341: Restoration software
Plus Shereen Mohammad's Ishq set, Skinceuticals' patent lapse, and a ruthless Tory Burch sale.
A few non sequiturs to start us off today (at 7pm no less), because this newsletter is lawless:
Un-fashion, un-interiors, un-shopping at all, really, but after three days of brain fog and lethargy and low heart rate, yesterday I went to the millennialized wellness “spa” Restore and got two intramuscular shots into each butt cheek: one B complex + B12, the other an immunity blend of glutathione + zinc + C. This isn’t sponcon or gifted, I’m just not at all a lazy person and glad to finally feel alert and motivated again. That said (and I will say it again), I love the health-optimization-longevity space and am always down to talk to brands along this journey.
They’re not officially launched yet, but I’ve been testing Morjas’ first foray into women’s shoes—a ballerina-opera flat hybrid—for a couple of weeks and am finding them to be greater than the sum of their parts. It’s a simple look, but about 100% more satisfying than any other similar silhouette I’ve tried. The brand brought on Annemiek Kessels to creative direct women’s if that gives you a sense of things. Will circle back when they hit site!
I can’t tell if I love this Bottega shoe itself or the fact that its name contains the word “pudding” more…close tie.
Every morning I get a Gem App alert for newly listed Giorgio Armani, and so one of my affirmations for the day always ends up being about how I genuinely think one could have a complete and satisfying wardrobe shopping only vintage Armani. (This isn’t a hot take, but the evergreenness is the point.) Should I do it? I could buy myself a capsule and add to it slowly over a month. I do love stunt journalism…sound off in the comments.
The one thing I might miss are my jeans. Lately I’ve been wearing my Jeanerica Kyoto jeans. Has to be the best incumbent denim brand on the market, especially for more trend-agnostic styles. That said, I prefer a low- or mid-rise (which they have and do well), and that’s definitely the direction the winds are blowing categorically. Size down.
You’re going to laugh, but I got so excited about Milan next week that I ordered Miu Miu FROM THE WEBSITE. Truly, I am days away from better prices and tax refunds and inventory not yet available internationally, but I couldn’t help but finally buy one of the tees from the Petit Bateau runway collab. Between this and my new Commission backwards baby tee, I am on the way to realizing my summer of quietly complicated designer t-shirts to wear with tailored pants and skirts.
What’s new
My friend Shereen Mohammad finally released her Ishq Set, which I have been DMing with her about for a few months. It’s a mini dress-tapered pant-scarf set that points to ‘90s Bollywood by way of Calvin Klein or Donna Karan. Just to call out something Shereen shared on IG today for launch, I like that she’s thinking about her work as more of a practice than a brand, which shows through in her patience in pattern making and how she regularly revisits past styles to improve them after the additional consideration that comes with time. It is available in black, ivory, periwinkle—I got the ivory and am trying to source some of that patience myself while I wait for my made-to-order to arrive ;)
I’ve been carrying the line item “American Riviera Orchard” over from week to week on my coverage list for this news send for months. Now that it’s “As Ever” and everyone is hate-watching the Netflix show and Meghan has a ShopMy, and the brand still hasn’t launched its unremarkable jams, I think it’s time to drop it. It is funny, though, seeing the overlap points between the Duchess of Sussex and Magasin: Her “handpicked and curated” selects on ShopMy count friends and frequenters of the newsletter Emme Parsons, St. Agni, Madewell, and Uniqlo:C.
Skinceuticals’ patent on its vitamin C + E + ferulic formula expired on Monday (skincare Reddit has been counting down for years). You’ve probably heard it being called the industry standard for delivering vitamin C in its most potent form to your skin, and while this patent lapse will result in a ton of copycats to the market, I’m hearing the updated cosmetic tech available has lapped the OG formula several times over. Streets are saying the L'Oreal Revitalift 12% Vitamin C is cutting-edge and it’s only $25, compared to Skinceuticals’ $182.
Daniella Kallmeyer will always be her brand’s best ambassador. Nothing could have gotten me more excited about the launch of its Tavi Dinner Trench than watching an Instagram Story of her traipsing through Manhattan with it’s opera-lengh tail in tow.
It’s not just the Bottega slipper above, jelly shoes are everywhere I look—there are these Chloé ones (the brown version already sold out), these Ferragamos that look like their leather ballerinas, the Vince The Row riffs I noted about a couple weeks ago (I won’t get into all the other trickle-downs, but these Tory Burches are an obvious nod). We are now in wave…2.5 of modern PVC-dom.
These COS mesh mules are kind of in the vein of a jelly shoe, but better. They’re definitely one of the standouts of the brand’s latest arrivals, along with this suede jacket (that’s under $700). Quieter but also very good is this knit skirt.
So this platform, Fabrique, it’s kind of like the anti-Quince…or maybe it’s exactly like Quince but European? Bear with me, I’m still parsing it out. Anyway, it’s a collective of 300 or so designers across various categories—names you’d know like Jonathan Saunders, Thebe Magugu, Eudon Choi (though some like Reem Acra and Vivienne Tam are marked as “not available in your region yet”). They all contribute exclusive collections that are priced well below what their main lines fetch. Fabrique is introducing handbags for the first time, and has Valeria Massai behind them—she is the former Bottega Veneta women’s leather goods director and also did stints at Prada, Miu Miu, Jil Sander, and Helmut Lang. The six-piece line she created uses calfskin and nappa, but nothing is over $700.
Men’s releases
Carter Young gets the golden star this send for being the brand I’m waring at time of writing (this shirt…so bedsheet-soft). The brand’s latest just launched on SSENSE in men’s and women’s.
Home releases
Interior designer Alyssa Kapito uploaded a small, heavyweight edit of vintage furniture to her website in a move that ties the split segments of the home furnishings world closer together. A Jean Royère coffee table and Le Corbusier apple box are among the “Enquire”-marked collectibles for sale.
One way to commemorate J.W.’s winding-down tenure at Loewe, aside from trawling The RealReal, is with an enormous monograph celebrating his centennial anniversary as creative director. The pumpkin-wrapped tome is nearly 650 pages and includes a foreword by Zadie Smith. It will be available for sale starting tomorrow.
What’s on sale
Tory Burch’s Spring Event is ruthless, hacking up to 30% off even new arrivals (yes, runway). I went hard at the brand’s online Private Sale just before Paris, where I swept up an embroidered leather skirt and croc-embossed bodysuit, but I’m seeing now I should have saved some steam for this round—this netted sequin skirt, these jeans, a great pair of pumps, and this trapped-mesh skirt and top set are enormously tempting.
Rennes—which is like Philadelphia’s La Garçonne for homesteaders—is running 20% extra on its sale (taken at checkout) on pink-touched Casey Casey coats, crinkly Auralee dresses, brilliantly bright slips from Barena Venezia and Anaak, and so many elegant and knowing pull-on pants.
I get most of my tights and many of my favorite socks (and even one pair of pedal pushers) from Swedish Stockings. The brand’s hosting an up-to-80%-off sale right now.
Officina Del Poggio is an editor-loved brand, meaning they do better at making what it is they make than they do at marketing themselves. In ODP’s case, that’s Italian leather goods, including some of the most comfortable Mary Janes I own (thanks to a proprietary technique wherein the artisans build a sort of “sock” into the interior of the shoe). The entire site is currently 25% off with SPRING25, even though that code was supposed to end days ago. Fai presto!
There’s also: A Vince sale for 25% off simply everything; and Blu Dot (furniture) is running 20% off, with an additional sale section that hits 60%.
Magasin may earn some money if you make a purchase through one of the links above.
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So clever, Laura, love your wit. And your taste.