Celebrating Steve McQueen at Belstaff

Last week, GQ and Belstaff celebrated actor Steve McQueen at Belstaff's Madison Avenue flagship in New York. I attended with other industry insiders, models such as Tyson Beckford, and fashionable New Yorkers to view the new retrospective by Barry Feinstein, Unseen McQueen.

The store was the perfect backdrop for the viewing of the photos. McQueen's style is quintessentially Belstaff, namely leather motorcycle jackets, leather biker pants, and chunky knits. His style is quite relevant today as distressed denim, biker jackets, and the like have become must-have pieces for that edgy, downtown style. 

The book is filled with photos of McQueen on a motorcycle, a shared passion of both the photographer and McQueen. A hardcover copy can be purchased in-store or online via Mr Porter.

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Bib + Tuck Celebrates New App

Bib + Tuck, an online fashion company, celebrated the launch of their new app on Wednesday evening at Bar Naná in Meatpacking District. Bib + Tuck is a revolutionary concept started by friends where members shop each other's closets. Yes, thats right! Decide what clothes you no longer want, set a virtual "price" in B+T bucks and when someone purchases, you will have bucks to spend on something from another member's closet...pretty cool right?

The Command Shift event on Wednesday evening made for a fashionable night. Bar Naná offered the perfect backdrop for the celebration in conjunction with Bullet Magazine. Vanity Projects was on location doing manicures and makeup artist Eileen was creating some awesome looks.

All Images Courtesy of Anna Louise Jiongco Photography

Culinary Expert Donatella Arpaia Previews New Collection

On October 3, lifestyle and culinary expert Donatella Arpaia previewed her new kitchen collection that will be available via HSN. I got to experience the new collection first hand at her Chelsea restaurant, "Donatella."

The new collection from Donatella, exclusive to HSN, truly takes the work out of entertaining. If you are like me, you enjoy food and good friends, but sometimes the thought of preparing everything and being the host is a bit daunting. The new products ranging from a pizza oven to fresh Italian ingredients makes entertaining enjoyable. Donatella has created a cohesive entertaining collection at accessible price points ranging from $24.95-$129.95

The Collection:

At, perhaps, the core of the new line is the pizza oven. This oven pairs perfectly with Donatella's pizza dough mixes and tomato sauces. The oven features a pizza stone, but can also be used for a variety of foods such as garlic breads. The collection also includes an array of polished stoneware in beautiful color offerings. A baker, serving tray, and ramekins are all available in stoneware. My favorite was the ramekins which are both microwave and oven safe. They are the perfect size for making individual servings of mac & cheese as they can go straight from oven to table. 

In addition to items above, Donatella will be selling her world famous meatballs as well sets of her pizza dough (plain, Italian herb, and garlic) and tomato sauces (Marinara, Spicy Arrabbiata, and Tuscan  Vodka). All the array of foods are made with the freshest ingredients. Additionally, party disposables are available in a myriad of colors. These were another one of my personal favorites since it is a super easy way to have presentable looking napkins and placemats that are disposable without having to resort to white paper options. As I mentioned, this collection really makes entertaining for guests that much easier. 

Seeing the products first hand, I can attest that the quality is great. Additionally, Donatella's signature dishes were being offered, and the food options are equally as great. I had a moment to speak with Donatella, and she is very excited about the upcoming collection which will be available on HSN/HSN.com October 7th and filled me in on some exciting future developments!

About Donatella Arpaia:

Donatella has become an influential figure in the worlds of food, business, and entertaining. She is the longest standing judge on Food Network's Iron Chef America and is a regular contributor to The Today Show. Additionally, she was included in the New York Post's "most powerful women."

Photos: HSN/HL Group

Diesel Celebrates New Home Collection in SoHo

Diesel, the Italian brand we know for their denim and provoking ads, actually has a home line as well. On Wednesday night, Diesel celebrated the debut of its newest home collection at 3 high-end furniture stores in SoHo- Foscarini, Scavolini, and Moroso. We were invited to celebrate the launch at all 3 locations. In fact, if you made it to all three within a certain time, guests were entered into a drawing to win a prize from Diesel- pretty cool!

I was only able to make it to one stop, Moroso. This high-end Italian furniture store on Greene Street was filled with very stylish guests previewing the new collection. I was very impressed with the designs I saw on the floor. It was what one would expect from an Italian designer: sleek, modern, and sophisticated.

