Sandra‘s Closet

Jo Malone created one of the world’s most sought after luxury fragrance brands eponymous with her name. In 1999, Jo sold her beauty business to Estée Lauder Companies and remained Creative Director until her departure in 2006. Now, five years on, Jo is once again designing scent and November 2011 marks the launch of her new global brand JO LOVES, that is not a subsidiary company or an associated business of Jo Malone Ltd.

Jo’s passion for fragrance never ceases and it was falling in love with cooking that inspired her to play with food, flavours and colours that she had never used before. Jo soon realised that her instincts were prompting her to create fragrance for a second time and she found herself asking ‘could I do it again?’

JO LOVES captures the things in Jo’s life that inspire her, from ingredients and people to moments in time nestled within bold red packaging; the heartbeat of the brand.

“When I start out with a fragrance I don’t always know where it will lead. It’s a creative process that often surprises me and I like that. JO LOVES will be full of excitement and anticipation and I want to discover things that I’ve only ever dreamed about. Everyday I’m struck by different smells which evoke emotions or memories that inspire me to be creative. The scent of my husband’s cologne, freshly washed linens, hot Moroccan mint tea, the smell of a horse’s saddle and New York in the rain are a few of my favourites but the list continues to go on and on”.

The range includes some beautiful scents with yummy names: POMELO, GREEN ORANGE & CORIANDER, ORANGE TULLE, GARDENIA, ORANGE TULLE, PINK VETIVER, MANGO NECTAR, A SHOT OF THAI LIME OVER MANGO and A SHOT OF OUD OVER MANGO.

You can shop JO LOVES online here. Jo has done it again… Jo Loves, we do, too!
Stay tuned for Jo Malone’s travel insider in which she gives us some amazing tips regarding her favourite city…

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Jo Loves

«L’Air du Temps is blue, as blue as the sky and the sea thus evoking infinity and freedom.»
Olivia Putman.

Designer and heiress to the Putman style, Olivia Putman brought a breath of fresh to the Ricci label, reworking the bottle of the house’s celebrated perfume L’Air du Temps for a unique and limited edition 2013 with her certain Parisian chic.

L’AIR DU TEMPS by Nina Ricci – A classic revisited

A tribute to flowers. Since its creation, this vibrant and sumptuous bunch of flowers – the first spicy floral in the history of perfumerie – has been jealoulsy protected and remained unchanged.

A fragrance that goes from mothers to daughters, from girls to women, L’Air du Temps is a joy that is inherited, an object that is shared, a trail that is transmitted.

A determinedly free creation from its very start, in 1948. New and bold alchemy of natural materials and synthetic products, invented in the elation of the post-war period, L’Air du Temps is an ode to new found joy, peace and victorious freedom.

A pure and radiant fragrance that has all the seductive and bewitching assets of femininity.

FLORAL

Top notes: Peach, carnation, neroli, bergamot, rose and palisander rosewood
Middle notes: Rosemary, carnation, gardenia, violet, orchid, cloves, orris, jasmine, ylang-ylang and rose
Base notes: Spices, iris, amber, sandalwood, musk, benzoin, moss, vetiver and cedar

The limited edition L’AIR DU TEMPS par Olivia Putman is available as Eau de Toilette for CHF 129.00 (100ml).

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Nina Ricci

Sad news today: The founder of the famous Italian fashion house Missoni, Ottavio Missoni, died this morning at his home in Sumirago at the age of 92.
Born in 1921 in Ragusa on the Dalmatian coast, he had a natural gift as he was a very talented runner which gave him the nickname “son of Apollus.” At the age of 16, young Missoni made the Italian national team, and still today, he held the national 400-meter record for a 16-year-old.

After he had met his lifelong partner, Rosita Missoni, in 1948, the couple founded the company in the 1950s and their famous zigzag knits have been considered Italian sophistication in perfection for many decades since today. Among their fans have been celebrities such as Lauren Bacall, Marcello Mastroianni, Madonna and Diana Vreeland, the legendary Vogue editor.

