SFBayStyle

Top Holiday Gifts from the San Francisco Museum of Craft + Design

For those on your holiday list who desire something unique, consider a shopping trip to the fabulous museum store in the San Francisco Museum of Craft + Design. Filled to the brim with hand crafted jewelry and accessories, the museum store has something to please everyone’s particular palate.

Manager Ray McKenzie hand selects each item in the store keeping his customers’ high standards in mind. He says he finds artisans from art shows, craft fairs, and word of mouth. I asked Mr. McKenzie to share some his top Hot and Hip accessory picks for this holiday season:

Santana Row's Fall Fashion in the Park

Santana Row hosted its fifth annual Fall Fashion in the Park event on Sept. 11-12.   The show, featuring such top labels as Anne Fontaine, Cole Haan, St Croix, Brooks Brothers, Lucy, Furla, among others, benefits four South Bay non-profits: Breathe California, Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, Junior League of San Jose and San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce. 

Patrons were treated to a night under the stars, with paper lanterns floating on the gentle breeze.  Fashion lovers mingled in the intimate courtyard, sipping wine and chatting with Santana Row retailers.   With warm summer days soon giving way to chilly winter, toasty coats and knits were the first order of business.  I visited a few of the boots to get the flavor of the season's hottest offerings.

Full Circle: Patemm Pads and a Mother of Invention

Great ideas often are born from chaos, or in Grace Welch's case - from a single chaotic diaper change.  In the space of time it took her to locate her supplies and wrangle a squirrelly baby, her professional background, the influence of her entrepreneurial parents and her desire to go back to work on her own terms came together and the world was gifted with the first circular changing pad.  And what a gift it is.

Trend Forecasting Seminar with PeclersParis

If you're in any consumer based business -design, fashion, art - you want to know about trends, in particular, future trends. PeclersParis, an international trend forecasting agency, has got that covered. They've been forecasting trends for nearly 40 years and have a proven success record with clients such as Armani, Volkswagen, and LVMH. In conjunction with the publication of their annual trend guide, Futurs9, PeclersParis is offering an interactive seminar on August 18, 2-6, in San Francisco. Featured will be a presentation given by Strategic Research and Planning Director, Francoise Serralta discussing trends 3 to 5 years out and issues such as where sustainability is going. Ms. Serralta is the preeminent expert in the study of lifestyle evolution and consumer trends. 

Seminar coordinator and Trend Consultant, Marieke van der Poel says this is the first time the company had opened up their seminar to the public and it definitely has something for everyone - writers, researchers, people working in marketing and PR. "Anyone making anything for anyone," says Ms. van der Poel. For more information and to register go to: http://www.peclersparis.com/
 

Revelation by M.E.

Ready for a night out on the town right after work?  Wouldn’t it be great to just make a few easy adjustments to your garment instead of having to do a complete wardrobe change?  Well, Myrda Monasterial and Eloisa Serrano have your solution.  These hard-working fashion entrepreneurs decided to produce a line of garments that provide you with an easy transition from day to night wear.

Their line is great for the independent women on the go, ready to take the world over and not yet ready to settle down.  For just having started their line a little over a year ago, Myrda and Eloisa have made huge accomplishments.  Adding to their list of accomplishments is the fact that they use a fabric called Modal.  The fabric is environmentally conscious.  The process of producing this type of fabric does not pollute as much as Rayon or other synthetic fabric.  Modal has the feel of cotton and the shine of synthetic fabric.  Not only do they think green, but they also manufacture everything domestically.  Everything is produced in San Francisco.

American Craft Council Show

 Wearable art by Kiss of the Wolf will be available at the American Craft Council Show, August 14-16

I've been reading Melissa Leventon's book Artwear: Fashion and Antifashion (Thames & Hudson, 2005). Ms. Leventon is a San Francisco curator and costume historian and in her book she discusses the history and evolution of Wearable Art. Created by artists at the turn of the 20th century and enhanced by hippies of the 1960's, wearable art is a niche market that is on par with couture. Perusing Ms. Leventon's book has put me in the mood for the upcoming American Craft Council Show, August 14-16, Fort Mason, SF.

