THE KARL ECONOMY: Who wouldn’t need a Karl Lagerfeld cardholder?

As The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute prepares to unveil its spring 2023 exhibition, “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” The Met Store is stocking up with a sundry list of things inspired by the late designer. Web shoppers and in-store ones will find the white ponytailed designer’s likeness stamped on all types of merchandise. They also can pick from some co-branded memorabilia that has been created with Chanel, Fendi and the Karl Lagerfeld brand.

As of Monday — days before the show’s May 5 official public opening — shoppers can get first dibs on keepsakes like a $186 Karl Lagerfeld Kokeshi doll and a Chanel silk scarf with one in every of the designer’s sketches of the home’s namesake Coco Chanel. Designer brand-conscious consumers can go for the $950 Fendi Karlito keychain, a $1,250 Chanel Airpod case or $1,400 Chanel fingerless gloves. The latter was a signature search for the designer, who died in 2019 on the age of 85. There are also Chanel Camellia brooches that may retail from $850 to $1,075. Cheaper items could be present in the $99 KL x The Met canvas shopper tote, the $85 KL x The Met cardholder and the $85 KL x Met two-mug set. The $299 KL x Met Store leather doll is little question sure to be a crowd-pleaser, as can be the similarly collaborative $119 black T-shirt.

One of the sought-after items might be the Karl Lagerfeld Bearbrick, which is being sold Stateside for the primary time. There can be a limited run of two,000 of the $7,500 Lagerfeld-esque item. When the design debuted in Paris last 12 months, 1,000 were sold inside a matter of days. Monday’s release can be the finale for the remaining editions.

To get a jump on the Kokeshi doll launch, the consul general of Denmark in Latest York Berit Basse and Lucie Kaas hosted a celebration Friday night in Latest York.

The Met is playing up the Karl factor to the nines — a proven fact that the creative would appreciate. A lot in order that The Met Store can pay homage to Karl Lagerfeld’s iconic office in Paris, where the designer crafted lots of the sketches that can be showcased within the exhibition. Shoppers and browsers will discover a smattering of books which were chosen in collaboration with Librairie 7L, the bookstore and imprint Lagerfeld began in Paris in 1999. The assortment reflects his thirst for poetry, philosophy, art and design. Librairie 7L has also dreamed up a Smythson notebook highlighting one in every of Lagerfeld’s key quotes — “Books must be an on a regular basis affair” — and a 7L notepad together with his preferred drawing paper. Consumers also can buy “Fendi by Lagerfeld,”  a scrapbook-type book with 200 of his sketches drawn from his tenure with the corporate. The tome is being sold in a commemorative wood box; the book also features a poster comprising of fifty,000 minuscule images of his sketches, a DVD, and illustrated booklets.

Showgoers also can buy postcards and prints of a number of the sketches which might be being featured in “A Line of Beauty.” Those that can’t get enough of the show can take home the exhibition catalogue written by Andrew Bolton, Wendy Yu Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, with contributions from Tadao Ando, Anita Briey, Amanda Harlech, Patrick Hourcade and others. — ROSEMARY FEITELBERG

UP ON THE ROOF: Tod’s was one in every of the primary luxury brands on Rodeo Drive to construct a rooftop VIP terrace, and it put it to good use Thursday afternoon.

The Italian brand tapped stylist Elizabeth Stewart to host a lunch, and he or she invited an eclectic group of friends, including Wolk Morais designers Brian Wolk and Claude Morais; Katherine Ross Govan and sister Jane Ross; Elaine Irwin Penske; Janice Min; Irena Medavoy; George Kotsiopoulos; Elizabeth Wiatt; Lisa Ling, and Marlien Rentmeester.

The event began with a Champagne-fueled shopping frenzy for Tod’s classic driving loafers, with many guests donning latest pairs and leaving the shoes they got here in behind to be boxed up. The brand’s squishy Gommini leather ballet flats were also on the menu. Everyone was having a lot fun trying on shoes it was difficult to prod the bunch upstairs for lunch.

On the roof, there was a toast to Stewart, image maker for Cate Blanchett, Viola Davis, Elizabeth Olsen and others, who squeezed in her hosting duties between Met Gala fittings.

A longtime friend of the brand, Stewart was looking very “Annie Hall” in a beige blazer, white vest and Tod’s T Timeless fisherman sandals. She had just come off an all-nighter photo shoot, styling the Wolk Morais designers’ next collection, which can be presented in June.

Govan was also wearing a pantsuit, custom made for her by the Los Angeles designers, who’ve made a lot of fans in Hollywood with their tailoring.

Between the salad course and the essential, the chit-chat veered to summer vacations, which most have yet to plan. Why? Between so many upcoming events and runway shows in L.A., there just isn’t time yet. — BOOTH MOORE

ALL ABOUT MOTHER’S DAY: On Thursday afternoon, the Waverly Inn opened for a rare lunch service to have fun the Lingua Franca and John Hardy Mother’s Day collaboration.

