Plus Miu Miu upsizes baby T-shirts and Fendi goes to boot camp
Words by ELIZABETH VARNELL
Alaïa’s Sculptural Chic Reaches Costa Mesa
The elegant minimalism of ALAÏA under creative director Pieter Mulier is immediately apparent in his Winter/Spring 2025 collection. It is installed in the brand’s new Costa Mesa boutique, along with architectural elements devised by the Swedish design firm Halleroed. Organic shapes and sharp lines derived from the house’s long reliance on precise craftsmanship define the South Coast Plaza space, a round skylit room clad in pale leather that contrasts with custom-cut Carrara marble tiles. Hanging inside is the collection Mulier showed in the rotunda of the Guggenheim Museum in New York, comprising geometric circles, squares, and spirals of fabric — no zippers or buttons — evoking the ease, practicality, and freedom of American sportswear. The designs, created in the American vernacular of denim and T-shirts, embrace the motion and liberation foundational to the brand. 3333 Bristol St., South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, 657-205-5822; maison-alaia.com.
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Balenciaga’s Latest Sole Mate
Dr. Scholl’s slides, comfort incarnate, get the BALENCIAGA treatment in Demna’s hands. They emerge as spike-heeled mules to pair with skirts and pants topped with massive scarves. The French house’s creative director combined his team’s savoir faire with the orthopedic footwear line’s scientific insights and insoles. Square-toed silhouettes tap the innovative, wellness-first ethos of the company, which podiatrist Dr. William Mathias Scholl founded in 1906. The collaboration includes riffs on the ubiquitous beechwood Pescura sandals and the heeled mules, bottines, and bootees. Exposed cork soles are included in the offering, along with signature Scholl metal buckles. balenciaga.com.
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Miu Miu Remains Forever Young
The baby T-shirt is back and living its best life. PETIT BATEAU’s beloved childrenswear classics are being reworked, in collaboration with MIU MIU, into soft jersey basics sure to be snapped up by cool kids of all ages. The Italian designs are embellished with the French line’s delicate picot trim and elegant proportions, developed for the simplified silhouettes since its founding in 1893, are retained in the modern update. Early staples are recut and designed as slim shirts — shrunken exactly so — but in proportions that suit women, ready to pair with the new season’s assortment of skirts and shorts. In addition to T-shirts, there are bodysuits, tanks, and briefs, all embroidered with a combination of both company logos in red and navy. Wear it well. miumiu.com.
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Rolex Returns to Rodeo Drive
A twisted-glass facade at the new GEARYS ROLEX boutique in Beverly Hills nods to the signature hue used for watch faces, certification, and much more by the Geneva watchmaker. The three-level, 6,200-square-foot store is lined with marble and wood cases and trimmed in bronze; a striking circular staircase includes a stucco of the L.A. skyline. The space also evokes ocean waves through fluted design elements that highlight the brand’s deep connection with the sea — forged through the airtight Oyster, the first waterproof wristwatch. In addition to the array of timepieces on the first floor, watchmakers sit on the second level and a rooftop deck gives collectors, adventurers, and explorers a view of the palm-lined street and the horizon beyond it. 312 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills, 310-887-4100; gearys.com.
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A Preppy Launch from Weekend Max Mara and Sebago
Knot your sweaters — WEEKEND MAX MARA is celebrating a preppy essential cocreated with Sebago: the penny loafer. The cultish Dan, newly revamped with micro studs and oversize detachable tassels (for those with strong opinions on the accessory), kicks off the new three-year collaboration between the Italian fashion house and the beloved shoe company. The smooth leather classics with unlined beefroll uppers and molded rubber heels retain the look and feel of the original, albeit with the house’s butterfly stud on the shoe’s side and enough hardware to signal a rebellious streak. Created in brown, burgundy, or black with handsewn details, the footwear arrives just in time for loafer season. 3333 Bristol St., South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, 714-754-1876; us.weekendmaxmara.com.
