FASHION Magazine

Foie gras canapés and black truffles galore: It was just another little Hermès cocktail party at the Faubourg store. Out, and I mean way out of the ordinary, though, were the four magnificent haute joallerie pieces created by Pierre Hardy. There were solid gold and diamond Birkin and Kelly bags, both about the size of evening clutch. There was also a gold mesh bag with diamond bit handle and heart-shaped tangle of diamond chaine d’ancre strands. Each piece can be worn on the wrist and or hung on a wall—these are true works of art. Hardy also showed a number of new diamond bangles and cuffs for Hermès —each more classic and covetable than the next.

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Well, aren’t you in for a treat! Today, we’re exploring the Pierre Hardy bag belonging to bow-tied boy about town and The Room’s creative director, Nicholas Mellamphy. A long-time purveyor of chicness, Mellamphy was the genius behind Yorkville boutique Hazel, and more recently has become one of the key members of the Bay’s new transformation team. You can thank him later for putting the likes of Proenza Schouler, Thakoon, Erdem, Christopher Kane, and Carven together in one room, but in the meantime, let’s snoop!

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Graphic patterns and colourful brights evoke a playful ’60s vibe.

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We’re barely halfway into 2011 and the fashion world has already seen our fair share of industry shake-ups: the Galliano scandal, Carine Roitfeld’s exit at Vogue Paris, Christophe Decarnin’s mysterious mental illness/ousting at Balmain, and now Patrick Robinson has been booted from the Gap.

While most of the recent switch ups seem to make sense⎯Galliano’s anti-Semitic outburst couldn’t very well go un-reprehended and Decarnin’s health issues were clearly in need of medical attention⎯we found ourselves puzzled upon hearing the news that Robinson had been presented with a pink slip due to lackluster sales in the first quarter of this year. We’ve seen many a powerhouse figure reinstate retail dinosaurs (Bonnie Brooks at The Bay , Jenna Lyons at J.Crew), so why not Robinson at the Gap?

Leighton Meester wore a pleated velvet Versus dress with Pierre Hardy Circle platform sandals in Madrid at a Herbal Essence photocall. What do you think of Meester’s ode to the LBD? Vote after the jump.

Can’t swing the price tag for a cobwebby Rodarte? Knit it yourself. [Park & Cube via ReadyMade]

Yohji Yamamoto, which just closed it’s two New York stores, is under new management. [Vogue UK]

Show: Alexander McQueen—and I wasn’t even present. Too sick that night to crawl from bed, I—and thousands upon thousands of other obsessives—watched McQ’s first live-to-air catwalk on ShowStudio.com. Even from afar, I was spun in, so totally entranced by his entire underworld of alien warrior princesses. (And those shoes! The most wondrously physics-defying footwear since Theyskens’ heelless hooves for Nina Ricci. Which was just last season…but still.) Magnificent in scope, meticulous in execution, it was a show to write home about. Unless you were already there.

Day two starts not with a bang, but with a “meh” at the Issey Miyake show. Designer Dai Fujiwara collaborated with karate masters to develop flexible fabrics for his latest offerings and the “katas” that the rent-a-karate-masters performed almost stole the show.