Category: Haute Couture

Oscar Worthy Couture Dresses By Maggie Norris

Illustrated By: Anna Kiper

In the heels of a post Mercedes Benz Fashion Week closing party last week, I caught up with Maggie Norris at her atelier in midtown Manhattan. The veteran fashion designer was excited to reveal her latest projects, one of them being the launch of a mid-20th century sunglasses collection. Once a fashion designer at Ralph Lauren, Maggie has since become the go-to designer to a host of celebrities, top stylists, New York City’s socialites, philanthropists, and first lady, Michelle Obama, to name a few. Her romantic silhouettes, and costume-like couture is a celebration of femininity and speaks directly to the age of elegance.


High End Weekly™: Congratulations, I heard that you are now a part of the Women & Fashion Film Festival at FIT.

Maggie Norris: Thank you. The festival will be launch in late spring 2013, and the FIT students are already working hard on this project. It’s fascinating to be part of the Benefit Committee which include, Tony Award winning producer Catherine Schreiber, Alexis Doyle (Board Member of The New Group & Irish Repertory Theater), Nancy Jane Loewy, Zang Toi, and Rosina Rucci.

The belle of the ball
Maggie Norris Couture

HEW: You are also involved in FIT in other ways, aren’t you?

MN: The school offers an excellent mentoring program, and I’ve been honored to participate in such a refreshing course. I always look forward to guide this next generation of fashion designers so that they too will have the opportunity to bring more beauty into the world. It’s been a pleasure to help guide them to clarify their own vision of design. Each year F.I.T. presents a runway show of its top graduating BFA design talent to a full house. Attendees include Industry luminaries and press, anxious to see the next emerging names in fashion design. Graduating fashion design students are mentored by respected designers who serve as industry critics, with each critic ‘matched’ to the relevant design concentration. Calvin Klein, Carolina Herrera, Norma Kamali, Narciso Rodriguez, Diane von Furstenberg, Josie Natori, Dushane Noble for Helmut Lang and Alicia Sison for Betsey Johnson have each acted as advisors and critics to groups of graduating students.

IN THE STUDIO



HEW: Now that I’m in your studio, tell me more about some of the elegant, and sleek lines that I’m seeing in your various collections.

MN: We have several of our signature white shirts. The alluring lines that they cut are quite flattering to a woman’s body. What’s great about these shirts is that our clients have the options of applying different cuffs to them, if they so choose. They can go from day wear to evening wear by simply changing the appearance of their cuffs! Our variety of perfectly proportioned jackets, with their alluring embroidered cuffs are always in vogue. Most of the time, these cuffs are handmade with Chinese embroideries. Our jackets are made of satin, suede, and various flawless materials which clients have come to expect from us. Of course, we have our corsets which is part of our signature look. Some of them are made in Paris, but mostly all of our couture is done here in the United States. We’re so well known for our corsets, that clients sometimes bring their heirlooms to us, and we in turn artfully designed them. Nicole Kidman once wore a Maggie Norris Couture corset in one of her movies. But we’re always creating all the time, whether it’s an individually crafted wide-leg pants, or an elegantly appointed leather jacket

Eye-catching and timeless: A portrait by renowned painter Nelson Shanks on a model dressed in a corset by Maggie Norris Couture



HEW: You have some fetching boots displayed throughout the atelier. Who are they from?

MN: They are custom-made from London by the same boot maker that makes similar ones for Queen Elizabeth II. We have also collaborated with Christian Louboutin in the past. Throughout my career, I’ve teamed up with a number of high-profile designers, and came to appreciate the resulting synergy.


