Nicole Phelps' Fashion Week Prep

Opening Ceremony Celebrates in Tokyo

Plenty of celebs pass through Tokyo to promote their latest project or put in the odd appearance, however it’s extremely rare for a long list of bold-faced names to converge in one spot. But that’s exactly what happened Saturday night when Opening Ceremony co-founders Humberto Leon and Carol Lim threw a mega-bash for their sprawling new Tokyo flagship.

Leon and Lim held court with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Alexander Wang, Kirsten Dunst, Erin Wasson, Jason Schwartzman, Andy Samberg, Stavros Niarchos and Rinko Kikuchi in the packed seven-story store in Shibuya. Mary-Kate and Ashley, sporting gauzy rabbit and mouse ears respectively, posed for snaps with Leon and his mother Wendy Leon, before heading upstairs to sign pieces from their brand, The Row, which has its own dedicated corner in the new store.

Guests sipped sake from traditional wooden cups as Dunst admired the Native American-inspired jacquards from the retailer’s collaboration with Pendleton and Schwartzman clowned around with a plastic clip resembling fake teeth (one of the quirky party favors on offer).

“The man of the hour, the woman of the hour,” quipped the actor to his hosts Leon and Lim. “I’m in the hour sandwich.”

Samberg, his date Joanna Newsom in tow, said he is enjoying some vacation time before returning to New York for next month’s season premiere of Saturday Night Live with guest host Megan Fox.

“I come to Tokyo once a week. I have a lot of stocks out here,” Samberg deadpanned. “I’m mainly just here on business.”

Later, the crew headed to the Liquid Room for a lively afterparty and a special performance from Julian Casablancas. Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon rounded out the VIP list but kept a low-profile as The Strokes’ lead singer gave an exclusive preview of his first solo album “Phrazes for the Young.”

Wang took advantage of the evening to release a bit of pre-fashion week tension and spent some serious time on the dance floor with his close friend and muse Wasson.

“Getting ready for the shows,” he said. “Working during the day, Fashion’s Night Out, the show, our afterparty- there’s a lot coming up over the next week!”

Via

A Platform for Kicks at the Dover Street Market [UK]

London’s legendary Dover Street Market has just revamped its basement by giving it a clean new look. As part of this transformation, the cutting edge fashion label Comme de Garcons asked Interior stylist and designer Studio Toogood to design and install a new sneaker department that could sit alongside Rai Kawakubo’s personal vision.

“I wanted to create a space that was both raw and elegant, so I chose to work with plaster, copper, concrete and rope. The idea was not to have a super glossy, highly finished look but to reveal the very nature of the materials and their inherent imperfections - or in my view - inherent beauty”, explains Faye.

A series of stacking building blocks made from plaster were designed to help re-configure and change the way the space is used. The purity of the white plaster contrasts against the roughness of the rendered concrete walls and a series of interlocking copper pipes provided a strong industrial element to the design as well as providing plinths for the more practical purpose of displaying mulicolored sneakers. To light the space, Faye chose bulbs on rope by Christien Meindertsma.

Retro Balenciaga in your closet?

Owning a Balenciaga Forties evening gown or fitted top will soon be attainable for fashion devotees who shop at Le Bon Marché in Paris. Another collection of Balenciaga Edition, a selection of clothes carefully chosen from couturier Cristobal Balenciaga’s original designs, will go on sale exclusively at the department store from Sept. 11 until Oct. 5. Balenciaga Edition launched in 2004 with six interpretations of archival designs, as a pre-fall collection. This year, 19 pieces dating between 1932 and 1967 will be revived and reinterpreted using modern techniques. Le Bon Marché will also showcase Balenciaga-designed jewelry from the same era as part of the collection.

Photo By Courtesy Photo