The ACC show is one stop shopping for one-of-a-kind items hand crafted by artisans from around the country. On offer is jewelry, furniture, clothing, accessories, and home decor - all unique, quality pieces shoppers won't find anywhere else. To mark their 34th year, ACC is also planning extracurricular treats like wine tasting, artists' demonstrations, and a showing of the Faythe Levine film, Handmade Nation, a documentary on the rise of the handmade craft movement in the United States. Get all the details at: http://www.craftcouncil.org/sf/

Sophie Azouaou Launches Philanthropic Television Show

Sophie Azouaou, owner of Sophisticate Interiors, is the Host and Co-Producer of the upcoming NBC TV show, Touching Hearts, a multimedia project that includes a primetime television airing. Each show is designed to focus on amazing organizations, the philanthropists, the philanthropic corporations, and the people who are in desperate need of their help.

• Pilot will launch Post NFL Kick-off game Sunday Night Football: September 13, 2009 at 9:00 PM
• Re-airing Monday, September 14, 12:30 PM
• Series: Sunday 9 PM prime time sunday night football 
• Re-runs: Mondays 12:30 PM 

(Interview with Sophie after the jump...)

Fashion Metamorphosis

We San Franciscans have our own style and we're proud of it! But truth is we're not really in the same league as New York and Milan. However, with recent events such as Discarded to Divine and local designers earning a spot on Project Runway, we just might be in the midst of a makeover. So that makes this year's Art Institute of California student fashion show title, Metamorphosis, even more apt. 

Student designer Rachel Richardson designed a bridal gown and women's wear for the show and she said she's ready to help put San Francisco on the fashion map. "We have great talent in this city," said Rachel, who also shared that fashion students these days are encouraged to find inspiration outside of fashion in places like museums and nature. "I try to pull from different places and push myself," she said. A recent inspiration for her were the colors of the ocean.    

Jimmy Choo Coming to H&M San Francisco This Fall

 

In a brilliant move by H&M, they have partnered with Jimmy Choo and founder, Tamara Mellon (pictured left) to provide an inspired and affordable new line of shoes and accessories for women and men, to arrive in H&M U.S. stores on November 14th - including, of course, San Francisco.

“We are privileged to be among the fashion greats who have been affiliated with H&M, to be designing a collection that will appeal to fashion-savvy, street-smart women and to be including some great pieces for men, too,” says Mellon.

A match made in fashion heaven, we look forward to the new arrivals for fall.

Discarded to Divine

Sweet P from Project Runway fame and her artist husband Sage Vaughn at Discarded to Divine.

Discarded to Divine is my new favorite fashion event of the year and judging by the turnout last Thursday evening, I am not alone. A total of 900 fashion-conscious people from around the Bay Area showed up at the San Francisco Gift Center Pavilion anxious to see the creations of some our most talented designers.  

Here's the scoop on Discarded to Divine: Clothing donated to St. Vincent De Paul is chosen by freelance designers and fashion students from art schools around the city. Inspired by art work at the de Young Museum, the designers reconstruct the old clothing into new couture pieces. At the annual Discarded to Divine event, these creations are highlighted in a silent auction and a fashion show where attendees bid, raising funds for the poor and homeless of St. Vincent De Paul.

Discarded to Divine - May 7, 2009

It's the Green event of the year and not to be missed! The 4th Annual Discarded to Divine Auction and Fashion Show is happening May 7th, 6:PM, at 888 Brannan St., SF.

This is your chance to see what fashion designers and local fashion design students have created from clothing and fabric donated to the St. Vincent de Paul Society.Among this year's guest designers are Barbara Beccio, Cari Borji, Michael Boris, and Sweet P from Project Runway (her design is pictured above, photo credit: Ben Hoffman).

Seeking Sassy Women Biz Owners for CRAVE Guide 2009!

