BINN THERE, DONE THAT: Tom Binns can now add handbag designer to his résumé. This season the designer is launching four leather styles, all based on a simple teardrop shape paved with spiky chrome studs. He also has a T-shirt collaboration with designer John Eshaya, formerly a buyer for Ron Herman and Fred Segal stores.
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS: Timepieces will be de rigueur at Louis Vuitton’s show on Wednesday. The luxury house has warned pokey editors of a 2:30 p.m. sharp start time — with doors closing at 2:20 p.m. Paris time. The punctual show is to be streamed live on Facebook and, for the first time, on iPhones.
COAT TALES: Max Mara unveiled a revamped Paris boutique at 31 Avenue Montaigne on Sunday along with its Max Mara Atelier collection of high-end coats and the new Margaux bag. The 5,460-square-foot shop’s oak floors and display units (taken from a 19th century Argentinean stadium) and interior courtyard equipped with a vertical garden proved the ideal venue to present the outerwear. Highlights included a quilted goose down coat in pure camel hair with an astrakhan collar. Meanwhile, forget about coat checks: The maxisized Margaux bag is designed to be big enough to fit one of the Atelier pieces.
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BLOCK PARTY: Pierre Hardy hosted a party at his Place du Palais Bourbon shop Friday night for to unveil his new Cube Perspective Canvas leather line. “I rarely use prints in my collections, however, this particular one, which crosses art history, from Venetian cathedrals to Sol Lewitt’s abstract art — I manipulated the proportions a little and made it mine,” said Hardy, adding he hopes it becomes a brand signature. The collection of handbags and leather goods were placed among a multimedia art installation that included a racy video with a female voice asking viewers about her physical attributes. Among the revelers were actress Amira Casar, musician Joey Starr, Rick Owens, L’wren Scott and Ines de la Fressange.
SITE SPECIFIC: Womanity.com — billed as a platform for exchange among woman — is the latest brainchild of designer Thierry Mugler. Content comprises text, video and photography, while sections include “Womanity is…,” in which women are asked to describe what the word means to them. Seven versions of womanity.com were launched Monday worldwide in six languages: English, French, Spanish, Germany, Italian and Portuguese. The aim, according to Mugler’s parent company Groupe Clarins, is to have 2 million contributors by yearend.