The Jean-Paul Gaultier Innovator/Rebel Fashion Retrospective
Last week, Pursuitist reported on a large Karl Lagerfeld exhibition in Germany, this week there’s another one — this time celebrating the influence of renowned French designer and couturier Jean-Paul Gaultier. The exhibit just opened at the Grand Palais in Paris.
This retrospective showcases more than 175 iconic haute couture outfits, as well as many fashion photographs, sketches, backstage videos and clips documenting movies, music videos and stage performances. It will be in Paris through August 3rd, the goes to Munich in September. The Paris showcase comes four years after the exhibition debuted at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and now, nine cities and 1.5 million visitors later, Gaultier has begun on a new career chapter, having halted ready-to-wear, now focusing on couture, fragrances and special projects.
The French couturier’s reputation has been that of both innovator and rebel — proposing punk, bondage, androgyny, tattoo prints and piercings years ahead of their time. — the exhibition also highlights the personal relationships Gaultier forged with models, musicians, filmmakers and other pop culture figures.
The designer also displayed the first dress he ever made — in 1971 for Aitize Hanson to wear in a modeling contest — and mimicked how she twirled in the hooded gown, ultimately exposing her breasts and foreshadowing Gaultier’s career-long exploration of the female body’s topography. Daring men’s wear, including pinup, hobo and Hasidic styles, are also on view.
During a walk-through last Thursday, as workers shredded fishnet hose, fine-tuned lighting and dressed mannequins, Gaultier demonstrated his hands-on approach — fiddling with the drape of garments, and the volume of hairstyles. Dresses are displayed on mannequins without glass partitions, allowing close inspection of the makeshift creations from Gaultier’s debut 1976 collection — employing a repurposed bustier, straw place mats and panels of cross-stitch fabric — to the intricate couture creations of his later career.
Mercedes-Benz Holds Its Value!
A 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet topped Bonhams’ second Mercedes-Benz sale in Stuttgart on March 28, bringing $2.97 million. The car went to a private German buyer, while the auction, held in association with the Mercedes-Benz Museum, achieved a total of $14 million. with 92.9% of lots sold by value.
Another notable historic lot was a 1931 Mercedes-Benz 770 Cabriolet D, originally the property of German actor, producer and director Erik Charell, which sold for $2.5 million.
Finally, a 1960 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster previously owned by German industrialist Alfred Krupp sold for $1.21 million. It is seen above.
Bonham’s holds the auction world record for a Mercedes-Benz, achieving $29.03 million for the 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R Formula 1 single-seater at the Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale in 2013.
A New, Two-Day Only SJP Pop-Up Shoe Boutique
“I am not afraid of heights: have you seen my shoes?” Carrie Bradshaw’s love affair with shoes helped make Sex And The City so compelling. And, very like the old adage that life imitates art, Sarah Jessica Parker really does have a passion for the perfect pair of shoes. SJP has made her own mark on fashion with her SJP Collection line of shoes, handbags and candles.
And on Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18, Sarah Jessica Parker will visit Las Vegas to debut her new line of shoes, “The Strip Collection” at a two-day-only pop-up boutique at The Shops at Crystals, the nation’s only shopping destination dedicated exclusively to luxury fashion.
Shoe lovers, and Sex and The City fans alike can come to Crystals for an exclusive opportunity to peruse the Vegas-inspired line for Zappos Couture in-person at the shop from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day.
Parker herself will host the pop-up, giving Crystals’ guests the chance to see Parker herself, giving Crystals’ guests the chance to have their footwear purchases customized with her autograph.
1 Hotels: Less Of A Brand, More Of A Cause
On March 25th, 2015, Starwood Capital Group Chairman and CEO Barry Sternlicht announced the launch of the new mission-driven luxury lifestyle brand 1 Hotels. The first property debuts in South Beach, followed by Central Park in late spring and Brooklyn Bridge Park at the end of 2015.1 Hotels aims to change industry standards—more than a hospitality brand, from no paper or plastic in the guest rooms to nature as art and lobby farmstands, 1 Hotels celebrates nature while encouraging sophisticated travelers to live well, do better, and connect with the world around them.
Each hotel in the portfolio is consciously designed in collaboration with eco-friendly architects and craftsmen, and each property features high-design with low-impact, reclaimed and natural materials wherever possible.
“It’s simple. We have an impact on nature and nature has an impact on us. I decided that if I was ever going to create another hotel, I wanted it to be more than a brand; I wanted it to be a cause.” said Barry Sternlicht.
At 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach, guests will be welcomed with 3,000 feet of living wall wrapped-around its exterior with 11,000 local tropical plant varieties and art as nature pieces. In New York, guests will see a three-story living wall of English Ivy on the building’s exterior and be greeted by hanging kokedamas in the lobby with terrariums and indoor window planters in guestrooms from Brooklyn-based Sprout Home.
Both the South Beach and Central Park properties were designed from existing buildings that were overhauled to adhere to the brand’s standards for less consumption and more conservation.
A Girl’s Best Friend
In 1990, Sotheby’s sold its first 100-carat perfect pear-shaped diamond at a Geneva auction for $12.8 million; on April 21, the auction house is once again offering a 100-carat diamond, emerald-cut this time, for up to twice the price.
Indeed, the auction house noted that prices for such stones have skyrocketed to $260,000 per carat, from $125,000 per carat, in the last 25 years. Headlining its ‘Magnificent Jewels’ sale in New York, this jewel ( see above) is estimated to bring between $19 million and $25 million, or between $190,000 and $250,000 per carat.
There is also a 6.24-carat fancy purplish pink diamond, seen below,mounted with two cushion-cut Kashmir sapphires of 2.44 and 2.36 carats, valued between $2.5 million and $3.5 million.
For the design enthusiasts, there are Art Deco pieces by Cartier elsewhere in the sale. A good example is the The Baron de Rothschild Necklace, of platinum, emerald, sapphire, lapis lazuli and diamond necklace, circa 1924. The Mughal Empire-style piece was originally acquired by Baron Eugene de Rothschild in 1924 for his new American wife Catherine, estimated $1.8 million – $2.2 million.
