Madonna, the original, has your back this spring with these nylon men's backpacks from Givenchy. Leave it to Renaissance man Riccardo Tisci to hybridize religious and street influences to create a must-sport that even the new pontiff would approve of.
€694 at Hunting and Collecting
Maison Kitsuné's little New York store is already celebrating its first birthday. Located in NoMad, an area of Manhattan so newly gentrified that it's less of a bustling shopping district than a NoMad's land, the boutique is leading a wave of high-profile residents moving into the area, including the NoMad Hotel, Dover Street Market, and Iosselliani jewelry.
The French-Japanese label that started as a record label, and whose name means fox in Japanese, takes its quirky aesthetic from a mash-up of high-low, preppy-grunge, French-American influences — seen in the mix of proper plaids and mudflap decals of the various items of a capsule collection marking the first anniversary.
Maison Kitsuné, 1170 Broadway, NYC
Not like she needs the height, but extra-amazon glamazon Anja Rubik has collaborated with Italian shoemaker Giuseppe Zanotti on an accessories line consisting mostly of high-high heels. Specifically, the capsule includes one bag and five shoe styles—again, mostly heels and exactly one pair of gladiator-style flats—with over-the-top details like corseting and gold studs.
Around $1200 per item, coming soon to Giuseppe Zanotti and Colette.fr
Obviously we're using Easter as an excuse to buy the hats you should have already been thinking about buying for spring...
1. Alexander McQueen honeycomb patent lace hat, $1995 at Luisa Via Roma
2. Lanvin straw fedora, $990 at Ssense
3. Missoni crochet sunhat, $270 at Net-a-Porter
4. Anna Sui printed silk crepe de chine turban, $125 at Net-a-Porter
5. Acne straw hat with yellow bow, $320 at Barneys
6. Albertus Swanepoel straw hat with leather band, $430 at Barneys
The Supreme Court will hear, aherrrm, oral arguments in two landmark gay-rights cases—one challenging Prop 8, the other challenging the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)—beginning tomorrow and the David Bowie exhibit launched at the V&A with a speech by Tilda Swinton. And Spring Breakers has opened in theaters, plus it's almost spring in the city. Suddenly, it's all about rainbows. Below are multicolored items for men or women—or neither or both—to help you get into the spirit...
1. Thom Browne rainbow-striped tie, $185 at Barneys
2. Delfina Delletrez multi-colored silver necklace, $1235 at Opening Ceremony
3. Missoni crochet rainbow crochet-knit headband, $120 at Net-a-Porter
4. Christian Louboutin suede/python platform, $1295 at Bergdorf Goodman
5. Spring Breakers for Opening Ceremony neon fruit bikini, $100 at OC
Here's something only a stoner could think of. The folks at Shwood, the Portland-based makers of wooden sunglasses, have taken a chip off the old block and made the first slate-framed sunnies, combined with a birch and hand-poured pewter. Two wayfarer styles come in either black or white slate. These aren't farmed out to a manufacturer, but crafted in Shwood's own workshop, where they also do all the veneering and lens-cutting, so you'll have to forgive them for limiting the stone sunglasses to 200 pairs.
$325 at Shwood
Living up to its name, Poler Outdoor Stuff makes pretty great outdoor stuff intended for nature freaks and couch potatoes alike, as anyone who watches Girls will know (Lena's Dunham's Hannah had on a Poler wearable sleeping bag, the "Napsack," in one episode). Their backpacks, tees, tents, jackets, and beanies—not to mention sporting gear for skaters and snowboarders—have a nice demure, aw-shucks quality about them that makes Portland the ideal spot for their first store. Situated near the Ace Hotel and Stumpton Coffee, the shack of a shop carries a range of their own merch, in addition to a collaboration with a "friendly brand" each month, the first of which is BAGGU bags. So go ahead and make all the Portlandia jokes you want because nothing is more ironically hilarious than saying your new Napsack is "by Poler."
Poler Outdoor Stuff, 1300 SW Burnside, Portland
Only bad things come in envelopes anymore—bills, junk, jury summonses. But the Brooklyn-based accessories label Fleabags are out to change that with their cheery envelope bags, made in collaboration with VPL. Colorful and minimal, they're guaranteed to lift your mood. And there's more to feel good about. They're handmade in small production runs using organic materials, and vegetable-tanned and re-purposed leathers. Talking about pushing the envelope.
$315 at VPL
In the loony world of Comme des Garçons, retail is taken quite seriously. And so when its Guerrilla Store in Berlin closed at the end of last year, rather than actually close, the owner, Lil Schlichting-Stegemann, opened Lil*Shop Atelier one door down. The new space offers vintage and archive designer pieces by the likes of Antipast, Faliero Sarti, Francesca Zunino, Labo Art, Peachoo & Krejberg, and Tsumori Chisato, as well as current collections by Studio Ito, Physicalnovel, Les Moutons Noirs, and of course plenty of Comme des Garçons and Junya Watanabe.
Lil*Shop Atelier, Brunnenstraße 185, Berlin
