well as “Ted Lasso” Emmy winner Hannah Waddingham, in just for the show, as well as Danielle Brooks, Mj Rodriguez, Anna Chlumsky and Anika Noni Rose.

Also sitting front row was Susan Sarandon, to whom Siriano extended an invitation after a day of work together: the two are working on a look for her newest movie.

“I’m doing a film in a couple of weeks and he’s making an outfit for the film, which is a very important outfit because it’s worn throughout quite a bit of the movie,” Sarandon said from her seat. “And he said that this was happening and did I want to come. I think it’s going to be really special.”

The movie, which evades Google searches and IMDb, is a “domestic comedy,” Sarandon said.

“It’s a film with Diane Keaton, Richard Gere, Bill Macy, Emma Roberts and me,” she said, before stopping herself. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to say, but it’s filming in New Jersey so it’s nice that I can stay at home.” — LEIGH NORDSTROM

 

ATOP OF THE WORLD: “One, two, three: how’re you feeling?” a photographer asked Dorinda Medley and Candace Bushnell as they smushed together for a photo op, baiting the pair to deliver Medley’s now-viral response of “not well, b—h!,” which they did happily.

The duo were part of the VIP turnout to Christian Cowan’s One World Trade Observatory show, where guests famous and non alike couldn’t resist snapping the panoramic views ahead of showtime. Front row guests included Tan France, Bevy Smith, Faouzia, CT Hedden, “Gossip Girl” star Zión Moreno and “And Just Like That” actor Alexa Swinton, who plays Charlotte’s child Rock on the show.

“The Real Housewives of New York City” star Medley was fresh off a plane ahead of the show.

“I just got back from the Bahamas — I actually came back just for this,” she said. “I wouldn’t miss it because I just love him and I love his clothes.”

While she wasn’t dressed head to toe in the label, she was sporting one of Cowan’s beaded mesh tanks, which she said were her favorite, paired over a black bar and silver legging-type pants.

“I’ve always known about him. He’s so talented,” she said of Cowan, who she described as a friend forever.

“You know what I love about his clothes, they’re chic and elegant but they’re very retro still,” she said.

“They’re for everybody,” added Hedden, seated nearby.

“It reminds me of the Studio 54 days and the old school sequins,” Medley continued. “I think all ages can wear it — I mean, I can’t wear everything, obviously. But you know.”

After Cowan, she was planning to attend The Blonds show with Hedden, having recently scrapped plans to travel to Milan for the shows.

“I’m just hanging out, going to some great parties,” she said. — L.N.

 

FASHION CAMP: Boss staked its flag in the sand Thursday night to celebrate the launch of its global rebrand under the twinkling night sky in the Dubai desert. Guests, who flew in from all over the world, were COVID-19 tested and ferried in 4x4s through the dunes at dusk where the spring 2022 see now, buy now collection was unveiled in a film by Etienne Russo. He shot over three days in the desert with a cast of actors, models, musicians, sports figures and content creators dressed in relaxed, sporty looks featuring Boss’ new logo.

The cast embodied the spirit of the campaign #BeYourOwnBoss as they marched across the desert in the brand’s signature colors of black, white and camel. TikTok sensation Khaby Lame has become one of the most viral new faces of the brand. Less than two years ago, he lost his job at a factory in Italy and started making TikTok videos; today he has 130 million followers. He said through a translator: “Being in this circle is crazy. I’m super excited. This is all new for me and I love it. I get to meet all these important fashion people.”

As the film was unveiled, Lame sat in the sand in front of the large screen surrounded by the other cast members cheering, including models Precious Lee and Taylor Hill; singer Teyana Taylor, and actor Lucien Laviscount from “Emily in Paris.” Italian tennis star Matteo Berrettini also appeared and collaborated on a capsule collection of activewear. “I really like fashion but I would never think I could be a designer,” he said. “They gave me a lot of tips, I told them what I like and what I don’t like, and we created something new together. We have to both look good and feel good when we are playing.”

Actor Patrick Schwarzenegger said he was pleased to be in Dubai to celebrate. When asked what being his own boss meant to him, he said with a laugh: “I feel like a boss just being here in Dubai. I got flown over here to enjoy the beautiful weather and celebrate.”

Italian actor Michele Morrone said being your own boss means “not really caring what other people think about you.” — RITU UPADHYAY

 

A TOUCH OF CHOUPETTE: The final auctions for Karl Lagerfeld’s estate will have a German accent — and a feline touch.

