Opening Ceremony Unveils Their Flagship New Tokyo Store

The new flagship store is Opening Ceremony’s first free-standing store in Japan, with 13,000-square-feet and four levels.  The new store’s design has an open, airy feel with a glass facade and exposed ceiling beams typical of other stores in the neighborhood.  Quirky display cases shaped like animals were brought over from the old store in Shibuya to furnish a zoologically themed floor.

‘The animal fixtures we feel are very signature [to] us, so we wanted to keep them here.  They’re all kind of roaming together,” Leon said.

A cluster of mannequins sporting eyeballs greet shoppers at the entrance, with the store’s ground floor has an ample space dedicated to Kenzo, which is only logical as Leon and Lim act as creative directors for the brand.

Customers will also find a host of labels such as Acne, Proenza Schouler, Rodarte, Carven, Alexander Wang, Sophie Hulme and up-and-coming Asian brands like Japan’s G.V.G.V. and South Korea’s Fleamadonna.  The new Tokyo store also carries a bevy of exclusive merchandise, including a line of lingerie designed by model and actress Kiko Mizuhara, Yoko Ono’s provocative men’s collection and a special range of colorful Adidas apparel and sneakers.

Chloë Sevigny made her first visit to Japan in about a decade to help celebrate Opening Ceremony’s new flagship store, and to showcase her new fall collection exclusive to the retailer.  Other notable attendees included model actress Kiko Mizuhara as well as Hello Kitty bedecked in a kimono.

“When they opened the door, I started cheering. I’m like, I’m more excited than anybody else in here,” Sevigny said, adding that she was planning to engage in a bit of vintage shopping in the capital and head out to the countryside to check out the hot springs.

(1) Opening Ceremony’s Free-standing Tokyo flagship store (2) mannequins sporting eyeballs greet customers at entrance (3) Chloe Segivny with Humberto Leon and Carol Lim (4) Hello Kitty and Kiko Mizuhara (5,6) Opening Ceremony store interior

Celebrities Toast Tiffany’s Great Gatsby Fashion Soiree

Hollywood’s fashion beauties turned up Thursday night at the Rockefeller Plaza to view Tiffany’s Blue Book beauties as the brand toasts its new Jazz Age collection created for Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming film adaptation of “The Great Gatsby”.  The Rockefeller Center’s ice skating rink was transformed into a Roaring Twenties supper club, all housed underneath a 31-foot-high Tiffany blue box topped with the brand signature white bow.

A 10-piece orchestra and Rockettes-esque “diamond dancers” serenaded the crowd with jazz musician Brian Newman while feather and sequin-wearing aerialists gilded over the tables.  Singer Megan Hilty later performed a rendition of Cole Porter’s “Let’s Misbehave”.  Cigarette girls kept guests entertained all night as they worked the room, but instead of offering smokes, they carried iPads.  Gatsby modern-style, guests could get their photo taken and have it immediately sent to their email.

Jessica Biel, Kate Hudson, Poppy Delevigne, Hong Kong actress Carina Lau, Japanese model Kurara Chibana and Korean model Ji Hye Park were among the guests who walked through the Channel Gardens off Fifth Avenue before descending into the luxe Gatsby-inspired venue, were pieces from the Blue Book collection were on display in glass cases.

3-in-1 Fashion Trend: Cat Eye Glasses

First created in the 1950s as optical frames by Oliver Goldsmith and referred to as the “Manhattan”, the frame’s imitation of the feline’s slanted eyes quickly garnered the rename of “cat eye” and hit the fashion scene, adorning the faces of Hollywood’s most beautiful women.   60 years later, cat eye glasses are still super popular, with fashion houses refreshing this classy shape in edgy styles and proportions.

Meeting our criteria of being in-trend for at least three seasons, cat eye glasses are a great investment for any fashionista.  The chic look of cat eye glasses can be a stylish complement to any outfit, from casual to evening, vintage to ultra contemporary.

Cat Eye Glasses on the Runway

Cat eye frames had a major moment on the Fall 2012 catwalk as fashion labels Acne, DSquared2, Roberto Cavalli and Iceberg injected kitties with new colors, extreme silhouettes and quirky accents.

