Michael Tonello's Blog, page 4
April 7, 2016
The ‘IT’ Hermès Apple Watch now comes in four new spring colourways
Wearable tech has been lingering in the fashion lexicon for a couple of years now, but few new launches have made it past the hype stage and into our wardrobes (RIP Google glasses). “Techcessories” just don’t sound very sexy, do they? The Apple watch is one of the few wearables to woo the fashion industry, thanks in part, to it's clever hook up with brands like Hermès and Vogue; Apple whisked Anna Wintour and a select number of key fashion editors — including Telegraph Fashion Director, Lisa Armstrong — to the exclusive September 9 product launch in San Francisco, at a pivotal point during the spring/summer 2015 New York Fashion Week shows.Intrigue grew as watch-bearing selfies flooded our Instagram stream from key sartorial influencers from Karl Lagerfeld to Beyoncé, who were quick to show off their 18-carat yellow gold (naturally) versions of their Apple arm candy. Meanwhile French designer Azzedine Alaia hosted a dinner in Paris in the watch's honour. Beautiful design has always been a hallmark of the Apple brand, so teaming up with a luxury label that knows a thing or two about creating wait-list-worthy leather goods was a clever move. Apple granted the French heritage house free reign to rebrand the face of the watch, and design three strap options (including a single loop strap from £270, a double loop strap from £420 and a wider cuff priced at £670) in its signature equine-style leather and brand colours Fauve (tan), Noir and Capucine (red).First launched last October, the Hermès Apple Watch is keeping up with Spring trends by adding four bright new colourways to its repertoire: the classic Hermès Bleu Paon (green), Bleu Saphir (blue), Blanc (white) and Feu (orange) all go on sale on April 19. This year, the agenda-setting theme of the Met gallery's costume institute exhibition is: “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology." Does this hint that the smart watch is set to become the new 'it' bag? 
April 5, 2016
The Kardashian - Jenner Girls All Have the Same Exact Insanely Expensive Handbag
Hello, Birkin.
As the saying goes, nothing succeeds like excess — and no one seems to live that motto better than the Kardashian-Jenner crew. In a recent Snapchat post, Kylie snapped a row of Hermès 'Birkin' bags and one mini Birkin, with the caption "odd one out." Two of the large bags are classic black, one is a rich royal blue, and Kylie's mini is also black.
The Birkin is perhaps Hermès's most iconic and well-known handbag, alongside the Kelly. (Both are named after some of history's most stylish women — Jane Birkin and Grace Kelly, respectively.) It's also one of the brand's most expensive designs. On legit re-sale sites like Portero and TheRealReal (Hermès doesn't sell Birkins online), the purse in its various fabrications sells for anywhere between $8,500 and $113,350 (the latter is for a bag made from Himalayan crocodile in "pristine condition." We're serious).
From the image, it's hard to tell what kind of materials the Kardashian-Jenner bags are made from, but it doesn't really matter. One thing is for sure: They've sure got a lot of them. Interestingly enough, a recent report showed that the value of the Birkin bag has only increased over the last 35 years, and that the price is only expected to double in the next decade. That's even more compelling once you factor in that the bag has a notoriously exclusive waiting list, something documented in Michael Tonello's Bringing Home the Birkin .
by Taylor Davies http://www.teenvogue.com/story/kardashian-jenner-bag-hermes-birkin
As the saying goes, nothing succeeds like excess — and no one seems to live that motto better than the Kardashian-Jenner crew. In a recent Snapchat post, Kylie snapped a row of Hermès 'Birkin' bags and one mini Birkin, with the caption "odd one out." Two of the large bags are classic black, one is a rich royal blue, and Kylie's mini is also black.
The Birkin is perhaps Hermès's most iconic and well-known handbag, alongside the Kelly. (Both are named after some of history's most stylish women — Jane Birkin and Grace Kelly, respectively.) It's also one of the brand's most expensive designs. On legit re-sale sites like Portero and TheRealReal (Hermès doesn't sell Birkins online), the purse in its various fabrications sells for anywhere between $8,500 and $113,350 (the latter is for a bag made from Himalayan crocodile in "pristine condition." We're serious).
