Juliette Longuet

Restless after having sold off the majority of her Calypso chain last year, Christiane Celle is back with a vengeance, or rather photographs and books. Her Clic Gallery on Lafayette (and another on St. Barths), will get a few siblings this spring when she opens two more around the corner from each other. Pictured above is the coming soon storefront for the Clic at 424 Broome Street between Crosby and Lafayette, due to open in April in tandem with a 2,000 square-foot twin at 255 Centre Street and Broome. The three shops are situated in an area relatively overlooked by retail. This photography-focused chain of bookstores and galleries will display rotating monthly photography exhibits, ranging from New York street style to conceptual posed portraits. Celle (who is married to commercial photographer Antoine Verglas) sought to open an affordable gallery where shoppers could browse and buy photography without the intimidating atmosphere of other high-end art purveyors in the neighborhood. She personally chooses artists to showcase and sells signed, limited edition prints starting at $750. The minimalist storefront models blond-wood floors, high ceilings, and sprawling white walls, with a varying assortment of furniture that corresponds with the theme of each exhibit.There is even an East Hampton shop debuting in spring as well. A great new adventure for Christiane and for us!

Barbie’s never-ending 50th-birthday celebration continued in Malibu this week where Mattel spent an estimated $500,000 on a party in a real-life dream house.Heidi Klum was there. “I also want to congratulate Barbie on how fabulous she looks at 50,” she told, which adds that Klum “remained tight-lipped about her upcoming clothing venture, a possible tie-in with the iconic doll.” A Barbie clothing line would explain her presence at the party.

Sojin Lee, formerly of Net-a-porter.com, and Simon Fuller, the British music impresario and investor behind Roland Mouret and David and Victoria Beckham’s women’s collections, are ready to spin the concept of fashion-as-entertainment into an online business. Later this year, the duo will launch Fashionair, a Web site that aims to offer an insider’s view of the industry’s personalities, latest news, styling secrets and hottest closets. The new site, which is like a fashion magazine come to life on screen, will not sell any merchandise. Instead, it will promote styles, trends and brands — and hopes to drive user traffic to more than 500 e-tailers worldwide. “The storytelling opportunities in fashion are immense and endless, as are the opportunities to engage with customers, create an emotional connection with them, and court them with a content-led site,” said Lee. “What we’re doing is creating a brand, and the Web site is just the beginning,” said Lee, who believes Fashionair is the first of its kind. “It’s a TV-like experience, but it’s not fashion TV. And it doesn’t have the traditional layout of a fashion Web site”. The site will feature a weekly, live news and pop culture show with content ranging from top industry stories to concert reviews to the latest bestsellers at Topshop; one-on-one interviews with industry figures such as makeup artist Val Garland; Sophia Neophitou, editor of 10 Magazine, and photographer Ellen von Unwerth, and segments where designers and celebrities such as Anna Sui and Thakoon Panichgul open their homes and closets.

The jewelry designer opened his first store last month on Perry Street in New York’s West Village. Known for his edgy jewelry and equally edgy views on the industry, Binns said he opened the shop to properly represent himself without having to rely on other methods, such as editorial coverage or wholesale partners. Binns, a native of Belfast, Ireland said “Having your own storefront is a window to your world.’ Binns described the nearly 300-square-foot store as clean and minimal, so as to present jewelry collections he described as “full-on.The boutique exhibits over 30 collections of Binns’ jewelry, including one-off and couture pieces. Styles retail from $180 to $25,000. Binns is also including designs dating back 10 or 15 years, as well as collections that neither Henri Bendel nor Jeffrey. Other retail outlets that carry his collections include Net-a-porter.com and Shopbop.com.With its accessible prices and fashion-driven design, retailers appreciate Binns’ cutting-edge take on classic styles and say consumers today are buying into his big, fun fashion. He also appeals to a broad range of customers, from Amy Winehouse to Michelle Obama. Binns currently lives and works in Venice Beach, Calif., having left New York after 9/11. The designer is looking forward to reconnecting with the city that helped launch his career and would potentially open other stores, perhaps in Berlin or Tokyo. Tom is irreverent, fashion-driven and loves colors.

He approaches design in the way we approach our store experience insofar as always looking to surprise and excite the customer. He is always looking to give the unexpected, and he does so without even trying.