Every week, Alexa rounds up New York's hottest fashion, hotel openings, restaurant debuts, and celebrity-studded cultural happenings. This is a hand-picked guide to the best things to see, shop, taste and experience across the city.
What's on your luxury list this week? Boucheron makes its Manhattan debut, Goop drops a furniture collection, and the Alvin Ailey exhibition opens at the Whitney.
Believe it or not, Boucheron didn't have a standalone boutique in the United States until earlier this month. It now sits firmly on Madison Avenue near 65th Street. This means New Yorkers can finally properly immerse themselves in the world of this age-old jeweler. I have to thank him for creating the question mark necklace. The 3,900-square-foot space (next to Versace) draws inspiration from the Art Deco era, starting with an emerald-shaped glass and metal façade and including architecture, custom furniture and accessories reminiscent of that era. . Inside are vintage pieces, such as the brooch worn by Elizabeth Taylor to the 1976 Oscars, and jewelry, including a reproduction of one originally made for Cornelius Vanderbilt. Boucheron.com
“Life Dances On: Robert Frank in Dialogue” is a new exhibition at MoMA that spans six decades of the celebrated photographer and filmmaker's life. The 250 items on display include photographs, films, books, and other archival materials. These are the works of the Swiss-born artist, known for his unique perspective on American life, collected through extensive road trips throughout the United States. Many will be shown to the public for the first time. “Due to the profound influence of Frank's book The Americans, he is often remembered as a solo photographer on a road trip, a Swiss artist who photographed America as he traversed it as an outsider. Yet over the next 60 years, Frank continued to carve out new avenues for his own work, often in direct artistic dialogue with others, and these contributions deserve more attention.'' said Lucy Galan. The exhibition will be on display until January 11, 2025. MoMA.org
Goop's second CB2 collection was unveiled yesterday and includes 25 pieces ranging from furniture and accessories to lighting and textiles. Didn't know there was a first one? The products debuted in 2018, and many of them are still available (one of the sofas is listed as a “best seller”). The new collection was inspired by “modern Parisian apartments and mid-century modernist furniture.” They're quick to point out details that might otherwise be overlooked, from the contrasting welts on the sofa to the marble legs on the club chairs. Gwyneth Paltrow, founder and CEO of goop, describes the range as “…a treasured heirloom…We aim to create a collection that is bold yet elegant and grown-up, using plaster, shearling, lacquer and more. “We focused on the complex texture of the material.” CB2.com
The 39th floor of NoMad's Virgin Hotel is now home to Riff Raff Club, a new lounge that “pays homage to the raucous cocktail bars, neighborhood watering holes, and watering holes of New York City's past.” The bar is headed by Charles Joly, a world champion bartender and James Beard Award winner who is primarily responsible for the world-famous cocktail bar Aviary, part of Chicago's Alinea Group. This is a person who has been involved in this bartending business for 20 years. Riff Raff offers a variety of expected classics (Martini, Old Fashioned, Manhattan), as well as new concoctions with elaborate presentations (port-finish tequila, watermelon, guava, rosé champagne, edible flowers). There are also some surprises. A “liquid library” of vintage spirits dating back nearly a century, including Old Fitzgerald Bonded Bourbon from the original Stitzel-Weller Distillery, 1947 Cognac Napoleon, and Green Chartreuse from the 1960s and ’70s. RIffRaffNYC.com
“Edge of Ailey” opened at the Whitney Museum of American Art earlier this week. This is the first major museum exhibition dedicated to visionary artist and choreographer Alvin Ailey (1931-1989), and will be held in two parts. The first is an exhibition featuring the work of more than 80 artists, as well as numerous items from Ailey's archives, from performance footage to drawings and ephemera. The second is an ambitious program of more than 90 live dance performances and classes held in the museum's third-floor theater. AILEY groups spend one week each month at the museum, which features performances by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Ailey II, as well as workshops and educational programs. When they're not there, visitors can enjoy a series of dance performances and new commissions by leading choreographers and their collaborators. Until February 9th, whitney.org.
