This Brand Throws the Best Parties in NYC

Fashion brands have been hosting parties and events for ages as a means of connecting with editors, customers, or both. As an editor myself, I've been to plenty of these shindigs, and I have learned that there's a fine, tough-to-achieve line between work and play. Brands, after all, are trying to sell you something—even if there are delicious drinks and a perfect playlist involved—and you're there, either as an industry player or discerning consumer, to essentially be convinced of what's on offer.

So, when a good friend texted me one night to head downtown for a party at Garrett Leight's SoHo store, I assumed I knew what I was getting into—another fashion party that was fun, but not too fun, because there was a money-fueled motive behind it all.

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Brooklyn’s Wearable Revolution

Photo A Manufacture New York start-up shoe line founded by Dolly Singh features a limited-edition stiletto for $900. Credit Eric Helgas for The New York Times

Monday is what for many in the fashion-Hollywood-business-celebrity nexus is considered the highlight of the social season: the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute gala. Before guests like Sarah Jessica Parker and Johnny Depp run the flashbulb gantlet to get to their Champagne and canapés, however, they will have to air-kiss the co-hosts Anna Wintour, Miuccia Prada, Taylor Swift, Nicolas Ghesquière, Idris Elba and Jonathan Ive, and at least pretend to pay attention to the nominal reason they are there: the opening of "Manus x Machina," the Met's annual fashion blockbuster exhibition.

A meditation on the assumptions we all make about what constitutes value in clothing, the show features 150 garments made between the 1880s and last February by names like Chanel, Iris van Herpen, Lanvin and Hussein Chalayan, and is meant to draw attention to the increasingly meaningless standoff between hand and machine. Why do we believe a dress that took one seamstress thousands of hours to embroider is worth more than a dress that took thousands of hours to 3D print? Can you even tell the difference?

"Technology is eroding the difference between haute couture and ready-to-wear," said Andrew Bolton, chief curator of the Costum e Institute, who wants the show to convince viewers that "we need a new paradigm for thinking about creativity." Not to mention, he added, to raise the question of what wearables really means.

The implication being that, despite the fact that Apple, maker of the Apple Watch (a.k.a. the poster object for wearables), is a sponsor of the show, the answer is not necessarily a gadget you strap on your body.

Rather it may have something to do with what is going on a few miles to the south of the museum, across the East River in a cavernous old industrial building in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

That is the headquarters of Manufacture New York, a fashion incubator, factory and research facility housed in a landmark building that was once Storehouse No. 2 of the United States Navy Fleet Supply Base (so noted on a plaque by the entrance) and is now the wearables epicenter of a Brooklyn waterfront reinvention that has been taking place over the last few years.

Forget Silicon Valley and Silicon Beach. Welcome to the land of the Silicon Schmatte.

Photo The Manufacture New York work space in a cavernous old industrial building in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Credit Eric Helgas for The New York Times

Incubator hubs in former factories have begun to dot the river's edge and the uplands like pearls on a string: Aside from Manufacture NY, there is the Greenpoint Design and Manufacturing Center, a complex of old brick buildings originally built for the textile industry, and New Lab in the Brooklyn Navy Yard (which concentrates on prototyping and structures), to name just a few. Then there is the Brooklyn Army Terminal, just a few blocks down from Manufacture NY's home, and a million-plus-square-foot center for "advanced manufacturing" (including biotech), in the words of Maria Torres-Springer, president of the New York Economic Development Corporation, which will manage the space.

Thanks to an unexpected collision of circumstances — a borough with a surfeit of unused industrial spaces; ci ty planning (the realization on the part of the development corporation, among other agencies, "that there is enormous economic opportunity in encouraging this identity," according to Scott Cohen, one of the founders of New Lab); the rise of the maker movement, with its emphasis on small businesses thinking in a local and custom way; and the city's legacy as a fashion capital — New York, especially Brooklyn, has become "the natural home of the greater wearables movement," said Francis Bitonti, a designer who runs a namesake studio and whose primary tools are algorithms and 3D printers.

"The West Coast has a lot of software talent, but not really a strong fashion culture," said Mr. Bitonti, who has collaborated on dresses for Dita Von Teese and Chromat and shoes for United Nude. "They take a very engineering-led bottom-line approach to their start-ups."

Manufacture NY has a somewhat different approach.