“This place has fed me, literally and figuratively,” said Lingua Franca founder Rachelle Hruska MacPherson. The brand’s newly opened town house headquarters are positioned just a number of blocks away from the favored restaurant.

The brand new “Mother Franca Project” includes embroidered cashmere sweaters and a customizable John Hardy necklace, which encompasses a sterling silver pendant that could be engraved with the initials of the wearer’s nearest and dearest. Contained in the Waverly Inn, several Lingua Franca embroiderers were at work customizing cashmere sweaters for lunch guests, lots of whom were already donning the John Hardy necklace.

“This collab is de facto to have fun moms and motherhood,” said MacPherson during lunch, noting that she became aware of John Hardy creative chairman Reed Krakoff while working as an assistant at Baron Capital Management, prior to founding GuestofaGuest.com and her fashion brand. “I finally got to satisfy [Krakoff] 15 years later, within the flesh, and he delivered,” added MacPherson. “The thing with Reed is he’s so excited to create really fun products. It’s fun to be around people who find themselves excitable and passionate.”

Krakoff, who joined John Hardy in fall 2022 after 4 years as chief artistic officer for Tiffany & Co., noted that he and his wife Delphine have been longtime fans of Lingua Franca, and that the collaboration was ultimately born out of friendship.

“I began to do some latest things with John Hardy, determine how one can reinvent that brand, and the concept of expertise and customization and the laid-back-by-the-pool attitude of each brands gave the look of they mesh rather well together,” said Krakoff.

“John Hardy has an artisan community in Bali of about 400 artisans — and as you’ll be able to see, Rachelle has even some artisans here today embroidering sweaters. So it gave the look of there have been lots of similarities by way of how we each approach design. Once we began talking it really made sense,” he added. “Most significantly, it’s been easy and fun and collaborative — as these items must be.” — KRISTEN TAUER

GUCCI’S WORLD: “I’m undecided if I’m in Florence or Shanghai,” said Chris Lee, Gucci‘s global brand ambassador, at Gucci Cosmos‘ launch party on Thursday night.

The exhibition, which encompasses a larger-than-life dome modeled after the Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence and 7 other awe-inducing circular rooms that explore Gucci’s house codes via the artistic lens of Es Devlin, opened to the general public on Friday at West Bund Art Center, a former aircraft factory in Shanghai.

Shu Qi, the award-winning Chinese actress, appeared in an emerald sequined mermaid gown, looking regal as usual. “I look ahead to an eye-opening experience,” said Shu. “a great exhibition could be so mood-lifting.”

Chang Chen, best known for his work in auteur Hsiao-hsien Hou’s works “The Assassin” and “Three Times,” also made a surprise appearance on the event. The actor, who’s preparing for a theater show launching this September, said he was surprised by the quantity of multimedia content on the show. “My favorite room is the Archivio, in addition to Cabinet of Wonders hidden inside Archivio; it’s stuffed with surprises,” said Chen.

Ai Tominaga, the Japanese model who hasn’t visited Shanghai for the reason that pandemic three years ago, said she particularly enjoyed Cabinet of Wonders, which “represents Gucci’s heart.”

Xiao Zhan, the Chinese actor and singer whose big break got here when he starred within the 2019 drama series “The Untamed,” said he could feel the novel power of Gucci’s “timeless appeal” when visiting the show. “You’ll be able to feel that the brand is bursting with imagination and creativity,” said Xiao.

Greater than 20 celebrities — including brand ambassadors Liu Wen, Ni Ni, Wen Qi; friends of the home Cecilia Boey, Thai actor Billkin, Korean singer Lai Kuanlin, Chinese actresses Song Jia and Vanda Margraf, DJ Yihan “Chace” Zhu; members from the 11-member boy band Into1, including Mika Hashizume, Kornchid Boonsathitpakdee, more widely often known as Nine, Santa Uno, Lin Mo and Liu Zhang — showed up on the launch party.

Once inside, in an auditorium-like compartment of the factory, guests mingled and enjoyed a surprise performance by Gucci global brand ambassador Lu Han. Wearing a silver sequined blazer, the previous South Korean boyband member belted out a rendition of “Lost Stars,” which was followed by an Into1 performance. — DENNI HU

NEW FACE: Adèle Exarchopoulos has been named a face of Yves Saint Laurent Beauté in France, where she fronts the Couture Color Clutch, a latest palette of eye makeup.

YSL Beauté in an announcement described her as an icon of a generation, who breaks codes and reinvents the principles of tomorrow — for beauty, included.

“Adèle is an incredible artist, who throughout her profession has pushed her limits, dared and adapted, while remaining true to her personality,” said Zak Yopp, managing director of YSL Beauté France, within the statement.