RAISING THE BAR





“We have the option of offering our clients bespoke fashion. When a bride for instance come to us, we ask her about her vision for that special day. Does she want the dress to take her to the 1940s, the 1920s? Is it a tropical weeding, do they want hand painting? For example, if the wedding is in a place like Jamaica, we can custom made the flower that apply to that region…


We recently designed a crest for one of the women from The Forbes Family. She gave us her own tartan and we made an exquisite pair of pants for her. We love doing crests for our various clients.” Maggie Norris

ON PRINT

Photographed By: Chris Craymer “Agathe Long Shirt Dress”

Joyce DiDonato, Stylist: Ashley Pruitt
Photographed By: Bill Phelps
Joyce DiDonato wearing Maggie Norris Couture ‘Natasha’ Evening Coat 
featured in “Yankee Diva” FLATT Magazine Issue #4 2013
A model wearing one of Maggie Norris coveted corset, Photographed By: Mario Testino
As seen in the December 2012 issue of Allure Magazine

ON THE RUNWAY


HEW: You’re launching your first eye glasses collection next month, is that right?

MN: We’re starting with a good start: one style and four colors. The glasses are made in Italy, and the materials have this old world craftsmanship about them.


Copyright images from Maggie Norris
All rights reserved

Maggie Norris Couture is open by appointment only at: 494 Eighth Avenue, Suite 1505, New York, NY 10001. She can be reached at (212) 239-3433. Visit her website at: www.maggienorriscouture.com

Photo courtesy High End Weekly™

Meet Maggie Norris!


Maggie Norris Couture
In the heels of a post Mercedes Benz Fashion Week closing party last week, I caught up with Maggie Norris at her atelier in midtown Manhattan. The veteran fashion designer was excited to reveal her latest projects, one of them being the launch of a mid-20th century sunglasses collection. Maggie was once a fashion designer at Ralph Lauren, but has since become the go-to designer to a host of celebrities, such as Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts, Diane Keaton, Grace Hightower De Niro, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Halle Berry, Andie MacDowell, and first lady Michelle Obama.

A Glamorous Past

Now that Fashion Week is slowly coming to an end, let’s rendez-vous at Bernheimer Fine Art Photography and Trinity house Paintings. Here’s why. This season most fashionable art exhibition will take center stage from September 13th until the 29th. The show highlights Beauty Endures: Studies of Glamour and Intrigue. The memorable, and glamorous images which you’ll discover while you there, are from Paul Cesar Helleu and Cathlenn Naundorf.

Pictured: Homage to Horst P. Horst, Coco Chanel’s Apartment at rue Cambon, Paris, 2008

Valentino en rose – HC Winter 2007, Atelier d’artiste, cite Jandelle, Paris 2007
La fille en plâtre IV, Dior by John Galliano, Les ateliers du Style, Paris, 2009
The Crying Game I, Dior – HC Summer 2008, Atelier d’artiste, cite Jandelle, Paris 2008
This show is a collaboration between Bernheimer Fine Art Photography and Trinity House Paintings. It brings together the work of painter Paul César Helleum and fashion photographer Cathleen Naundorf for a special exhibition dedicated to two elements which this city is well-known for: glamour and fashion. The collection of works on paper and photography, spanned over 100 years of haute couture, and it celebrates beauty, glamour and all things fabulous from two of the western world’s most captivating artists. So arrange your plans in order to attend this fabulous exhibition which runs from September 13-29, 2012 at Trinity House, 24 East 64th Street. The famed photographer herself, Cathleen Naundorf, will meet guests and sign copies of her book Haute Couture -The Polaroids of Cathleen Naundorf (Prestel, $60.00) at the preview which takes place today, Wednesday, September 12th from 6-8PM.

Who is Raf Simons?


The New Kid In Town 
At the start of this month, a 44 year old Belgian fashion designer made a smashing debut at Paris’ Fashion Week Haute Couture for the Fall/Winter 2013. His name? Raf Simons. Sure, John Galliano was sorely missed by his followers because of his fierce creativity, but certainly not for his drunken, anti-Semitic tirade.

