Sandra‘s Closet

Last Thursday, KARL LAGERFELD & REVOLVE celebrated the launch of  the «KARL LAGERFELD X KAIA» collection with an exclusive event hosted by Cindy Crawford’s supermodel daughter Kaia Gerber at the REVOLVE Social Club in Los Angeles with over 200 international influencers and special guests. The highlight of the night was a performance by Kaia’s best friend and singer Charlotte Lawrence and the opening of the «KARL LAGERFELD X KAIA» pop-up shop which is still open today from 12:00 to 6:00 p.m.at the REVOLVE Social Club.

Kaia at the launch event dressed in pieces from the «KARL LAGERFELD X KAIA» collection.

An embodiment of the Los Angeles-chic, style-savvy consumer, REVOLVE Clothing is the premier online multi-brand retailer of premium millennial fashion with a collection of more than 500 of the world’s most coveted established and emerging brands in women’s and men’s designer apparel, shoes and accessories.

Late night performance by Kaia’s best friend singer Charlotte Lawrence

Guests included Kaia Gerber, singer Charlotte Lawrence, Presley Gerber, Larsen Thompson, Will Peltz, Larsa Pippen, Amanda Steele, Draya Michele, Jen Atkin, Brittany Sky, Madison Pettis, Raissa Gerona and Michael Mente. Fashion influencers included Desi Perkins, Lottie Tomlinson, Sophia Smith, Rachel Lindsay, Mary Lawless Lee, and more.

The «KARL LAGERFELD X KAIA» collection is exclusively available now at Karl.com und Revolve.com. Starting September 14, 2018, the limited-edition pieces will also hit the stores.

LoL, Sandra

Beautiful siblings: Kaia and Presley Gerber at the event.

Photos: Courtesy of Karl Lagerfeld

To celebrate the 80th anniversary of its iconic aluminum suitcase, RIMOWA unveiled an exclusive collaboration with FENDI in the end of last year.

Together, the two brands created transformed the iconic carry-on case with the help of sophisticated FENDI styling details, including the emblematic FENDI double F logo in brushed aluminum that changes perspective in different lighting, as well as a web belt that runs across the case, into something every fashionista is dying to travel with. The case is finished with stickers and a nametag that can be personalised by its owner.

In the second phase of a collaboration this year, the collection adds three new colours; red, blue and yellow – an addition to the black and brown version that was originally introduced in November 2017.

For all models, FENDI’s artisanal savoir-faire is featured in Cuoio Romano leather handles and the black neoprene interior lining, also embossed with the double F logo. The case is a concentrate of RIMOWA innovations too, fitted with the silent Multiwheel® system for optimum maneuverability and the Flex-Divider system for the most efficient possible packing, as well as TSA approved locks for security.

Available in FENDI and RIMOWA stores and online HERE.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Rimowa and Fendi

How do fashion dreams come true in our days? Forget ad campaigns, press releases, fashion magazines, samples and announcements. You just take an It-bag and let it “unexpectedly” dangle from the arm of a celebrity. That is modern advertising and just happened when Lady Gaga sported Hedi Slimane’s first piece for Céline.

A preview for all fashionistas that will surely hit the runway as part of the designer’s inaugural collection for the brand during Paris Fashion Week next month. Slimane was announced as the new artistic, creative, and image director of the French fashion house back in February, succeeding Phoebe Philo.

While visiting Paris, the singer wore the structured bag that is personalized with Lady Gaga’s initials and features gold clasp.

Probably your next Birkin or Kelly bag will be the «Gaga» instead… I am already loving it and you?

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Instagram/@sarahtannomakeup (Lady Gaga’s makeup artist Sarah Tanno)
Instagram/ @ladygaga

Bucket bags are perfect for vacation but can still be used back in the city, too. The perfect pieces to take a little summer feeling to fall. With each model, you can pull the drawstring top tight to keep your cell phone and sunglasses secure.

