CONTENTS
SPRING/SUMMER 2023
66 BEHIND THE COVER
Model Kristina Romanova talks fashion, motherhood, and her entrepreneurial spirit.
69 MATTER OF STYLE
News from Bal Harbour Shops and beyond.
80 RISKY BUSINESS
While many of us have ditched the office space, we still like a little structure in our style
84 LET THE SUN SHINE
Bright new finds from Bally trousers to Alexandre Birman sandals and a few lemony bags, too.
86 SILVER LININGS
Take a shine to Spring’s most lustrous bags, boots, and slingbacks
88 HEAT WAVE
From scarlets to tangerines, this power palette is on fire.
90 ALL THAT GLITTERS
Macro-baubles, embellished bags, and sequin-spangled sneakers are cause for celebration
94 THERE IS NOTHING BETTER THAN A MOMCATION
Swapping the strollers and tantrums for some solitude and zen will make you an even better, more balanced mom. Here’s how to slip away in style.
98 STYLE SETTERS
Jessica Schuster, Sofia Tcherassi, Zoë de Givenchy, and Sarah Arison share what’s on their spring agenda .
108 BOHEMIAN ROYALTY
French author Anne Berest uncovers a lineage she never knew existed in her new book, “The Postcard.”
114 AN ATYPICAL ATELIER
Fashion illustrator Dani Wilde infuses his work with a playful sense of surrealism and the colors of the warm Spanish sun
118 ASK THE EXPERT
Invest in the classics, and other sage advice from celebrity stylist Jamie Mizrahi
SAINT LAURENT sheer tank dress and gold cuff 305.868.4424.CONTENTS
122 ENGINEERING A CLASSIC
Though his shoes can be described as fanciful, sexy and joyous, for designer Gianvito Rossi, every sketch is informed by functionality.
126 TIMELESS
There’s a depth to watch collecting that is both cerebral and emotional, and a community that’s bound by a shared dedication to the artistry that lives within each timepiece
128 GREEK REVIVAL
The Spring 2023 runways offered an update on draping worthy of a modern-day Greek goddess
132 ONE EASY PIECE
Launched with a single look, Veronica Beard’s founders have set out to make getting dressed a joy.
134 15 QUESTIONS FOR PILAR GUZMÁN
Author, editor, and unofficial decorator, the former editor in chief of Condé Nast Traveler is a gold mine of advice, from office politics to home renovations.
142 BURIED TREASURE
How does a chance encounter in a Roman bookstore evolve into a critically acclaimed film? Bruce Weber shares the story behind The Treasure of His Youth
148 PERIPATETIC PALATE
Chef CJ Jacobson brings the culmination of his travels into the kitchen at Aba
150 COUTURE CONFECTIONS
There’s a new demand for a time-honored technique in the pastry world. Vintage cake making is having a comeback. We visit one dessert atelier to get a taste for the craft
158 A CHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE
At just 22 years old, Sophia Wilson is already commanding an audience for her tender images that capture the spirit of her generation. She can now count a few more amongst her fans as this year’s recipient of the Bal Harbour Shops Emerging Fashion Photography Award.
Ibiza beckons with new and storied properties and crystalline waters.KARL, CURATED
The first Monday in May gathers the brightest stars of fashion and culture in the halls of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and this year, the Costume Institute shines a light on the late couturier Karl Lagerfeld.
MATT ER OF STYLE
“Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” on view from May 5 through July 16, will examine Lagerfeld’s illustrious career and expansive portfolio of garments and illustrations. The 150 garments on display will survey his tenures at Chanel, Fendi, Chloé, Patou, Balmain, and his eponymous label, a true testament of “Lagerfeld’s complex working methodology,” according to curator Andrew Bolton. The curation finds its center in painter William Hogarth’s theory of the “line of beauty”—dividing the collection into the “straight line,” the “serpentine line,” and the “satirical line.” Each “line” reflects an element of Lagerfeld’s iconoclastic taste and artistic voice: his interest in modernism, admiration of 18th-century aesthetics, and playful, “razor-sharp” wit.
