Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/407800
Colorful polished gemstones may be synonymous with Bulgari's creations, but the Italian brand's new high jewelry collection, MVSA, finds its inspiration in something even more dazzling: the Greek muses. The collection pays homage to the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, goddesses who inspire literature, science and the arts, marrying the house's Italian legacy with founder Sotirio Bulgari's Greek origins. Highlights are the Sleeping Beauties — nine stunning necklaces designed in modern mosaics of blue topaz, amethyst, pink quartz, citrine, mother-of-pearl and more. On our wish list: the multilayered pink-gold, amethyst, blue topaz and rubellite pavé necklace with tassel finish, shown here. At Bulgari. Anna Schuster Bulgari's Magnificent Musings Bulgari MVSA collection I f fashion is a religion, then Louis Vuitton is the church — and Nicolas Ghesquière, its high priest. Following his ascension to the helm of the famed French fashion house only a year ago, Ghesquière has not only thrown out the book, he's rewritten the commandments, infusing the historic institution with his signature edge. His latest creed, as part of a collection entitled The Icon and Iconoclasts, celebrates the most sacred icon of the brand's founding doctrine: the monogram. Carrying out the mission are six artists and designers from the fields of fashion, art, architecture and product design: Christian Louboutin, Cindy Sherman, Frank Gehry, Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Newson and Rei Kawakubo. These innovators offer up cool, sometimes surreal revisions of leather goods ranging from steamer trunks to backpacks. The results are as stylish as they are sacred — and as wearable as they are worshiped. Frank Gehry's Twisted Box mixes the Vuitton's code of heritage craftsmanship with the architect's own reverent approach. "I didn't want it to be just 'a thing,' so I spent time with Louis Vuitton to talk about the refinement of details, the clasp, the whole of it," says Gehry. "The interior is more private, and a darker blue just felt more orderly somehow — that it would give the things in the bag more clarity." It is this approach to collaboration and design that elevates Louis Vuitton beyond just being a purveyor of products and into the realm of the profound — a sanctuary where a bag isn't just a bag, it's a belief. $2,790 to $23,300, at the Louis Vuitton boutique. Alex Sweterlitsch We Worship Thee, LV Karl Lagerfeld Christian Louboutin Karl Lagerfeld Frank Gehry Rei Kawakubo D r. Jennifer Segal doesn't take many days off in November. As one of the most booked dermatologists in the city, she's too busy helping doyennes beautify for event season. Segal herself is getting ready to co-chair the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston's Another Great Night in November party (Tuesday, October 18), but she took a rare breather to share her best pre-event prep strategies with us. She suggests a three- punch combo of lasers and peels starting two weeks before the big night. She calls it her "Correct System": two lasers for resurfacing, tightening and diffusing brown and/or red spots, plus a hydro facial for soothing and plumping the skin. Each treatment is performed in less than an hour, with little or no downtime, so you can get back to the holiday shuffle ASAP. Bought together as a package, the miracle trio costs $1,200. Metropolitan Dermatology Institute, 713.955.1333, metropolitaninstitute.com. Francine Ballard Get Your Glow On Jennifer Segal I t's cooking broadcast at the highest frequency. Radio Milano, the exciting new chef- driven restaurant in CityCentre, was named for both the fashionable city and the on-air radio station there. In the attractive environs of the former Bistro Alex, amongst the woodsy, manly design touches upstairs in the dining room and downstairs in the craft bar, you can experience astonishing Italian cuisine conjured by chef Jose Hernandez. The Mexico City native with a New York provenance takes precious time to bake all his breads and pastries in house, not to mention the pastas, such as tender tangles of tagliatelle, pillow- like gnocchi dumplings and filled fagotelli and ravioli. The talented Hernandez spent decades working in New York and beyond, making tenure with an array of nationally notable chefs and serving as pastry chef at The Four Seasons Restaurant, Fiamma, Orsay and BLT Steak in Manhattan, as well as, Philippe, Aries, Gravitas and Etoile in Houston before he transitioned to the savory side. His newest post is operated by the RK Group, a 70-year-old hospitality firm out of San Antonio, and is open for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. The dinner menu starts with seasonal dishes such as crab ravioli, a playful presentation of a cool crab salad tossed in a basil aioli, cloaked with a bright magenta-hued huckleberry gelee "pasta" ($15), and hard-to-find (and even harder to do well) veal sweet breads, a perfect autumnal dish paired with a smooth chestnut purée and dots of Pedro Ximenes vinaigrette ($16). Hernandez employs sous-vide, a temperature-controlled method of steam-cooking ingredients in a vacuum-sealed pouch that produces maximum flavor and moistness, to create a juicy pheasant entree served with a dollop of pear mostarda and potato cake ($34). More inspired dishes include grilled octopus with smoked paprika, layered with clouds of gnocchi gently sautéed for a crisp exterior ($14 and $25), and tagliatelle tossed with Alfredo sauce enriched with uni and topped with olive oil and garlic-poached lobster claw meat ($18 and $34). The powers that be, including V.P. Eric Nelson, have developed an exciting late-night dining option Thursday through Saturday evenings: Starting at 10 pm, for a $28 cover charge, diners receive a craft cocktail and wait for a stream of small plates to arrive tableside — each little course, a tasty surprise from the kitchen. Radio Milano, 800 Sorella Court in CityCentre, 713.827.3545, radio-milano.com. Laurann Claridge Tuning in to Radio Milano A self-described white T-shirt and jeans gal, Brooke Feather admits that she doesn't exactly fit the fashion formula. But endless summers in Laguna Beach have lent the native Houstonian some of the effortlessly chic je ne sais quoi so common to West Coast women. "Fun, not fussy" is how Feather describes her eponymous boutique, which recently opened at 2020 West Gray in River Oaks Shopping Center, stocked with casual alternatives to workout wear or head-to-toe Chanel. Feather has assembled quality denim from RTA and Current/Elliott, beach-worthy basics and city-worthy ready-to-wear and bags and jewelry unique to the Houston market. Expect stylist-level service and fresh shipments every week — and the sort of vibe that can only be recreated by someone who's a Cali girl at heart. 2020 W. Gray St. in River Oaks Shopping Center 713.520.0211, brookefeather.com. Fair Feather Friend Karl Lagerfeld's boxing gloves, price upon request Christian Louboutin's Shopping Bag (front and back), $5,150 Rei Kawakubo's Bag With Holes, $2,790 Christian Louboutin's Shopping Trolley, $23,300 Frank Gehry's Twisted Box, $4,400 Chef Jose Hernandez Brooke Feather JENNY ANTILL JENNY ANTILL