Red Carpet Diamonds

Tim Hamilton shows his eponymous menswear in Paris these days, but the New York-based designer hasn’t left his hometown fans out in the cold—for the second season in a row, he’s showing his secondary collection, Tim Hamilton Redux, during New York fashion week. Redux began as a sort of greatest-hits collection, reissuing favorite staples from Hamilton’s eponymous line, but it’s since grown into an entity of its very own, one that skews younger and more street-influenced than the avant-garde main line. That’s not to say it’s not plenty avant in its own right. For the September 10 presentation, art star (and James Franco pal) Kalup Linzy will be DJ’ing and performing, and photographer Collier Schorr will debut a new video featuring the collection. As for accessories, the occasion will see the launch of Dana Lorenz’s first men’s pieces for Fenton/Fallon as well as a new footwear collaboration with Lacoste. “I wanted to work with the original Rene Lacoste shoe and give it a harder tone,” Hamilton says. “By adding a black finish and a high top, it appears to be a mesh—sneaker meets military shoe.” Cadets interested in a pair will be glad to know they’ll be sold with the Redux collection, hitting stores this January.

Balenciaga has revamped its Paris flagship. At the newly redone Avenue George V store, you’ll find more of Ghesquière’s (left) covetable collection, an ornate banister borrowed from the Balenciaga archives, and an enormous starburst clock—just don’t try to tell time by it, as it runs backwards. “Back to the future,” CEO Isabelle Guichot explains. [WWD]

Fashionista checked in with a psychic for NYFW predictions. What was in her crystal ball? Jewels at Marc, a solo reality show for Michael Kors, and good tidings for Jeffrey Monteiro at Bill Blass. Time will tell! (Except at Balenciaga in Paris, where it runs backwards.) [Fashionista]

Acne has launched a small capsule collection aimed at transvestites. Would it be wrong to say “fabulous”? [Vogue U.K.]

And Barneys’ Simon Doonan is leaving the New York Observer after ten years to pen a column for the online political mag Slate. [Fashionologie]

What is it right now about fashion and pets? Cats, as we’ve seen time and again, are enjoying a moment, and according to Mandy Coon, who dropped by our office yesterday to preview her Spring ‘11 collection, bunnies are, too. Coon is known for her diaphanous, draped creations, which she’s showing for Spring in cotton, tulle, and burlap, but just as much, apparently, for her Bunny bag. Her Fall ‘10 collection had no sooner hit stores than the bunny—available in velvet ($405) and leather ($450)—had sold out. Reorders are already coming in and Colette, Assembly New York, Opening Ceremony, and Eva are all carrying the purse. Bunnies have already made an impact in London: BFA-winning accessory designer Katie Hillier uses one as her totem and creates rabbit silhouette necklaces in 18K gold and diamonds, and LOVE editrix Katie Grand’s affection for her rabbit, Clara, is well documented. Are cottontails poised to take America by storm? @BunnyBisous, we’re looking at you…

‘Tis the season to make jewelry. More and more of New York’s ready-to-wear designers—suffering, we’re sure, from an overabundance of free time—are adding custom or collaborative jewelry to their collections for the Spring ‘11 season. And if you’re a fan of silver, you’re in luck.

Jen Kao has collaborated in the past with other designers on jewelry for her namesake label, but this Spring, she steps out on her own, launching a collection of sterling silver bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and even a belt that pick up Spring’s romantic theme. “When I can be, I am always head-to-toe in jewelry, but it still always feels like there’s an essential piece that’s missing. I particularly love pieces that become such a part of you that you don’t ever want to take them off,” Kao says. “I wanted to design jewelry that speaks the same message as the clothing: personal, easy dramatics.” The weird, slightly supernatural romance of her current theme—”the youthful kismet of desert princes meeting zombie brides,” she says—was replicated in a gift to editors: a dangling pendant from the upcoming collection (above), complete with a hand-penned poem.