1 Cleo woven leather bucket bag by Loeffler Randall
2 Lunchpail leather-trimmed woven sisal bucket bag by Cesta Collective
3 Linea Cestino leather-trimmed wicker bucket bag by Gucci (my favorite)
4 Seau straw and striped cotton-canvas bucket bag by Muuñ
5 Colada leather-trimmed wicker tote by Kayu

LoL, Sandra

Stills: Courtesy of the Brands, Collage: © Sandra Bauknecht

Are you ready for this? Let’s get the week started with a naughty vibe and have a look at ASHISH‘s hilarious hint at thoughtless consumerism as well as cheap high street fashions that appeared on the designer’s F/W 2018 show: American Excess, Masturbate, and Viva(L’Amore) were all in sequin logo hacks of famous credit card brands.

Playing with consumerism: ASHISH‘s sequined shopping bags.

Being a big fan of how Ashish Gupta used his runway presentation to comment on consumer culture, drawing inspiration from his roots making patterns in a clothing factory in Delhi at 16, I definitely want to get my hands on one of those tongue-in-cheek phrasing like the ‘American Excess’ lettering on these tops below.

What a bummer – I have just got the news that the Masturbate sweater didn’t go into production due to copyright issues with Mastercard. So excess it is – but I have to hurry, they are selling out fast. In Switzerland the tops will also be available at Trois Pommes.

LoL, Sandra

Sequined cotton-jersey top

American Excess sequin embellished cotton hoodie

Photos: Courtesy of ASHISH

While this isn’t the first time LOUIS VUITTON is releasing small fancy minaudières, you could say that this is their most outstanding and fun piece ever. New for 2018, the Drink-It handbag quenches our desires for pretty little must-have accessories and reveals an innovative soda can form decorated with shimmering Swarovski® crystals.

This futuristic style is made to the House’s high level of craftsmanship with polished metal hardware and luxurious leather trimmings. An elegant lambskin lining and calf leather strap finish the design. No need anymore to carry a Starbucks cup when you can have your own luxe cola to clutch.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

I am in love, yes IN LOVE! This is definitely the  chicest bag you could add to your summer wardrobe, DIOR‘s embroidered Book Tote! A veritable invitation to travel by the House’s creative director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, an evocation of sunshine, inspired by Mexican crafts, it is the perfect luxury staple piece to rock throughout the season. First seen at the DIOR S/S 2018 runway show, it sports geometrical motifs and requires more than thirty-two hours of work and over one million two hundred thousand stitches to create an interplay of arrestingly lovely patterns in mesmerizing shades of green, orange, red, fuchsia, violet and blue. It’s crafted in the fashion house’s studio in Paris.

Rihanna sporting her personalized DIOR book tote

Although the tote has just been released this season, celebrities all over are sporting the brand in a range of colors and customized names.

Check out the photos below to see how the elegant piece is made:

If you are dreaming of a limited edition piece, I recommend visiting DIOR’s pop-up store on the Greek island of Mykonos this summer at the upscale Nammos shopping village until Oct. 15, 2018.

There you can find exclusive pieces, including DIOR Book Tote bags featuring the name of the island woven into the canvas as well as striped bodysuits and sweaters, silk cravats and cotton pareos bearing the slogan «J’adior Mykonos.»

Great news is that the DIOR book tote is here to stay and has been designed in many different versions for F/W 2018 as well as for Cruise 2019.

DIOR Book Totes for F/W 2018

DIOR Book Tote for Cruise 2019

Such a great bag – my favorite is still the S/S 2018 in vibrant shades.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Dior

Today, I would like to show you a project that is very dear to my heart. One of my favorite animals on the planet are elephants. There are so many beautiful facts about this strong and beautiful creatures. Just like humans they can communicate through sight, smell, sound, and touch. They live in a strong family unit and the mothers are very protective of their babies, spending all day teaching and loving them. Being highly social animals, they meet every day and console each other in times of stress by «hugging». Elephants even mourn their dead.

They are highly intelligent and have a strong memory. If you do something bad to an elephant, he will always remember. One of the cutest facts is that baby elephants suck their trunks in the same way that human babies suck their thumbs. Unfortunately, elephants are highly endangered. Given all this evidence about the awesomeness and sensitivity of these animals, it’s obvious that taking them away from their families and locking them up is wrong, which is why we need to speak out for them when they are abused and exploited. Moreover killing them for ivory is just cruel.

When supermodel Doutzen Kroes visited Kenya, she fell in love with these animals. Coming back home, she was determined to make a difference and became the global ambassador of Knot On My Planet, a campaign to support the Elephant Crisis Fund.

