LACMA Art+Film Gala to Honor Simone Leigh and Baz Luhrmann

LACMA announced 2024 Art+Film Gala honorees, Balenciaga unveiled the Bel Air bag, Miu Miu premiered its newest short film at the Venice Film Festival and we checked in to Nine Orchard ahead of NYFW.

Source: Getty Images

LACMA announces the 2024 Art+Film Gala date and honorees 

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has announced the date and honorees of its 2024 Art+Film Gala , presented by longtime sponsor Gucci. 

This year’s gala, which will take place Nov. 2, will honor artist Simone Leigh and film director Baz Luhrmann, and feature a special performance from musical guest Charli xcx. LACMA trustee Eva Chow and actor Leonardo DiCaprio have championed the museum’s film initiatives since 2011, and will continue their efforts as the 2024 Art+Film Gala co-chairs.

“Simone Leigh is one of the most captivating and important voices in contemporary art, brilliantly melding an array of different artistic traditions and centering Black femme subjects in powerful and moving ways,” LACMA CEO and Wallis Annenberg director Michael Govan said. “Baz Luhrmann has crafted an emotional cinematic oeuvre over three decades, driven by his imagination and passion. We are excited to honor him alongside Simone and celebrate their remarkable careers.”

Now on view at LACMA and the California African American Museum (CAAM), “Simone Leigh” is the first comprehensive survey of the artist’s richly layered practice and her most expansive exhibition on the West Coast to date. Presented across both institutions, the exhibition explores dozens of key works from Leigh’s career, including pieces from the artist’s landmark 2022 Venice Biennale project, as well as new pieces created especially for the L.A. presentation. “Simone Leigh” closes Jan. 20, 2025.

Proceeds from the annual Art+Film Gala go toward underwriting LACMA’s initiative to make film more central to the museum’s curatorial programming, while also funding its broader mission. This includes exhibitions, acquisitions and educational programming that explore the intersection of art and film.

Source: Balenciaga

Balenciaga unveils the Bel Air bag 

Following the debut of its Beverly Hills-inspired Rodeo Bag, Balenciaga has unveiled a new addition to its accessories collection named for the neighboring elegant enclave of Bel Air.  

The Bel Air bag’s construction is deceptively relaxed, with a fortified, round-edged build designed to live as a timeless heirloom. The line offers a range of versatility in multiple styles, made with naturally smooth leather that takes on an appealing grained patina with wear and a softened nappa lining. A matte transparent finish is painted on each bag’s exterior, while its back, interior and removable cloche split key ring are embossed with Balenciaga Paris stamps.

The Bel Air’s hallmark is a logo-engraved metal twist lock that joins two slender belts across a broad front. In the case of the Carry-All Tote, three notched flaps are either facing up and threaded with the belts, or unfurled, exposing an extra outer pocket. A set of metal snaps allow for expansion of the bag’s main compartment. With the Bel Air’s multiple closure and adjustment mechanisms, there are almost endless ways of wearing it.

The Bel Air Carry-All Tote, held with a set of shoulder-length handles, is available in small, medium and extra-large sizes. The Bel Air Hobo Bag, carried via a buckle-adjustable shoulder strap, is available in small and large sizes. Each comes in black or beige leather, with gold or silver hardware.

The campaign, meanwhile, features brand ambassadors Isabelle Huppert and Michelle Yeoh, as well as actress Naomi Watts (pictured above), photographed by Nadav Kander. Each star is dressed in Balenciaga ready-to-wear trompe-l’oeil pants, shoes, printed artworks, kick silhouettes and evening dresses.

Source: Miu Miu

Miu Miu premieres the latest installation of its Women’s Tales short film series

Miu Miu, the Italian women’s clothing and accessory brand (and sister brand of Prada), premiered its new short film at the Venice Film Festival last month.

“El Affaire Miu Miu,” directed by Argentine film director and producer Laura Citarella, is the 28th commission from Miu Miu Women’s Tales, the acclaimed short film series that invites today’s most profound and original female directors to investigate vanity and femininity in the 21st century.

This latest installment is a wry, female-driven Hitchcockian detective story in which Citarella continues to explore her ongoing interest in “female Sherlock Holmes” figures who try and solve the puzzle of “women that, for different reasons, run away.”

The film tells the story of a model who goes missing after a Miu Miu fashion campaign in Latin America. A few days later, the detectives of the town — all women — begin investigating the disappearance. Along the way, they find pieces of the dress she was wearing. Meanwhile, the spectators observe the model making her pilgrimage across the pampas and gradually merging into the natural scenery as if she were the very embodiment of the landscape itself – a fusion of a character, a dress and a place.