Everything from vintage German advertising posters and furniture to his pet cat Choupette’s food bowl and climbing tree are to go on the block as Sotheby’s conducts a series of sales in Cologne.

Two auctions at Sotheby’s new German headquarters at the Palais Oppenheim on May 4 and 5 will dispense 300 lots, while a further 250 will be open for online bidding from April 29 to May 6. The sales are estimated to bring in about 700,000 euros.

Many of the larger lots come from Lagerfeld’s country home in Louveciennes, France, an 18th-century villa done up with German furnishings, many designed by architect Bruno Paul, as well as his large collection of German advertising posters collected over 30 years. One by Oskar Schlemmer for “Das Triadische Ballett” from 1926 is estimated to fetch between 15,000 euros and 20,000 euros. But there are several lots in the sale offered from 10 euros, including notebooks and plastic fans.

There is even a poster depicting a white cat, as if foreshadowing the arrival of Lagerfeld’s blue-eyed Birman, which he pampered for the last eight years of his life.

Among choice Choupette lots are a letter written to the cat by Brigitte Bardot, a noted animal rights activist, along with a cat wheel with pedestal.

Memorabilia abounds, from his collection of iPods that reveal an eclectic taste in music, to gifts from friends, home textiles and fashion drawings. Personal items include suit jackets, loafers, fingerless gloves, sunglasses and fans, which he ditched when he lost 90 pounds and adopted a more rock-‘n’-roll persona.

The Cologne sales follow the Monaco and Paris legs of Lagerfeld’s multi-event estate auction. The French sales, held at the end of 2021, netted 18.2 million euros, roughly four times the pre-auction estimate, according to Sotheby’s.

Two world records were set at one of the Paris sales: A black Chanel crocodile tote bag from 2010 that Lagerfeld carried daily fetched 94,500 euros, and Martin Szekely’s “Miroir Soleil Noir,” from 2007, went for 375,500 euros. — MILES SOCHA

 

TOASTING DE SOLE: On Thursday night, New York designers took a break from show preparations to toast Rickie De Sole in her new role as women’s designer fashion and editorial director at Nordstrom.

Guests, including Prabal Gurung, Wes Gordon, Thom Browne, Gabriela Hearst, Victor Gelmaud, Jonathan Simkhai, Derek Lam, Fernando Garcia, Laura Kim, Joseph Altuzarra, Thakoon Panichgul and Tanya Taylor, stopped by Wolf Restaurant on the second floor of the retailer’s Midtown store, where they were joined by industry peers like Steven Kolb, Fern Mallis, Ezra J. William, Tina Leung, Ken Downing and Nancy Chilton.

Nordstrom president and chief brand officer Pete Nordstrom held court throughout the packed restaurant, which also saw a strong showing of editors who Sole worked with during her tenure at Condé Nast.

“It’s exciting to be back at fashion week after Omicron and years of COVID-19, and to see friends and see new shows — and it’s nice to see so many evening shows,” said De Sole toward the end of the evening, when the party was still going strong. The former Vogue editor joined the retailer in January, and is gearing up for her first fashion week with her new team. “I’m looking at [fashion week] through a different lens,” she added. — KRISTEN TAUER

 

HOT PINK LINE: If you’ve been Googling any combination of “Rihanna”, “pink” and “Chanel” since her pregnancy announcement, you’ll want to follow the Tuesday sale at Paris auction house Gros & Delettrez.

Though the bright pink padded Chanel coat with bejeweled Gripoix buttons going under the hammer isn’t the exact one worn by the music and fashion icon, it will almost certainly blow its 1,200 to 1,500 euro estimate out of the water. And not just because searches for Rihanna’s jacket exploded after her reveal.

“While it’s not unique, this is a rare model” because the elasticated elements of this fall 1996 design by Karl Lagerfeld are often in bad condition, explained Gros & Delettrez auctioneer Antoine Saulnier. “There was one recently sold around 9,000 euros on a resale site after Rihanna’s announcement. Another was listed for 19,000 euros but the listing has been pulled.”

Having it connected, if not worn, to a style icon like Rihanna also contributes to driving prices up. But this particular jacket is also part of the collection of Catherine B, a fashion antiquarian and vintage dealer who spent more than three decades amassing a fabulous cache of Chanel and Hermès pieces.