Girl Power indeed. Seems small businesses and mostly female entrepreneurs are going to be the ones to get us out of the economic crisis, by everything I've been reading. And what better way to not only promote small business but celebrate the sassiest, boldest and most innovative women biz owners in the Bay Area than with The CRAVE Guide 2009: An Urban Girl's Manifesto. This 2nd edition has been completely redesigned and it looks gorgeous. This book highlights the women you need to know across the Bay Area and their businesses: shops, boutiques, salons, online marketplaces, interior designers, stylists, photographers, graphic designers, B2B businesses, etc.  It's an amazing (and cost effective) way to invest in press and marketing so that you are ripe to take advantage when the economy recovers. And the book will be seen in all the most fashionable shops and businesses around town, as well as Barnes and Noble and Borders!

Here's a peek at the Seattle one that just came out - how lovely is that?!: http://craveparty.com/book/seattlepeek.htm

Indie Fashion Lives

The Bay Area is known as a mecca for independent fashion designers and to prove the point, last Saturday fashionistas of all types attended the Bay Area Guide to Independent Fashion Festival. Held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the one day event offered local designers of clothing, jewelry, and accessories an opportunity to showcase their wares in two runway shows and a bazaar.

This first time event was a big success with over 400 people in attendance, 40 designers exhibiting their works, and half-a-dozen local designers including Cari Borja, Erin Mahoney, and Sarah Zins, participating in the runway shows. Co-sponsored by Oakland artist Letitia Ntofon and YBCA's Cicely Sweed along with Bay Area Now 5, the festival's goal was to point up the fact that fashion is not just about big corporate designer labels, but that fashion is also about individual style and diversity.

Haute Couture Meets Haute Cuisine at the Prada Flagship Grand Opening

Tuesday, Prada celebrated the grand opening of the new San Francisco flagship store at 201 Post Street, with a spectacular gala event catered by none other than award-winning Chef Thomas Keller of French Laundry and Per Se acclaim.

The Italian luxury fashion house that is Prada had been planning to open a flagship store, or Epicenter as they like to call it, in the City by the Bay for well over 10 years.  According to Joanne Ramey of Women's Wear Daily, the original plan was to open a 10-story steel-sheathed Prada Epicenter which was to be designed by the influential Dutch architect, Rem Koolhaas (designer of the Los Angeles Prada Epicenter) across the street from what is now the new flagship space.  This was to rival the ones in Los Angeles, New York and Tokyo, but over the course of the decade, this plan fell through for various reasons, strategic and economic.  The current Post Street space housing the new flagship was acquired six years prior to its opening and was left uninhabited in spite of the high rent market of San Francisco to allow for flexibility for its opening.  This location on the corner of Grant Avenue and Post Street is ideal considering it is in the midst of other luxury high fashion houses such as Armani, Dior and Versace.

And so this brings us back to the much anticipated day of the opening.  The event began promptly at 6pm with a crowd of people - city elite, fashion divas and gastronomes alike, standing in line outside of the building within a black velvet-roped, black carpeted sidewalk that was even flanked by a line of men dressed in all black standing guard side-by-side on the corner of Post & Grant.  It was quite the spectacle, with droves of tourists, business folk and city dwellers passing by and wondering what the commotion was all about.

Have local designer wish? Go to the WELL

Among the increasingly interesting array of stores and restaurants lining Telegraph Avenue in the Temescal District of Oakland inhabits one of the most unique and visionary stores I have found in a long time. I don't have a lot of spare time in general, so at this point a store has to capture my interest immediately or I am likely to forget it. In the case of WELL, they had me from the first moment I stepped up to the window.

Dubbed a "resource center for art design and balance, helping to connect independent designers and artists to the Oakland Community and beyond," the WELL carries an array of jewelry, clothing, accessories, art, and natural healing products and services from local and nearby designers such as AC Clothing and Bags, Oaklandish, Small Cynz, Greenbelts, Pretty fun, Cozy Rampage, Sofina, The Weekend Store, Culture Consumer, Mats!?, Super Sugar Ray Ray, Necessary Voodoo, Rx Designs, Cara Lydon Designs, Rag Trader, Field Day Wearables, and more.

Inspirational Tuscan Gem in Hillsborough

Monique Lhuillier is known for her fabulous wedding gowns, interlaced and intricate. What is less commonly known is that her family - one of the wealthiest in the Philippines - had a home here in the Bay Area, in Hillsborough, where they would gather together. Whether the home had any inspirational influence on her as a designer we don't know, but she did spend time there. Since then, the Tuscan villa overlooking a wooded canyon peeking out to the Bay has gone through two owners, the second set of which renovated it entirely and it's breathtaking to see.

