Juliette Longuet

Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute Explores Role of Fashion Models as Muses of Recent Eras. Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion, the spring 2009 exhibition organized by The Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, will explore the reciprocal relationship between high fashion and evolving ideals of beauty, focusing on iconic fashion models in the latter half of the 20th century and their roles in projecting, and sometimes inspiring, the fashion of their respective eras. The exhibition will be on view at the Metropolitan from May 6 through August 9, 2009. The exhibition is made possible by Marc Jacobs. To celebrate the opening of the exhibition, the Museum’s Costume Institute Gala Benefit will take place on Monday, May 4, 2009. Marc Jacobs will serve as Honorary Chair of the Gala. Co-Chairs are Kate Moss; Justin Timberlake; and Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue. The exhibition will feature approximately 70 masterworks of haute couture and ready-to-wear. Fashion editorial, advertising, and runway photography plus video footage of models, actresses, socialites, and rock stars who epitomize their epochs, will be used throughout the galleries to explicate the fashion zeitgeist.

- Gala Benefit May 4, 2009, with Honorary Chair Marc Jacobs and Co-Chairs Kate Moss, Justin Timberlake, and Anna Wintour
- Exhibition dates: May 6–August 9, 2009
- Exhibition location: The Tisch Galleries, second floor
- Press preview: Monday, May 4, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.

Flamboyant owner Sir Philip Green isn’t about to change his strategy for Topshop’s U.S. debut. This peek inside Topshop Soho was telling: the store looked nowhere near complete. How, we wondered, would they be ready to open by November? Turns out, they won’t be. Sir Philip Green and Co. has moved the store’s opening date yet again…to March 2009. ‘This has been a logistical nightmare,’ Green said. The time it takes to get permits from the city is cited as one of the reasons for the massive delay; the building, at 478-486 Broadway, is landmarked. And though  anyone could have predicted that the ambitious, 40,000-square-foot store would face some major hurdles, who thought they’d so wrongly guess how long it’d take to complete? March means missing those crucial holiday dollars; may we humbly suggest a Soho pop-up to tide the eager shopping crowds over?

The Diesel empire reached another milestone on Tuesday morning with the opening here of the fourth Diesel Planet store, its largest outpost in the world on 5th Avenue in the Big Apple!  Shoppers and passer-bys won’t be able to miss this new retail landmark.I was most impressed with the extensive denim collection, which offers over 700 different washes and styles.  You can even customize the inside waistband with your name or initials with laser-etching technology - Beat that! The highlight of the week-long celebration is the exclusive Diesel Dinner Series, which takes place in the west-facing window that looks out onto 5th Avenue.  By day, this window will be dressed as an NYC apartment with the classic works - steam radiator, brick wall and fire escape, etc.; by night, it transforms into a dining room complete with REAL LIVE diners. Each dinner will feature individuals who epitomize the City by bringing New York into the Diesel Planet. Diners are undoubtedly fan favorites; expect to see several of your beloved NY Giants, Danny Clark, James Butler and Justin Tuck, wining and dining in the window apartment.  In the following evenings, Diesel will host guests ranging from models to socials, including Arden Wohl and Hope Atherton.

Not so long ago, dinner at the bar was a kind of in-house secret among the restaurant-obsessed. You didn’t need a reservation when you ate at the bar, and the meal was often more streamlined and intimate than at a regular table. Of course, bar dining isn’t anyone’s secret anymore. Danny Meyer was the first serious restaurateur in the city to popularize the habit in lofty gourmet circles, and more recently, chefs like Joël Robuchon and David Chang have taken the classic Japanese-bar-restaurant model and turned it into a full-blown international fad.

L’Artusi
228 W. 10th St, nr. Bleecker St.
212-255-5757

Just a reminder that the MAC x Hello Kitty Couture Auction is live on eBay now! Designer creations as seen at the MAC x Hello Kitty Launch Event in NYC last Friday are up for auction, creations up for bids are: Charlotte Ronson, Dress 33, Elie Saab, Emanuel Ungaro, Miro, Rosa Cha, The Blonds, threeASFOUR and Vicente Villarin. Here’s your chance to bid on a one-of-a-kind Kitty Creation, designed exclusively for MAC. The dresses all start at $200 and 100% of the proceeds benefit The Museum at FIT, auctions end on February 19th at 10:00pm 7:00pm PST. Which one(s) is your favorite?

I always love a 50’s throwback to the swell days of muscle cars and poodle skirts. Would you have been a Rizzo or a Sandra Dee? In the Spring Giuseppe Zanotti ads, shot by Inez & Vinoodh, model Anja Rubki is a bit of both, and, therefore, deee-lish. I love the simplicity and candy colors. And, I can always be enticed with an ice cream sundae. The shoes, as always, are delectable. Rizzo Dee’s uniform of sequin mini and tee is also a fun look to mimic when you’re feeling frisky.

Get ready to dazzle your Valentine by taking advantage of the special  Valentine’s Day promotion at Shopbop. From now until Feb. 13, take 15 percent off all Hanky Panky Valentine’s Day items. With the discount, this Hanky Panky Leopard Low Rise Thong in Heart Box will be $30 (originally $36). There’s also an adorable heart bralette that is sure to make your lover melt. Don’t forget to enter “BEMINE” upon checkout.

Pringle of Scotland (founded in 1815!) has been massaging its reputation as a stodgy heritage brand for a few years now. Its new Spring ad campaign starring Pixie Geldof, Lydia Hearst, and Daisy Lowe is another step in the direction of It-ness and hot-ness. “We wanted it to feel young, fresh, and very British,” says creative director Clare Waight Keller of the black-and-white Steven Meisel images. “What I like is that there is a reality behind it. These girls are friends and were not just pulled together for an ad campaign.” (Hearst is American. Not that we’re splitting campaign hairs.) Now that the cockles of your heart are warmed, you can do some work on the rest of your body by buying some cashmere.

Is Adidas stepping in to save fashion week? The sportswear behemoth is launching SLVR, a new line; with its own Soho storefront to boot; during the New York collections. Unlike its collaborations with Yohji Yamamoto and Stella McCartney, the latest effort comes without a famous designer. Expect streamlined basics in bold colors, priced well below Y-3. But what’s a fashion week launch without a party, you say? Fear not. Adidas plans to organize a lucky few party!

Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse to get sweet and sultry. If you’re looking for a creative way to spice things up for your man, check out BestowBoutique.com. No Frederick’s of Hollywood here, Bestow is all about sophisticated sexiness. It’s all about the cute love letter panty, but if you’re up for something steamier, this feather tickler should do the trick…!