For spring 2013, Jason Wu and House of Holland proposed classy black cat eye frames for work and play, Marc by Marc Jacobs‘ had a retro vibe, Anna Sui showed seasonal frames embellished with florals and Erdem chose a futuristic and modern cat eye design.

The cat eye glasses fashion trend for fall 2013 looks to be promising as top fashion luxury houses such as Christian Dior, Giorgio Armani, Tom Ford, Kenzo and Erdem sent models down the runway wearing the feline frames.  In line with masculine-feminine trend of ready-to-wear, cat eye glasses either leaned to the feminine classic black frames, or more masculine moto- or aviator-style designs.

Choosing the Right Cat Eye Glasses

For stylish ladies looking for the right pair of cat eye glasses, 2013 is the great year to find the perfect pair with all the cat eye frames on offer.  Women with round faces look best with frames that add angles to their bone structure, so frames with sharp edges look best.  Women with a heart-shaped face or a square face should select frames with rounded edges.

The golden rule for all women is to experiment with several pairs to see which suits you best.  Bring along a friend for a second opinion, and don’t forget to consider the hairstyle and outfit that you plan to wear with the cat eye frames.

Here we’ve collated some of our favorite cat eye frames – truly a feast for the eyes!

Feline Inspiration from Miu Miu

Found your perfect feline frames but need inspiration on what to wear with them?  Check out Miu Miu‘s spring 2013 eyewear video showcasing their new cat eye frames.  A stylized and artistic video (e.g. silent movie), treat it as a quick inspirational tutorial on how to create your own cat eye glasses fashion look.

Fashion House Lanvin Fetes New Flagship Store Opening in Hong Kong with Alber Elbaz

(left) Alber Elbaz, Nikki Chow and Lucas Ossendrijver; (right) HK model Vanessa Yeung

Hong Kong fashionistas welcomed Alber Elbaz yesterday as he stopped into town for the opening of fashion house Lanvin’s new flagship store in the city’s Central district.  At 5,380 square feet, the flagship is the luxury brand’s 7th boutique in Hong Kong and the forth worldwide to feature the brand’s new retail concept, which Elbaz described as homey and comfortable.

“I wanted to bring the comfort of home with sitting areas and feeling that you’re not walking into a pharmacy or model agency,” he said.  ”Every store we have, we try to keep some of the DNA there, but we also try to bring a little bit of the city.”  The new flagship store carries a more comprehensive assortment of Lanvin’s offerings, including men and women’s ready-to-wear, accessories, men’s made-to-measure, bridal and children’s wear.

To celebrate the flagship opening, Lanvin held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday afternoon, followed by cocktails at the new store, which was packed with Lanvin-clad socialites and local celebrities such as actress Nikki Chow, songwriter Wyman Wong, Hong Kong actor Simon Yam and and Pansy Ho, daughter of Macau and Hong Kong tycoon Stanley Ho.

Luxury Fashion House Prada Launches Writing Contest for its Online Inaugural “Prada Journal” project

There’s more to Prada than meets the eyes.  Aside from ground-breaking clothes and beautiful handbags, its creative director, Miuccia Prada has a Ph.D. in political science and with her husband she co-founded the Prada Foundation, a not-for-profit organization devote to contemporary art.

In the next stage of their brand building exercise, Prada and Italian publishing giant Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore have teamed up to reach budding authors through a online writing contest that kicks off today.

The competition, Prada Journal, invites budding authors and Prada lovers to send in their musings on how vision shapes experience:  ”What realities do our eyes give us?  And how do these realities get filtered through lenses?”  Participants from around the world can load their 4,000-8,000 word essays onto Prada’s website in a specially created section through June 18.  Feltrinelli will then be in charge of sifting through the submissions – which can be written in any language – translating them as needed and announcing winners in September.

Can Fashion Eyewear Inspire Great Writing?

