-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

Prada at Bergdorf Goodman

Revisiting the slogan "Good design is good business," IBM, Apple and other top tier corporations swear by design's strategic value. Beyond creative conceptualization, augmented aesthetics are the ultimate drivers of success. "Design" broadens the horizon of inclusion--whether via a-gendered bathroom icons, handicap friendly-products (like this) or branded slogans that incite reaction from both supporters and opposers (like this). Most consumers are naturally woo-ed by "pretty" things; add an element of practicality and a well marketed message to create prime products. This week's windows at Bergdorf's continue the conversation Prada started all down Fifth Avenue--from the Prada Store to Saks and Bergdorf's! Keep reading to see more...

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

Prada 5th Ave.

Chinatown coffee carts and street art have become highlights of my daily commute. Crossing from East Side to West, Dain, Dee Dee and JR pave a path of stylish surprises. This week, Prada's 5th Avenue windows remind me of the modern interiors of coffeeshops and the artistic appeal of the streets. Keep reading for more, and stay tuned for a piece on Icy and Sot's popup exhibit...

# PRADAICONOCLASTS

Prada Flagship, Soho NYC, the first stop for Miuccia Prada's Iconoclasts installation

Disco divas don sassy socks and marvel-worthy maryjanes in a show of club-goer revelry at Prada's Soho flagship. Until February 22nd, reflective fuchsia flooring and fashionable fiberglass mannequins surround visitors in a discotheque where sporty chic meets delicate extravagance. This fashion season, designers salute the seventies and Miuccia Prada invites 3 notable costume designers to interpret her spring collection through #PRADAICONOCLASTS installations in New York, London and Paris. Keep reading for a look inside...

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

 Bergdorf Goodman 57th Street windows

A day into Fall, style takes a turn towards brisk tranquility. Fur trimmed fashions and forlorn palettes favor comfort over cost. While many await season premieres of serial TV, I'm excited for the stylish sweats upcoming in Uniqlo's partnership with Alexandre Plokhov (Helmut Lang designer). This week's windows on Fifth Ave showcase the view outside--suits and shawls strewn with signs of serenity and silhouettes of bare branches. Strike up a good look and showcase it with a #selfie!

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

 Prada, 5th Avenue

With age comes an inherent bias towards responsibility and a tendency towards polarized priorities. A rickety sense of success brings renewed rigor to planning and partitioning (between work, life, and creativity). This week's windows showcase seasonal style and the tactical transformation between workwear, streetwear and beachwear. Take a look!...   

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

Prada display at Bergdorf Goodman 5th Ave and 57th St

A tangy trace of feminism spices up the premise of Prada's Spring/Summer 2014 campaign.The endeavor began last year when Miuccia Prada enlisted muralists Gabriel Specter, Miles 'El Mac' Gregor, Mesa and Stinkfish and illustrators Jeanne Detallante and Pierre Mornet to create emotive portraits of women as part of the In the Heart of the Multitude project. First unleashed onto Prada's September 2013 catwalk (in Milan), the expressive faces are currently on the shelves and streets of fashion's premier cities. Having once worked as the secretary of Milan's communist party, Miuccia Prada is no stranger to politics and her vision of female ferocity and strength shines through this week, in the windows of Bergdorfs. 

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

Bergdorf Goodman, Fifth Ave. mixes style with rare books from the Cary Collection

Originally designed to be a repository of bibliographic information, card catalogues have gone the way of the abacus--repurposed into functional modules of furniture or prominently displayed as decorative art. This week, Bergdorf's Fifth Ave. windows give a vivacious nod to the old style bibliothèque, showcasing stacks and shelves-ful of vintage volumes. Ditching digital for a hoarier sense of sophistication, David Hoey and team pair classic style with an outpouring of good old fashioned manuscripts. What were some of your favorite childhood books?

DOVER STREET MARKET HITS NY IN STYLE

Dover Street Market, Lexington Ave., NYC--Notice how nicely the hair color matches the Adidas shoes on that man!

The bold, the beautiful and the fanciest of New York's fashion fiends flock to Kips Bay this weekend to partake in the public debut of NYC's mega-iteration of London's Dover Street Market (DSMNY). Though shop-in-shops are not novel to the city's style scene, Rei Kawakubo's 'new school' take on this 'old school' concept is markedly revolutionary. With proper planning, the Beaux-Arts building on the corner of Lexington Ave. (and 30th St.) has transformed from an applied design school for women into a luxe shopping paradise, complete with physical and extra-sensory experiences. A hybrid of Anthropologie (decor) and Bergdorf Goodman (merchandise) has emerged, with a touch of Urban Outfitters and Alexander Wang (staff). 

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

Massimo Dutti, 5th Ave. 

Like flint on steel, fashion catches heat when an infectious idea strikes a single brave trendsetter. In the 50's, Mary Quant popularized short skirts and named them after her car, the Mini. Aviator sunglasses have been around since 1936, but after Tom Cruise wore them in Top Gun, sales of Ray-Ban Aviators increased 40%! Like MC Hammer and Harem Pants in the 80s, going out on a limb can spark an overnight worldwide style sensation. With a rise in new technology, manufacturing methods and up and coming designers, what kind of calibrated couture will be en vogue next?

GATSBY GLAMOUR

Dress Gatsby exhibit at Prada in Soho featuring Catherine Martin + Miuccia Prada's collaborative costumes

Laden with more crystal than a Baccarat chandelier, the mannequins of Prada's Soho store shimmer and sparkle in extravagant style. Earlier this week, Prada kicked off its Catherine Martin and Miuccia Prada Dress Gatsby exhibit with cocktails and celebrities in anticipation of Wednesday evening's movie premiere at Lincoln Center. For 12 days, Prada's Soho store will exhibit the lavish gowns and accent pieces worn in the movie, a collaboration between Miuccia Prada and Catherine Martin, Oscar winning costume designer and wife of Baz Lubrmann--The Great Gatsby's writer, producer and director.

Style Snaps: Something Storylike at Bergdorf's 3

Bergdorf windows depicting Franz Kafka's The Metamorposis with the help of Prada, Marc Jacobs and others 

Happy President's Day! Starting the week off with a holiday is certainly a treat. Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis reminds me of the weekly transformation Monday morning, after the remnants of the weekend fade into the work week ahead. What are you doing on your day off?

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

Lanvin Madison Ave. and 68th St.

Zebra stripes, monochrome photographs, newspapers and old episodes of I Love Lucy all embrace the same polished aesthetic created by the marriage of black and white. Classic colors in solemn sophistication, B&W adds a measure of elegance and refinement. With Valentine's day about a week away, Lanvin's masqueraded man reminds me of an upscale cupid, waiting for the right moment to seranade an unsuspecting stranger.