Sandra‘s Closet

For F/W 2019, Longchamp is adding a personal touch to the iconic Le Pliage® collection, with the introduction of My Pliage® Signature. The customizable totes will come in three sizes with a choice of fifteen available colors.

The multitude of color combinations is not the only exciting attribute of the collection, they are made of 100% recycled polyester. This eco-friendly fabric is created by reusing plastic products and recycled plastic bottles.

Celebrity fan: Kendall Jenner with her customized My Pliage® Signature as she hikes with her dog in Los Angeles, California. 

Customization also comes into play as customers are invited to select their choice of leather trim,  available in black, brown or white – to accent the color of each bag. The press stud on the flap also comes in a choice of fourteen colors, including white, gold or nickel.

The color-blocked design of the tote is finished with initials, including 2-3 capital letters, printed onto the front of the bag using an eco-friendly water-free transfer printing process. The result is a truly unique version of the signature Le Pliage® style that will become your new favorite bag, wherever your day or travels take you.

My Pliage® Signature totes are available from now in Europe (early 2020 for the US and Asia).

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Longchamp

Queen of Rap and style icon, Nicki Minaj collaborates with Fendi to create the coolest capsule collection. «Bentley tints on/ Fendi prints on» the singer rapped in her buoyant single «Chun Li.» And with that, a fashion collaboration was born. Eagerly awaited by the rapper’s fans, known as the Barbz, Minaj’s Fendi Prints On, a 127-piece collection that fuses Fendi’s playful character with Minaj’s bold sense of style, is available now on fendi.com and in selected stores.

The collection features house staples like the Baguette, Peekaboo, and Kan U bag, and more in a range of textures—among them, space-like metallics, shearling and lots of pink Lycra. Even though the designs were overseen by Fendi creative director Silvia Venturini Fendi, it seems as though Nicki had free reign throughout the entire process, whether it was choosing the body-skimming silhouettes and 90s-inspired jewelry or the Pinkprint-inspired hues.

On her latest single, «Fendi», that launched last month, the rapper shouts out the Italian fashion house by declaring «it’s Fendi, it’s poppin’, and we on and poppin’». The song comes just in time to celebrate the launch of this fabulous capsule collection for women and men. Even if you are not a Barbz, there will be something for you, promised!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Fendi, Steven Meisel for Fendi

Louis Vuitton presents the second wave of its leather goods campaign, dedicated to the House’s «New Classics» bags as presented by actresses Alicia Vikander and Léa Seydoux (for the first campaign launch, click here for the previous post). Against the bright blue of a Californian sky, Craig McDean photographs these strong, graceful women and their Louis Vuitton bags.

Alicia Vikander carries the Capucines and Twist designs, while Léa Seydoux opts for the Dauphine and Capucines. The print campaign styled by Marie-Amélie Sauvé will feature in international magazines starting October, alongside a series of short digital films.

LoL, Sandra

Alicia Vicander with the Capucines bag in cream.

My favorite: Alicia Vicander with the Capucines bag in baby blue.

Alicia Vicander with another classic, the Twist bag.

Léa Seydoux and her Capucines choice in black.

Another great choice: Léa Seydoux opts for the Dauphine bag.

© Photographer: Craig McDean
Fashion: Marie-Amélie Sauvé

Streamlined, innovative, technical, real – Prada Linea Rossa is engineered to modern living.
Exploring the metropolitan and urban roots of Linea Rossa – the fusion of overground and underground, of different lives and experiences – on 7 October 2019, Prada Linea Rossa collaborated with the musician and artist Willow Smith, daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, to stage a performance moment. This unprecedented live, raw and spontaneous set staged at a station along the Central Line on London’s Tube, the ‘Linea Rossa’ running through the capital, brought the F/W 2019 Linea Rossa line to life.

This act was designed to make an everyday commute into an extraordinary experience. Completely unannounced to the audience, impossible to plan for, yet documented real-time and instantly shared, this moment was a celebration of the transient nature of our real life experiences, the spontaneous beauty of chance: the performance of our everyday.

