Purses & Pursenalities Holds Annual Luncheon

FOR THE CAUSE: Sandro Choi, creative director of Jimmy Choo; Tim Gunn; Karen Klopp of What2WearWhere and Amber Sabathia, creator and designer of CCandy and wife of New York Yankees star CC Sabathia, were the honorees at the 10th annual Purses & Pursenalities luncheon at New York’s Metropolitan Club Tuesday. The lunch was to raise funds for the Madison Square Boys & Girls Club and included auctions of bags from brands such as Carolina Herrera, Michael Kors, DKNY, Marc Jacobs, Fairchild Baldwin, Giorgio Armani and Ralph Lauren. Guests including Nicole Miller, Rachel Lee Hovnanian, Jill Fairchild, Jennifer Creel, Jill Roosevelt and Hilary Dick nibbled on branzino and vegetables as the talk focused on the club and on inspiring youth. Klopp revealed she is writing a book, “What2 Wear Where Packing for Travel,” while Collins said her book, “The God of Driving,” is being developed into a film. Sabathia, meanwhile, accepted her award by saying, “This is the first time I can say ‘I am honored,’ instead of ‘CC and I are honored.’ I guess I’ve made it.”

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Fern Mallis’ Fashion Icon Book Celebrated at Saks

NEW YORK — “It was scary,” Michael Kors recalled when the ceiling collapsed at his 1990 fashion show in a loft. “Thank God no one was hurt. Fern was there. She rolls up her sleeves, looks at me and says, ‘We’ve got to do something.’” The incident motivated Fern Mallis to create New York Fashion Week. Kors and others in the crowd of 450 strolled down memory lane with Mallis Monday night at Saks Fifth Avenue, which held a book signing for her new book “Fashion Icons.” Almost 200 copies of the Rizzoli-published tome, a compendium of 19 of her “Fashion Icons” interviews at the 92nd Street Y, were sold. RELATED STORY: Saks Fifth Avenue Dedicates Windows to Fern Mallis >> “I was her first interview at the 92nd Street Y. It’s really a special place,” said Calvin Klein, who rarely takes interviews these days. “With Fern, who has been a friend for a long, long time, well before the CFDA, it was an easy thing to do.” “She’s a sweetheart with a lot of chutzpah,” said Tommy Hilfiger, who was also interviewed by Mallis at the Y. “She never takes no for an answer.” Ralph Lauren did say no to Mallis’ Y invitation, but she

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Barneys Taps Huishan Zhang to Design Capsule Collection

CHINA CAPSULE: With less than two weeks to go, the countdown to the Met Gala on May 4 is under way, and Barneys New York is riding the buzz. In honor of this year’s theme, “China: Through the Looking Glass,” the retailer tapped Huishan Zhang to design a capsule collection of dresses that celebrate the Chinese spirit. The London-based designer touched down in New York on Tuesday afternoon — his very first time in the U.S. — for the unveiling of the five-piece lineup. Several of Zhang’s signature touches, which draw from his East-meets-West inspiration, are seen throughout — like lace in a figure-8 pattern, a good luck charm in Chinese culture — as well as some new motifs, such as a Swarovski crystal-embellished emperor dragon on a red organza column gown. The collection, like all of Zhang’s, is made in China. “We have this atelier where we are able to produce in China and sell to department stores like Barneys,” he said, noting that the retailer had purchased his ready-to-wear collection for the fourth season in a row. “We are one of the first Made in China luxury brands to sit on the designer floors. That’s a very proud moment

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Fall 2015 Trend: Plaid Romance

There’s a resurgence of that great sartorial tradition — plaid — for fall in looks both bold and subtle and best paired with men’s wear tweeds, cozy sweaters and sturdy shoes and boots.   MODEL: ACHOK/RED MANAGEMENT; HAIR BY KATSUMI MATSUO AT ARTMIX; MAKEUP BY JAVIER ROMERO; PHOTO ASSISTANT: EMILY TAYLOR; FASHION ASSISTANT: EMILY MERCER  