The 21st-Century Garment District

Manufacture NY was founded in 2012 by Bob Bland, 33, a redhead with stints at Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger on her résumé, who was inspired to "create the 21st-century garment district" after struggling to run her own label, Brooklyn Royalty, and source production locally. Now the group aims to focus on the points where design intersects with technology, and how together they can alter the supply chain.

Photo Bob Bland, the founder of Manufacture NY. Credit Eric Helgas for The New York Times

To this end, the 10-person executive team includes a chief technology officer named Amanda Parkes, a 41-year-old computer scientist and mechanical engineer with long blond hair who talks at warp speed, has a thing for biofabrication, and tends to pepper her sentences with words like "density mapping," "voxel" and "hacking interfaces." Together, she and Ms. Bland are the sharp point of the wearables spear. They function a bit like "Charlie's Angels," if the angels had thrown off the patriarchy and gone out on their own.

"We want to create a whole new genre of company that will have the instincts and design skills of fashion and the back end of research and I.P.," Ms. Parkes said, pointing out that current fashion start-ups exist in one sphere and tech start-ups in another, and, generally, never the twain do meet.

But, Ms. Parkes said, "If you are making a clothing line, you need research facilities for the hydrophobic nanotechnology that's going to make it special, and you need to know what it takes to create a private label so you can actually bring it to market." If you are Dan Steingart, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Princeton and an energy specialist who is researching how to make fabric into a battery, "You need to know who can actually scale the fabric you make, or who can actually make clothes out of it. Who can design them."

You need to be in the same ecosystem.

Photo Amanda Parkes, the company's chief technology officer. Credit Eric Helgas for The New York Times

Or at least on the same floor — all 160,000 square feet of it, with washed concrete floors, giant mullioned windows and curving pillars nearing completion. (Manufacture NY is in a temporary home on a lower floor.) There will be space for 30 or 40 companies, a denim lab, digital printing, laser cutting, 3D knitting, weaving, chemistry and biology labs, and a working sample room. At the moment, 15 are in the temporary site, with another 50 or so linked into their network. Not all of them are product-centric. But all of them embody, to varying extents, this new kind of thinking and function somewhat as a circuit unto themselves.

Dropel, for example, was co-founded by Simardev Gulati, scion of a textile-factory-owning family in India, who studied international trade and finance at Oxford. He and the co-founder Bradley Feinstein, a former consultant, have patented a nanotechnology process that bonds hydrophobic polymers with natural fibers on the molecular level to make them water- and stain-repellent, a process that can be licensed by clothing brands. Translated it means that a linen or cotton or denim shirt looks and feels exactly like linen or cotton or denim, but if you spill cranberry juice (or soy sauce or wine) on it, the liquid beads right off.

Recently they were in the "office" hanging out near Jae Rhim Lee, an artist and TED fellow, who first became known for her "burial shroud," an art project she created at M.I.T. that combined biological material (mushrooms) with textiles to help achieve perfect physical decomposition after death. "But I'm not a designer, so it didn't look that attractive," she said.

Ms. Parkes introduced Ms. Lee to Daniel Silverstein, a Fashion Institute of Technology graduate who had interned at Carolina Herrera before going out on his own, and who has a space in Manufacture NY denoted by a gold velvet vintage chaise, a silver bowl of apples and two rails of clothing. Mr. Silverstein redesigned the funeral shroud into a neatly tailored funeral suit, and now Ms. Lee plans to sell it for $1,500.

Mr. Silverstein, meanwhile, spends most of his time creating sweatshirt-like tops, for his label ZWD (Zero Waste Daniel), that are painstakingly and personally collaged from scrap fabric left on the cutting-room floor at local factories, so that within its basic contours no one garment is the same. His goal is to connect with a company using visual algorithms that allow robots to identify and manipulate the scraps, which would allow him to automate the pr ocess and produce at scale (and use up ever more textile ends that would otherwise end up as landfill).

Photo Daniel Silverstein of ZWD (Zero Waste Daniel) has a space in Manufacture NY and designs with scrap fabric that would otherwise end up as landfill. Credit Eric Helgas for The New York Times

"If you put designers and engineers really close to the manufacturing process, what happens is they realize they do things the way they do because they are working with machines that were made a long time ago," said Mr. Cohen of New Lab. "Suddenly they say, 'Why not just make a new machine?' And it transforms the process."