Rosita and Ottavio have three children which have been all working in the family business. A blow to the family came earlier this year as Vittorio, the oldest son, who was in charge of the management of the company, was aboard a small airplane that went missing in Venezuela.

Rest in peace, Mr Missoni and thank you for the beautiful colourful knits. Your legend will live on…

LoL, Sandra

Photo: © Davide Maestri, © Jürgen Teller

In celebration of their tenth anniversary, Italian fashion brand Forte_Forte presented their luxurious highly limited edition capsule collection “10” at Vestibule in Zurich last week.

Forte_Forte  is designed by Paolo and his sister Giada Forte, who is the soul of the label and had come all the way from Italy for this special event (see photo above with me). It was a true pleasure to meet the lovely designer who is expecting her first child in July.

Giada, who studied knitwear design, is in charge of the creative part and her brother Paolo, who worked in the family knitwear company before, looks after the financial aspects.

Forte_Forte offers delicate, feminine pieces that are rich in special finishings and impress with lovely hand-made details, such as precious embroidered labels and small beautiful perfumed bags in which they are sold.

A very special and beautiful collection!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Forte_Forte, Vestibule and © Sandra Bauknecht

According to an announcement on the company’s official Facebook page, iconic fashion designer Lilly Pulitzer Rousseau died Sunday in Palm Beach, Florida, at the age of 81, surrounded by her family. “Lilly has been a true inspiration to us and we will miss her,” the statement said. “In the days and weeks ahead we will celebrate all that Lilly meant to us. Lilly was a true original who has brought together generations through her bright and happy mark on the world.”

It all started with a juice stand. When 21-year-old Lilly married Peter Pulitzer, they moved soon from NYC to Palm Beach where the newly married wife opened a juice stand next to her husband’s citrus groves. To hide the stains from the juice, she wore a sleeveless dress in colourful printed cotton.

Lilly Pulitzer – the clothing label was born. The “classic shift dress” shot to international fame and demand when Lilly’s old schoolmate Jacqueline Kennedy née Bouvier, now the First Lady, was photographed wearing a “Lilly” while on vacation. “Jackie wore one of my dresses – it was made from kitchen curtain material – and people went crazy. They took off like zingo. Everybody loved them, and I went into the dress business.” (From the book: Essentially Lilly, A Guide to Colorful Entertaining). And the rest is history.

Lilly Pulitzer is not as known in Europe than it is in the US. When I lived in Lake Forest, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, I spotted those colourful prints for the first time. I have to admit that I never really warmed up to them but somehow they always remind me of the great time I had living there and I have a great respect for the company the iconic fashion designer built up. I even mentioned it once in my column.

R.I.P. Lilly! My thoughts are with the Pulitzer Rousseau family.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Lilly Pulitzer

Three designers have recently caught my eye with their beautiful, outstanding collections and I am convinced that we will see much more of those rising fashion stars in the near future.
Be among the first ones to detect them.

MOSCOW – VIKA GAZINSKAYA

Moscow’s former stylist and fashion week favorite channels her distinctly avant-garde style into a namesake ready-to-wear line that is clean, modern, and sculptural. Think futuristic-inspired pencil skirts and bold ruffle sleeved blouses. Watch out for S/S 2013‘s sculptured dresses, flared skirts and elegantly-edgy meteorological motifs – all meticulously produced in the designer’s Moscow-based studio.

CLICK HERE TO SHOP VIKA GAZINSKAYA.

MADRID – DELPOZO

Elegant, enchanting and delicate – Delpozo’s beautiful designs are a celebration of all things feminine. Creative Director Joseph Font takes a couture-like approach with intricate hand-embroidery, pretty appliqués and fabulous floral prints.

CLICK HERE TO SHOP DELPOZO.

LONDON – MOTHER OF PEARL

Fashion and art stylishly collide in Maia Norman’s collections. Each season the designer collaborates with a well-known artist, and for spring she translates New York based Francesco Simeti’s wallpaper prints into peplum-detail tees and cropped pants with a signature sporty spin.

