Sandra‘s Closet

Louis Vuitton announces Pharrell Williams as its new Men’s Creative Director, effective immediately. His first collection for Louis Vuitton will be revealed this June during the Men’s Fashion Week in Paris.

Pharrell Williams is a visionary whose creative universes expand from music, to art, and to fashion – establishing himself as a cultural, global icon over the past twenty years. The way in which he breaks boundaries across the various worlds he explores aligns with Louis Vuitton’s status as a Cultural Maison, reinforcing its values of innovation, pioneer spirit and entrepreneurship.

«I am glad to welcome Pharrell back home, after our collaborations in 2004 and 2008 for Louis Vuitton, as our new Men’s Creative Director. His creative vision beyond fashion will undoubtedly lead Louis Vuitton towards a new and very exciting chapter.»  declares Pietro Beccari, Louis Vuitton’s Chairman and CEO.

Billionaires Boys Club

Pharrell Williams is a visionary recording artist, producer, songwriter, philanthropist, fashion designer, and entrepreneur with 10B combined global music streams to date. He excels as a fashion designer and entrepreneur with his Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream apparel among other brands. In the fall of 2019, Williams teamed up with David Grutman and opened both Swan and Bar Bevy in Miami’s Design District, and The Goodtime Hotel in 2021. In 2020, Pharrell founded Humanrace™, a product company with a mission to empower all individuals in their pursuit of wellbeing across product and people.

LoL, Sandra

Pharrell Williams’ The Goodtime Hotel 

Photos: © Louis Vuitton / Erik Ian – Billionaires Boys Club – The Goodtime Hotel
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Jimmy Choo has unveiled a capsule collection in collaboration with Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon in celebration of the Japanese anime series 30th anniversary. The first Sailor Moon episode aired in 1991, followed by the adaptation Sailor Moon Crystal in 2014. Created by Naoko Takeuchi, the show has become a pop cultural phenomenon, stanned for its feminine magic, humor, and fashionable characters.

Sandra Choi, creative director of Jimmy Choo, has worked with Naoko Takeuchi, creator of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, on the collection that champions «bold individuality, zeitgeist-defining imagery and female empowerment». The Jimmy Choo x Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon collection aims to translate the anime series femininity and female power with a capsule range of footwear and accessories themed around the ‘Sailor Guardians’ characters, including Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Venus, their mentor cat Luna and Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon herself.

The capsule collection includes for example knee-high boots, ankle boots, patent pumps, lace-up leather combat boots, and high-heeled platform pumps as homages to the shoes worn by the characters. Moreover, Sailor Moon’s most memorable moments are immortalized as manga drawings on bags and sneakers. Highlight of the collaboration is a pair of limited-edition boots encrusted with roughly 19,000 Swarovski crystals. The fuchsia-colored silhouette is complete with a moon motif at the top in addition to a 10-centimeter-tall heel, maintaining the original look of Jimmy Choo’s classic shoes.

Celebrating the team-up and the 30th anniversary of Sailor Moon, Jimmy Choo is putting one pair of these boots on display exclusively at Tokyo‘s Mori Art Museum in Roppongi.

The Jimmy Choo x Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon collection will be exclusively available in Europe at Selfridges from February 14. The launch will coincide with a dedicated pop-up in the department store’s ground-floor accessories hall, featuring «playful installations with the ultimate photo opportunity for Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon superfans.»

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Jimmy Choo
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«You never fall in love with perfection. You can be attracted to someone gorgeous but that’s not what will make you ultimately fall in love with this person. You fall in love with his/her imperfections and what makes them unique to you.» Kilian Hennessy.

KILIAN PARIS crafts in Can’t stop loving You a true love declaration: a perfume celebrating love, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Created by founder Kilian Hennessy in collaboration with perfumer Alberto Morillas, Can’t stop loving You enters the Narcotics olfactive family with, at the centerpiece, North African Orange Blossom. A flower to express the emotion carried by the name of the fragrance, as it is the symbol of eternal love. Alongside with Paradisone, an ethereal jasmine compound suggests pure paradise.

Its heart is incredibly suave, featuring Honey absolute from Provence, a new ingredient in the KILIAN PARIS repertoire, for a delicious French touch. Vanilla absolute from Madagascar adds a doubly gourmand incitement to pleasure, while notes of Oak Moss bring an earthy intensity. Incense extract from Somalia lends sensuality, volume and endless mystery.

To increase the intensity of the desire, Can’t stop loving You is surrounded by one of Kilian Hennessy’s favorite ingredients, Labdanum cistus absolute. A strongly ambery, balsamic-like gum, hand harvested for more than 100 years in Andalusia, Southwest of Spain – a place dear to the founder, where he decided to settle down. Labdanum cistus protects itself from the sun and heat by producing a gum that envelops twings and leaves, a symbol of natural truth. Being also one of the most sensual raw material in perfumery, it brings warmth and an animalic dimension to the fragrance: «It is an ingredient that, worn on skin, has nothing comparable, it is sensuality in its purest state,» explains Kilian Hennessy.

This feature echo founder’s belief inspired by the divine Achilles’ shield, also engraved on the endlessly refillable perfume bottle, that a fragrance can be as much a weapon of seduction as a protective armor. Both luminous and somber, Can’t stop loving You is a narcotic floral fragrance that puts peace in danger.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © KILIAN PARIS and © Sandra Bauknecht / Flowers by Rosenbouquet.ch
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Rising in the East, intense sunlight infuses Sacred Wood and Rose Oud by KILIAN PARIS, two fragrance icons blended by Founder Kilian Hennessy and Perfumer Calice Becker almost ten years ago, are returning to the collection.

Sacred Wood is a homage to pure Sandalwood from Mysore, India—so rare it is now forbidden in perfumery, reserved for religious temples— while Rose Oud celebrates a firework of woods and spices around an incandescent Rose. Both creations also pay common tribute to their shared ingredient of Cedarwood, sourced from protected tree species in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, blended into a matrix of resinous notes like liquid gold. Exceptional woods like these take time to cultivate; mysterious and sanctified, they are an olfactive opening into a higher level of sensory pleasure.

Part of The Cellars olfactive family, Sacred Wood is a unisex portrait of Sandalwood, especially the most coveted variety from Mysore with its spicy, woodsy and milky facets that are simply incredible. Now prohibited, Kilian Hennessy recreates his olfactive ideal.

Sacred Wood opens with Ambrette Seed Absolute and Carrot Seed Essence for spicy and earthen elements, only to unfold into a multi-layered Sandalwood Accord with Cedarwood Oil Atlas sourced in Morocco and Amyris Oil from Dominican Republic. Copaiba Balsam Oil adds warmth with an animalic aspect of Apricot. A malted milky vapor rises like incense, for an exceptional and long-lasting sillage.

Part of The Narcotics olfactive family, Rose Oud depicts a burning blend of Roses.

Rose Oil from Bulgaria opens with a spark of Saffron and Cinnamon, while Rose Absolute spread luxuriously throughout, blending into a sweet Lychee accord. The fragrance unfolds a long-lasting dry-down based on Cedarwood Atlas Oil, that resonates with an Oud Accord built around woody and spicy Cypriol Oil from India, enriched by deep smoky notes of leather.

Two of the most coveted blends of KILIAN PARIS have made their come back. Sacred Wood and Rose Oud go higher—sourced below in the scent of wood, uplifted toward the light—both are windows into something beyond.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © KILIAN PARIS and © Sandra Bauknecht / Nadia Krawiecka
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Adventure time in my new cruelty-free fake fur coat that still captures the luxurious appeal of mink. Nadja Axarlis, founder of FAZ, produces her luxury pieces at a small Parisian atelier. I had a lot of fun taking these photos in the snow outside of the Gstaad Palace hotel.

By the way, the sweater features a travel destination that is on top of my bucket list, can you guess which one it is?

My look: The Cool belted faux fur coat by FAZ, Ines embroidered cashmere-jacquard sweater, and Diana suede leather tote, both by Gabriela Hearst, printed jersey track pants by Dolce & Gabbana, «Vicky» hat in black by Hermès, green rubber boots with logo (F/W 2022 Runway), earrings with red and turquoise stones (Métiers d’Art 2014 Paris – Dallas), and sunglasses, all by CHANEL.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht / David Biedert Photography 
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Valentine’s Day is coming up and heart shoes are a February must have. This season’s heart-themed shoe trend is the best way to show your betrothed how loved-up you’re feeling, as well as earning you plenty of style points.

LoL, Sandra

Amora heart-print ballerinas by Sophia Webster

Heart plaque lace pumps by Dolce & Gabbana

Heart 95 crystal-embellished satin sandals by Mach & Mach

Crystal-heart sandals by Giuseppe Zanotti

Heart-plaque slingback pumps by Love Moschino

Mules Cœur with crystals by Alaïa

Heart-print platform sandals by Saint Laurent

 Triple-heart satin pump by Mach & Mach

Photos: Courtesy of the Brands, © Sandra Bauknecht
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The heart shape as a motif is impossible to ignore in fashion right now. Already in June last year, I posted about the heart shaped bag trend. Fans of the heart bag may not intrinsically realize it, but the motif speaks to a psychological comfort during a time when things are still incredibly uncertain.

CHANEL debuted pastel quilted flap bags in the shape of chunky hearts on the S/S 2022 runway and they immediately sold out everywhere. I found one for you pre-owned in great condition, that is 15% off right now, please see below.

2022 Heart diamond-quilted crossbody bag by CHANEL Pre-Owned

The shape of a heart is so beautiful, but also gives good energy and in some ways, hopefully, spreads love. Valentine’s Day is coming up and I thought you might get inspired. However heart shaped bags aren’t just for Valentine’s Day and weddings, just saying… happy shopping!

LoL, Sandra

Le Cagole Heart mini studded crinkled-leather shoulder bag by Balenciaga

Pearl Heart medium bag by Simone Rocha

Heart-shaped biker crossbody bag by Moschino

Heart shaped shoulder bag by Blumarine

Metal Devotion crystal-embellished bag by Dolce & Gabbana

L’Amour Petite Cœur crystal-embellished clutch bag by Judith Leiber

Le Coeur heart-shaped leather shoulder bag by Alaïa

Heart pillow clutch by Alexander Wang

Photos: Courtesy of the Brands, © Sandra Bauknecht / David Biedert Photography
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For Valentine’s Day, the House of Hermès not only puts the human hand at the heart of its creations, but also puts your heart in the hands of its craftsmen. The selection of love-ready objects made with passion is designed to surprise you and ignite passion.

From a fascinating and large selection of gift ideas, you can surprise your partner and write the rules of love new. A little, a lot, or very passionately; look him or her in the eye at a beach racquet game, go to the midnight ball to find out who owns the forgotten pump, tuck love notes in your fanny pack or have a picnic hand-in-hand with your wicker Birkin.

Make your and a loved one’s heart beat faster and fall in love with Hermès objects for a wonderful Valentine’s Day, full of love and surprises.

LoL, Sandra

Belt in lizard, Swift calfskin and Epsom calfskin

Magellan portable backgammon set in mahogany and printed Swift calfskin

«Après la Vague» beach racquets in printed beech and cork

Ballerina in suede goatskin

«Grand Jeté» two-band ring in rose gold, diamonds and pink tourmaline

Headband in silk twill 

Balusoie bag in «Panoplie Equestre» printed silk and Hunter cowhide 

Birkin Picnic bag in Swift calfskin and wicker

Toupet bag in alligator and feathers

Scarf 70 «Jungle Love au Tampon» in vintage silk twill

Bracelet in enamel and gold metal

Scarf 70 «Rendez-vous Galant» in vintage silk twill

Rouge Hermès limited editions

Double-face scarf «Epaulettes de Gala» 90 in silk twill

Photos: © S/S 2023 Objets Hermes © Studio des Fleurs / © Maud Remy-Lonvis
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First unveiled in June last year, Louis Vuitton’s Spirit high jewelry collection continues its odyssey into the next and final chapter, featuring 30 unique pieces that pulse with a distinctive graphic energy and the iconic codes of the Maison, embodying the emanating strength of the Louis Vuitton woman.

Spirit is the fourth high jewelry collection designed by Francesca Amfitheatrof, the Maison’s Artistic Director for Watches and Jewellery. Francesca Amfitheatrof has always believed that jewellery and its wearer are inextricably linked. «I don’t think anything else in the world has the power to hold the spirit of the person so much as jewellery does,» she said.

Destiny Bracelet and Ring

That ethos continues in Spirit Chapter II, where masterfully executed creations channel the singular design codes of the Maison – and which, like Chapter I, are set across four universes that reflect the values of the house: Destiny, Liberty, Fantasy and Radiance.

Destiny Necklace

Destiny is an ode to the ruby, in the most luminous, perfect red hue, with stones that seem to emit their own special power. The Destiny universe is anchored in the geometric energy and symbol of the Louis Vuitton V, which channels the dynamism of the Maison, propelling its legacy and vision into the future.

Liberty Medaillon and Ring

Freedom to explore and discover. To travel and to open up to new horizons and to venture into unknown territories both physically and metaphorically. The Liberty theme embodies the desire for freedom that has always guided Louis Vuitton like a light.

Fantasy Necklace and Earrings

The world of Fantasy embodies the imagination of Louis Vuitton and evokes the pioneering spirit of the founder of the House; the creative genius and the creative genius and vital force of a man who never stopped innovating, dreaming and pushing back the boundaries.

Radiance Necklace

Since her very first Louis Vuitton Haute Joaillerie collection, Francesca Amfitheatrof has imagined her creations as armor, a second skin that protects a woman’s identity and soul as she courageously moves forward in her journey. The new Radiance necklace exudes a bold energy highlighted by mirror yellow gold triangles that set the stage for a geometry of pyramids and diamond-paved Vs.

My personal favorite: The Liberty Trunk Pendant

Made exclusively in the House’s Parisian workshops, Louis Vuitton’s Spirit Chapter II Haute Joaillerie collection is the latest in a series of striking pieces that are both singular and unique.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Louis Vuitton – Laziz Hamani /Solve Sundsbo
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Sporting a head-to-toe Dolce & Gabbana floral look at Gstaad Palace. I absolutely adore how the gloves and overknee boots blend in with print of the jumpsuit.

Great news is that Mid February the Italian Maison will take over the Palace for two weeks, host a gala, and present their Alta Moda collection as well as their stunning high jewelry inside the hotel’s Salle Baccarat to the distinguished clientele.

My look: Long floral-print down jacket, jersey Turlington blazer with rose print, power jersey jumpsuit with rose print, overknee boots with rose print, jersey gloves with rose print, and rose-print logo-plaque headband, all by Dolce & Gabbana, 2001 eagle plaque flap shoulder bag, and matching 2001 eagle logo earrings, both by CHANEL.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht / David Biedert Photography 
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