Let It Rain
At Burberry, the “first creative expression” of Creative Director Daniel Lee signaled a new era honoring both its heritage and its future. With a hand from filmmaker Tyrone Lebon—who previously collaborated with Lee during his tenure at Bottega Veneta—the creative director featured a class of British superstars like Skepta and Raheem Sterling alongside Burberry’s new logo. The design is a nod to the Burberry emblem inaugurated in 1901, the “Equestrian Knight” brandishing a banner that reads “Prorsum,” or “forwards” in Latin—a fitting motif for Lee’s much anticipated directorship at Burberry.
ANIMAL KINGDOM
In Coco Chanel’s preserved apartment at 31 rue Cambon in Paris, there’s a bonafide animal kingdom of priceless objets. Grazing by an inlaid-brick fireplace, a stag and doe stand discreetly. Guarding a sofa, a camel figurine looks stoically across the room. Garnishing panels and screens, birds dart and dash, forever in relief. It’s to this realm of historic fauna that Chanel’s creative director Virginie Viard and her runway staging collaborator, the multimedia artist Xavier Veilhan, looked for the house’s Spring 2023 Couture presentation. Viard’s reverie, as a result, found life as embroideries of kittens, corgis, rabbits, deer, and iconic camellias, which can be seen on elegant tops, short tweed suits, or coat dresses. Veilhan’s vision came to fruition as oversized mammalian sculptures on the catwalk. Chanel Couture collections traditionally close with a bride —and this time, waist to veil, she was wrapped in a cloud of swallows. Throughout, a lighthearted verve inspired by majorette dancers added pep. Of Spring, Viard said: “I like when the marvelous bursts forth.” It was marvelous, indeed. —NICK REMSEN
the SUN SHINE
BY DANIELLE NAERSTYLE SETTERS
Paco Rabane hat, available at The Webster
Jessica Schuster
INTERIOR DESIGNER
“From a young age, I was inspired by my parents’ and grandmother’s sense of style and interest in art and design,” says Jessica Schuster.
“While other girls were getting their Vogue subscriptions, I was reading Architectural Digest and World of Interiors.” The Boston native founded her namesake interior design studio 11 years ago, after studying at NYU and Parson’s School of Design, and working for Kelly Wearstler and Tui Pranich. “Our work is traditionally grounded, painted with unexpected touches, and inspired by vintage form and design,” says the New York-based designer, whose projects span the Hamptons, Palm Beach, and LA. Recently, Schuster unveiled her first-ever hotel design, Esmé and Casa Matanza, a pair of neighboring boutique properties located in Miami Beach’s historic Española Way.
—AMANDA EBERSTEINWhat beauty items do you swear by?
I love the foam cleanser from MBR, which I use day and night, and Isdinceutics Melatonik oil, which I layer with the crème masque vernix from Biologique Recherche. For makeup, I wear Chantecaille’s Future Skin Cushion foundation—the formula is light and not fussy. I also love Christian Dior’s Diorshow mascara in brown.
What is your favorite beach ensemble?
What is your go-to outfit for work?
When on the clock, my standard uniform is a cashmere sweater, Khaite jeans, and my Chanel loafers or The Row zipper boots. My mornings are always about business (that’s when I’m most creative), so I don’t have a ton of time to think about my outfit. Having a uniform is the easiest way to get out the door and to the office!
How would you describe your Miami style?
would you describe
I like to mix vintage pieces with designers and in Miami, I love to shop for more playful and fun pieces with a little more pattern and color than normal. Some of my go-to spots are Etro, Bottega Veneta, Prada, Saint Laurent, Chanel and the Webster.
A fabulous pareo, coupled with a great bikini, hat, and Saint Laurent Tribute mules in ostrich-embossed leather.
What jewelry do you never take off?
The go-to watch I never leave home without is a gold Bulgari Serpenti watch. I also wear thin gold hoops most days because they are sleek and effortless.
What Spring trends are you most excited about?
I love denim, so I am excited to see all of the fabulous new creations from lace-up to patchwork to fabulous ruched-denim jackets. Etro and Chloé have some great looks.
What are your go-to shoes for day?
For day, I wear Chanel slingbacks—I have them in many colors. They’re easy and dress up even the most casual look.
What is your favorite Bal Harbour restaurant?
Makoto. I like the entire menu and could eat there every day!