“There is always more interest in an auction with a provenance. In Catherine’s case, the fact that she can be considered as one of the originators of vintage and secondhand luxury some three decades ago — when clothes from Chanel or bags from Hermès were lumped in at the beginning of an auction and could be won for a few hundred euros at most — adds to the pedigree of these items,” Saulnier said.

According to him, prices are driven up by the conjugated effects of a now-global digital access to most auctions; increased awareness of the sustainable side of pre-loved items; rising prices in the firsthand luxury market, and increased brand visibility. “When you walk past a monument and you see a 30-meter-high Bella Hadid, it’s incredibly powerful,” he said.

But for their soon-to-be former owner Catherine B, an in-demand or buzzy brand was never a consideration. “I’ve never bought an item for the brand but for the stories they carry — the quality of the work of Hermès’ artisans, the fantastic imagination of Karl Lagerfeld,” said the luxury vintage specialist, insisting that “showing and sharing” was an important part of her career.

The COVID-19 pandemic also pushed her to rethink her approach to her collection, focusing on a tighter edit and spending more time on exhibiting items she considers “close to contemporary art” like the original Hermès Birkin bag owned by Jane Birkin, which was a highlight of the Victoria & Albert Museum’s 2020 “Bags: Inside Out” exhibition.

“What’s iconic to some may not have struck my fancy,” she admitted, reeling off personally memorable choices among the 600 items going under the hammer starting Tuesday, including the spring 2013 Hula-Hoop XL bag straight off the runway; a fur coat among the first designs sold by Gabrielle Chanel in her Deauville boutique; a fall 2001 “Just a Drop” sweatshirt celebrating Chanel No.5; platform shoes similar to a pair seen on Claudia Schiffer on the spring 1992 runway, and a wide range of handbags.

“In a world where immaterial things like NFTs sell at high prices, when someone physically comes to meet an object through an exhibition or a sale, that’s when you can pass a message — that fashion’s objects are timeless, that they have a story,” she mused. “Fashion should be a spectacle and should remain one. Otherwise, it’s a supermarket.” — LILY TEMPLETON

 

L.A. AT LAST: Something Navy has arrived to Los Angeles: The New York-based brand, founded by influencer Arielle Charnas, has opened a store at 8478 B Melrose Place.

To mark the occasion Charnas hosted an intimate dinner on Thursday with friends — Molly Sims, Rachel Zoe, Jean Watts, Jennifer Meyer, Whitney Port, Erica Pelosini, Carmen Jorda, Meeka Hossain, Megan Roup and Danny Amendola — at hot spot Il Ristorante di Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica by the Pacific Palisades.

“Here’s the thing, I absolutely did not plan a thing,” said Zoe, raising a toast. “I absolutely did not think I would do this until one second ago, but Arielle doesn’t like to speak. So it’s been two years of insanity, I think probably for everyone in this room. But I do want to say that Arielle is a dear friend of mine from New York, and she doesn’t come here that often. And it’s very exciting that Something Navy is now in L.A.”

Charnas admitted she had a hard time public speaking. “My whole life,” she said. “But this is exciting.”

Something Navy has a retail presence in Orange County as well, with sights on other markets. The brand markets itself as offering “fashion staples” and “elevated essentials.” There’s also activewear, maternity wear, resort, home and bath. The latest collection for spring 2022 offers ribbed tops in solid black and nudes with matching flare pants, at $115 each, printed jackets, sweaters, tops, crochet dresses and denim, with the entirety priced between $95 and $425.

“Two-and-a-half years ago — feels like 20 years ago, sometimes it feels like two months ago — I ended up in the Something Navy office,” said chief executive officer Matt Scanlan. He joined Charnas, who has a loyal online following of 1.3 million Instagram followers, to launch in 2020, and the brand grossed $1 million in 30 minutes, according to the two.

“There’s ups, and there’s downs, and building a brand is really hard and exciting, and obviously the last year has been crazy,” he continued. “We launched right in the middle of COVID-19. It’s crazy. You’re not supposed to do that. You’re not supposed to open up a women’s clothing store that sells bathing suits and dresses when no one is wearing them, but we did it. Tonight is a very special occasion. We’re opening up stores on the West Coast, expanding rapidly. Something Navy is a meteor, and we’re just taking off.” — RYMA CHIKHOUNE