From the arrival of a beloved Southern boutique with a cult following to a dream Milan-meets-L.A. collab, here’s what’s catching our eye
Words by NANDITA KHANNA, MARIE LOOK, CAROLYN MEERS and ELIZABETH VARNELL
Capitol Gains
Jeweler Irene Neuwirth — known for weaving vibrantly hued stones into whimsical designs — lives in polychromatic dresses sold at Capitol, a 22-year-old Charlotte, N.C., boutique owned by longtime friend Laura Vinroot Poole. Now the two have teamed up to open an outpost of Capitol inside the Brentwood Country Mart, complete with a fine jewelry boutique-in-shop housing Neuwirth’s one-of-a-kind carved pink opal hairpins, turquoise gumball rings and watermelon tourmaline tennis bracelets, handcrafted in Los Angeles. The 2,500-square-foot store, designed by Perry Poole Architects with sun-drenched interiors by Pamela Shamshiri, offers dresses and jumpsuits from Peter Pilotto, Dries Van Noten, Ganni, Gül Hürgel, Khaite, and Rosie Assoulin. A Wardian case reworked by Shamshiri holds Neuwirth’s bold baubles set in a woodland diorama by conceptual artist Clare Crespo. “The light in California is similar to the light in Charlotte,” Vinroot Poole says. “Bright beautiful prints and colors make sense there and here as well.” Neuwirth finds the clothes to be a perfect counterpoint: “We amplify each other’s work,” she says. Brentwood Country Mart, 225 26th St., Ste. 38A, Santa Monica, 424-268-4641.
California Dreamin’
Just in time for warmer weather and lazier days, DÔEN, our go-to for easy, wearable pieces launched a 15-piece capsule collection with Net-a-Porter. Founded by sisters — and Santa Barbara natives — Katherine and Margaret Kleveland, the 3-year-old line was inspired by their upbringing and time spent outdoors. Cult-favorite silhouettes like the Jane blouse (a breezy, billowy sleeve and cropped hem) and the Jasmine dress (smocked and tied at the shoulders) are splashed with sweet flower prints. There are even a handful of styles scaled down for minis, too.
Full Circle
When Sean Barron and Jamie Mazur — the duo behind sustainability-minded fashion brand Re/Done — met Gilda Ambrosio and Giorgia Tordini of boudoir-inspired Milanese label The Attico in Paris, an artistic connection took root. After a subsequent visit to Re/Done’s Downtown Los Angeles studio, Ambrosio and Tordini found inspiration at the neighboring shops’ racks of vintage frocks in bold ’70s- and ’80s-era patterns, and a capsule collection was born. Together, The Attico and Re/Done (which has collaborated with brands like Levi’s to revamp and update iconic designs) reformed decades-old floral print dresses, added Swarovski crystals to high-waisted jeans and draped denim pants into summer-ready miniskirts.
Case Work
For Louis Vuitton’s new Les Colognes perfume collection, the brand sought to bottle the essence of the California coast in a trio of delightful unisex scents. Developed by master perfumer Jacques Cavallier Belletrud, each evokes the euphoria of an eternal, sun-soaked summer: from the heady notes of musk and orange blossoms in Sun Song, to the refreshing yerba mate in Cactus Garden, and the lush Sicilian citrus in Afternoon Swim. And who better to channel the spirited West Coast lifestyle than Los Angeles native and all-around aesthetic bon vivant Alex Israel, with whom Louis Vuitton partnered to create the collection’s iconographic packaging and accessories. The multimedia artist matched each scent with one of his scene-setting emblems: his golden plexiglass piece Lens (Yellow), 2015, for Sun Song, the vibrant green saguaro from his sculpture Desperado, 2015, for Cactus Garden, and a bright blue rolling swell from his painted “Wave” series, 2018, for Afternoon Swim. “I’ve always been impressed by the relationship Louis Vuitton has shared with artists,” Israel says. “Being that this is the brand’s first fragrance collaboration, I felt quite a bit of pressure to honor the scents as best I could through my designs.”
Scented Matter
We’ve long been fans of Boy Smells, the L.A.-based candles started by Matthew Herman and David Kien, a creative couple who took their weekend hobby and transformed it into a full-blown business. Their millennial pink packaging, clean typography and coconut beeswax-blended candle formulation have garnered a cult following since day one. Now, their latest product drop, the Chromesthesia series ($34), includes three scents: Anjelica, Ambrosia and Dynasty, each one monochromatic in its look and meant to transport you to a dream-like state of your choice. “There’s definitely a psychedelic California undertone to Chromesthesia,” the duo explains. “We’re mixing essential oils with man-made molecular ones. So there might be a real orange rind mixed in with a man-made orange rind. We’re fascinated with nature, but also the ability to replicate it.”
Starstruck
Ganni creative director Ditte Reffstrup has taken her love for astrology to the next-level with their latest capsule collection, fittingly called, “Sun, Moon & You,” for MatchesFashion. Mixing Reffstrup’s love of leopard with a cosmic print, the 13-piece easy-to-wear collection includes shorts, a tiered ruffle sundress, a mini dress and a cotton-poplin shirt perfectly suited for your next getaway.
Feature image: A look from the RE/DONE x THE ATTICO collection.
May 8, 2019
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