Above: Grand Entrance: Princess Charlene of Monaco, Bernard Arnault, Delphine Arnault and Isabelle Huppert looked on as the first model made a striking entrance wearing a Dior classic dress with a dyed pattern that reminded me of darkness, and poetry.
2012 seemed a light-year away from 1997, and the ghost of Galliano was nowhere in site during the fashion show which took place at a grand residence in a series of intimate rooms filled with white orchids in one room, deep purple delphiniums in another, along with a mixture of roses. So once the lights came on, the audience was captured by Raf Simons’ vision for Dior, and ultimately witnessed a rebirth of the fashion house’s lustrous history. Instead of his usual runway shows which often find the models parading up and down train stations, and parking lots, the fashion designer showed some finesse by taking the reigns with passion and a little bit of old school drama.
 DIOR’S NOD 
 TO THE 1940s
Raf Simons
Woking that old Dior magic: The detailed, and decorated embroidered top is so charming and romantic. The lean cigarette pants wasn’t bad either!
Raf Simons does have his own menswear collection, but before taking this job as the director of Dior, he’s worked for Jil Sanders as their creative designer in 2005. He was given high praise for his variety of highly coveted pantsuits which were a staple for TV personality Ellen DeGeneres. The New York Times Fashion Writer Cathy Horyn had this to say about his Fall 2007 collection, “On Tuesday a little-known Belgian designer named Raf Simons had the full attention of the fashion world. Mr. Simons’s collection for Jil Sander, his third since becoming creative director 18 months ago, was perfect. It will make everything else, I bet, seem a little contrived, a little clunky, a little silly.” She also considered his talents to be up to par with the likes Azzedine Alaia and Karl Lagerfeld!
Gold Rush: Out of control exquisite pencil skirt and gold weaved top.
So Haute!
Throughout the entire collection, Raf Simons managed to honor the original Dior designs by combining the delicate and complexed textures for a glamorous and smooth look.
Cape town: The audience was clearly mesmerized (not just by the beautiful flowers) and payed rapt attention to the perfection and great details of the garbs. I wondered what Anna Wintour, 
and her daughter Bee Shaffer thought of them all…
Magnificent finale!
Raf Simons made the collection all his own – thread by thread.
La Vie En Rose
This was the entrance to the runway show earlier this month in Paris.
A little over one million flowers were used. How extravagant. How delightful. How brilliant!
Images courtesy of Benoit Tessier for Reuters via The Guardian
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This Week 5 Hottest Events

The show brings together five examples of Swing’s iconic coin furniture, and will serve as the debut of his most recent and ambitious work to date, Murmuration. A fully illustrated catalogue showcasing each of the works from the series, with essays by David Collens, Judd Tully and James Zemaitis, will accompany the exhibition.
Johnny Swing, Murmuration, 2012
May 3, 2012 – June 29, 2012
Opening Reception hosted by Geoffrey Bradfield


The opening reception hosted by Geoffrey Bradfield. Monday May 07, 2012. 6:30 – 8:30pm. Sebastian + Barquet – 601 West 26th Street, 3rd flr. New York NY 10001.

Born in Connecticut in 1961, Johnny Swing lives and works in rural Vermont, though set up his first studio in 1986 in an abandoned gas station on the corner of 2nd street and Avenue B on New York’s Lower East Side. Space 2B served as both workshop and showcase for his and other artists and designers work, and was the venue for his initial experiments with repurposed found objects and furniture. Central to his practice is the importance of his materials, exposing their inherent nature with a witty detachment from their intended utility. Nothing is taken at face value.

Todd Burris, Corso Sienna, 1989
The opening reception for the spellbinding photographs of Todd Burris will take place on Wednesday, May 9th, from 5:30-8:30pm at the Robin Rice Gallery. The exhibition will be at the gallery until June 17th. This is the second collaboration between the artist and Robin Rice, so expect to see a series of beautiful photography which are like a visual dance of contractions. The exhibition is from May 9th to June 17th, 2012. Robin Rice – 325 West 11th Street, New York, NY 10014.
Liz O’Brien, Editions – Vintage-inspired Furniture
Antiques dealer Liz O’Brien debuts her first collection of newly designed, vintage-inspired furniture, lighting and accessories at 1stdibs on Wednesday, May 9th. The pop-up shop opens with a reception at NYDC from 6 to 8 PM. The collection will be on view and for sale from Wednesday, May 9th until Monday, June 4, 2012 at 1stdibs at the New York Design Center, 200 Lexington Avenue, 10th Floor.