I imagine the pieces fitting perfectly into a trendy TriBeCa loft or Soho apartment. The pieces at Moroso were mainly chairs, sofas, and beds. The Diesel collection does include lamps and small accessories which were on display at other locations. 

Diesel's motto is "Successful Living" I would say that, this is pretty successful living!

Hannah Bronfman Host 7 For All Mankind x Malhia Kent Launch

Thursday night 7 For All Mankind in SoHo hosted a party to celebrate their newest collaboration with the Malhia Kent mill. The party was hosted by DJ and entrepreneur, Hannah Bronfman. Other guests in attendance included the CEO of 7FAM and industry experts. I was in attendance to experience the new collection first-hand

Malhia Kent is known for its luxury fabrics and has produced textiles for brands such as Chanel, YSL, and Proenza Schouler. This collaboration has resulted in some amazing "couture" denim for the fall season. The collection was filled with prints and textures in the fabric. One of my favorite pieces was a black blazer with a gold, intricate lace design. Bronfman was wearing the skinny jean in Egyptian gold jacquard at the event- they looked great!

The evening consisted of shopping and sipping on champagne. Guests enjoyed a live DJ and great gifts with purchases. You can view other pieces from the Malhia Kent collection online at 7FAM.

Images: 7 for All Mankind, my own

James Turrell At The Guggenheim

James Turrell, known for his work with light and space, is on exhibit at the Guggenheim through September 25th. This is his first exhibit in any New York museum since 1980. I visited the exhibit this past week, and entered Turrell's world of light, perception, and color. 

Pieces of Turrell's work are located in galleries around the main rotunda, however, the focal point of the exhibit is Turrell's transformation of this large, famous space that is iconic to the building. The space is now filled with a blend of shifting artificial and natural light. It is best viewed from below while lying on the mats placed on the floor. I snapped a few pictures of the various colors that can be seen:

All the photos above are of the main rotunda, which many of you are used to seeing as the open space which spirals around the entire building to the different levels. Turrell completely transformed this into the focal point of his exhibit. 

If you like more modern, perceptual art you will love the James Turrell exhibit. I did find the rotunda interesting, but I am more of a classic art type so the other works were not as interesting to me. If you find yourself uptown, I recommend a stop by the Guggenheim to visit this exhibit before it leaves!

STK Magnum Mondays

STK, a trendy steak house with locations throughout New York, LA, and Vegas has started extending the weekend party through Monday evenings. STK in Meatpacking hosts a new dinner party called Magnum Mondays.

What exactly is Magnum Mondays? Its not your ordinary steak dinner for sure. Whenever you purchase a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne, it is automatically upgraded to a magnum size. A DJ is spinning beats while everyone dines. 

It was really fun, and STK is always filled with good looking people. We selected Magnum Mondays to celebrate a friend's birthday. I have eaten at STK before and love the food so this is just another reason to make a reservation- highly recommended! 

New Music Seminar Held in New York

 

The New Music Seminar kicked off on Sunday and just concluded at the New Yorker Hotel here in Manhattan. Conferences kicked off Monday as Apple's rumors of launching a streaming music service came to an end with the announcement of iTunes Radio. Many music executives discussed Apple's decision, New Music Seminar founder Tom Silverman stated, "We are extremely happy that Apple has chosen to announce the launch of iTunes radio during the NMS. Apple's entry into this burgeoning market brings us another step closer to achieving the 100 billion dollar music business. 

Day 1 highlights included keynotes by notable figures in the industry such as Frank Cooper of PepsoCo, the president of Clear Channel, and Rio Caraff, CEO of VEVO. Additionally, one of my favorite music product companies, Bang & Olufsen, launched under their B&O Play label in conjunction with Danish Band, Mew, their new Sensory Space app. The vice president gave a preview of the new application for smartphones.

Most notable on day 2 was kicked off by the "Building the 100 Billion Dollar Music Business" presentation. The discussion looked at the ever changing trends of the music industry how to generate revenue in the new era of music by featuring a panel of forward thinkers in the industry. Expanding this point, an intensive led Adam Shore of The Daily Swarm identified the growing importance of the relationship between brands' sales and music. He points out that some of the brands that successfully work with music such as Red Bull Music, Converse, and Scion.

Many exciting things have come out of this year's NMS for those who love the music industry. It's an exiting event for the industry. I'm sure will all be interested in using iTunes radio specifically. 

