4 posts tagged "Serge Azria"
Urban Equipment
A great shirt is a staple in any city girl’s wardrobe. And tomorrow, thanks to the opening of Equipment’s new Soho boutique, getting one (or two, or four) will be a lot easier. “We were ready. We’ve reached maturity,” said Serge Azria, the CEO and creative director of the revived seventies label, about his choice to open the brand’s first stand-alone store since the 2010 relaunch. Nestled on Wooster Street (just a few doors down from the newly opened Joie boutique, also an Azria-owned brand) the store, as the CEO explains, is meant to have a “gallery feel.” Its brushed-metal display cases, black floors, and white walls provide a minimal, uncluttered space in which to shop Equipment’s wares. Expanding on that gallery vibe, a painting by Retna, one of Azria’s favorite artists, hangs on the back wall. Apparently, the boutique will be showing more artwork, as well as embarking on a surprise music project, in the coming months.
“I think that Soho is a very international place, and it’s once again becoming an important shopping destination in the city,” said Azria of the boutique’s considered location. He also voiced ambitions for further U.S. expansion; in 2013 the CEO is aiming to open stores in locations like L.A., Miami, and maybe even New York’s Upper East Side. “The rent here is crazy, though!” he jokes.
But Equipment’s retail push is only one of the brand’s new developments. In addition to a healthy range of white and colored shirts, the store will sell sunglasses by Garrett Leight—a hint at accessories collaborations to come. And, while silk shirts will always be at its core, the label is out to prove they’re not just about button-downs. Shirtdresses will be introduced for Spring (which will hit the shelves in January). Cashmere sweaters with novelty prints like polka dots and snakeskin are also a recent addition to the Equipment range (they made their debut this fall) and, according to Azria, blazers are on the way. The CEO’s favorite new offering, however, might be the silk pajamas, a large selection of which are available at the Soho store. “They’re a hot ticket,” he says.
Located at 110 Wooster St., Equipment officially opens on Friday, December 21.
Jumping for Joie
On a much-buzzed-about corridor of Melrose Avenue, where labels like Marc by Marc Jacobs, Diane von Furstenberg and Helmut Lang have all opened boutiques, a retail resurgence has begun. This Tuesday, Joie’s L.A. flagship joins the fray. The label is undertaking a major rollout—in addition to L.A., a Soho shop has just opened in New York, with a Meatpacking District branch and a San Francisco outpost on the way. Still, says creative director Serge Azria, “each store embodies the true feel of the brand: effortlessly chic yet casual.” Who do you call for that? Ryan Korban, the designer whose credits include Alexander Wang’s store and showroom and New York’s Edon Manor. Korban’s vision translated into a Parisian apartment that’s been sun-kissed by SoCal—an apartment, that is, that’s 1,640 square feet large, with herringbone floors and washed gray moldings. “L.A. has always been a big part of the Joie environment—even before we opened on the West Coast,” Korban explained. “Because it is such a large part of the brand, it has always come through in the design, even when we were doing New York stores.” Although New Yorkers are famously wary of all things L.A, we haven’t heard any complaints.
Joie is now open at 8414 Melrose Ave., L.A., (323) 330-1255.
EXCLUSIVE: Mary Katrantzou X Current/Elliott
Mary Katranzou showed a collection in London yesterday evening that was right on the money. Or rather, with her banknote- and stamp-inspired prints, the money was right on it. And there’s more where that came from—to go with it, she collaborated with Current/Elliott creative director Serge Azria on a series of denim pieces, translating her sheaths and shifts into everyday casual wear. “We thought denim would be a great challenge and with Serge, there seemed to be a synergy with our work—from opposite sides of the spectrum,” says Katrantzou. “We wanted it to feel very different to what we usually do.” In a statement, Azria adds, “Mary brought to me such unexpected ideas with her expert craftsmanship, I was immediately convinced.” Style.com got the very first look at the collection of dresses, skirts, and jeans, which hits stores mid-February. Check out a few of our favorite pieces ($230-$530), here.
Rebuilding Equipment
Once upon a time in the late seventies, Christian Restoin—the longtime partner of Carine Roitfeld—married the aesthetics of Network and disco with a line of breezy silk menswear-styled shirts for women called Equipment. Throughout the eighties and nineties, they were the linchpin day-to-night item in a smart city girl’s wardrobe. For a label to shutter because of family and business politics, as happened here, is a familiar nineties story. But it’s a promising one Equipment’s telling for the aughts: The line relaunches for Spring 2010.
Last night, Becka Diamond hosted the long-awaited unveiling at Saks, where designers Rebecca Minkoff and Victor Glemaud and stylist Keegan Singh stopped by to check out the action. Serge Azria—brother of Max, owner of Current/Elliott and Joie, and now informal “guardian” of Equipment—attended both the cocktail party and the intimate dinner that followed at Indochine. “Everyone here is too young to remember the original line,” he said, gesturing at the youthful attendees around him. “But ask your mothers—they will remember Equipment! And I guarantee you they loved it.” He reveals that Restoin, who remains connected to the newly relaunched brand, has kept every Equipment shirt ever created in his Paris archives—all 3,500 of them. Meanwhile, the 135 new Equipment styles do the brand’s “new vintage” legacy justice and integrate seamlessly into the tailored, menswear-inspired trends hitting New York’s runways this week. That’s something mothers and daughters alike can appreciate.
Equipment is currently available exclusively at Saks, and will come to Barneys later this spring.