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LVMH Launches New Visually Dynamic Site Design

SITE LINES: LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton began testing its new-look corporate Web site on Tuesday, its welcome page offering bird’s-eye views of the new Louis Vuitton Foundation museum, designed by architect Frank Gehry. More visually dynamic and editorial in tone than the previous iteration, whose framework dates back to 2001, the new site is meant to provide information about the French luxury group and its 70 brands to consumers and investors, and also highlight its values, know-how, heritage and talents. The latter includes ones beyond its famous fashion designers to include Guerlain’s supply-chain director, a sales manager at Louis Vuitton and a watchmaker at Zenith. A News & Documents section includes highlights of the group on social media, while Behind the Scenes offers a tour of Vuitton’s Paris headquarters on the Rue du Pont-Neuf, including its prototyping workshop. The site is initially available in French and English, with Chinese, Italian, Japanese and Russian versions to be added in the coming weeks.

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Jitrois Opens First U.S. Flagship, in NYC

Jitrois, a luxury leather label worn by celebrities from Cher and Elton John to Cindy Crawford and Heidi Klum, on Tuesday opened its first U.S. flagship, a 700-square-foot store at 959 Madison Avenue between 75th and 76th Streets. The flagship is estimated to do sales of $2 million in its first year, $3 million in its second and $4 million in its fourth, said Jitrois chief executive officer Gilbert Maria. “We plan to develop our own freestanding stores across America,” he said, citing Miami, Los Angeles and Las Vegas as target cities. Jean-Claude Jitrois, founder of the luxury leather brand, attended a party on the eve of the store opening, wearing a silver mesh vest and skintight leather pants. The store is licensed to Annette Presley, a New Zealand entrepreneur and cofounder of Slingshot, one of the country’s largest Internet providers, which she recently sold, and Jodi Shelton, founder and ceo of Shelton Group and Global Semiconductor Alliance. Shelton downplayed the big differences between technology and electronics and fashion, saying only that they met Jitrois “serendipitously” in Paris. “They completely bought into my philosophy,” Jitrois said.” We loved it because the customers are so loyal,” Shelton said. The brand has a cult following

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Time Inc. Reveals Compensation for Top Execs

TIME INC.’S PAY: Time Inc. revealed total compensation of its top executives in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Tuesday. Chairman and chief executive officer Joe Ripp saw his total compensation shrink 35.5 percent to $5.8 million, due mainly to a 68.1 percent reduction in stock and options awards, which totaled $2.4 million. Ripp’s base salary grew 230 percent, to $1 million, and his bonus expanded 22.2 percent to $1.1 million. Ripp’s salary and the salaries of executives Norman Pearlstine and Jeffrey Bairstow appear to be inflated since they joined the company in fall 2013. Case in point: executive vice president and chief content officer Pearlstine earned a salary of $903,458, up from $128,077, but his bonus amounted to $270,000, down from the $1.4 million “make whole bonus” that he received when he joined Time Inc. in 2013. His total compensation was still up 64.3 percent in 2014 to $2.5 million. Executive vice president and chief financial officer Bairstow netted a 37.7 percent rise in total compensation, to $3.4 million, on a salary of $825,000 and a bonus of $590,000. Executive vice presidents Evelyn Webster and Todd Larsen both saw gains in their total compensation. Webster, who at the time split oversight of

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Max Mara Teams With Whitney Museum for Unveiling

REGGIO EMILIA, Italy — The new Whitney Museum of American Art is one of the biggest New York cultural projects in recent years — but it is also one that has a strong connection to Italy. The 220,000-square-foot building, which is located at the corner of Gansevoort and Washington Streets in the Meatpacking District, is designed by the Genoa-born, Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano and will almost double the museum’s exhibition space. In addition, Italy’s giant Max Mara fashion group has partnered with the institution for the Whitney’s official opening event to be held May 24. Max Mara is organizing a private visit with around 80 collectors, curators and artists that afternoon, led by Piano, Adam D. Weinberg, the Whitney’s Alice Pratt Brown director, and Donna De Salvo, chief curator and deputy director for programs. Julian Schnabel, Lori Simmons, Francesco Clemente, Mario Sorrenti, and Mark and Renee Rockefeller are some of those expected to attend. This will be followed by a dinner in the museum’s boardroom and later by a party with 4,000 guests. “It’s a natural rapport and our family has a long-standing affection for the Whitney Museum, its history and what it has always represented for contemporary art,” Luigi Maramotti,

