“Design starts from pencil to paper—we aren’t interested in vintage frame copies,” Kara Mendelsohn of KBL Eyewear explains. “We want to do something that is present and based on what’s happening now.”That has been the mantra of the KBL founders, (Mendelsohn, her husband Adam, and Dave Barton—all with backgrounds at labels like Calvin Klein, Michael [...]

The crowd at Saks Fifth Avenue’s holiday window unveiling last night was, for the most, the Champagne-swilling uptowners and socials you’d expect, but this time, the drink was hot chocolate, the hors d’oeuvres were iced cookies, and the plus-ones were under-10s. “When I was a little kid, that was my holiday treat, to go see [...]

Fashion is having a love affair with the nineties, and the tryst isn’t only in design. Everywhere you look—in editorials, luxury campaigns, and on the runways—familiar faces abound: There’s Kristen McMenamy, Naomi Campbell, and, taking hosting duties last night at Saks, Stella Tennant. “I’m definitely busier now than I was,” Tennant admitted at the celebratory [...]

It’s a big day, quite literally, for Elie Tahari: The designer opened a new 2,250-square-foot shop in Saks Fifth Avenue, the largest on the retailer’s fourth floor. “I thought Ron [Frasch, Saks’ president and CMO] was going to give me my own zip code,” Tahari said. [WWD]And it’s about to be a big week for [...]

Rebecca Minkoff is trading up. At Saks Fifth Avenue’s request, the New York accessory and ready-to-wear designer is launching a new line of more expensive Rebecca Minkoff Collection bags at the department store this week. For the many fans who helped her complete 200,000 sales since launching her company five years ago, it might take [...]

If you haven’t been thinking and seeing pink everywhere you turn, you’re probably living under that proverbial rock. October is, of course, the month for breast cancer awareness. Saks Fifth Avenue is doing its part in a few ways, one of which is donating 2 percent of all this upcoming weekend’s sales to the Entertainment [...]

Bavarian fashion is much better represented by eveningwear designers Johnny Talbot (an American expat) and Adrian Runhof than Sacha Baron Cohen’s Bruno. The Munich-based duo, in town to show Resort (they sell at Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue), told me that they’re weathering the recession pretty well. “We are the least expensive [...]

Mark your calendars. On September 10, the first night of Spring 2010 Fashion Week, stores across the five boroughs of New York (and around the world) will stay open until 11 p.m. and lure customers with designer, model, and celebrity appearances; fashion shows; and other unique happenings. Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced plans for the citywide [...]

It’s no secret that I’m a major fan of Dasha Zhukova, the Moscow-born, California-raised beauty who has founded a museum, launched a fashion label, and was recently named the new editor of Pop—all before the age of 28. Here in Moscow, I’ve met another Russian stunner who’s a master at multitasking (and, like Zhukova, has [...]