LYRA MAG.

 Parker Meridian Hotel, NYC At the most recent FFANY show in early February, we stole some moments to preview the elegant Spanish footwear brand MAGNANNI --- A family owned multi-generations' entity known for its luxe hand antiquing, supple texture of the fine leathers...and somewhat conservative silhouettes "with a twist" for the modern guy who doesn't want to look at an image of himself in 10 years (or five...) and cringe...at the shoes he was wearing.  As befits a winter of serious slosh and snow--- not only in the former colonies--- but also in Western Europe, men's boots came up big again...for early Fall deliveries. PLUS---men's boots are considered acceptable forms of footwear even for traditional office settings...and we saw several styles that fit that bill---and come with new lasts for the upcoming season. The above boot has some typical outdoor/hiker details---a padded collar, rugged outersole--- but the hand burnished p...

Words/Boutique Images by Judith Ecochard Design Miami Images Courtesy of Fendi CONTEMPORARY CRAFTSMANSHIP, TRADITIONAL HANDMADE TECHNIQUES PLUS MODERN TECHNOLOGY Although luxury goods (and not the mass market kind, ahem) are truly available on a global basis, the values and customs of those customers from around the world, still differs greatly. As an example --- having spent time/lived in Western Europe…we felt how integral culture and the arts are--- to the way of life over there…we can’t think of any country where school budget cuts start with the arts programs for example. It would be like choking off the oxygen supply. We thought about this as we stepped inside the spaciously elegant Fendi store on Fifth Avenue…to take in a one day only “live’ installation of geometric functional sculptures based on nature’s quasi-crystals-molecular structures that never repeat, fyi--- created by expanded polystyrene foam, coated with industrial Line-X spray --- and now covered with the ex...

OUTDOOR RETAILER, SLC Bergans of Norway is an iconic apparel/gear brand in its native country...highly regarded for it well made performance wear/outdoor attire. Not just for racing, IMHO It conjures up a cross between North Face and the premium label Canada Goose---both popular brands in NYC... but over in Oslo, Bergan, Norway etc-Bergans is truly the dominant collection for outerwear. Recently (re?)introduced to the American market, we thought that the designs we saw last season offered superior element-tough separates---but that some of the details, particularly the oversized logo emblem would have to be tweaked for USA-ers.  We notice--- as we travel to European tradeshows and fashion events---a love of those logos across the Pond---akin to some of America's drool fest over the oversized Ralph Lauren Polo Player ---we feel THAT- really got dated, fast IMHO. ANYWAY  this outing, we saw plenty of items in Bergan's F/W 2011 we liked/loved---and thought would/ cou...

Plus-Auction on Artnet.com to Benefit ACRIA Words/Images Judith Ecochard Industria Studios West 12 th Street, NYC It didn’t surprise us that Tumi, the upscale luggage brand that’s “no longer just for your dad” ----or in our case our business peers, maybe HA HA--- ...Would have a launch so well executed---as a pal of ours went to Harvard B with the founder… Laser art on the wall-our cat would'a freaked And so a recent rebranding of these haulers, known for their quality and insanely amazing customer service...is/has something else extra to marvel at... Wall lined with Images of Inspiration Lucky us, we got there right at the start and had a great time chatting with New York native, and cool, cool, cool-still livin' in the Bronx, John “Crash” Matos. Not that the music was so loud ( I Like It Like That ---very appropriate---as was the Don Julio Tequila's pours)... We had an oh yeah moment ---when Crash told us...