lifestyle

Last week Matthew Williamson opened his first US flagship downtown in New York to a packed Fashion Week crowd. With a large glass facade and poured concrete flooring the look of the space is modern and sleek. Williamson's colorful, vintage inspired aesthetic is not lost, however, not only do the clothes themselves add a jolt of color and vibrancy to the space so too do his furniture creations for The Rug Company and his bespoke wallpaper designs. Check out our first look at the new store, and, don't forget to check out Williamson's Fall 2009 collection as well.  

Designer Richard Chai--the brother of one part of the Den duo--is the newest inhabitant to grace the Den pop-up space in the East Village. Chai, who recently launched menswear and his own Go International collection for Target, will sell most of his Spring 09 men's range, a capsule of the women's range, and some exclusives in the newly revamped space. Check out this first look at the new space, along with three of Chai's menswear looks for spring. 

Last night we stopped by the YSL Edition Unisex pop-up where staff members and fashion friends were celebrating the collection's launch. Luckily, we got their just before the space got packed and had a chance to pour over the slinky fabrics and masculine, slouchy cuts in the collection. For more, be sure to check out our earlier posting with look book images from the YSL Edition Unisex collection.

Elle Style Awards hosted by Alexa Chung. London 02/09/09. Photos by Mike Marsland/Getty Images. 

Paris 01/29/09. Photos by Dominique Charriau/WireImage

Coutorture correspondent and all-around great gal, Brigitte Nicole, catches the last weeks of the Martin Margiela Retrospective in Antwerp. Her report and photos for our viewing pleasure...

Forever keeping a hidden identity, Martin Margiela has been compared to likes of literary recluse JD Salinger and faceless graffiti artist Banksy. His design house dissolves the notion of one celebritized designer to a team who simply refer to themselves as “we”.  These democratic workings are esteemed to further conceptual levels by combining them with a breaking of systemized rules--sale associates in white lab coats, long blonde locks transformed into shoulder-heavy jackets, erratic numbering to designate different collections, and unusual materials reworked with Savile-Row quality tailoring.

Founded in 1988, a time where the fashion world was ruled by celebrities and super models, Margiela kept his scope limited to fashion and fashion alone. Emerging out of Antwerp, where he attended fashion design at Royal Academy of Arts, he moved to Paris, working as Jean Paul Gaultier’s assistant until he created a house to carry his name. This past October marked 20 years, and to celebrate, a retrospective depicting 23 dominant themes at the house were displayed at Antwerp's MoMu. The exhibition still stands through February, but for those who do not have extra air miles to Antwerp...

Exhibition in conjunction with Puma Creative, held at the Design Museum in London. 01/21/09. Dave M. Bennett/Getty Images.

New York 01/13/09. Shawn Ehlers/Wireimage.