Go-to luggage?
I have long used Rimowa and have always loved it. My carry-on is a traveling scrapbook of sorts—I like to apply bumper stickers from each trip I take.
PORTRAIT BY CHRISTIAN HARDER Chanel glitter and grossgrain slingback Saint Laurent Tribute mules Rimowa Essential Cabin Khaite jeans, available at The Webster Makoto's sashimi omakase A look from Chanel's Spring/ Summer collection A look from Etro's Spring/ Summer collection Bottega Veneta Sardine bag El Salón restaurant at the Esmé hotel in Miami Beach PHOTO BY JASON VARNEY (MAKOTO); CHANEL, THE WEBSTER, RIMOWA, ESME, ETRO, BULGARI, BOTTEGA VENETAHOME
HARBOUR
PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEWART SHINING
CHLOÉ silver metallic dress and platform sandals, 305.861.1909; MARYSIA
LEHI bottoms in black, available at SAKS FIFTH AVENUE , 305.865.1100 and NEIMAN MARCUS, 305.865.6161.
182 BAL HARBOUR
CHANEL blazer and sequin gym shorts, 305.868.0550; SAINT LAURENT sunglasses, 305.868.4424.OF MY PARENTS WERE ENTREPRENEURS, SO I
I GOT THE DESIRE TO BE INDEPENDENT FROM THEM. MY PARENTS WOULD ALWAYS TELL ME, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS IN YOUR LIFE YOU SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE A PASSION AND PERSONAL GOALS .”
“BOTH
GUESS
TALENT: Kristina Romanova
PHOTOGRAPHER: Stewart Shining
STYLIST: Tracy Taylor
HAIR AND MAKEUP: Barbara Moura
PHOTO CONSULTANT: Justin Marquis
VIDEOGRAPHER: Jerome Duran
STYLIST ASSISTANT: Kendall Meleski
BAL HARBOUR 191
Models in a rainbow of looks, backstage at the Spring/ Summer 2023 runway show. 192 BAL HARBOURSWISS WONDER
IN MARKING ITS CENTENNIAL, AKRIS IS LOOKING FORWARD AND BACK. WRITER ADRIENNE GAFFNEY CATCHES UP WITH CREATIVE DIRECTOR ALBERT KRIEMLER JUST AS THE PARTY IS GETTING STARTED.
or us, this centennial is an incentive to pause, a point in which everything can renew itself,” says Albert Kriemler, the creative director of Akris. “Let’s call it a rebeginning.” One hundred years (and some change) after Alice KriemlerSchoch of St. Gallen, Switzerland, began selling polka-dot aprons under the name Akris, the business has become one of the most celebrated Swiss luxury brands. It’s a powerhouse line known for its expert approach to dressing professional women, and its popularity among the most stylish, including Cate Blanchett, Amal Clooney, and Charlene, Princess of Monaco, a longtime Akris loyal. The brand’s fabrics are famous—St. Gallen has long been a textile hub—and, despite its size, it uses no social media. Akris’s history and its Swiss roots shape the work that Kriemler, Alice’s grandson, does and the company is marking this year’s anniversary with exuberance throughout the year, a notable departure for a typically subtle brand.
Akris’s tradition as a family business is one that distinguishes it from its peers. Kriemler works alongside his brother Peter Kriemler, the company’s president. While a handful of companies remain under their original ownership, few have family members in key management roles. Working with relatives isn’t for everyone and can often lead to strife, but Kriemler only sees an ability to communicate with ease and a shared understanding. He can’t conceive of doing things any di erently. “I think a family is a very good prerequisite for a company,” o ers the designer. “After working closely together for so many years, my brother Peter and I can sense each other’s reactions and understand one another almost without words. Since our first day together at the fashion house, we have met every morning to catch up.”
Kriemler credits his brand’s cult status among high-powered women to the philosophy on which Akris was founded. “A hundred years ago, my grandmother Alice set out to define a woman’s presence and enhance her charisma and that very much remains my mission today,” he says. “I design for a woman with purpose—women who are committed to make a di erence and create change, that have an authentic voice. Our mission is to enhance a woman’s confidence through the way she dresses, to make a woman feel her best self through what she wears—determined and free, so she can express her own personality.” He celebrates Miami style. “There is something free about Miami. Colorful, relaxed always, yet still dressed in its way,” he describes.