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St. John Is Back in Beverly Hills
Long an American style staple, the knit dress has returned to Beverly Hills with ST. JOHN’s newest boutique opening behind an ivy facade in a 2,200-square-foot space. The versatile Spring 2025 collection takes inspiration from the house archives, with updates to founder Marie Gray’s 1960s originals and pastel Palm Springs landscapes and interiors viewed through the lens of Slim Aarons. In a nod to its California roots — Gray designed her first prototypes in L.A. — a capsule of modernized re-edition looks is also here, including throwback labels for loyalists looking to update an existing trove. Sportswear and tweeds in spring florals, bright citrus tones, pinks, lilacs, blues, and heather grays also join lacy slip dresses and leather pieces in deep claret hues. The new shop heralding the return of these SoCal originals proves they never really left. 9533 Brighton Way, Beverly Hills, 310-858-1116; stjohnknits.com.
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Savannah King Sculpts Canyon Charms
The mysteries of the universe are the guiding inspiration for SAVANNAH KING’s latest jewelry collection, handmade in Topanga Canyon. King, known for her classical goldsmithing techniques, looked to the myths surrounding Nut — the Egyptian goddess of the sky, who is said to give birth to the sun each morning — as a foundational starting point. “Even the great mysteries of the universe are held in the body of the mother,” says King, who taps into Egyptian cosmology throughout the designs, themes she continues to explore after a recent trip there. Called Door to the Cosmos, after the song by jazz composer Sun Ra, the group of baubles includes zodiac charms, a Moonstone Temple necklace, an Angel amulet, and an Eclipse version and bold rings, including a Sun Ra Talisman and Moon Beam Talisman. savannahking.com.
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Stomp Into Spring in Fendi Red Wing Boots
Minnesota-based RED WING is collaborating with FENDI on a durable workwear classic reimagined for women with the Italian house’s palette of sienna red and natural beige supple Cuoio Romano leather. Modeled on the Classic Moc, a mainstay since 1952, each pair was threaded by hand with the FF motif in Capannuccia, Tuscany, before the uppers were sent to the U.S., where the bootmakers used century-old shoemaking methods to complete the design. More than 30 artisans and 80 steps were required, from stretching the leather to sewing stitches and seams. Artisanal mastery and family legacy runs deep in both companies, and the collaboration comes as the American maker marks its 120th anniversary and the Italian house celebrates its centenary. fendi.com.
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Uovo Adds Fashion to Its Slate of L.A. Storage Services
The minimalist dream of a closet with five pieces hanging in airy splendor is now a click away. UOVO, known for stewardship of fine art and wine — managing, storing, and preserving institutional and personal collections — has opened its newest facility in Los Angeles for fashion. The museum-quality wardrobe-storage facility for Los Angeles and the Southern California region includes viewing rooms and state-of-the-art construction designed to protect and preserve beloved dresses, suits, coats, shoes, and rotating seasonal styles. Warehouse technicians, wardrobe managers, seamstresses, tailors, and drivers are on-site. The temperature-controlled spaces are designed for temporary or long-term organization and storage with a digital inventory system linked to Uovo’s MyCloset app. A clickable suite of services includes photographing, cataloging, and arranging pickups and deliveries, some of which can be scheduled within one or two days. Specialists organize larger orders and long-distance treks, and vacation garments can be shipped straight to one’s destination and back. Digitized spring cleaning is here. uovo.art.
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Louis Vuitton Fine Jewelry Is Blossoming
The LOUIS VUITTON monogram flower, first envisioned in 1896 by Georges-Louis Vuitton, is blossoming in a new assortment of colorful variations that expand on the house’s Color Blossom fine jewelry collection. White or pink mother-of-pearl or stones, including vibrant carnelian and striking green malachite, are polished to perfection and set with rose gold. Yellow gold is paired with deep onyx or blue-green amazonite in a wide variety of shapes and sizes of sautoirs, pendants, earrings, rings, and bracelets. The collection, first launched in 2015, is now more colorful, stackable, and personal, with shapes and blooms to suit the showers and flowers in the months ahead. louisvuitton.com.
Portions of this story originally appeared in the Spring 2025 issue of C Magazine.
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