The Prada writing contest is partially inspired by the Prada Pantos frames featured in the fashion house’s spring 2013 men’s and women’s advertising campaign. According to Prada Group communications and external relations director Stefano Cantino,  the link between their product and the contest has a strong communication value.  ”The project stems from the brand’s conscious desire to seek out alternative forms of communication,” he said.  ”Writing and reading are so closely tied, and glasses are an interesting object – not just in terms of fashion.  For this, it was important for us to find an authoritative partner such as Feltrinelli to help us navigate an area [writing] that is not our own…We think this is a project that can have continuity.”

Cantino added that the multi-lingual component of the contest was crucial, as the “brand is global.”  And instead of having a competition with first, second and third place, he explained, Feltrinelli was devising a subset of style categories to choose winners, with EU5,000 to be awarded.

Kate Moss Stars in Matchless Motorcycle Bike Ad Campaign

Matchless, one of Britain’s oldest motorcycle brands dating back to 1899, will unveil a men’s and women’s outerwear collection in June, with Kate Moss as the face of its fall/winter ad campaign.  The brand makes leather and washed cotton jackets both for motorcycle enthusiasts, and for those who get their thrills looking hip on city streets. Prices range from 900 pounds to 1,300 pounds, or $1,340 to $1,940, for leather jackets, and from 600 pounds to 900 pounds, or $890 to $1,340, for washed cotton ones.

“We are delighted to be working with Kate Moss on this first Matchless advertising campaign of this new era of the brand,” said Michele Malenotti, a member of the Matchless board, and the company’s marketing and business expansion director. “The campaign reflects the heritage of the brand, which we are excited about sharing with Matchless enthusiasts and consumers alike.”

Henry Collier, a design-engineer, entrepreneur, and winning rider, and his brothers founded Matchless Motorcycles in 1899.  In 2013, Brothers Manuele and Michele Malenotti, the former owners of Belstaff, took control of Matchless. The passion for bikes runs in the family, as their father Franco Malenotti, founder of the family business Clothing Company, is an avid motorcycle fan. In 2011, Labelux Group bought Belstaff, known for its waxed cotton biker gear, and has been relaunching and expanding the brand globally.

The appointment of Kate Moss appears to be a smart marketing move for the Matchless brand as it bridges two divergent trends in the motorcycle industry.  Matchless, like many other motorcycle brands tend to target a male-oriented clientele (and hence the sexy pose of Kate Moss on the motorcycle).  A look back at Matchless’s marketing efforts include this 1954 ad for “Clubmen”, and product placement in the American TV Series “Mad Men” with the character Don Draper sitting on a Matchless motorbike.

On the other hand,  biker chic fashion – namely  biker-style denim or leather jackets and moto jackets have been a very popular fashion item for female shoppers over the last several seasons.   Kate Moss, a well-respected fashion icon appreciated by both men and women, could tip the scales for Matchless to generate interest from both male and female shoppers.  The new ad campaign is set to be released in June, and features Kate Moss with fellow model Andre Van Noord.

Top 5 Biker Chic Fashion Girls

A blog post about biker chic fashion isn’t complete without a review of Hollywood celebrities in biker gear and who look cool on a motorcycle.

Adventurous Biker Chic Fashion

Angelina Jolie, playing as Lara Croft in the film Tomb Raider is our favorite pick of the top 5 biker chic fashion girls.  Not only does she look cool on a motorcycle, she looks great wearing pajamas riding one.

Feline Biker Chic Fashion

Next on our top 5 favorite biker chic girls is Anne Hathaway in the film Dark Knight Rises.  Not sure who is actually in control – Anne Hathaway or her motorbike, but the pairing is visually spectacular.

Robot Fighting Biker Fashion

Number 3 on our list is biker girl Megan Fox in the Transformer 2 movie.  (Bet the boys would vote her as number 1 on their biker list.)

Luxury Biker Look

Number 4 on our top 5 favorite biker chic girls is Keira Knightley in the Coco Chanel fragrance advertising campaign.  Who wouldn’t want to be this cool biker girl in this Chanel ad?

Crime Fighting Biker Fashion

Finally, we love Jessica Alba’s biker look from the American TV series Dark Angel.   