“WITHOUT MY PATTERNMAKERS , TAILORS , CUTTERS , KNITTERS , OR BAGMAKERS —OUR MASTERS AS I LIKE TO CALL THEM—A COLLECTION WOULD REMAIN THEORETICAL, WISHFUL THINKING ONLY.”
in Paris, its for Akris is from and
In October, Akris, the only Swiss brand to show in Spring 2023 collection in a location imbued with special Kriemler. This show was a chance to celebrate where where it is going. “We waited six months for a confirmation of that venue, the yard between the Palais de Tokyo and the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris overlooking the Ei el Tower,” he explains. The show, a testament to the brand’s love of art, was staged alongside a vivid rainbow-colored 2011 sculpture by Ugo Rondinone. The show closed with a series of silk beige georgette gowns with streaming ribbons in colors echoing the sculpture. Kriemler is an avid collector of contemporary art and, since 2008, has regularly used the work of artists like painter Carmen Herrera, filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, and the Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron as inspiration for collections.
The collection also included nine archival pieces from Kriemler’s first years at the house. Uncovered by Kriemler and his team while preparing for the centennial, the discovery transformed his conception of the show. “We knew right away we had to work with them, because they looked even more modern today than back then,” he says of the 1978 cashmere wrap coat, the 1983 pants, and a lace blouse from 1989. “They just defied time and we wanted to reveal this timelessness that is so essential to Akris. So, we decided to show these original archive pieces even on the runway,” he explains. “Further looks in the collection were inspired by old paper patterns we found and refashioned. I liked the idea that with this fresh perspective, the past becomes the future.”
“FOR US, THIS CENTENNIAL IS AN INCENTIVE TO PAUSE , A POINT IN WHICH EVERYTHING CAN RENEW ITSELF. LET’S CALL IT A REBEGINNINGCLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Backstage at Spring/Summer 2023; Kriemler designed costumes for the Hamburg State Opera’s staging of Beethoven Project II, choreographed by John Neumeier; models in archival looks; a look from Spring/Summer 2023.
AT RIGHT: Looks from Spring/Summer 2015;
BELOW: The view from above at the Spring/Summer 2022 ruwnay presentation.
This year, Akris put out “Akris—A Century in Fashion Selbstverständlich,” a 162-page book that looks at the brand’s values and the critical moments in its history. It was edited by Albert and Peter Kriemler and includes contributions from fashion journalists like Nicole Phelps and Jessica Iredale. Kriemler sees it as a way to articulate the brand’s history and evolution and celebrate its Swiss heritage. At its core, Akris is a team e ort and Kriemler celebrates everyone that brings it to life. “Fashion is never a solo love a air. A collection is always a collective achievement,” he says. “Without my patternmakers, tailors, cutters, knitters, or bagmakers—our masters as I like to call them—a collection would remain theoretical, wishful thinking only.”
PHOTO (OPPOSITE PAGE, TOP LEFT) BY IWAN BAAN; IMAGES COURTESY OF AKRISred
Spring/Summer
2023,
210 BAL HARBOUR
Maximilian Davis’s debut collection for Ferragamo, was nothing short of sizzling.HOT
BY JAY CHESHESLast September, Maximilian Davis, the 27-year-old British designer recruited to shake up the Ferragamo fashion house, sent shimmery red ensembles down a matching red gravel runway in central Milan. Models in tight bodysuits with fetish-wear detailing gave way to billowy dresses in flowing chi on. The updated glamour of his debut collection paid tribute to the label’s Hollywood heyday, when Marilyn Monroe strode the red carpet in Salvatore Ferragamo’s custom-made red crystal pumps, while signaling a bold new direction for a 95-year-old brand best known for its women’s shoes and leather accessories.
In the courtyard of the 17th-century seminary building chosen as the backdrop for Davis’s first Ferragamo fashion show, Daniella Vitale sat on a stone bench, surrounded by Salvatore’s heirs, taking it all in. “It was such a moving moment,” she says, “to see the Ferragamo family so excited about this new chapter.”
