Alexandre Mattiussi, the young French menswear designer behind Ami—that is, “friend”—launched his first collection at Barneys New York last night. The casual, affordable line, which now hangs in the retailer’s Co-Op stores, drew an appreciative crowd of editors, bloggers, and the occasional actor. (That’d be Bryan Greenberg, who was overheard to recall that the fifth-floor [...]

Celine’s on the expansion plan. According to CEO Marco Gobetti, the do-no-wrong minimal line is going maximalist in its U.S. push. Expect a new Madison Avenue store with 4,500 square feet of Phoebe Philo’s finery (left)—not to mention a brand-new Paris space as well. [WWD]Chinese consumers appetites for high-end fashion is growing, too—lightning-quick. Luxury brands [...]

Early this morning on the fifth floor of Barneys New York’s Madison Avenue flagship was yet another moment of high fashion pulling away the curtain of exclusivity. For the benefit of a varied group of bloggers, fashion director Amanda Brooks played interviewer to New York design darling Joseph Altuzarra. The event was the first of [...]

Barneys New York’s Spring ad campaign, the first under CEO Mark Lee’s tenure, breaks in The New York Times this Sunday. Dubbed “Backstage,” it was shot at the Spring fashion shows in New York, Milan, and Paris by the likes of Nan Goldin (who shot at the Balmain show, above), William Klein (who shot at [...]

Apparently, you’re never too young to be be-Gucci’ed. Mommy’s favorite label is now catering to tots, too, with a new collection and a splashy, Mert and Marcus-shot ad campaign starring Max and Emme Anthony (and their mom, Jennifer Lopez). Gucci launched the new line yesterday with a kids’ party at its Fifth Avenue flagship, co-hosted [...]

“Any china, any soup tureen, any teapot or coffee pot will make a pretty vase with two or three flowers. Any glass bottle, any sauce bottle, any beer bottle. I just found these great paint cans from Home Depot that cost like three dollars, and they’re amazing.” Just some of the floral advice Carlos Mota [...]

The first Tod’s shoe was the famous driving moc, and decades later, the pebble-soled loafer is still going strong. The label recently commissioned photographer Elliott Erwitt to shoot a few of its own personal style icons wearing Tod’s for an exhibition called Icons by an Icon. (It’s too modest to add “Wearing an Icon” to [...]

Just who is the customer for Duro Olowu’s intensely arty, vibrant patchwork dresses (this season inspired by Picasso)? Who else but intensely arty, vibrant women? At a lunch today on the sixth floor of Barneys, in addition to co-hosts Amanda Brooks and Olowu’s wife, Thelma Golden, the director of the Studio Museum of Harlem, there [...]

Amid the week’s first art-fair previews in Miami, Roger Vivier gave some chic guests a peek at its new boutique in Bal Harbour Shops. Nestled up against Louis Vuitton in the luxury retail complex just north of Miami Beach, it’s a 1,000-square-foot space with dangling silver mobiles and Vivier’s signature pink carpets. “Incredibly chic,” Amanda [...]

Last night’s “Hold Your Head Up High” fête, hosted by Mariska Hargitay, Bronson Van Wyck, Celerie Kemble, Amanda Brooks, and Moby, benefited the domestic- and sexual-abuse outreach nonprofit WomensLaw.org, so what better anthem could there be for the event than disco evergreen “I Will Survive”? The guest list included Alice + Olivia’s Stacey Bendet, Christopher [...]