Plus Louis Vuitton’s artsy trunks turn up in Beverly Hills and Gucci debuts eclectic new decorative housewares
Words by ELIZABETH VARNELL and REBECCA RUSSELL
Matthew M. Williams knits a pair of shoes for Givenchy
Matthew M. Williams, Givenchy’s California-raised creative director, devised a new way to dress feet this fall. Giving new meaning to knitwear, his revolutionary TK-360 sneaker is constructed as a single fully knitted piece of fabric. The stretch-knit upper is integrated with the sole, allowing wearers to walk directly on the knit, as if wearing socks. New state-of-the-art technology enables this radical shape and design with a singular tread motif that plays on the final letter of the house’s name. Available in classic white and black, the unique men’s shoe also comes in seasonal hues of acid yellow, graphite gray, camel beige, navy and light pink. After two years of living in socks, why not swap them for a pair with soles? givenchy.com.
Romantic new Gucci Décor additions are inspired by flora and fauna
Elevate a morning latte or an afternoon tea infusion by serving it in white Richard Ginori porcelain emblazoned with whimsical Toile de Jouy cherry branches, leaves and flowers—the telltale motifs of Gucci’s made-in-Italy Herbarium collection of plates, trays, cups, saucers, and tea and coffee pots. The ornate porcelain joins a spate of new Gucci Décor introductions including crystalline glasses, silver dessert flatware with animal totems and ceramic candles, plus linen, silk and cotton pillows, and throws in floral patterns and the GG monogram. Armchairs with beechwood hoof legs upholstered in cotton jacquards and tufted moire fabrics and new velvet versions shaped like seashells with hand-applied embroidery are also on offer, as are an array of wallpapers essential for total saturation in house creative director Alessandro Michele’s unique dreamland. gucci.com.
Ulla Johnson debuts denim
Known for her romantic silhouettes adorned with ruffles and an assemblage of prints, worldly-wise designer Ulla Johnson has launched a new category for her eponymous luxury brand: premium denim. Debuting in Fall/Winter 2022, the range features four jean styles and one jacket, all handcrafted from superior denim in Los Angeles. The collection consists of an elegant combination of high-waisted, slouchy styles with a tonally vintage-like wash created using responsible production techniques. “Each piece is dozens of hours in the making and is lovingly detailed with custom hammered hardware,” Johnson notes. The designer is not stopping there; in collaboration with Kelly Wearstler, she is creating a two-story boutique in West Hollywood, set to open at the end of the year. Stamping her first retail footprint on the West Coast, Johnson will undoubtedly be bringing her travel influences into the California space. ullajohnson.com.
Visionary Louis Vuitton trunks are on view in Beverly Hills
Louis Vuitton’s traveling trove of trunks—reimagined physically and digitally by artists including West Coast-based Alex Israel, Gigi Goode, creative studio Playlab, Inc., Frank Gehry and Jwan Yosef—is on display in a Los Angeles stopover as the exhibition traverses the globe before a year-end Sotheby’s auction benefitting creative education. The show, dubbed 200 Trunks, 200 Visionaries, celebrates the bicentennial of the French house’s founding father with a collection of trunks dreamed up by 200 creatives. The inspired works range from Lego’s candle-topped birthday cake design to Peter Marino’s leather-clad trunk daring a modern Houdini to escape. The L.A. installation, on view through Sept. 6, features an immersive room inspired by Robert Moy of Brooklyn Balloon Company’s rectangular trunk of resin-coated, candy-colored inflated balloons; the space fittingly doubles as an escapist party celebration. 468 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills; louis200.com.
Closed’s denim, emblazoned with a ubiquitous fly label, arrives in Culver City
German clothing label Closed—known for its trademark X-pocket denim famously donned by the late Tupac and George Michael—has arrived at Platform in Culver City. An archive of vintage designs from founders Marithé and François Girbaud continue to inspire the brand’s current chapter, forged by owners Gordon Giers, Til Nadler and Hans Redlefsen. The minimalist, more than 1,000-square-foot space (Closed’s first U.S. boutique) is awash in vibrant yellow tones intimating the California summer sunlight. Below large-format images by photographer Leandro Colantoni hang a slate of women’s and men’s designs in addition to a sustainable jean line, A Better Blue, that uses natural plant- and mineral-based dyes and nitrogen to intensify color and reduce water waste. The eco-conscious designs are made with organic cotton and recycled fabrics. Dungarees and other denim sport Closed’s signature fly label. 8850 Washington Blvd., Culver City; closed.com.