“She inspires us. She embodies Yves Saint Laurent Beauté’s vision for the longer term of beauty: limitless, unique, lucid, radical and modern,” he continued.

Exarchopoulos believes makeup can assist boost self-confidence.

“Yes, and it is vitally necessary to connect with your individual strength,” she said, adding that having a diversified product offering, for everybody, can also be key for her.

At age 29, Exarchopoulos has already appeared in 20 movies, and garnered greater than 1.5 million followers on Instagram.

She was propelled into the international highlight in 2013, when at age 20 she shared the Palme d’Or — the Cannes Film Festival’s top prize — with director Abdellatif Kechiche and costar Léa Seydoux for the coming-of-age drama “Blue Is the Warmest Color.” — JENNIFER WEIL

CURTAIN RAISER: Paris-based specialty embroiderer Atelier Montex has worked with French contemporary artist Xavier Veilhan on the behest of Chanel to create the backdrop for the formal naming ceremony of actor Maholo Terajima, the primary French-Japanese kabuki performer.

The ten-year-old actor, who began his profession aged 4, will take the stage name of Onoe Maholo I on Tuesday, when he makes his debut in a play titled “Oto Kiku Maholo no Wakamusha” (or Maholo, the young warrior of Otowaya in Japanese), at Tokyo’s Kabuki-za theater as a part of the Danjuro-Kikugoro festival or “Dankikusai” that runs until May 27.

The monumental traditional “iwai maku” curtain that spans the length of the stage features an abstract pixelated motif alongside Terajima’s name and family crest, in a design imagined by Veilhan.

For Aska Yamashita, artistic director of the Chanel-owned embroidery specialist, this project had “a sentimental value with a robust symbolism,” given her dual French and Japanese heritage. “Discovering and making a reference to half of my origins the 12 months I turn 50 — being more French than Japanese in my every day life — to have fun young Maholo, a rare binational actor to make his official debut in kabuki, is a source of great pride,” she told WWD ahead of the ceremony.

She described working with Veilhan as a “beautiful encounter” that resulted in an intricate mixture of traditional and novel techniques.

Some 8,900 organza sequins in a multicolored palette were laser-cut and individually stitched, while Terajima’s name and family crest were embroidered using a Cornely machine to realize a trompe-l’oeil calligraphy effect.

The 25.4-meter-long and 5.3-meter-high curtain was a challenge that required 800 hours to finish, and needed to be worked as 12 distinct segments. “Moderately than working on tables as we normally would to print the embroidery design, we needed to work on the bottom,” recalled Yamashita. “For different organza sequins, we needed to unroll and re-roll the panels on a table large enough for 3-meter-wide segments.”

Terajima is the son of award-winning Japanese actress Shinobu Terajima and French art director Laurent Ghnassia; and grandson of kabuki legend Onoe Kikugoro VII, who was designated a Living National Treasure by the Japanese government in 2003.

Originating within the seventeenth century Edo period, kabuki performances mix drama, dance and music, with male actors playing roles of any gender and age, using highly stylized costumes, masks and makeup to embody each character. — LILY TEMPLETON

STELLA’S SOCIETY: The Society Management has signed Stella Maxwell.

“Change in all things is nice like lemonade,” the model told WWD in an announcement. “That first part is Aristotle, however the lemonade part is all me. I’m very excited to be working with the Society family. I even have been with Elite Paris for a few years, so it feels very natural to be working inside their network. “

The talent management company, the U.S. division of Elite Model Management, has been adding to its roster. This news comes after the agency signed Pamela Anderson this month. Launched in 2013, The Society Management has worked with the likes of Karlie Kloss, Kendall Jenner, Irina Shayk, Angus Cloud, Josephine Skriver, Jaden and Willow Smith, Amber Valletta and Liu Wen.

“The Society Management is honored to welcome Stella Maxwell to our roster. Stella is a fashion icon that has had an excellent profession through the years inside the fashion sector, in addition to along with her admirable advocacy work,” the corporate noted.

Maxwell, born in Belgium, was “discovered” while at university in Latest Zealand. The 32-year-old has been in campaigns for brands including Hugo Boss, Karl Lagerfeld, Off White, Tom Ford Beauty, Tommy Hilfiger and Victoria’s Secret. She has walked on runways for Alexander McQueen, Burberry, Chanel, Fendi, Jacquemus, Jean Paul Gaultier, Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu and Versace. She’s been on the duvet of varied Vogues, including Vogue U.S., in addition to V Magazine and CR Fashion Book and within the pages of Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Love, i-D, Glamour and Interview.

She’s also collaborated with fashion labels on capsule collections, working with RVCA and The Kooples.

Outside fashion, she has been an advocate for LGBTQ rights, serving as an envoy for GLAAD, in addition to a supporter of amfAR. — RYMA CHIKHOUNE