From the image, it's hard to tell what kind of materials the Kardashian-Jenner bags are made from, but it doesn't really matter. One thing is for sure: They've sure got a lot of them. Interestingly enough, a recent report showed that the value of the Birkin bag has only increased over the last 35 years, and that the price is only expected to double in the next decade. That's even more compelling once you factor in that the bag has a notoriously exclusive waiting list, something documented in Michael Tonello's Bringing Home the Birkin .
by Taylor Davies http://www.teenvogue.com/story/kardashian-jenner-bag-hermes-birkin
March 30, 2016
March 19, 2016
Émile Hermès' Private Collection Gallops Gallantly to Montreal for World Premiere
Old Montreal's museum of history and archaeology Pointe-à-Callière has scored something of a coup with the world premiere of an exhibition of 250 equestrian-themed items on loan from the private Émile Hermès Collection in Paris—yes, from the grandson of Hermès founder Thierry Hermès himself.
Titled Of Horses and Men — The Émile Hermès Collection, the exhibition produced by Pointe-à-Callière in collaboration with the French luxury fashion house will run May 20 through October 16. This is the first time that Hermès is opening up the collection to the public. Previously, the collection was privy only to a select few at Hermès' Parisian address on 24 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.
Significant in both history and heritage, the collection will look at the horse-human relationship. It is hardly a surprise that Émile Hermès was a passionate lover of horses and the equestrian world. Throughout his lifetime, the avid collector took it upon himself to amass thousands of horse-centric art objects, paintings, books, curios and collector's items.
Associated with nobility, royalty and the bourgeoisie, the horse can be said to be a symbol of power and prestige. Even the Hermès logo famously depicts a Duc carriage with horse. When Hermès was first founded in 1837 as a harness and saddle manufacturer, it was during the height of horses at a time before automobiles took the place of horses. But Hermès truly started to really come into its own in the luxury artisanal scene, catering to a lucrative elite group, when Émile Hermès (pardon the pun) went on to take over the reins.
On show will be many personal items belonging to the horse enthusiast, which includes a majestic rocking horse his children played with as a toy. Paintings by the great masters, bronzes, engravings and drawings will also be on display.
Of course, there will be no lack of saddles, spurs and horse collars from all over the world, as the exhibition description professes to "take visitors along the horse’s trail... (and) straddle four continents, on a journey from Antiquity to the Renaissance to the 20th century."
Sounds like an adventure, then.
March 12, 2016
Salespeople claim Hermès store cheats them out of commissions
The luxe Hermès store on Madison Avenue keeps its salespeople in the dark about how commissions are calculated, and then stiffs them, a new lawsuit charges.“Hermès is saying take what we give you — we’re Hermès and you’re not,” Richard A. Roth, a lawyer representing two former salespeople, said Friday.
New hires are told to expect a 1.25-percent commission on most sales, according to the lawsuit. Plaintiff Ewern Chaney, 28, of Manhattan estimated that he had generated $3.8 million in revenue but only made $60,000 in commissions from November 2012 to March 2014. He was paid a wage of $19 an hour. Chaney and Winifred Hu are seeking unspecified damages. A Hermès spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
http://nypost.com/2016/03/12/salespeople-claim-hermes-store-cheats-them-out-of-commissions/
March 9, 2016
Meet the People Who Sell Used Clothing to Rihanna, Amal Clooney
Sales of high-end vintage attire and accessories are soaring—both in volume and price—and a handful of small businesses are taking advantage of market forces that are making what was old new again.Veteran retailer Seth Weisser is in the middle of construction for his largest, most ambitious store to date: a 3,800 square-foot flagship just off Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Calif. It will sell designer clothes, accessories, and jewelry; he plans special stores-within-a-store for Chanel and Hermès. “It will be extremely elegant, with high-end marble, brass fittings, and turn of the century Cartier showcases,” Weisser explains by phone from his office in New York, “This is going to be the ultimate luxury shopping experience.”
There’s one crucial difference between Weisser’s newest boutique and those nearby, such as Louis Vuitton or Valentino: It will sell used clothing.
This will be the fifth outpost of his chain, What Goes Around Comes Around (WGACA), where absolutely everything for sale is second-hand or rather, “luxury vintage.” A recent boom in enthusiasm for vintage fashion has led to a rapid expansion for stores such as WGACA and growing profits, even when global fashion brands are faltering. In fact, its merchandise assortment is even more exclusive and thrilling to shoppers than many offered by neighboring stores. That Chanel selection—“We have the largest collection of vintage Chanel in the whole world,” Weisser claims—will include dozens of noteworthy bags and clothes from Karl Lagerfeld’s stint as head designer, as well as sought-after, discontinued pieces from its costume jewelry range.
As for the Hermès "concession," the centerpiece when it opens will be a Himalayan crocodile Birkin; a similar model sold for $185,000 at auction two years ago. You simply can’t walk into an Hermès store anywhere in the world and expect to be able to walk out with one of these, now matter how much you are willing to pay.
Vintage Is BoomingWGACA isn’t the only superior second-hand operation in the area: Indeed, Ben Hemminger’s Fashionphile has been selling top tier, gently used designer purses by Dior and Louis Vuitton from a jewel box-sized showroom in Beverly Hills since 2008. It’s tucked into an alleyway at the end of the same block as WGACA, less than 500 feet from an enormous branch of Barneys. “Actually, our showroom is right next to Louis Vuitton—our garbage can is the same as theirs,” Hemminger laughs, speaking by phone from the firm’s warehouse headquarters in Carlsbad, Calif..
Both firms are booming: Weisser’s plush new site is 25 percent larger than its previous location in a busy block of La Brea, while Fashionphile logged $3 million in sales in February 2016, its strongest month ever, and business grew 50 percent to 60 percent year over year in 2015. They are prime examples of the new retail sector of luxury vintage, in which barely worn bags or designer dresses are sold at discount to women who might have shopped straight from the runway. They occupy sites adjacent to full-price rivals; sometimes, they even supply them. Weisser has contracts with such department stores as Lane Crawford in Hong Kong and Barneys in Japan to supply authentic, top-tier vintage for their sales floors.
Online Competition Is GrowingOnline counterparts are jostling for the same business: Both TheRealReal and MaterialWorld operate similarly, trading on the newfound cachet for used clothes. The booming industry of prime vintage has been buttressed by the emergence of handbag-centric auctions such as those at ArtCurial in Paris or Fine Art Auctions in Miami. Christie’s was so keen to enter the luxury vintage business that in 2014 it poached the wunderkind head of Heritage Auctions’ bag-selling department, a twentysomething Matt Rubinger. Heritage perceived the defection as such a blow that it sued Christie's for $60 million.
It’s still startling, though, to see a second-hand store—even one with such blue chip, red carpet credentials (Rihanna’s a regular) as WGACA—snap up prime retail space in Beverly Hills. Stylist Lauren Goodman suggests that this won’t be the last vintage tenant roped in by Rodeo Drive. She points out that much like fine wine, top-tier vintage clothes and accessories often appreciate in value. “You could buy a vintage Versace dress from the 1990s, wear it five times and resell it, and it’s probably gone up a little bit in value. I mean, everyone’s obsessed with the '90s right now,” Goodman says by phone from her home in San Francisco. (Remember the headline-making, albeit exaggerated claim that a Birkin bag by Hermès was a better investment than gold?)
New Stuff Is More Expensive Now, TooGoodman adds that the lure of vintage is also driven by the rising prices of new merchandise. Designer labels have deliberately hiked prices of core items over the past decade or so; the cost of Chanel’s bags, for example, rises an average 15 percent annually. “It makes vintage feel better value than ever, and it’s already survived the test of time.”
Michael Tonello, who wrote the memoir Bringing Home the Birkin about his time as an Hermès reseller, agrees. “Ten years ago, a nice designer shirt was a couple hundred bucks,” he says by phone from his home in Barcelona. “Now, you look in a store window and every price has a comma in it—$1,000 or more.”
Other cultural and economic shifts are helping to bring WGACA and Fashionphile to the fore. Instagramming from the front row of a show might earn editors a few extra followers, but it softens the excitement that once surrounded the delivery of new clothes to a retailer, notes Goodman. “By the time someone wears a look from the runway out to a party now, the clothes already feel like last season. But if it’s vintage, it will exist outside of this cycle and won't have been liked 5,000 or 25,000 times on Instagram already. It’s special, unique, and it’s yours. You are making a bold, personal style decision.” This same impetus lay behind Burberry’s decision to create runways with instant buying options, starting in September.