Photos courtesy of Workman Entertainment Public Relations

Luceplan Celebrates NYC Design Week

Luceplan is an award winning of lighting fixtures based in Milan, Italy. They have a US storefront located in the heart of SoHo here in New York. Last week, the celebrated New York Design Week with the debut of "Synapse", a new creation by acclaimed designer Francisco Gomez Paz.

The Synapse is a product mixed between an object and architecture as its intelligent module design allows for grouping in infinite configurations to create dividers, partitions, and suspended ceilings. Francisco Gomez Paz drew inspiration from nature in this light, and transformed the process that facilitates communication among neurons into a luminous creation. A single electrical wire powers a large number of the modules, and it is contains LEDs of variable colors. This light is truly a piece of art and has a great modern vibe!

The cocktail party at Luceplan was a great way to celebrate design week. While the Synapse was the focus, the store was filled with amazing Italian designed fixtures. 

This was made possible by a media invitation, photos courtesy of Luceplan

Bang & Olufsen Launch at Mondrian SoHo

Bang & Olufsen is renowned for their Danish design aesthetic and quality when it comes to their products. B&O Play, a brand of Bang & Olufsen, hosted an exclusive VIP launch party of their new H6 over the ear headphones as well as their new H3 in-ear headphones at the Mondrian in SoHo.

Let me just say straight away: these headphones are going to be amazing! The sound quality was amazing, and of course they look amazing as well. I got to experience the new headphones that will be released this summer in the US while sipping cocktails and enjoying hors d'oeuvres. 

The over the ear model comes it 2 colors- black and tan. In addition, they are made from very high quality cowhide leather. This means they only get better with wear, similar to the handles of a Louis Vuitton bag. They will become your new travel companion. Priced at around $399, they a reasonably positioned in the market place. 

Keep your eyes (and ears) on the look for these in summer 2013!

Wallis Debuts Autumn Winter 2013 Collection

London clothier, Wallis Fashion, hosted a preview of its Autumn/Winter 2013 Collection at the Bryant Park Hotel. The backdrop for the showing was a view of the Manhattan Skyline from the terrace of the hotel. 

The focal point of the preview was the new, up and coming line "W" designed by Satil Mehta. This new line is for an older, upscale woman who is looking for trends without becoming a slave to fashion. Mehta brings his skills in tailoring and details from menswear to the collection. The new, exclusive "W" line was show cased next to current pieces from the spring/summer collection.

This was my first exposure to Wallis, and it is amazing quality for the price. These are pieces you can wear season after season without spending a large amount. For example, blazers were about 100-$120! Cannot beat that. In the US, you can shop Wallis online.

Satil's new collection was received very highly by the press, and I also recommend checking it out when it debuts. The quality difference between the current line, and the new, upscale one were definitely notable. 

Here's a few pieces that were on display:

The autumn/winter collection is filled with knits, detailed outerwear, and dresses in wearable jersey fabrics.

Met Gala Fashion 2013

The Met Gala is one of the most revered events in New York Society, attracting celebrities, models, and designers each year. The event formally starts the Metropolitan's annual costume institute exhibit. It is also an event where everyone is looking to the fashion worn by attendees because each year carries a different theme. This year's Met Gala theme was "Punk: Chaos to Couture".

Punk was very influential in New York in the past. I must admit, I never liked the aesthetic of punk-related culture icons, however, some celebrities managed to pull off the look well last night. I think my favorite might have been Cameron Diaz in Stella McCartney.

Here's some looks from last evening's red carpet:

All Photos Via Vogue Gallery

A Rainbow of Macaron

Photos: My Own

The Macaron is the perfect treat- not too big but full of flavor and able to satisfy that sweet tooth. Vendôme Macaron, based in New York, recently launched at the 5th floor cafe of Saks Fifth Avenue. Macarons have become quite trendy as a dessert option. The display of macarons available to guests for tasting created quite the rainbow of colors. 

The flavors ranged from Pistachio and Limoncello to Cassis de Provence and Strawberry. I must admit, the Vendôme Macarons were very good- a slightly firm outside and a soft inside, full of flavor. Of course my favorite color combination were the green & pink ones next to each other! You can read more about Vendôme by visiting in their website.

Marie Claire and Guess

Last night Marie Claire hosted an invite-only event with Guess at the 5th Avenue flagship store. Marie Claire editors and stylists picked their must-haves for as Valentine's Day gifts from the collection. Tags throughout the store indicated which items were top-picks. 

The store had a great DJ providing music for shoppers, and champagne and treats were served as well. It was a great evening of shopping and fashion in New York as always.