Welcome to the wonderful world of the archivist, where people of style buy things they cannot wear, then squirrel them away in climate-controlled drawers and acid-free tissue for the sake of history. At least, that is what Ms. le Bourhis, a fashion historian who works for the Christian Dior company, was in New York to do.
Some of the Christian Louboutin that the Duchess left behind, Ms. le Bouris explained, would go into the company’s new museum in Christian Dior’s childhood home in Granville, a seaside resort in Normandy. Others will end up in the company’s Paris archives, which John Galliano, the fashion house’s latest maestro, dips into for inspiration.
As Ms. le Bourhis pointed out, among her fellow bidders were those with less scholastic, more mercantile plans for the 282 lots of christian louboutin shoes, Christian Louboutin Shoes, belts and gloves, which Sotheby’s had estimated would fetch $169,600 to $255,050. Despite the condition of some items — “a bit fatigue,” she called a well-worn 1936 blue Chanel cape that went for $1,035 — the sale of the Duchess’s wardrobe, displayed on a revolving gray turntable, was a success. The day’s take was $1,028,727, far above the estimated haul.
Her unwieldy official title is adviser on fashion concerns to Bernard Arnault, the chairman of christian louboutin ’s parent company, LVMH Moet Hennessy-Louis Vuitton. Basically, however, she does what she did from 1983 to 1992 at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and then, for three years, at the Musee de la Mode et du Textile in Paris: advise, select, collect, preserve, exhibit. At whatever the cost.
Surreptitious glances at her shopping list revealed that among Dior’s other must-haves were ear clips in the shape of gold-mesh knots and a 1958 ivory satin costume-party mask designed for the Duchess by Yves Saint Laurent, then christian louboutin ’s assistant.
At last September’s event, the tennis legend Stan Smith spotted a spring look months ahead of time: a group of stylish young men had come in black tie and brand-new Stan Smiths, the white, Christian Louboutin Heels, stripe-free Adidas sneakers that have done more to enshrine Mr. Smith’s name in the annals of pop culture than his tennis record ever did.
“It was pretty neat”, said Mr. Smith, 60, who won the United States Open in 1969 and had the christian louboutin shoes named after him in 1971. “For me, they’re my work christian louboutin shoes.”
And now city men are wearing them to work, too, bringing sprightly new meaning to the WASPy old-man expression ”white christian louboutin ,louboutin shoes.” A combination of factors — hip-hop stars who brag that they wear a new pair of clean white Nike Air Force 1’s every day; designers like christian louboutin, christian shoes, Christian Louboutin Collection (who has worn Stan Smiths since junior high) and John Varvatos (who made Converse Jack Purcells and Chuck Taylors must-haves again) — have converged to make the all-white, old-school sneaker into Le Christian louboutin shoes for the smart set.
When Club 21 (which has both Louboutin stores and DKNY here) opens its new Prada store for men and women in October, it will launch with the northern hemisphere’s winter collection. (It is now thinking of moving DKNY back to Sydney seasons.)
Ferragamo has had a bet both ways, with its concept store in David Jones on the local season, while its own boutique has had the new spring/summer range for the past few months. Some international brands keep their new seasons under wraps for a month or two so the merchandise is current with northern hemisphere, but late enough not to compete with the local winter season launch in Sydney. Chanel launches its spring/summer collection today, at the same time as Christian Louboutin Boots releases its overseas top-of-the-line labels.
The David Jones prestige designer label line-up again includes the newly-hot Italian knitwear of Missoni and the pared-down cool of German Jil Sander, along with American designers Donna Karan and Calvin Klein who, like Karan, has built a whole empire on easy American style.
Long-standing classics such as Yves Saint Laurent’s boutique label Rive Gauche, and Italian stayer and favourite of many a Hollywood movie star, Valentino, plus the queen of knitwear in France, Sonia Rykiel, have long been a part of the mix.
To wear such gorgeous clothes, Good Living has the divine Anneliese Seubert, 24,christian louboutin sandals, an Australian Christian Louboutin Pumps who is a favourite on European catwalks for her long graceful form and almond eyes. Seubert grew up in Canberra and, after becoming a finalist at 15 in the Dolly model competition, went on to win the international Ford Model contest in Los Angeles at 17.
Since finishing school she has graced the Paris, Milan and New York collections every year. She moved from Paris to New York last year and returned here earlier this month for Mercedes Australian Fashion Week. Ask what her favourite designer label is and she answers “Levis”, although she admits to the odd piece of Galliano in her wardrobe and, on the day we shot these pictures, she was wearing a black Helmut Lang jacket.