Kule shows its stripes in Montecito
Nikki Kule set out to make the perfect striped T-shirt and now she’s brought a plethora of lined sweaters, socks, shirts, jackets, totes and a slew of additional looks and accessories for women, men and kids to her new Montecito pop-up. Also on offer at Kule are tennis-ready designs and smile-emblazoned sweats from the line’s Takeout collection, as well as exclusive striped Kule napkins and also a set of limited-edition glassware created in Venezia, Italy, by Laguna B, to pair with favored post-match provisions. The New York-based brand is as likely to launch a playful collab as it is a sustainable capsule, and its brightly hued pieces hint at vintage but are made with updated fits and fabrics that are entirely modern. 1014G Coast Village Rd., Montecito Country Mart, Santa Barbara, 929-618-7817; kule.com.
Maria Tash offers the West Coast an earful
Gwyneth Paltrow’s go-to for all things related to piercing has finally arrived in California. Jewelry designer Maria Tash, known for creating innovative threaded studs and rings (and the equally inventive clasps used to secure them) using precious metals, pioneering piercing techniques and devising unique and individualized earring placements, is opening a 6,000-square-foot eponymously named boutique on Melrose Place. The travertine-walled space, including six piercing rooms and a VIP entrance, is Tash’s largest and her first West Coast location, and includes her full range of fine jewelry in rose, white and yellow gold amid abstract sculptures. Store exclusives include an assortment of Tash’s trademark designs in white gold, including her triple spike hoops, that incorporate color-enhanced aqua blue diamonds, riffing on the hues of the region’s coastline and sky. 8441 Melrose Place, L.A., 213-784-0458; mariatash.com.
Bottega Veneta’s striking new Geary Street flagship
With a facade clad in Absolute Black granite and a black metal sign designed in collaboration with French artist and skater Raphaël Zarka, San Francisco’s recently expanded Bottega Veneta boutique now has a modern urban look to pair with its new Geary Street address. The house’s pre-Fall collection debuts in the updated space amid sculptural solid oak shelves and furniture, also designed by Zarka, who is known for his photos and video clips of skaters irreverently using public sculptures as ramps. French and Belgian creative director Matthieu Blazy’s Winter 2022 collection—his first at the label’s helm—will arrive later this fall. Naturally, the shop has seamless (and skate-worthy) concrete floors. Plants add a touch of Bottega green throughout and are potted in sculptor Anders Ruhwald’s ceramic vessels produced by Officine Saffi. In tandem with the opening, the brand has introduced a denim version of its intrecciato woven Cassette bag, an exclusive to the store. 124 Geary St., S.F.; bottegaveneta.com.
Anine Bing relaunches her classics collection
When Los Angeles-based, Denmark-born Anine Bing established a fashion house in 2012, little did she know of the global success that would ensue. “It’s surreal to see how significantly the brand has grown over the past 10 years,” she says of her eponymous label, whose fans include former C cover stars Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Alessandra Ambrosio. What launched as a small collection of wardrobe essentials from Bing’s Silver Lake garage (and later from her Downtown L.A. headquarters) is now a full-fledged fashion empire with 14 stores worldwide and plans for six more this year. The decennial celebrations for the brand—which epitomizes laid-back California style and Scandinavian sophistication, with edgy hardware and intricate lace details—also include a recently debuted resort category and the relaunch of its classics collection with a campaign starring Irina Shayk. “I can’t wait for the next 10 years!” Bing says. aninebing.com.
Sacai’s Chitose Abe reinvents a beloved Cartier design
Chitose Abe, Sacai’s innovative founder and creative director, began her personal take on Cartier’s three-band Trinity ring as a private commission. Now her idea has sparked one of fall’s most inventive collections, as the jewelry house’s atelier is releasing six limited editions of Abe’s tri-colored gold designs. The reimagined white, yellow and rose gold modular bands—released as two ring styles, a bracelet, a choker, an earring and a changeable design that can be an earring or ring—update Cartier’s almost century-old Trinity concept, which was originally regarded as daring for its lack of precious stones. The Trinity for Chitose Abe of Sacai range is a nod to the brand’s long tradition of bespoke orders and a hint at its boundary-breaking potential. cartier.com.
This story originally appeared in the Fall 2022 issue of C Magazine.
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