The Editions Collection offers a sophisticated, refreshing alternative at exceptional value featuring thoughtfully selected designs inspired by Liz O’Brien’s keen eye and passion for 20th Century art and design. These unique pieces are priced competitively to attract those seeking high style at an accessible price. With her ability to bridge the gap between historical design and contemporary interiors, Editions captures the essence of the great designers of the past with an updated, elegant and practical interpretation. Liz O’Brien is considered one of America’s leading experts in modern design and has forged her reputation as a premier furniture dealer catering to the most respected architects, interior designers, museum curators, and private collectors.
NYC Tribal Art Week® 2012
Traditional arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas take center stage in New York City during the 3rd Annual NYC Tribal Art Week®. Historically, New Yorkers have been among the foremost collectors of tribal art. New York politicians, artists, business leaders, professionals, fashion moguls and celebrities such as Helena Rubinstein, Nelson Rockefeller, Andy Warhol, John Friede, Armand Arman and Robert Mapplethorpe have solidified the international tribal art market rumored to now only exist in Paris. This year NYC Tribal Art Week® has reached a pinnacle and features three major tribal art auctions at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Bonhams as well as a wealth of gallery exhibitions and events focused on tribal art. NYC Tribal Art Week will take place from Thursday, May 7 until Wednesday, May 13, 2012 in New York City.
Participating Galleries include: Cassera Arts Premiers, La Conner, Throckmorton Fine Art, Luz Miriam Toro, Corso Gallery, David Norden African Art, Antwerp Belgium, Oumar Kiende, Wormhole to the Past Gallery, Hemingway African Art. Regular Show Hours – Friday, May 11th, Saturday, May 12th, from 11am – 6:30pm. Sunday, May 13th, from 11am-4:30pm. NYC Tribal Art show VIP Preview To Benefit Miracle House is on Thursday, May 10th from 5:00 -9:00pm at The Bohemian National Hall: 321 E 73rd St New York, NY 10021. Tickets available through Eventbrite. The Official NYC Tribal Art Week and Art Week and After Sotheby’s Auction Roof Terrace Celebration is on Friday 11th May Open 4:00PM – 12:00AM at the Bohemian National Hall, Roof Terrace, 321 E 73rd St New York, NY 10021 (3 blocks from Sotheby’s). Tickets available through Eventbrite.
Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Left: Elsa Schiaparelli. Right: Miuccia Prada, photographed by Guido Harari in 1999.
Photos: Hoyningen-Huené/Vogue/Condé Nast Archive and Guido Harari/Contrasto/Redux
“Fashion is instant language,” Miuccia Prada has said. That gives curators Harold Koda andAndrew Bolton plenty of material for the conversations they’ll imagine between Prada and Elsa Schiaparelli (1890–1973) for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 2012 Costume Institute exhibition. Opening in May, “Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada: On Fashion” will explore the affinities between the two Italian designers from different eras. “Given the role Surrealism and other art movements play in the designs of both Schiaparelli and Prada, it seems only fitting that their inventive creations be explored here at the Met,” said museum director Thomas Campbell in a statement announcing the exhibition. “Schiaparelli’s collaborations with Dalí and Cocteau as well as Prada’s current Fondazione Prada push art and fashion ever closer, in a direct, synergistic, and culturally redefining relationship.” From Media Bistro. Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations at The Metropolitan Museum is on view from Thursday, May 10 through Sunday, August 19, 2012.

The Weekender: Oscars Fashion

America’s Biggest Night of Fashion
I must have been in my late twenties when I read this article in the Wall Street Journal which dealt mostly about what it felt like in tinseltown if you weren’t nominated for an Oscars that year. From what I gathered, the situation can be quite brutal. From going around being completely ignored as if one is wearing a cloak of invisibility, to being virtually marginalized. And what happens if one commits a faux pas and wears the wrong dress at the nation’s biggest fashion night?