Rihanna wearing WGACA on the Ellen DeGeneres Show on Feb, 4, 2016.The Threat of FraudIt might seem that the rise of luxury vintage is unstoppable, but a danger looms that could derail the entire industry: fakes. The resale market is lucrative and generally un-policed—charges around selling fakes are usually pleaded down to disorderly conduct, resulting in minor fines and no jail time—so it’s ripe for unscrupulous exploitation. The situation is made trickier by the emergence of a new class of counterfeits known as superfakes, essentially production overruns stolen from the factory and indistinguishable from authorized merchandise.
It’s a threat that WGACA’s Weisser takes seriously. “We handle more of this product than anyone’s ever seen, so we get a very good comfort level on how to spot a fake. Our senior buyers are like scientists, and they will get down to counting stitches or even using techniques we’d prefer not to disclose.”
There’s one crucial difference between Weisser’s newest boutique and those nearby, such as Louis Vuitton or Valentino: It will sell used clothing.
This will be the fifth outpost of his chain, What Goes Around Comes Around (WGACA), where absolutely everything for sale is second-hand or rather, “luxury vintage.” A recent boom in enthusiasm for vintage fashion has led to a rapid expansion for stores such as WGACA and growing profits, even when global fashion brands are faltering. In fact, its merchandise assortment is even more exclusive and thrilling to shoppers than many offered by neighboring stores. That Chanel selection—“We have the largest collection of vintage Chanel in the whole world,” Weisser claims—will include dozens of noteworthy bags and clothes from Karl Lagerfeld’s stint as head designer, as well as sought-after, discontinued pieces from its costume jewelry range.
As for the Hermès "concession," the centerpiece when it opens will be a Himalayan crocodile Birkin; a similar model sold for $185,000 at auction two years ago. You simply can’t walk into an Hermès store anywhere in the world and expect to be able to walk out with one of these, now matter how much you are willing to pay.
Vintage Is BoomingWGACA isn’t the only superior second-hand operation in the area: Indeed, Ben Hemminger’s Fashionphile has been selling top tier, gently used designer purses by Dior and Louis Vuitton from a jewel box-sized showroom in Beverly Hills since 2008. It’s tucked into an alleyway at the end of the same block as WGACA, less than 500 feet from an enormous branch of Barneys. “Actually, our showroom is right next to Louis Vuitton—our garbage can is the same as theirs,” Hemminger laughs, speaking by phone from the firm’s warehouse headquarters in Carlsbad, Calif..
Both firms are booming: Weisser’s plush new site is 25 percent larger than its previous location in a busy block of La Brea, while Fashionphile logged $3 million in sales in February 2016, its strongest month ever, and business grew 50 percent to 60 percent year over year in 2015. They are prime examples of the new retail sector of luxury vintage, in which barely worn bags or designer dresses are sold at discount to women who might have shopped straight from the runway. They occupy sites adjacent to full-price rivals; sometimes, they even supply them. Weisser has contracts with such department stores as Lane Crawford in Hong Kong and Barneys in Japan to supply authentic, top-tier vintage for their sales floors.
Online Competition Is GrowingOnline counterparts are jostling for the same business: Both TheRealReal and MaterialWorld operate similarly, trading on the newfound cachet for used clothes. The booming industry of prime vintage has been buttressed by the emergence of handbag-centric auctions such as those at ArtCurial in Paris or Fine Art Auctions in Miami. Christie’s was so keen to enter the luxury vintage business that in 2014 it poached the wunderkind head of Heritage Auctions’ bag-selling department, a twentysomething Matt Rubinger. Heritage perceived the defection as such a blow that it sued Christie's for $60 million.
It’s still startling, though, to see a second-hand store—even one with such blue chip, red carpet credentials (Rihanna’s a regular) as WGACA—snap up prime retail space in Beverly Hills. Stylist Lauren Goodman suggests that this won’t be the last vintage tenant roped in by Rodeo Drive. She points out that much like fine wine, top-tier vintage clothes and accessories often appreciate in value. “You could buy a vintage Versace dress from the 1990s, wear it five times and resell it, and it’s probably gone up a little bit in value. I mean, everyone’s obsessed with the '90s right now,” Goodman says by phone from her home in San Francisco. (Remember the headline-making, albeit exaggerated claim that a Birkin bag by Hermès was a better investment than gold?)
