DIRECT ACCESS

BY ROBERT JANJIGIAN

DURING THE pandemic, an influx of businesses and people escaping COVID-19 hot spots changed the tenor of life in the ever-tranquil and notoriously deep-pocketed enclave of Palm Beach.

The resort destination has always attracted restrauranteurs and retailers from New York and other places around the globe, but the recent “boom” in local business and the crowds clamoring for jaw droppingly priced homes, apartments, even hotel rooms, has prompted many savvy types, especially those who have a style focus to bring a taste of the fashion capitals to town—for fun and profit, of course.

Two spots are especially involved in this direct-from-the-catwalk practice; the vibrantly reinvented Royal Poinciana Plaza and The Colony Hotel, a true place to see and be seen for the considerably more youthful social and fashion-forward cognoscenti.

No need to slog through the ordeal of fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan or Paris. Shows are being staged for Palm Beach audiences, usually outdoor during gloriously pleasant winter days and evenings, and through residencies and pop-up’s established for some well-known providers of ready-to-wear, menswear, and couture, and spotlights on some new names on the scene as well as in-vogue vintage finds from the L.A. mecca Decades.

Thus, you’re bound to see a Michael Kors or Johanna Ortiz runway show at the fashionably minded Colony Hotel, a Kiton or Veronica Beard show at “The Royal” (as the tony shopping plaza is referred to by locals). You can also peruse the complete range of Dolce & Gabbana’s offerings during the Italian firm’s residency at The Colony—complete with a D&G pasta entrée on the menu at the hotel’s Swifty’s restaurant. ◆