For his upcoming collection, Jeremy Laing worked with fellow Torontonian Jaime Sin on a few silver pieces as well. Sin’s main occupation is DJ—she’s done the music for Laing’s shows for the past few seasons—but she’s launching her line on Laing’s girls, some of who will be wearing the geometric pieces Sin and Laing co-designed (above).

And for Fashion’s Night Out, Rogan Gregory and Pamela Love put their heads together for some limited-edition jewels, too. The engraved lockets from the new ROGAN vs LOVE collection are inscribed with dark, allusive phrases—”What Have Your Eyes Done To Me?,” “Don’t Stop Love,” and “Don’t Cry” (above). They’ll be available for $435-475 on Fashion’s Night Out at the Black Carnival, the Bond Street block party co-hosted by Rogan, The Smile, and Oak.

Opening Ceremony and Levi’s joined forces earlier this spring to launch a collection of pastel-hued cords, from cut-off shorts to overshirts, and a perfectly broken-in denim jacket. For the collaboration’s second wave, hitting stores next week, they looked back to Levi’s workwear heritage—and namely, its classic railroad stripe. Here’s your exclusive first look at the new Opening Ceremony 505 jean ($210), in eye-popping, graphic black-and-white stripes, and trucker jacket ($300), which brings together a few colors of denim with a shearling lining and a patch of that same railroad stripe. Look for it at Opening Ceremony, select Levi’s stores, and levis.com by next Friday.

Alexis Bittar, the recently crowned CFDA Accessory Designer of the Year, is heading west. The charming jeweler with the Lucite bent already has three Manhattan locations, but this month, he opens three more in California—one in San Francisco and two in Los Angeles. In between finalizing his Resort lookbook, manipulating new mohair knits, and putting the finishing touches on his fashion week collaboration, Bittar met with Style.com to talk L.A., elk heads, 80-year-olds, and what’s coming next.

You’re about to have a strong presence in Los Angeles. Why L.A.? Why now?
When we looked at our business, were growing astronomically for the last, I want to say, five years—we’ve just been growing and growing and growing. And then when we looked at the country, and we looked at the West Coast. We were like, wait a minute, we have nothing really strong out there. And I think one of the things that helped my business in New York is creating a space that had my own environment and aesthetic. The other thing that was appealing on a business level is that it felt like if you were in a place of strength right now, this would be a time to expand. The economy is actually getting better and you can get a good rent at a time when it won’t be like this forever.

Do you expect the sales to be different in L.A. versus New York?
I’ve built the business on a ready-to-wear model. What will be interesting to see is how, between my three lines (Elements, Miss Havisham, and Lucite), what sells more. There are definitely subtle differences in what the consumer is buying right now between my Bleecker, Madison, and Soho stores [in New York].

How do you feel about being in your own store versus in your retail partners?
This way, you get to display it however you want. If you want to have a two-headed elk, you can have one. That was the most appealing, to be able to have a brand presence that really depicted the way that I see the line. And for our two L.A. stores, I just felt like there is such a huge world between Abbot Kinney (the store’s Venice location) and West Third (the store’s West Hollywood location), that why not have two distinct spaces?

The inevitable question: What are your plans for fashion week?
I’m working with Jason Wu. We designed a capsule collection of jewelry for his show. It will probably sell in our stores. I’d say it’s closest to the Miss Havisham line. It’s very clean, minimalistic, and has a seventies kind of feel to it.

What’s next for your line?
We’ve definitely been talking about doing fine jewelry for a while, and I think that is the most immediate thing that I want to get done. In terms of other extensions, like bags and shoes, it’s definitely something we want to get our hands into. But I want to make sure I’m with the right partner…the possibilities are limitless, but I just really want to make sure I’m with the right partners.