“I had to learn how to film outfits,” Citarella said of the project. “It was necessary to find a connection between fashion and storytelling, by melting the fantastic pampa’s landscape and the world of Miu Miu, where the clothes are part of the fiction as main character.” 

“El Affaire Miu Miu” premiered at Venice Aug. 31, will be available on Miu Miu digital channels and will stream on Mubi globally beginning Sept. 27.

Source: Nine Orchard

Nine Orchard is the hottest hotel to check in to (or out) during NYFW

Bordering the Lower East Side and Chinatown, the micro-neighborhood of Dimes Square is still the coolest spot in Manhattan. Home to buzzy brands like Bode, Suzie Kondi, Susan Alexander, Kallmeyer and Sandy Liang, and bars and restaurants like Bar Contra, Casino and Cervo, this is where the fashion set flock to – and the place they stay is Nine Orchard.

Housed in a 1912 Beaux-Arts building, the 116-room hotel opened in the summer of 2022 after being meticulously restored to its former Neo-Renaissance splendor. Formerly home to the Jarmulowsky Bank, the building is full of historic artifacts and carefully reproduced elements such as the 60-foot tempietto on the building’s rooftop and the lobby’s soaring, vaulted ceiling with large, arched windows and carefully restored cornice moldings.

The hotel enlisted a number of creative collaborators to curate countless details throughout the building, from the art hung in public spaces and private guest rooms to the mini bar selection and the custom sound system. Every room also features custom BDDW furniture, fine European antiques and heart pine flooring to evoke classic New York apartments and a homey sense of comfort.

By day, the casual Corner Bar restaurant helmed by Ignacio Mattos serves as the perfect breakfast or lunch meeting spot. At night the hotel’s chic bar housed in the original bank’s lobby hotel, called the Swan Room, comes alive serving up small plates and cocktails to guests and locals alike. 

Check back next week for more NYFW coverage.

Source: Alejandro Laurel

Actress and entrepreneur Tallulah Willis has launched a new capsule collection with silk brand Kumi Kookoon.

The collection, known as Kumi KøøBuu, features throws in six shades of dyed silk unique to the collection – heller pink, lodi green, tangerine and blood orange – as well as the brand’s staple shades of bluebird and avocado. The collection also features contrast-stitched boudoir pillows in five different shades, a French-pleated slipper, fitted flat sheet, duvet cover, sleep mask and hair tie for a complete silk sleep set.

Willis was originally introduced to the brand by her parents, Demi Moore and Bruce Willis. Kumi Kookoon’s other longtime celebrity fans include Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johannsson, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Blake Lively, Jamie Lee-Curtis, Kristen Chenoweth and Leighton Meester.

“After following the brand as a fan for years, I took a leap and dove right in to asking Jennifer Hsu, the owner and designer, if she would work with me,” Willis said. “When you feel the silk filled slightly weighted blanket wrapped around you, it’s like nothing you’ve ever experienced.” 

Founded in Los Angeles in 2003, Kumi Kookoon uses only the highest quality of silk for both the outer coverings and inner fillings of their pieces, which is hypoallergenic and also fights mold. All products are hand-made by a small group of women in China using traditional methods that have been passed down through generations.

Kumi KøøBuu is now available for purchase exclusively at kumikookoon.com.

Source: South Coast Plaza

Zegna opens a new location in South Coast Plaza

Luxury menswear brand Zegna has opened a new South Coast Plaza store. A reflection of the brand’s refreshed identity under the artistic direction of Alessandro Sartori, the new location prioritizes contemporary design principles and the needs of the modern man.

The new 2,500-square-foot store concept features design elements from Zanotta, Cassina and Riva 1920 and showcases artwork inspired by the “Born in Oasi Zegna” book, which recalls more than 100 years of Zegna’s history through a curated series of stunning imagery and inspiring anecdotes.

Shoppers will also be able to discover the brand’s latest menswear collections, featuring luxury leisurewear staples such as the versatile Alba overshirt, timeless formalwear, and the iconic Triple Stitch shoes and the in-store Made to Measure experience.

Founded in the Italian Alps more than a century ago, the brand remains true to the values of its founder, Ermenegildo Zegna, who believed in the virtues of creating world class fabrics whose production is in harmony with both nature and local communities. This commitment to building a brighter future is embodied by Oasi Zegna, a preserved natural area that surrounds the company’s historic Ermenegildo Zegna Wool Mill. 

Have a news story for our readers? Please email [email protected].

Interested in partnership opportunities? Please email [email protected].