To support this amazing campaign, LOEWE has joined forces with Knot On My Planet and its global ambassador Doutzen Kroes, to launch an exclusive limited edition version of its iconic ELEPHANT BAG (click here for a previous outfit post), that is featuring beadwork by the women of the Samburu Trust from Northern Kenya.

LOEWE will donate all proceeds of the sales to the Elephant Crisis Fund, helping to provide rapid, catalytic support for projects designed to stop the killing of elephants, thwart traffickers and end the demand of ivory.

Embellished with safety pins bursting with cascades of multicolor beads. Due to the handcrafted nature of the beadwork, each bag could vary, making every purchase unique and is exclusively available to buy on loewe.com.

So worth supporting! Bravo LOEWE and Doutzen!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Loewe
#LOEWEkomp – #KnotOnMyPlanet

Yesterday’s news really got me and my outfit post from Le Dîner en Blanc has to wait another day… Around 10am New York time, fashion designer KATE SPADE, 55, was found dead by a housekeeper in her bedroom at her Park Avenue apartment in N.Y.C. Apparently she hang herself with a red scarf from a doorknob. She was pronounced dead at the scene, according to The New York Times.

The Spade family

What really gives me chills is the fact that she is survived by her husband of 24 years and her 13-year-old daughter. Being a mum myself, I cannot imagine the pain that has to be inside you to do this to your family. It is said that she left a note behind with messages for them to explain her actions. Her husband Andy was at home while their daughter was in school.

Message on the Kate Spade website 

KATE SPADE‘s story is a successful one at least when you read it. Neé Katherine Noel Brosnahan, founded her namesake brand in 1993 with husband Andy Spade after working in the accessories department at the fashion magazine Mademoiselle. While having dinner at a restaurant, both were identifying a market for quality stylish handbags which led to a fashion revolution in the 1990s by establishing one of the first modern accessories brands that did not rely on European roots.

Detachable tag tote by Kate Spade

Spade’s reasonably priced, box-shaped bags, covered in modest fabrics like microfiber and grosgrain, became quickly became popular, and the company expanded into other product lines, such as clothing and shoes.

Kate Spade amongst her handbags in 1999.

In 1999 she sold a 56% stake in KATE SPADE New York to Neiman Marcus Group; in 2006 she sold the rest of her shares, opting to focus on family over fashion as she had her daughter at quite a late age in 2005. «I needed a break and I really wanted to raise my daughter,» she told PEOPLE magazine in 2016. «People asked me, ‘Don’t you miss it?’ I really didn’t. I mean, I loved what I was doing, but I didn’t miss it as much as I thought I might.»

Pieces from Kate’s new label Frances Valentine 

Two years ago, she began another accessories brand, Frances Valentine, named for her daughter, Frances Beatrix, together with her husband. For this reason, she legally changed her name to Kate Valentine Spade to match her new label. «I thought it was important to distinguish who I am now,» she said. «I’m the same person, but there’s a difference.»

The difference might have killed her. R.I.P. Kate Spade! I am wishing the family a lot of strength to cope with this terrible strategy.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Kate Spade, © Sandra Bauknecht, Getty and People magazine

MIU MIU’s woven basket bag is the perfect summer companion. Classic with a little retro touch, it’s embroidered with the label’s logo, topped with vibrant red, blue and black-striped grosgrain handles, and fitted with a zipped pocket at the canvas-lined interior.

My own limited edition woven basket from Cannes (there was only one, sorry :-)!).

If you want to prove your true jet-setting spirit, look for one of the limited edition versions that MIU MIU has launched in small quantities for some of their shops around the globe. A red tag is attached to the bag that indicates the location where you bought it.

Limited edition woven basket that is still available in MIU MIU’s newly opened St. Tropez boutique.

Those limited editions are available at the following MIU MIU stores around the globe: Madrid, Barcelona, Capri, Porto Cervo, Forte dei Marmi, Cannes, St. Tropez, Miami and Hawaii.

My personal summer essentials: Woven basket bag, frayed St. Tropez embroidered straw sunhat, and suede platform sandals, all by MIU MIU.

The perfect pieces to breeze effortless style from town to beach and back again.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: first one courtesy of Matchesfashion, all others © Sandra Bauknecht