When Stephanie and Ray Hood first stumbled on this 6770 square foot Hillsborough home, it contained a wide range of styles, most notably Georgian and Meditteranean. Stephanie, had already managed renovations of five previous homes, so after they bought this one, she began working on her sixth. "Every surface" was redone, including floors, walls, lighting, even bannisters. The project took three months including flying in workers from Texas who the Hoods knew and trusted from their previous homes. The floors have been hand scraped, and antiques were specially purchased to fit into the rooms among other key pieces brought from their previous homes.

Note to Julie Chaiken: Welcome Home

According to a WWD.com article, the time has finally come for Chaiken to relocate to San Francisco where designer, Julie Chaiken, lives. One of the biggest names in fashion from the area, Chaiken is consistently listed along with ESPRIT, Peter Som and others who are either from here, started here, or live here. But due to the proximity of textile and manufacturing facilities, New York has historically been the only place to do serious fashion design in the U.S.. Tired of the commute and still with her heart in San Francisco, Chaiken will be moving some of her operations to Asia where facilities are also available - at a lower cost - to produce her clothes, while moving the base of the company to San Francisco.

Chaiken won't be lonely working in San Francisco - she will be at home amongst the growing community of eco-friendly and couture designers like Lily Achatz and Colleen Quen. Consistently recognized as a host for local fashion events, Chaiken has a real opportunity to help San Francisco become a West Coast hub of fashion as more designers choose to live and work here. For a preview of Chaiken's work and to support her efforts, Chaiken clothes are sold at Macy's in Union Square, as well as Bloomingdales, Saks and Nordstrom. She's reportedly moving her office here next month. Let's give her a warm welcome.

Photo: Julie Chaiken, center in black, applauded by models wearing her designs, during the Junior League of San Francisco annual fashion show luncheon in April.

Nordstrom Designer Preview Pictorial

Because many of the fashion shows in the Bay Area provide substantial amounts of eye candy, occasionally SFBayStyle will split it up. Here's a closer look at some of the great style at the Nordstrom Designer Preview benefit for Raphael House from Wednesday, beginning above with the final view of the final designer, Versace. See yesterday's article for more event details and additional images.

All photographs are by Drew Altizer Photography, unless otherwise specified.

Nordstrom Fall Designer Preview Fashion Show

In true form, the fifth annual Nordstrom Designer Preview impressed fashion friends dressed to the nines from around the Bay Area Wednesday the 9th at the Herbst Pavillion at Fort Mason Center for cocktails and nibbles, shopping, and one of the best fashion shows to take place yet in the Bay Area. With a designer boutique surrounding the show including all garments from the runway as well as others from additional designers, the event provided a close-up look of what I must say is one of the most wearable fall collections I've seen in a while.

Designers in the show included Donna Karan, Peter Som, Stella McCartney, Michael Kors, Bill Blass, Burberry Prorsum, Derek Lam, Valentino, Versace and Vera Wang. Key looks from fall/winter included black, magenta and deep purples, fiery red, luscious fabrics - tweeds, knits, silks, patent leather. These are looks that can translate to real life in a comfortable, classic way not going out of style next month or creating eye sores. Everything in the show and on the racks was beautiful including accessories - smooth gloves, shimmering bloated bags and a wide variety of killer shoes.

Fall - Winter 2008 Fashion Trends List

It's that time again - time to lust after luxurious fall and winter fashion as stores fill their shelves. Here's our annual fall - winter trends list for 2008-2009, compiled from attending Fashion Week, viewing show footage online and studying what other publications have identified as well.

This season, key trends include structured black suits, luscious purple gowns, oversized tweed coats, cartoon dresses, throwback cardigans, rocker booties and gigantic bags. This list is just a start - check out images from shows at style.com and New York magazine to see complete looks, such as the one top left, by Michael Kors.

Themes & Inspiration:
tailored
maturity
rockers
form-fitting
layering
late 50's/early 60's
Tudors
boxy 80's
South America
shag
futuristic
Eastern Europe
cartoons
Western
grunge