Giorgio Armani opened his newest hotel in Milan (in the same building as his flagship store) yesterday, which he describes as a place for “work, relaxation, and pleasure.” The amenities include a glass restaurant on the seventh floor with views of the Duomo and an “eight-floor panoramic beauty and treatment center, gym, and pool.” [
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Comme des Garçons‘ sleek wallets have become cult favorites over the years, and are far more practical (they have ample credit card slots, zips, coin pouches, and bill folds) than Rei Kawakubo’s more avant-garde designs. (Only someone like Björk can pull off those Bride of Chucky-meets-haute couture looks from the latest collection.) I’ve been in [...]

Madame Grès: Couture at Work, curated by Olivier Saillard, the new director of Paris’ Musée Galliera, sheds light on one of the most enigmatic designers in twentieth-century fashion. The designer (born Germaine Krebs) originally wanted to be a sculptor, but her family had other ideas; she trained instead in haute couture. Described by French Vogue’s [...]

Comme des Garçons’ Rei Kawakubo was in Beijing this week to open her new store in the city’s Sanlitun retail complex. The 68-year-old designer—who apparently went completely silent when asked whether she had any plans to retire—spoke to Women’s Wear Daily about her business, her designs, and her particular shopping patterns. The entire Q&A (available [...]

Loved the runway footwear Nicholas Kirkwood created for Erdem and Peter Pilotto? Good news: the floral-printed heels from Erdem’s Spring ‘11 show, and the graphic, geometric ones from Peter Pilotto’s Spring ‘11 one (pictured) are now available at a “pop-up” e-commerce shop—one that’s set to close in a little less than 2 days. Run, don’t [...]

“Just looking”—words that strike fear in the hearts of retail sales staff the world over. But it’s what’s encouraged at Dover Street Market, where Rei Kawakubo has just installed the Trading Museum, an exhibition of archive pieces and one-offs there for the observation. (They actually are for sale if you’re feeling flush, but the emphasis [...]

The experience of watching a show by Rei Kawakubo or her protégé Junya Watanabe is akin to being given a code to crack, hardly a challenge which presents itself very often in the fashion arena. And that’s why I could reel away from today’s shows in Paris with a sense of achievement. I cracked the [...]

“We think Michelle Obama would look great in our dresses—or Natalie Portman,” said Inacio Ribeiro of the sleeveless, belted dress in Clements Ribeiro’s Project #3, the latest installment of their series of capsule collections. In other words, they’d be perfect for someone with that great-arms-and-small-waist combo. But the First Lady may have trouble choosing, since [...]

Every day now, another brand hops on the guerrilla retail bandwagon—never mind the fact that, at this point, there’s nothing particularly guerrilla about the “here today, gone tomorrow” shop concept. When Rei Kawakubo opened the first Comme des Garçons Guerrilla Store in 2004, that was a subversion. Designer boutiques are “supposed to be” on grand [...]

What: A paper hat from the newspaper of your choice, made by you.
Why: The Guardian has an interview with master hatmaker Stephen Jones today, who, besides providing headgear for Rei Kawakubo and John Galliano, has outfitted plenty a posh head in his day—Gwen Stefani, Beyoncé Knowles, Dita Von Teese, etc. The accompanying DIY video got [...]