Nicole Kidman at The Oscars, 2004
Chanel Couture

Well, you’ll be perceived as a fashion victim, or worse yet – as someone who doesn’t heed to the occasion, and thinks that Oscars night is just about the awards and not about the fashion. This week, I had the pleasure of attending the 6th Annual Meet The Oscars, Grand Central (at The Vanderbilt Hall) where Academy award winner, Melissa Leo was present to mark the occasion. Each of the Oscars on view will depart New York today, en route to the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Los Angeles. Ms. Leo, a native New Yorker, gave the press an enjoyable speech about what it meant to win the best supportive role for her movie, The Fighter, in 2011. She explained how enjoyable it was for her to take her Oscars around, and share the joy with her friends and family.

And knowing that she’ll always be considered for acting roles, because she was now an academy award actress. She wasn’t being presumptuous, she was simply speaking about the realities of things. I can personally tell you that I did get my opportunity to hold this precious statue, and it felt wonderful – even though it was a temporary joy. This iconic object held a power of its own. Once you have it in your hand, it suddenly signifies something much more than a statue, and so began the seduction. It’s quite easy to understand why many actors and actresses feel that Oscars night should only be about receiving the highest honor that the academy of motion pictures will ever bestow on them.  But at the same time, you can imagine that a potential winner would want to look his or her very best while receiving such an honor, yes? This coming Sunday, at the 84th Academy Awards, I hope to see Meryl Streep, whom I predict will win as best actress for her role in the Iron Lady, raise the fashion bar like she’s never done before. It’s clear that Ms. Streep does not care much for fashion, and being a paragon of grace in her field, perhaps she believes she doesn’t have to. But maybe, just maybe, she’ll surprise us all, when we see her take to the red carpet (I wouldn’t hold my breath though). It’s a fashion designer’s dream to compliment the stars with creme de la creme couture, during this special occasion, but unfortunately we’ve seen more than our share of missed opportunities. In modern times, the stars’ fashion sense on the red carpet have been getting dimmer and dimmer. But perhaps this Sunday will be different. Perhaps.
Left: Elizabeth Taylor, 1964, wearing a demure, yet elegant dress by Dior. Right: Grace Kelly, circa 1955, Edith Head gown
Marisa Tomei, 2009
Versace
 Zoe Saldana, 2010
Givenchy couture
Halle Berry, 2011
Marchesa couture
Melissa Leo, 2011
Marc Bouwer

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The Weekender: Elizabeth Taylor auction featured at Christie’s

The auction house devoted all 300,000 square feet of its facility to this museum-quality exhibit of Elizabeth Taylor’s Collections of jewelry, fashion, accessories, fine art, film memorabilia, costumes and decorative items. What can one expect to see at this once in a lifetime exhibition which is divided into four major sections?
Left: La Peregrina, a natural pearl, diamond and ruby necklace by Cartier. Right: Pair of Natural Pearl and diamond ear pendants by Bulgari

The Diamond Room: Which offers an up-close tour through Ms. Taylor’s most iconic jewelry, boasts an exquisite 33.19 carat D-color stunner, called the Elizabeth Taylor Diamond. The Lifetime Achievement Room: A special display of Elizabeth Taylor’s impressive honors and humanitarian awards, intermingled with memorabilia and costumes from her many beloved film roles.
The Icon’s Closet is an awe-inspiring walk through. It is a treasure trove of flawlessly-maintained haute couture and ready-to wear fashion and accessories (many of which the actress brought herself with her own money, and without help from a throng of stylists), with over 200 designer handbags alone. Finally, The Art Gallery – the first comprehensive exhibition of her most impressive fine art collection, includes master works by Van Gogh (valued at $12 Million, it is the priciest item from the entire collection), Frans Hals, Degas, Pissaro, Renoir, and Warhol.
The auction is expected to exceed $50 million in total (I believe that the actual realized figure will quadruple that number). Tickets to the landmark exhibition are on sale now at www.christies.com/elizabethtaylorviews.  Portion of the profits generated by the exhibition admissions, events and select publications related to the exhibitions will be donated to The Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation, which was founded by the beloved actress in 1991.  Ms. Taylor passed away on March 23 from congestive heart failure at the age of 79.
Christie’s
20 Rockefeller Plaza
New York City
212-636-2000

