Fashion Frenzy

Talk about Fashion Week in Milan!

By Carol Tisch

For a solid week, some of the hottest names in the fashion world have descended on Sarasota. First up was the elegant grand opening reception last Wednesday night for Van Cleef & Arpels’ new jewelry salon at Mayors in the Westfield Southgate Mall (that’s right, Southgate Mall)!

Van Cleef & Arpels' Alhambra chain and Snowflake diamond-and-platinum bracelet.

The next morning designer Charles Nolan prepared to preview his spring 2008 for the second time (the first was New York) at the annual Make-A-Wish foundation luncheon at the Ritz-Carlton. Saks Fifth Avenue of Sarasota has carried the acclaimed designer’s clothes since he launched his own label three years ago. Before that, Nolan designed for Anne Klein and Ellen Tracy, and he apprenticed with the likes of Bill Blass and Christian Dior.

But wait: there’s more. Tonight, T. Georgiano’s is celebrating the opening of its gorgeous new shoe salon on First Street with a cocktail party, Oscar night klieg lights and red carpet, and new shoes from its own cache of Italian designers, many exclusive to the store.

While the Sarasota Mayors store is the only one in the chain’s American stable with a Van Cleef & Arpels boutique, the parent company, Birks&Mayors, has been operating four of the famed Parisian jeweler’s salons in Canada at its Birks stores. Why Sarasota? Tom Andruskevich, CEO of Birks&Mayors told me: “We wanted an area that would give us an exclusive with the brand; Van Cleef was not represented on the west coast of Florida. My prognostication is that we will do fabulously well here – Sarasota is international, sophisticated, and arts-driven.”

In case you’re wondering about the grand-opening night collaboration with the Sarasota Opera, Andurskevich, an opera buff, says he was introduced to Susan Danis, executive director of the Sarasota Opera through friends on the board of Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown, NY. Danis was on hand at the grand opening, as were soprano Patricia Johnson, piano accompanist Avis Romm, and a coterie of fans of the Sarasota Opera.

While a professional model wore the classic Alhambra mother-of-pearl and black onyx chains ($8,400) super earrings ($3,040) and bracelet ($2,400), Mayors and Van Cleef employees (and even Danis) were dripping in perfect diamonds.

We loved that Johnson got to wear almost every piece in the renowned diamond and platinum Snowflakes collection before her operatic solo (to the tune of half a million bucks’ worth of gems) – including the very same bracelet Julia Roberts wore to accept her People’s Choice best actress award at the 2003 Oscars.

Asked how it felt to be costumed so lavishly, Johnson quipped: “It’s breathtaking. And it’s an interesting dilemma. To feel this way when I have to sing.”

P.S. What did Charles Nolan pick from his spring 2008 collection as the two items most perfectly suited to the Sarasota lifestyle? Pick No.1: “The champagne metallic faille coat that opened the show: The gold lame makes it the perfect updated trench to wear over an evening dress or over jeans.”

If fashion designer Charles Nolan were your personal shopper, he'd pick this Champagne Faille trench coat.

Pick No. 2: “The Wisteria spin dot dress. It’s one of my favorites because you can wear it to a wedding or throw it over a swimsuit. Depending on age, it can go from Queen Mother to Young Modern – I love that dress.”

Does Nolan know Sarasota or what?

Posted: 12/12/2007 1:06:36 PM | 0 comments

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