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Iris Apfel Reveals Why She Wears Her Signature Oversize Glasses

We've learned a lot of things from Iris Apfel over the years, but we can never quite seem to get our fill, which is why when we spotted this adorable video over on The Coveteur, we felt like we'd gotten our monthly fix. In the quick interview, Apfel talks about her signature oversize glasses and why she wears them, as well as other cute and insightful tips that anyone could benefit from hearing, in our opinion. Click below to watch the video, and be sure to read 10 life lessons from Iris Apfel over at The Coveteur once you're through.

Modern Love: The Entire Netflix History of Us

When the weekend finally came, I looked forward to the sweet reprieve of solitude and planned to stay inside with the blinds shut against the oppressive joy of late April. I picked up sushi in clothes unfit for public display, hurried home and turned on Netflix to embark on all 57 episodes of "Portlandia."

And there it was: my recently watched list, representing the entire history of our relationship.

There was "Mad Men," which we watched again from the beginning during a snowstorm, my legs across his lap, the cat asleep on my stomach, Peggy Olson still vulnerable and meek.

While making dinner later, I was humming along to a Billie Holiday song at the stove when he came up behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist and belted the chorus in a low vibrato.

I collapsed into laughter, into him.

"This is everything I want," he said, suddenly serious.

"Tacos?" I joked, but my throat tightened with a mixture of fear and hope.

There was the Bill Burr comedy special we had barely started when he pulled me onto his lap and began kissing me. He tried to carry me to his bed, but his socks slipped a little on the wood floor, and we laughed, mouths still together, the moment made sweeter.

We finished the show half-clothed, a picnic spread out on the bed. It was the first time in my life I had felt nostalgic for the exact moment I was in.

There was the documentary about creatures from the ocean depths, with David Attenborough explaining how cuttlefish mat e, as we talked about the career change I was contemplating.

"Just go for it," he said. "Look how happy it makes you just talking about the possibility."

And for one clear moment, I saw myself as he saw me. After he fell asleep, I listened to his deep and steady breathing as a giant squid died while protecting her eggs.

Earlier that night, a friend had taken a picture of us sitting at a counter facing each other, his hands extended to me and mine over my mouth, our eyes disappearing into our smiles. Neither of us had noticed the camera pointed our way, or the crowd swelling around us, or Midtown carrying on just outside.

Before I could think about it, I hit play on "Mad Men." On some subconscious level I must have been hoping that by replaying the episodes, I could replay the memories, too, and surrender completely to grief.

I was tired of treading water, of trying to use errands and routine to will away the sadness that demanded to be felt. On screen, Don Draper struggled for the right Lucky Strike pitch while I let myself wallow in the hows and whys of heartbreak.

My friends came over on Saturday night and forced me to shower and put on a bra. They took me out, propped me up on a barstool and tried to talk to me through my thousand-yard stare.

"Those guys over there are looking at you," my friend Hannah yelled in my ear. "I think you should smile at them."

I tried, but the synapses between brain and face muscles were dulled from underuse, and instead my mouth did a sort of bared-teeth grimace.

The next night my friends tried again, this time at home with red wine. We even wore tiaras, because who can be sad in a tiara?

Me, apparently. I was present for the conversation, and occasionally participated, but my mind was so far removed that my contributions mostly involved uttering some non sequitur about a topic they already had moved on from.

After the conversation shifted from talk of the new ice cream shop to the merits of visiting the public library, I added, "I wonder if they have dairy-free stuff."

They forgave my lapses the way people may forgive an old, flatulent dog.

By the end of the weekend, my friends let me crawl back into my cave. I turned on the TV and was surprised to see something new in my queue: "Jiro Dreams of Sushi."

I stood up, mouth agape.

It was communication from the void, like a song you love coming in over the radio with surprising clarity as you drive through rural towns. I thought of him watching it on the couch that his legs were too long for, feet hanging over the armrest, and something in my chest crumpled like a paper lily.

I wanted to be angry that he was still using my login — that he could still take from me after leaving me with nothing. But I couldn't. This was my only connection to him, and changing my password would sever the last artery of this bleeding limb.

I also thought: Maybe if he sees the same titles that I see, he, too, will replay the highlight reel of our happy memories and be warmed by them. And, who knows, that might lead him back to me?

I turned it on, watched Jiro slice fish methodically, and soon fell into a deep, dreamless sleep for the first time in a week.

The next day after work, I was watching a bowl of leftovers rotate in the microwave when a message buzzed on my phone .

"Hey… how are you?"

My face flushed with love and rage and longing and indignity.