The Essentials: The little black dresses
Photos credited to: Associated Press
Lot 347
A Tiziani black velvet ‘Scorpio’ evening cape labeled ‘Tiziani Roma’, 1968-1969
Estimate: $2,000-$3,000
Lot 52
“The Night of the Iguana Brooch”
A diamond and multi-gem brooch by Jean Shlumberger, Tiffany & Co, circa 1964
Gift from Richard Burton upon the occasion of the premiere of the film Night of the Iguana, August 11, 1964
Estimate: $200,000-$300,000
Lot 1758
A black patent leather shoulder bag labeled ‘Lanvin’, probably 2000s, with an acrylic green marbled handle, magnetic closure and chunky goldtone chain strap, with a black ribbon tie and an interior integrated swivel mirror: 8″ High, 12″ Wide, 3″ Deep
Estimate $300-$500
Photos courtesy of Christie’s Images Ltd. 2011
Making a Statement
Photo credited to: Getty Images
The jaw-dropping Elizabeth Taylor Jewelry Collection which is up for auction this month, finally made its grand appearance at Christie’s. The show is open to the public tomorrow, Saturday, December 3, and ends on Monday, December 12.  Among other things, this exhibit reveals that not only was Dame Taylor a genuine Hollywood icon, but she was also a connoisseur of art and fashion, and of course, her lifetime passion – jewelry. The auction starts on the evening of December 13 with Elizabeth Taylor’s most iconic jewelry. Orianne Collins, jewelry designer and owner of OC Concept Store, hosted the preview event at Christie’s (check out my interview with Ms. Collins).

Photo credit: Getty Images


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Cape Town

The Cloak of Visibility

From its medieval European origin (actually it goes further back) to right into the 21st Century, the cape has always been in vogue. However, 2011 is the year of the cape.

These days, it doesn’t matter where I am, or what time of the day it is, I see stylish men and women crowding the streets of Manhattan, and evening parties with their indispensable capes. And who can blame these fashion-conscious folks for wanting to make such a bold statement? Capes have been fuelling the daily wardrobe of fashionistas because of its simple and elegant lines, and also because they have this costume look about them, which is also very modern. Lately, I’ve asked myself this question: Is the recession responsible for the popularity of the cape? Maybe. The last time this item was so much in demand was in the swinging 60s when people were so optimistic about the future. Perhaps these difficult times are producing a generation of caped crusaders, no?

Lawren Howel
Pringle PreFall 2011
Comme Des Garcons Spring 2012

Louis Vuitton PreFall 2011

Alexis Rodrigues Duarte and Tico Torres

Jean Paul Gaultier Couture Fall 2011
Images from Vogue

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Have You Met Alexander?

New Yorkers will once again experience one of the many joys of living in this fashionable city. The Met’s Costume Institute is getting ready for their May 4th exhibit of the great fashion designer, Alexander McQueen. The show will focus from McQueen’s postgraduate collection, dated back in 1992 to the sad final runway show in February 2010, which took place after his death.

Alexander McQueen and Bjork


This exhibit means so much to McQueen’s devotees who have long since regarded him as one of the main King of Fashion. His designs always pushed the boundaries, and stayed true to their conceptual expression of culture, and identity. To watch the heart racing video from the museum, go to: Alexander McQueen at The Met. The Met will also produce a book from London photographer, Solve Sundsbo: Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty ($45).

Alexander McQueen had a way of making melancholy look so romantic
Photos via The New York Times

Naomi Campbell

McQueen all the way!

Andrew Bolton is the curator behind the McQueen Exhibit
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