Vitale, appointed North American CEO for the family-run business in late 2021, has been on the front lines of fashion for nearly 30 years—with stints at Armani, Gucci, Barney’s, and Ti any. She’s rarely been as energized by the prospect of big change at a brand. “It’s such a huge opportunity to really take this company to a completely di erent level,” she says, “not diluting anything that had been done before, of course.”
For Vitale, the C-suite appointment was a homecoming of sorts. She began her fashion career at Ferragamo, after responding cold to a job posting fresh out of college. She started in merchandising, originally working under Salvatore’s son Massimo in the New York office. His mother Wanda, widowed at 39 in 1960, was still a steady hand behind the scenes, assisting her eldest son Ferruccio, then chairman of the company, at the headquarters in Florence. Ferruccio’s son James, now director of the leather goods division, was Vitale’s intern back then. “It was very family oriented,” she says, of Ferragamo in the early ’90s. “It
DANIELLA VITALE HELPS USHER IN A NEW ERA AT FERRAGAMO—WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM ONE OF FASHION’S MOST IN DEMAND DESIGNERS OF THE MOMENT.
feels very different now—we’re over a billion-dollar company, and very global.”
Vitale’s return to Ferragamo followed executive stints at Gucci and Barney’s—she oversaw the shutdown of Barney’s, in 2019, as the retailer’s first female CEO. After the upheavals of the pandemic, she was looking for a new business challenge when Domenico De Sole, her old boss at Gucci—now chairman of Tom Ford—called in to lobby on Ferragamo’s behalf. “He said, ‘they’re really looking to transform the company, to grow much more exponentially, they’re ready to scale,’” she says. “It was a sort of no-brainer. It really made sense to be part of that.”
A few months after she started back at the company, Marco Gobbetti joinedfrom Burberry, as Ferragamo’s new global CEO. He fast-tracked Davis’s hire as new creative director. The designer, born into a TrinidadianJamaican family in Manchester, had built a cult following with his own label, Maximilian, launched in 2020—and embraced by Rihanna, Dua Lipa, and Kim Kardashian, among others.
Though Davis arrived at Ferragamo last spring with a strong point of view—and a mandate to reach a much younger audience— he began his new job with humble respect for the brand. “He had done his homework, had done an incredible amount of research on the company and its legacy,” says Vitale. “He knew that it was an opportunity to help modernize this, to speak to a new audience, but he also did an incredible job of protecting the codes of the house… most designers want to come in and blow the whole thing up.”
Though Florence, where Salvatore launched his label in 1927, is still the spiritual home of the company, Ferragamo’s creative center has shifted north to Milan. The corporate offices, and Davis’s atelier, are a short stroll from the seminary building where his first collection debuted. Long abandoned by the Catholic church, the building emerged in December—after a four-year renovation—as the Ferragamo family’s new 73-room flagship Portrait hotel, with new shops and restaurants around its stone courtyard.
Along with Davis’s first collection, a new brand identity debuted there on the runway last fall—with a new name and updated logo (founder Salvatore will no longer be listed on labels), and a new signature shade of Pantone red. “The palette is much more modern,” says
Vitale. “In terms of packaging, everything is going to change. That’s not an easy decision after almost 100 years.”
The new Ferragamo that began rolling out last fall will continue its global push into next year, as the entire company undergoes a Davisled transformation. “He has complete creative control over everything,” says Vitale. Updates on some of the most iconic Ferragamo designs, like the Vara shoe, with its signature bow on top—first introduced in 1978—will begin
hitting store shelves this year. “It’s done in a way that has a really modern sensibility,” says Vitale, of Davis’s new take on the shoe style, “but it won’t take anything away from that classic consumer who is still wearing it today.”
Renovated boutiques, reflecting the new era at Ferragamo, will begin opening soon. “We have such a unique opportunity,” says Vitale, “to reach a completely new audience. Maybe Ferragamo has never even been on their radar before.”
“
MAXIMILIAN KNEW THAT THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HELP MODERNIZE , TO SPEAK TO A NEW AUDIENCE, BUT HE ALSO DID AN INCREDIBLE JOB OF PROTECTING THE CODES OF THE HOUSE.”