New Stuff Is More Expensive Now, TooGoodman adds that the lure of vintage is also driven by the rising prices of new merchandise. Designer labels have deliberately hiked prices of core items over the past decade or so; the cost of Chanel’s bags, for example, rises an average 15 percent annually. “It makes vintage feel better value than ever, and it’s already survived the test of time.”
Michael Tonello, who wrote the memoir Bringing Home the Birkin about his time as an Hermès reseller, agrees. “Ten years ago, a nice designer shirt was a couple hundred bucks,” he says by phone from his home in Barcelona. “Now, you look in a store window and every price has a comma in it—$1,000 or more.”
Other cultural and economic shifts are helping to bring WGACA and Fashionphile to the fore. Instagramming from the front row of a show might earn editors a few extra followers, but it softens the excitement that once surrounded the delivery of new clothes to a retailer, notes Goodman. “By the time someone wears a look from the runway out to a party now, the clothes already feel like last season. But if it’s vintage, it will exist outside of this cycle and won't have been liked 5,000 or 25,000 times on Instagram already. It’s special, unique, and it’s yours. You are making a bold, personal style decision.” This same impetus lay behind Burberry’s decision to create runways with instant buying options, starting in September.
Rihanna wearing WGACA on the Ellen DeGeneres Show on Feb, 4, 2016.The Threat of FraudIt might seem that the rise of luxury vintage is unstoppable, but a danger looms that could derail the entire industry: fakes. The resale market is lucrative and generally un-policed—charges around selling fakes are usually pleaded down to disorderly conduct, resulting in minor fines and no jail time—so it’s ripe for unscrupulous exploitation. The situation is made trickier by the emergence of a new class of counterfeits known as superfakes, essentially production overruns stolen from the factory and indistinguishable from authorized merchandise.It’s a threat that WGACA’s Weisser takes seriously. “We handle more of this product than anyone’s ever seen, so we get a very good comfort level on how to spot a fake. Our senior buyers are like scientists, and they will get down to counting stitches or even using techniques we’d prefer not to disclose.”
March 3, 2016
February 19, 2016
February 17, 2016
Rare Hermès handbags to go under the hammer at Christie’s France
PARIS, Feb 17 — It will be handbags at dawn for luxury auction house Christie’s France next month, when it launches its third annual luxury arm candy sale. “Handbags & Accessories,” set to take place on March 5 in Paris, will feature rare and special edition pieces from fashion houses including Hermès, Chanel, Dior and Louis Vuitton, with price estimates ranging from €2,000 (RM9,400) to €70,000. Highlights will include a “Vert Celadon Natura Kelly 28” by Hermès (pictured), believed to be one of fewer than 10 in the world. The bag is a nod to the styles of the 1920s, when it was impossible to remove pigment from certain exotic skins, meaning that the original skin colour could be seen through the finished product. Around the year 2000, Hermès revisited this process, and the resulting handbag is considered to be one of the most desired in the world. It is being offered at a very conservative estimate of €15,000 to €20,000. Additional pieces include a “Himalaya Birkin 35” in grade 1, being offered conservatively at €70,000 to €90,000, and a limited edition “Birkin 35” from the So Black collection. This discontinued alligator edition is characterised by its metal hardware plated in black, rather than the usual gold or palladium. It is estimated between €40,000 and €45,000. Other important Hermès examples include a barénia leather and wicker Kelly Picnic 35 and a custom-ordered Kelly 32 in Bleu Saphir, Bleu Marine and Bleu Jean alligator. Christie’s is also holding a rare handbag auction in Dubai on March 17 to celebrate its 10th anniversary in the city. The event will feature handbags, trunks, watches and jewellery, with star pieces including an Hermès “Grand Mariage Kelly 32” in ostrich, alligator and lizard. A custom-ordered “Birkin 30” in anémone, rose confetti and bleu aztèque will also be on offer, estimated between $15,000 to $20,000.
February 13, 2016
Bernadette Peters - Broadway Barks
The gorgeous, talented and kind Bernadette Peters and I were both in NYC on book-tour at the same time so we did an event together at Lord & Taylor. Broadway Barks and Bringing Home the Birkin:
