LaDOUBLE CELEBRATION: Milan-based maximalist master J.J. Martin hosted a cocktail party Tuesday night in the private apartment of Samaritaine Paris. The La DoubleJ founder had double the reason to celebrate: She was marking her first dedicated store-in-store in France, plus feting her collaboration with Estelle Pigault and Chiara Totire.
That the former fashion editor held the event in the middle of the couture week fashion frenzy was less about the shows than just having fun.
“I spent so many years dissecting every single molecule, and now I’m just really happy to play in my own space and then go home and spend time with my friends that have nothing to do with fashion,” she said of skipping the shows.
So she brought her fashion friends, including Dior global celebrity PR manager Mathilde Favier; interior designer Laura Gonzalez; Sisley chief executive officer Christine d’Ornano; interior decorator Vincent Darré, and former Zadig & Voltaire creative director Cecilia Bönström, among others.
No “quiet luxury” here. “I’m not doing a fashion label that is following trends. I’m doing something that is a product that works for real women that I know,” she said, with no particular demographic as a customer. Her bold separates offer a take on mix-and-match maximalism for all ages.
“We’re really lucky because print and color photographs generally very well and it pops off the page. I think it’s very difficult to sell a black shirt and black pants unless you really have a selling proposition,” she said.
While Parisian style is not particularly known for its bright colors, the brand has done well in the market, Martin said.
“We’ve had so much wonderful feedback from the French customer, I was shocked,” she said. The brand entered France early in its evolution, in 2016. Its positioning as 100 percent Made in Italy, and its association with the same factories that produce for luxury brands, put it at an advantage. “We’re recognized as that luxury product, without that shock sticker price,” Martin said.
While the brand’s origins are direct-to-consumer, it has been rapidly expanding its retail footprint. It opened a shop-in-shop inside T Fondaco dei Tedeschi in Venice last September, which like Samaritaine Paris is owned by luxury conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton’s DFS subsidiary.
La DoubleJ has previously held pop-ups in Paris, but this is its first permanent location.
The dedicated shop-in-shop allows the brand to play dress-up with its space. “Then you can really present to the customer with your final vision, and that’s really helpful for someone like me that works with a lot of print because sometimes it can end up like a real car crash,” she joked. The space sticks with solid but boldly colored walls as a canvas to showcase the prints.
La DoubleJ opened another shop-in-shop in Algarve, Portugal, in July, with the next set for Spain. It continues to operate two standalone stores in Milan and Taormina, Italy.
Named “Eden,” the new capsule collection is the latest collaboration for the brand. Martin enlisted Pigault and Chiara Totire after the three connected at a brand presentation in Milan. Martin had long been friends with Pigault; she brought along stylist Totire.
They bonded over jeans. Thus, the original iteration was to do a few denim pieces together, but the creative trio expanded into the idea of the ideal trouser, adding some sexy boho to pieces once the creative juices started to flow.
The results is a mix of vintage and newly designed prints with retro roots, and features items such as a tunic that can be a top or worn alone as a minidress.
Martin said the collaboration approach is partially in response to customer requests such as a sexier take on items, or proportions different from her usual tall silhouette, so she’s happy to bring a new design perspective.
“These girls, they just have that kind of — what do you call it — a magnetism when they’re wearing clothes,” she said. Perhaps that very French je ne sais quoi.
The collection will be exclusive to Samaritaine Paris. — RHONDA RICHFORD
WHEN IN BRAZIL: Friends of Iguatemi gathered Wednesday night at the opulent Russian restaurant Maison Revka in Paris to celebrate the Brazilian retailer’s recent good fortunes — and many guests harbored great tips for things to do in São Paulo.
“Great food, and the best Japanese restaurants in the world,” enthused Georgina Brandolini D’Adda, who hosted the dinner alongside Iguatemi executives Carlos Jereissati and Cristina Betts.
“They have very nice jazz clubs,” offered fashion consultant and television personality Cristina Córdula, recommending a night out in the vibrant Vila Mariana district.
“I like looking for minerals,” said Swiss artist Olympia Scarry, who incorporates all manner of natural materials, from salt and steel to stones, in her works. “My last trip I got a number of slices of agate.”
LVMH Group’s Michael Burke, Comme des Garçons’s Adrian Joffe, Rabanne’s Nadia Dhouib, Longchamp’s Jean Cassegrain, and Christian Louboutin’s Alexis Mourot were among the CEOs who sipped Champagne and mingled with the likes of Margherita Missoni, Ahn Duong and Domenico Dolce.
“Spaghetti Western,” Dolce said with a yelp of laughter upon encountering journalist Godfrey Deeney wearing the cowboy hat that was dispatched along with Louis Vuitton’s invitation for its fall 2024 men’s show.
Guests eventually repaired upstairs for a lavish dinner, though Christian Louboutin had to scrape the caviar off his baked potato due to an allergy, and fill up on truffle pizza.
Louboutin already counts two boutiques in Iguatemi malls, and a third is coming in 2025 amid robust post-pandemic luxury demand in Brazil.
“We are growing 30 percent year-on-year,” Betts, Iguatemi’s CEO, said in pre-dinner remarks, noting that luxury is growing even faster, in the range of 80 percent.
To wit: Iguatemi is expanding its original luxury mall in São Paulo, as well as its location in Brasilia, she added. — MILES SOCHA
SCHLUMBERGER SWANS: In the words of Oscar Wilde, “life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” And the artistic and trailblazing legacy of Tiffany & Co.’s Jean Schlumberger was on full display at Tuesday night’s “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans” premiere at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City with Naomi Watts, Diane Lane and Calista Flockhart each wearing the American jewelry brand.
Naomi Watts — Barbara “Babe” Paley in the series — wore Jean Schlumberger by Tiffany Poid earrings, stitches bracelet, and rings; Diane Lane — Nancy “Slim” Keith in the series — wore a pendant in platinum with a pink tourmaline and diamonds, diamond stud earrings and Jean Schlumberger by Tiffany ribbon earrings, and rings; and Calista Flockhart — Lee Radziwill in the series — wore a Jean Schlumberger by Tiffany Lynn necklace and flame ear clips.
The show is the second season from creator Ryan Murphy’s “Feud” anthology series on FX and is a snapshot of the swans, their high-society socialite lives and their very public rift with novelist Truman Capote, played by Tom Hollander.
“We were thrilled to bring this extraordinary collection of jewels dating as far back as the 1950s to life at the premiere,” explained Victoria Reynolds, chief gemologist and vice president of High Jewelry Gemstone Acquisition, Tiffany & Co. “As one of the most gifted designers of the 20th century, it is no surprise that Babe Paley was an avid collector of Jean Schlumberger’s designs. Naomi Watts effortlessly uplifted Babe’s affinity to Schlumberger’s iconic designs. Cast members Diane Lane and Calista Flockhart also wore exceptional Jean Schlumberger by Tiffany pieces on the carpet, paying homage to his legacy of creating masterpieces of extraordinary depth and some of the world’s most vibrant designs.”
While the Ladies Who Lunch are known for their fashion, they made just as much an impact with their jewelry; as the influencers of their day, the socialites’ glamour endures — often serving as inspiration for today’s crew of American designers. The latest installment of Ryan Murphy’s hit anthology series premieres Jan. 31. — THOMAS WALLER
WHITE-GLOVE TREATMENT: Dior will debut its first spa in Dubai, atop The Lana, a Dorchester Collection hotel.
The 4,305-square-foot spa, due to open on April 15, will stand on The Lana’s 29th floor, offering a panoramic view of Business Bay, Marassi Marina and Burj Khalifa.
Upon entering, spa-goers will be met with the reception area that also will have a boutique selling Dior’s brands such as Dior Prestige, L’Or de Vie, Rouge Premier and La Collection Privée Christian Dior, plus accessories.
The spa will boast five single rooms and one double suite. Its treatment menu will include a range of facial treatments and protocols for men. Three signature treatments have been created specifically for Dior Spa The Lana. There’s Escale at The Lana, which takes place on a futon and is billed to release muscles and mind with techniques including kneading, friction and percussion gestures.
Dior Stone Therapy is a massage using semiprecious stones mixed with facial micro-abrasion and Dior Skin Light LED therapy said to harmonize energy flow. Meanwhile, D-Sculpt firms and slims bodies, according to Dior.
As another first for a Dior Spa, there will be Icoone Therapy with technology using motorized rollers with micropoints. This location also will employ Hydrafacial and Iyashi Dôme technologies.
Interior decor by Gilles & Boissier will include Dior’s toile de Jouy print on pillows and blankets, and pale wood. Dior can fashion well-being escapes tailored to each spa-goer. That could include a half-day, involving cocktails, lunch or a session of sport, as well as a Dior treatment. The full-day treatment can have a driver whisking the guest in The Lana bespoke Rolls-Royce to the hotel for a made-to-measure experience, followed by a drive back to their chosen destination. — JENNIFER WEIL
FRAGRANT GLOBE-TROTTING: Louis Vuitton master perfumer Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud sat signing books Wednesday evening at the luxury brand’s Saint-Germain-des-Prés boutique in Paris. No matter how many times he put pen to paper, the line of journalists before him kept growing longer, as they chatted together and sipped Champagne.
The 380-page tome, titled “A Perfume Atlas,” describes perfume plants, such as key lime, vetiver and oud, which Cavallier-Belletrud deems to give a poetic vision and help shaped the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned house’s creations.
His inspiration at the project’s start? “The love for raw materials, to celebrate nature,” Cavallier-Belletrud said. “And to thank nature for delivering — forever — fantastic materials.”
It took almost three years to create the beautifully illustrated book spanning three continents, which he said “is bringing me on a journey. I know that I’m in a brand of journeys, and my life is a journey.”
The atlas has three different covers and is organized according to where the various perfume plants grow. Africa, for instance, has cocoa from the Ivory Coast, incense from Somaliland, neroli from Tunisia and rosemary from Morocco. From the Americas is Peru balsam from El Salvador, guaiac wood from Paraguay and cardamom from Guatemala.
“A Perfume Atlas” was created with author Lionel Paillès, illustrator Aurore de la Morinerie and photographer Sébastien Zanella.
The limited-edition book is due out in France in some of Vuitton’s stores on Feb. 2. At 160 euros, the atlas is being published by Thames & Hudson. It will be sold abroad starting April 2.
That same day, the Perfume Atlas Exclusive Set, including the book and 45 vials of raw material extractions, will also launch in select Vuitton stores with a price tag of 5,000 euros. — J.W.
BLACK PIONEERS: Timberland is celebrating Black History Month with a new collection and campaign inspired by the stories of Black pioneers of the past and present.
According to the VF Corp.-owned footwear brand, Timberland footwear designers Shari-Lee Whyte and Andrew Townes worked on the project, dubbed the Black Pioneer Collection, which sees reimagined editions of the label’s Premium 6-Inch Boot and the Euro Hiker.
For both footwear styles, “hairy” green suede was chosen as an accent, a nod to the deep greens and textures of nature, against a rich hue of premium, seam-sealed waterproof Timberland leather.
The collection also includes new apparel pieces, including an embroidered tree hoodie, utility mixed-media jogger, short-sleeve embroidered pocket T, anti-UV long-sleeve shirt, Brookline utility cargo shorts and a canvas and leather backpack.
For Townes, this collection was important to showcase the outdoors and how it’s inclusive for everyone. “This allowed us to bring awareness to Black pioneers and outdoorsmen across the globe,” Townes said.
“We took the concept of fresh traditions with the charm of old school Americana and elements of contemporary African American dress to create an outdoor-inspired lifestyle collection,” added Whyte.
To bring this collection to life, Timberland has created a new campaign with the legendary Oklahoma Cowboys, a family-run and community-rooted organization, as an “ode to the enduring and transformative power of community.”
Through this campaign, the footwear company said it will donate $50,000 to the Oklahoma Cowboys Foundation, which works to raise awareness and celebrate the significant role of Black cowboys and cowgirls in Oklahoma’s equestrian heritage.
This new collection and campaign come just one week after Timberland debuted a new collaboration with Louis Vuitton during the French luxury house’s fall 2024 men’s show in Paris. Highlights from the show included a classic industrial boot in wheat-colored or black waterproof nubuck leather, debossed with the maison’s monogram, also echoed on the back of the tongue. The boot likewise appears in pebble nubuck and super-grained buffalo nubuck versions. — STEPHEN GARNER