How does your line relate to all the other accessory lines out there?
We’re designing for a 20-year-old and an 80-year old—not just a size 2. There’s a general feeling that the line’s artistic, but that you also have to have balls to wear it. Don’t get me wrong, I love dressing models and I love the fantasy of fashion. But there’s a reality of fashion, too. I think moderate luxury is a comfortable space for us. But we’re still innovative and age-diverse.

Alexis Bittar opens September 15 at 8383 West Third St. and 1612 Abbot Kinney Blvd., L.A., www.alexisbittar.com.

The British Fashion Award nominations are in! For designer of the year, Phoebe Philo (pictured) faces off with Christopher Kane and Erdem Moralioglu; for designer brand of the year, it’s Burberry and Mulberry vs. Pringle of Scotland and Victoria Beckham; and for menswear designer of the year, Christopher Bailey, Margaret Howell, Paul Smith, and the Savile Row label E. Tautz. Meanwhile, Nick Knight, Nicola Formichetti, and Rankin are all up for the Isabella Blow award for fashion creator—at least two of whom are Gaga besties. Now who will she root for? [WWD]

Richard Chai, who nabbed the CFDA Swarovski Award for emerging menswear designer last year, has announced he’ll debut his capsule collection for Original Penguin at his runway show this season. [WWD]

Steven Alan’s memories of Dockers center on “a 1970s math professor.” Let’s hope he chooses a different inspiration when he designs a few styles for the historic khaki producer. [NYT]

You probably aren’t washing your jeans as thoroughly and lovingly as Levi’s creative director Carl Chiara. But if you want to start, clear a few hours, a bathtub, and a sachet of potpourri, and follow these 14 or so simple directions. [WSJ]

For the latest issue of Interview, Balenciaga’s Nicolas Ghesquière sits down with legendary editor and style maven Polly Mellen, who’s full of great reminiscences about working in fashion in the era of Vreeland. Vreeland, the late Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue editrix, apparently had navy blue hair—chic! [Interview]

And Hint Mag puts several New York designers to the Mad Libs test. Read on to learn who wants Klaus Kinski in his front row, who wants the naked and blood-spattered cast of True Blood in his, and who aspires to “create a duplicate of himself, and then again and again until the entire world was Scott Sternbergs.” (One guess on that one.) [Hint Mag]

Rumored yesterday, confirmed today, the latest designers to collaborate with H&M will be Lanvin’s Alber Elbaz and Lucas Ossendrijver. “I have said in the past that I would never do a mass-market collection, but what intrigued me was the idea of H&M going luxury rather than Lanvin going public. This has been an exceptional exercise, where two companies at opposite poles can work together because we share the same philosophy of bringing joy and beauty to men and women around the world,” Elbaz said in a release this morning. The collections—both womenswear and menswear—will hit 200 stores worldwide beginning on November 20 in the United States. The collection will be revealed in a short film released November 2. More as we get it.

Also, look out for Style.com’s own little collaboration with Elbaz, coming September 15. Stay tuned for details.

Welcome to the lesser-known Soho Himalaya. It’s the Himalayan Shop that menswear designers Doug and Ben Burkman—known professionally as Burkman bros—have set up at NYC menswear mecca Odin. The brothers’ namesake collection is inspired by travel, especially to the farther-flung reaches of (former) empire, so when Odin owner Eddy Chai invited them to create a temporary installation for the store, they channeled Shimla, the Himalayan city that served as the summer capital of the nineteenth-century British Raj. There they’re offering select pieces from their Fall collection, including hiking-inspired pants, fine-gauge sweaters, and their standard jersey-lined check shirts in exclusive patterns. And slingshots, too. Hey—you never know.

The Himalayan Shop is open now at Odin, 199 Lafayette St., NYC, (212) 966-0026, www.odinnewyork.com.

NOWNESS has produced a short film, directed by Matthew Donaldson and starring polo stud (and face of RL) Nacho Figueras. The video goes online on NOWNESS.com tomorrow; we’ve got a sneak peek at the action behind the scenes at the Hamptons shoot.