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Ruth Finley Documentary in the Works

NEW YORK — Ruth Finley, founder of the Fashion Calendar, who turned 95 in January, is gearing up for her next career on the silver screen. As she was being feted Monday night by Citymeals-on-Wheels, where she has served as a longtime board member, Finley was being followed by cameramen who are doing a documentary about her life and career. With the working title “Ruth,” the documentary is being directed by Christian D. Bruun and is expected to be released next January. It’s about Finley’s life, the Fashion Calendar and American fashion since she has been involved in it. Those who have been interviewed for it include Tommy Hilfiger, Carolina Herrera, Bill Cunningham and Nicole Miller. Dressed in a turquoise Yeohlee suit, Finley was busy working the room at Upper Story by Charlie Palmer, greeting guests such as Mark Badgley, James Mischka, Kathleen Turner, Nicole Fischelis, John Pomerantz and Stan Herman. Asked how she became involved in Citymeals, Finley said simply, “They called me. They wanted to get fashion people into it, and I signed up [the late] Pauline Trigère, John Pomerantz and quite a few younger designers.” Finley joined the board of Citymeals in 1983, only two years after its founding by Gael

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Vogue Italia Toasts Tory Burch

TORY IN TUSCANY: Tory Burch was feted at a dinner on Monday evening organized by Vogue Italia’s editor in chief Franca Sozzani. Burch, who has traveled extensively throughout Italy, mastered a few words in Italian. “You make me feel at home here,” she said to Sozzani. Guests ranging from Valeria Golino, Elisa Sednaoui, Charlotte Lawson-Johnson, Jemima Jones, Eva Riccobono and Matilde Borromeo to executives including Pomellato’s Andrea Morante and The Carlyle Group’s Marco De Benedetti were seen gazing admiringly at the spectacular frescoes and antique art at the 16th-century Palazzo Cicogna, a private residence in Milan, with live swing music by the Woody Gipsy Band as a backdrop. Unflappable, Sozzani walked easily on crutches. “I fell at Easter during a walk with my dog,” she said, shrugging. The event was held to mark the official opening of Burch’s first flagship in the city, quietly unveiled in December. Roger Farah, cochief executive officer of the Burch brand, greeted the designer’s mother Reva and her brother, Robert Isen, a board member, president of business development and chief legal officer.

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Heidi Klum Gets Intimate at Macy’s

It’s not like Heidi Klum needs to sex up her image. Nonetheless, the model and former Victoria’s Secret Angel is getting cozier with Macy’s with a line of contemporary bras and panties, called Heidi by Heidi Klum, being sold exclusively at the store. Klum said her new intimates — which she models in upcoming ads — give women “the perfect boost” and “the most natural shape.” Lace, meshy looks, ribbon stripes, neon contrast stitching, peek-a-boo keyhole cutouts and racer-back cuts spice up the presentation. Klum is already part of Macy’s marketing, as the face of the 30th anniversary campaign this year for the retailer’s International Concepts private brand. She’s clearly comfortable in intimates, a business she knows well, since she serves as the creative director for the Bendon lingerie group, which is producing the Macy’s line. Bendon makes the more expensive Heidi Klum Intimates line that is sold online and at Bloomingdale’s. Klum’s Macy’s line has four bra and four panty styles, priced between $12 and $44. Bra styles include the “Heidi Boost” for a deep plunge and super soft gel pads for maximum lift; the “Heidi Fit” sporty demi-cut bra with a customized uplift pad and supple foam pads; the “Heidi Smooth” bra, which

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