Bespoke Fashion for Stylish Ladies Who Want Only the Best

To stand out from all the other fashionistas and jet-setters, what could be better than to design your own personalized product that reflects your style and taste?  We take a look at 4 exclusive made-to-order products from the world’s luxury fashion houses who are championing bespoke fashion products for stylish women.

Bespoke Burberry Trench Coat

The Burberry Trench is as inseparable as fish-and-chips is to England.  Through the Burberry website, discover the Art of the Trench and order your perfectly customized Burberry trench jacket or coat.  With over eight million options, choose the trench style, fabrics, sleeves, buttons, lining, belt and monogram that showcases your fashion style.

Hermes Personalized Identity Leather Bracelet

What’s cooler that wearing off the counter Hermes bracelets?  The Hermes identity leather bracelet embossed with your own initials.  Stack it with your favorite bracelets and wear it with a denim outfit or evening dress for a luxurious hip vibe.

Made to Order Loewe Amazona Bag

The Amazona bag, first created by Spanish luxury house Loewe in 1975 is the most recognizable icon for the brand renowned for its leatherwork and craftsmanship.  Through its online Amazona Atelier customization service, you can own design your very Amazona bag.  Choose from 19 colors and luxe materials like calfskin, goatskin, ostrich and crocodile.  There are also three options for metal hardware (gold, palladium and ruthenium) and you can have  your initials engraved on a plague inside the bag.  Next color-block away – you can customize the corner patches and the handles too  Prices start from USD2,700 and waiting time is two months.

Salvatore Ferragamo Personalized Travel Line

Salvatore Ferragamo has introduced its first line dedicated entirely to the luxury traveller. Reminiscent of mid-century train case designs, the Ferragamo Travel collection consists of four-wheel trolleys, soft bags and accessories for men and women. Pick up the line as is, or each item can be customised; not only can customers have their initials stamped on their purchases, with the new Made to Order service they can choose the exact material they wish their luggage to be made from. Options include exclusive materials such as hammered leather and exquisite alligator, so there’s no excuse not to travel in style.

Passion and Fashion According to Kim Kardashian and Kanye West

We are currently oggling L’Officiel Homme‘s March 2013 cover issue featuring the moment’s most interesting celebrity couple – Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.  More passion than fashion and very little text, we still love te sizzling photoshoot of this hot fashion celebrity couple.  Kanye plays the cool, bad boy with some fashion sense while Kim with her striking features plays the seductive siren who will not be denied.   Not sure who looks better, but we’re betting on Kim.

Fashion Sports Accessories a la Chanel

Need a motivation to exercise?  Then check out Karl Lagerfeld’s 2013 collection of luxury fashion sports accessories for the Chanel lady.  Categorized by lifestyle:  Country, Off-Piste, Urban, Beach and Tennis, each design is distinctively Chanel and almost way too cool to use.

Victoria Beckham looks pretty cool with her Chanel ski equipment, lucky gal.

3-in-1 Fashion Trends – The Giraffe Print

Animal prints are a perennial favorite for fashion designers, and season after season, this pattern is interpreted through different fabrics, colors and silhouettes.  While this is all good and a feast for the eyes, it’s difficult to justify spending money on an animal print if one feels like it will go out of style after several months.  In our new blog series “3-1 Fashion Trends”, we showcase fashion staples that are in trend for at least 3 fashion seasons and how designers propose to wear them.  At Liberty Style, we love fashion trends but we love saving money and looking good even more.

To kick-off our 3-in-1 Fashion Trend series, we look at the giraffe print for the 2013 fashion year.  Out of all the animal prints seen on the runway, the giraffe print has gotten the least amount of attention in comparison to leopard, zebra and snake prints.  What designers are showing however, is that the giraffe print fashion trend in monochome black and white is chic this year.  And the beauty of this trend is that you only need 1 giraffe printed clothing piece to look fashionable and stylish all year round.

Celebrity Style Steal

We love how Olivia Palermo wears her giraffe print top with a skirt suit and a fur vest.  This is an elegant and chic look that can be worn from day to night.