CLICK HERE TO SHOP MOTHER OF PEARL.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Via Le 21ème, Vogue Spain and Zimbio

Hell, yes! Diesel ignites yet another firestorm by appointing Nicola Formichetti, (Do you remember his first Mugler collection for F/W 2011 where Lady Gaga appeared on the runway?), to be the commander-in-chief of the brave army that will spread Diesel’s marching orders far and wide. Starting with F/W 2013, the multifaceted, volatile, OTT stylist, designer and social media star will become the new artistic director of the lifestyle brand.

“I finally met somebody as crazy as I am,” said Renzo Rosso, founder of Diesel. “Nicola shares my vision and I find it incredibly inspiring to work with him: two creative planets are colliding to generate fresh, mad, insane ideas. With his help, I want to break more rules and bring the real Diesel to a new generation.”

Nicola Formichetti will start his new role with the DIESELREBOOT project now. He plans to mobilize an emerging global creative community to collaborate with him. Check out www.dieselreboot.tumblr.com.

Nicola will also oversee all creative activities of the main line, including the areas of product, communications and interior design. He will bring his own interpretation to the brand’s way of living – unpredictable, original, fun – coordinating the existing Diesel Creative Team and his new fresh recruits from different fields.

Sounds pretty promising to me…

LoL, Sandra

Photo: Courtesy of Diesel

After my last outfit post, I have received so many questions about the tee I am wearing in it.
Brian Lichtenberg is a Los Angeles based designer who has taken the fashion industry by storm. By incorporating a cheeky sense of humour, he seeks inspiration from high end fashion labels such as Balmain, Gucci and Hermès. And strangely enough, no lawyer is in sight…

The brand’s signature “Homiés South Central” and “Féline Meow” versions are by far one of the hottest pieces out for this season. Be sure to get one today.

YOU CAN SHOP BRIAN LICHTENBERG ONLINE HERE.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Brian Lichtenberg

Congrats to my beloved British fashion designer Stella McCartney! She has been awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) by HM the Queen at Buckingham Palace yesterday for her services to the fashion industry. Besides her eponymous label that she had founded in 2001, she has been collaborating with Adidas on a sportswear line for many seasons. In 2012, she created the Olympic 2012 kit for Team Great Britain.

Wearing a bespoke, navy blue cinched skirt suit from her own collection and a vintage platinum hairpiece by Cartier, Stella looked gorgeous as she attended the ceremony at Buckingham Palace. Stella McCartney joins fellow designers Dame Vivienne Westwood and Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, as well as Jimmy Choo founder Tamara Mellon in being awarded the Order of the British Empire. Well deserved!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Reuters, © PA

During Paris Fashion Week, the lovely Mary Katrantzou welcomed me at her showroom to explore her newest F/W 2013 up close.

For fall 2013, Mary Katrantzou surprised. Her designs have developed, trading her focus on bold prints and vibrant colors for strong silhouettes and new shapes, without loosing her identity. Monochromatic hues, embroideries that look like print giving this outstanding collection an effect that has been even more striking on me. Referencing Edward Steichen’s iconic imagery, the turn of the century’s photography, Mary created dream-like pieces.

My favourites? The eerie landscapes and ghost-like dresses, as innovative as the legendary photographs they are reminiscent of.

Mary Katrantzou with me

I was so proud when I found myself in a folder at the entrance of the showroom with “celebrities” wearing Mary Katrantzou. Thank you!

To the left: MISTY MARIA dress, to the right: REFLECTO coat

New clutches for F/W 2013

Me in SANFRAN dress and FREELAGO clutch

Me in DIJON PINK blouse dress with matching leggings

Wearing VERSICOLOR coat

I love the FAUWI dress

Sporting two-layered ORLYON dress

Mary’s jacquards are among her bestsellers. Here you see me in the new KARDIA dress.

Amazing REFLECTOR dress.

Like a ghost: Me in TIA MARIA dress.

If you like the designs as much as I do, then I have a great surprise for you:
YOU CAN PRE-ORDER THE BEAUTIFUL MARY KATRANTZOU F/W 2013 COLLECTION NOW!
TRUNKSHOW ENDS ON MARCH 16 AT 11 PM EDT.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht