Sandra‘s Closet

Frieze Art Fair is renowned for cutting edge art and a fashion-forward crowd. Established in London in 2003 by the infinitely stylish Matthew Slotover and his co-director Amanda Sharp, it has become one of the art world’s hottest tickets.

This month, London’s coolest art fair hits Manhattan for the first time with the launch of Frieze New York. The four-day event (May 4-7) will see over 1000 of the world’s leading artists gather alongside curators, gallerists and collectors all set against a cool waterside backdrop and with a hip lineup of pop-up restaurants, parties and people to spot. And fashion trendsetters such as Net-à-porter and Mulberry join forces with the art world:

Co-publishers of Frieze Matthew Slotover and Amanda Sharp at the Mulberry dinner

On Friday, May 4 Mulberry hosted an intimate dinner in celebration of the Frieze Art Fair’s New York debut and in honour of the artists of Frieze Projects, of which Mulberry is the sponsor.

Frieze Projects is a not-for-profit initiative featuring commissioned artworks around the outdoor space of Randall’s Island, which are accessible to all visitors to the area. The dinner was held at The Crown restaurant on New York’s Upper East Side (readers of my fashion column in the SI Style magazine know this place already).

The beautiful decorated entrance to The Crown Restaurant

The ambiance

Among the fashionable guests: Derek Blasberg and Alexa Chung

The Clarins-Courtin sisters

Lana Del Rey

American singer Lana Del Rey performed during the evening, wearing the three quarter blouse in flame heavy lace and the fitted pencil skirt in flame, both from the F/W 2012 Collection. Lana was Emma Hill’s inspiration for Mulberry’s newest bag, the Del Rey, which launches in stores and online in mid-May.
(Stay tuned as I will keep you inform you once it hits the shelves).

Mulberry’s Del Rey Bag

Last night, May 5 influencers from the worlds of fashion and art came together to join NET-A-PORTER for a cocktail party and dinner celebrating Frieze Art Fair’s Chelsea Gallery Night, a night where more than 20 of Chelsea’s finest galleries opened their doors for a neighborhood block party filled with exclusive gallery previews, live music and food.

The NET-A-PORTER-sponsored event at the Hôtel Americano kicked off with roof-top cocktails and music by London DJ, Bip Ling, and continued with a seated dinner.

The Big Frieze hits NYC, I love!

LoL, Sandra

Christopher Kane with Natalie Massanet in a lace dress by Alessandra Rich

Giovanna Battaglia in a black leather coat
(Don’t we love the floral lace A-line dress by Miu Miu to the left and the neon-orange with white lace dress by Christopher Kane to the right in the background?!)

Olympia Scarry in head to toe floral prints by Proenza Schouler.

Designers Jason Wu and Roland Mouret

Photos: Courtesy of Mulberry, ©Craig Barritt/WireImage, Courtesy of Net-à-Porter and Frieze New York

Swiss luxury watch manufacturer IWC Schaffhausen opened its first US Flagship Boutique in New York City this month – with 3,000-square-foot the largest of its kind worldwide.

“The opening of this Flagship Boutique in New York City marks a major milestone for IWC Schaffhausen,” says CEO Georges Kern. “It not only reflects the success of the brand, but also pays tribute to the home country of the company’s founder and to our American heritage. We are looking forward to welcoming our customers at this marvelous location at Madison Avenue and inviting them to experience IWC’s spirit and philosophy.”
In fact, IWC founder Florentine Ariosto Jones, an American entrepreneur who launched the brand in 1868, was born only a few miles away from the company’s new landmark.

Today, customers can explore the brand’s watch families – Aquatimer, Pilot’s Watches, Portofino, Ingenieur, Da Vinci, and Portuguese at this outstanding bi-level boutique.

I would like to invite you to check out IWC’s newly launched NYC Globetrotter Guide that offers lots of insider tips for the city that never sleeps. Just click on the highlighted text.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of IWC

This morning when I woke up in New York City after a good night’s sleep (I had been awake for 24hours!), I looked outside and the view from my hotel window was breathtaking. It was 6am and the sun was rising. The light was reflected in the skyscrapers’s facades and the colours inspired me to today’s outfit post.

Embellished-collar printed crepe dress by Miu Miu, leather-trimmed cotton-gabardine trench coat by Burberry Prorsum, orange envelope clutch by Tory Burch, handmade acetate D-frame sunglasses by Finest Seven, Tribtoo suede pumps and enameled gold-plated cuff, both by Yves Saint Laurent.

LoL, Sandra

6:00am

10:00 am

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

Fashionistas lining up in front of the Chanel store to get…

…a free manicure…

…with the three gorgeous shades of Les Jeans de Chanel.

I took the three bottles home, yippie!

Estée Lauder‘s face since 2007: Stunning Hilary Rhoda.

A little warm-up for me for my upcoming interview with Estée Lauder’s Global Creative Director Tom Pecheux on Sunday.

Two Estée Lauder spokeswomen: Liu Wen talking to Constance Jablonski.

Gorgeous presentation of Jo Malone‘s new scent: Wild Bluebell.

Hair guru Frédéric Fekkai

Lydia Hearst

Supermodel Doutzen Kroes…

…doing graffiti with designer Christian Cota.

Open your eyes, it is him…

…me with designer Prabal Gurung.

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

For the third year in a row, the world’s biggest after-hours shopping extravaganza will transform New York City and many other big cities into a shopper’s paradise. Last year, I went to London to celebrate Fashion’s Night Out, this year I will be in NYC. If you are there like me, I recommend getting the Fashion’s Night Out official app for iPhone and Android.

Whether you are headed uptown or down, Brooklyn or Queens, the new app will help you map out exactly where to go to find the hottest fashions, while mingling with your favourite designers, celebrities and industry insiders. You can shop the FNO collection on the go, and share your list of favourite events with your friends. Don’t miss out on being a part of the best fashion party ever and don’t forget to get your hands on the Chanel nail polishes.

Unfortunately, Zurich hasn’t participated in the fun yet, but this year Laurence Antiglio came up with an idea. Her shop Vestibule will celebrate its own Fashion’s Night Out with late shopping until 10.30pm, 10% discount that night and many more exciting things, like drinks and surprises by Aesop. A great way of exploring the new fall collections of designers like Thakoon, Tsumori Chisato, Rochas, Dolfie, Venessa Arizaga and Olympia Le Tan.

Cannot wait…

LoL, Sandra