In today’s urban world, a ‘Linea Rossa’ – a red line – is universal, a uniting emblem, simple yet complex, coded and deep. Irrespective of nationality, designed to function beyond language, it can be immediately recognized in the context of our major cities – a line through all of them, each ‘Linea Rossa’ represents travel, speed, dynamic energy. These ‘Linea Rossa’ draw individuals together, build communities – the inspiration behind the Willow Smith Linea Rossa performance.

Prada Linea Rossa has always been inspired by reality, by the demands of modern living – bodies and movement, urban reality, metropolitan clothing. Linea Rossa reflects that in clothes engineered for bodies and lives, technologically advanced, active wear designed for outstanding performance, everyday.

Such a cool marketing idea!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Prada and via Instagram

To support the release of her new album «Lover,» out this week on August 23, 2019 Taylor Swift announced that she’s working with British fashion designer Stella McCartney on a special—and sustainable—fashion collaboration, featuring organic fabrics, leather made from recycled polyester and vegetable waste oils, and even a reusable water bottle.

«She’s been a friend for a really long time, and also just a woman I respect so much,» Swift said of McCartney during an Instagram Live. The collection is inspired by the songs on the album, and is including a bomber jacket, purse, and many tees in all sorts of amazing pastel hues and tie-dyes. You don’t need to be a teenager to like those pieces…

Tune in to Taylor’s YouTube channel at 5pm EST on August 22, 2019 to see Stella and Taylor reveal more about their creative process.

The collection will be available in a special pop-up store in New York City called «The Lover Experience» that will take place between August 23-25, 2019 and online here. It seems to be the only place fans will be able to purchase the limited edition tees (at least for now). The jacket and purse, however, will also be available on Stella McCartney’s website starting the night of August 22, 2019.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Stella McCartney
via Instagram @taylorswift @stellamccartney #StellaxTaylorSwift

NET-A-PORTER hosted cocktails in Paris during Haute Couture Fashion Week to celebrate a collection of its high jewelry designers. Private gallery Hôtel du Grand Veneur was the setting for a beautiful mirrored spiral shaped installation which housed over 20 rare, one-of-a-kind pieces from the world’s most renowned high jewelry maisons, including Chopard, Piaget, Buccellati, Lorraine Schwartz, Boehmer et Bassenge, Boghossian, Giampiero Bodino, Nadia Morgenthaler, Ana Khouri, Repossi, De Grisogono, Bina Goenka and many more.

With my beloved Lupe Puerta, Global Director of VIP Client Relations at NET-A-PORTER

NET-A-PORTER offers great service for their EIP (Extremely Important Person) customers, now taking it one step further with EIP Privé. The new high jewelry pieces are part of this new concept that was introduced to a selected clientele during Paris Fashion Week. In general, the EIPs can request to see exquisite one-of-a-kind creations via private appointments and «try before you buy», so that the jewel might never be seen by another customer again.

With lovely Elizabeth von der Goltz, Global Buying Director of NET-A-PORTER.

To give the best service possible, NET-A-PORTER‘s dedicated team of personal shoppers receive comprehensive diamond and gemstone education from the Gemological Institute of America.

Amazing piece, a combination of ring and bracelet, by Bina Goenka.

Good to know is that the iconic online shopping destination adheres to the Kimberley Process, a certification scheme committed to the removal of conflict diamonds from the global supply chain. It was established in 2003 after the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution supporting its creation.

Jewelry creations by Chopard.

Since 2014, NET-A-PORTER has also been a member of the Responsible Jewellery Council – the only retailer to stake this claim. In addition, all fine jewelry sold over the site is tested, marked and certified according to the Hallmarking Act 1973, which guarantees the purity of precious metals.

A huge thank you goes to my personal shopper who does the best job! I am a huge fan of the EIP service and I can only recommend buying at NET-A-PORTER.

Enjoy more impressions of the night below!

LoL, Sandra

Alison Loehnis, President of NET-A-PORTER and MR PORTER, with actress Mandy Moore.

With Alberto Cibrario, Sales Department Operations Manager at de GRISOGONO.

On display: high jewelry pieces by de Grisogono.

Chabi Nouri, CEO, Piaget

Gaia Repossi, Jewelry Designer

Ana Khouri, Jewelry Designer

Photos: © François Durand / Getty Images for Net-à-Porter
© Sandra Bauknecht

CHANEL announces Margot Robbie as the face of the new fragrance GABRIELLE CHANEL ESSENCE. Beyond her talent and radiant beauty, the House was drawn to the captivating personality of the Australian actress and producer, who stars in Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming film, Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood.

Created by Olivier Polge in cooperation with the CHANEL Laboratory of Fragrance Creation and Development, this new olfactory interpretation of GABRIELLE CHANEL reveals a trail that is more voluptuous and opulent, solar and enveloping. Composed around four white flowers revered by CHANEL (jasmine, ylang-ylang, orange blossom and tuberose), ESSENCE gives a majestic role to Grasse tuberose.

GABRIELLE CHANEL ESSENCE will be available as of September 1, 2019 in Europe, the USA, Canada, Latin America, Central America, the UK, South Africa and Australia.

LoL, Sandra

Photo: © CHANEL #GABRIELLECHANEL #CHANELFRAGRANCE

Peace, love and togetherness for a new generation!
The ‘All Together Now’ collection is finally here, inspired by the iconic Beatles film ‘Yellow Submarine’.

Stella McCartney with her Beatles-Dad Paul McCartney 

“It affected me in a way I just wasn’t expecting. Especially this idea of connecting people and bringing people together—politically this message has never been more relevant. So, I came out and I was like ‘I have to do something.’” – Stella

My favorite piece of the collection: the fur free coat.

The hand-illustrated musical film is a psychedelic adventure through a colourful world, and Stella McCartney‘s bold new collection brings its spirit back to life, with a modern twist.

Take a ride with the brand’s new campaign, starring musical artists Oscar Jerome, Keyah Blu, Joy Crookes and Femi Koleoso, on Stella’s World now!

TO SHOP THE COLLECTION, CLICK HERE for MEN and HERE for WOMEN PLEASE.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Stella McCartney
#StellaMcCartneyxTheBeatles

Blurring the lines between art and fashion, Dutch icons Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren constantly push the boundaries of conceptual design. Last season, we’ve all seen the showstopping, statement-making couture gowns walk down the runway demanding ‘no photos please’ or just simply saying ‘NO’. The S/S 2019 couture show, titled «Fashion Statements», presented those language memes in tiers of tulle and had an outstanding viral response.

Backstage with Viktor & Rolf last week in Paris

But how to top this collection? I was curious. Last week I was invited to their F/W 2019 Haute Couture show in Paris not only to see the new breathtaking défilé, called «Spiritual Glamour» but also to experience the connection between art, fashion and beauty. The mission? To make the world a better place.

When I went backstage before the show, I experienced their unmistakable artistic craftsmanship first hand, which can also be found in their iconic fragrance Flowerbomb which got a new addition to the perfume family with Flowerbomb Midnight, a mysterious, floral and sensual facet, enveloped for the first time in a sumptuous radical black bottle. Spellbinding and captivating, sparkling and intimate, this eau de parfum for women celebrates midnight, a moment of transformation where women can let their sensuality explode.

Flowerbomb Midnight is a long-lasting floral-chypre-fruity perfume, an olfactory bomb of sensuality designed around night-blooming jasmine. Also called «queen of the night,» this mysterious flower only blooms and reveals her captivating scent when the day falls. Layered with the intoxicating second-skin patchouli and musk accord, vanilla and praline, it gives Flowerbomb Midnight its tremendous depth and contrast. The powerful fruity notes of blackcurrant and pomegranate accord sparkle while bergamot adds a fresh, zesty note enhanced by spicy, aromatic pink pepper. This mouth watering new fragrance was created by four famous noses, Dominique Ropion, Domitille Michalon-Bertier, Carlos Benaïm and Fanny Bal. In Switzerland, Flowerbomb Midnight is exclusively available at MARIONNAUD.

On the runway, Viktor & Rolf showed magical dresses for the «queen of the night». The moon, the stars, the sun appeared as applications and addition to their futuristic fabrics. With the help of Claudy Jongstra, who has been developing her own textiles over decades, Viktor & Rolf created a collection that is different, almost an epiphany for the fashion savvy.

The artist has her own biodynamic dye garden in the Northern Netherlands where she produces botanical pigments to create dyes for the final artisanal touches to these extraordinary pieces. She is even raising rare Drenthe Heath sheeps, reimagines and reconstructs textile production systems, demonstrating deep respect for the interwoven narratives of materials, landscape, and making processes. A highly innovative artist, Claudy Jongstra has created new territory for wool as a contemporary artistic medium, captured and processed by the designer duo Viktor & Rolf.

The collaboration is outstanding as both partners treat couture like a laboratory and show that haute couture is not outdated yet. That it can be a leader in terms of sustainability.

Furthermore, «spiritual glamour» can be found everywhere, in a rare flower used in a scent, in a fabric that creates a gown or in an artist that wants to make the world a better place with his or her designs. The world of fashion, art and beauty are all interlinked, it is up to us how we want to transport the message ourselves. Let’s drop a bombshell and be our own muses.

Celebrity spotlight at the show: Miss Fame and Christina Aguilera, both boasting the Viktor & Rolf’s unapologetic irreverent slogans and unmistakable artistic craftsmanship from the S/S 2019 Haute Couture collection.

Enjoy more of my impressions below, especially my favorite moment at the end when I met Christina Aguilera.

LoL, Sandra

I got a little shaky… so excited to meet the singer in person!

Everything before a fashion show is last minute.

Personally speaking seeing the craftsmanship and outstanding fabrics so close…

… was a true pleasure and makes you appreciate the work of couture even so much more.

I love watching the make-up artists doing their job.

The eye make-up was outstanding.

Belgian make-up artist Peter Philips, who is currently the creative and image director of Christian Dior makeup, doing the final check-up of the model’s look.

Lots of L’ORÉAL hair spray and fake hair needed for the volume.

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht 

On Thursday evening, the Houses of CHANEL, FENDI (LVMH) and KARL LAGERFELD all came together at the Grand Palais in Paris to pay tribute to Karl Lagerfeld at a celebration designed, directed and staged by Robert Carsen.

The many facets of this extraordinary man were evoked through a tapestry of videos filmed throughout his life, interspersed with testimonials from people who knew him, as well as the generous «live» contributions of highly talented actors, musicians, dancers who interpreted some of the music and literature Karl loved so much.

Charlotte Casiraghi, H.R.H. Princess of Hanover, Andrea Casiraghi and Madame Emmanuel Macron paying tribute to Karl Lagerfeld.

Actresses Tilda Swinton, Fanny Ardant, Cara Delevingne and Helen Mirren, friends of Karl Lagerfeld, recited and read excerpts from works by his favourite authors, such as Virginia Woolf, Stéphane Mallarmé, Colette and Edith Sitwell.

Pianist Lang Lang at Karl Forever at the Grand Palais in Paris.

The extraordinary Jookin dancer Lil Buck, the brilliant violinist Charlie Siem (who played Paganini, one of the favourite composers of Karl Lagerfeld’s mother Elizabeth), Argentinian choreographer German Cornejo, accompanied by his troupe of 17 tango dancers and his 7-piece orchestra from Buenos Aires (Carlos Gardel was Karl Lagerfeld’s favourite singer and the tango was his favourite dance), the celebrated pianist Lang Lang (who played Chopin on the grand piano designed by Karl Lagerfeld for the 150th anniversary of Steinway), and American artist Pharrell Williams were also on stage to pay homage to the man who had deeply marked them and who was their friend.

The Steinway designed by Karl Lagerfeld on display.

These artists – as well as the 2,500 guests present at the Grand Palais to celebrate Karl Lagerfeld – were immersed in a spectacular exhibition of 56 giant enlargements of portraits taken throughout his life by some of the most famous photographers in a setting designed by Robert Carsen, inspired by Karl’s favourite colours: black and white enhanced with a touch of red.

In turn, the participants also paid tribute to the aesthete, this man of culture, photographer, creator… in an exceptional moment as grand as his talent.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Karl Lagerfeld, © Luc Castel and Julio Piatti