I opened a new message so he wouldn't see the typing bubbles appear, disappear and then reappear with indecision. I started and deleted messages as the microwave beeped from what seemed like miles away. Finally I typed, "I'm good — everything okay?" Cool, collected, a bit detached.

"Yeah, of course. Just wanted to say hi … make sure you were doing okay."

Suddenly, the lobe of my brain that held all my pain plunged into darkness and the lobe that held my anger blazed with light. Did he expect me to be sitting at home in a stained tank top eating leftovers? I mean, I was, but — was the thought of me being fine without him so improbable that he felt the need to check on my stability?

Another buzz from my phone: "Have you seen 'Jiro Dreams of Sushi'? I think you'd like it because you love quirky old people."

I sat down with my dinner and thought of several responses, some gentle, some fiery and profane. Eventually, I decided to say nothing. Instead, I changed my Netflix password.

I worried that I may never again feel as completely safe and at ease as I did making funny voices for a French bulldog with him by my side, but you can't control how someone else feels. Better, in the end, to focus on those few things you can control.

Like his Netflix access.

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Exclusive: 24 Hours in Nashville With Mrs. Carolina Herrera

If you had told me I'd be strolling the halls of the Johnny Cash museum or trying on cowboy hats with Mrs. Carolina Herrera this time last year, I would have thought you had a romanticized and slightly strange perception of what my job entails. But it's true—and I'm still pinching myself. The elegant and gracious designer, who celebrates her brand's 35th anniversary this week (alongside her charismatic team), welcomed me to the Music City to attend the Nashville Symphony Show, at which she was the featured designer. But before we get to that, read on for a quick peek into what was perhaps the most special and delightfully unexpected 24 hours I've had in a very long time.

Registry: Wedding and Mother’s Day Gifts for Pet Owners

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For pet owners, a clever or useful item for their cat or dog could be more welcome as a wedding gift than a place setting of china, a duvet cover or yet another toaster oven. And for mothers who have a dog or cat, such an accessory would make for a talked-about present on their day (May 8), too.

Active types who track their fitness levels can now work out with their dogs and see how many steps their four legs have taken. For homeowners, a weather vane can be hand-carved with a likeness of their dog.

A set of stemless wineglasses is etched with the saying, "Home Is Where The Dog Is" or with the pet's name. For couples with minimalist home décor, a pet bed by a designer of modern furniture blends right in.

And for those folks without pets, a charitable contribution is always a good alternative to a gift.

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The Prismatic dog leash is dyed by hand and made of marine-grade rope and solid brass hardware. The leash, produced by a Brooklyn company whose owners are committed to spreading the word about animal adoption, comes in small, medium or large and in a choice of many colors; $64 from foundmyanimal.com, 718-384-6203.

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The Meow Cat Cave is handmade by a women's craft collective in Nepal of a blend of New Zealand and Nepalese wool. It offers just the right hiding place for a kitten; $75 from Uncommon Goods, uncommongoods.com, 888-365-0056.

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Luke Wong, a Chicago furniture designer, created the Zz Bed to fit into a modern, minimalist interior. Made in Chicago, the beds are covered in gray upholstery-grade polyester fabric; the covers zip off for washing. In small, medium and large; $169 to $289 from Docapet, docapet.com.no phone

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FitBark is for dog owners who wish to track their animal's fitness and activities along with their own; $69.95 in a choice of many colors from store.fitbark.com or amazon.com.

Photo Ceramic food and water bowls have lead-free glazes and are made to order in four sizes; $60 to $90 from etsy.com/shop/JumieMade.

Ceramic food and water bowls have lead-free glazes and are made to order in four sizes; $60 to $90 from etsy.com/shop/JumieMade.

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Stemless wineglasses for a dog's peeps, by Rita Bean, are laser etched with the saying, "Home Is Where The Dog Is." A set of four is $69.99 from Puplife, puplife.com, 877-489-9322.

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Hand-carved weather vanes depicting nearly any dog breed are made of basswood and hand-painted; $575 to $695 from anythingdogs.com, 877-298-0638.

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The SnoozePal cat hammock is a fleece-lined sling available in a choice of fabrics. It is in a cardboard box that holds up to a 20-pound cat; $39 from catabove.com, 910-796-1116.

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The Surprising $4 Accessory Everyone Wants

The latest It accessory is not what you'd expect. Cool-girl favorite beauty brand Glossier's packaging includes a pink padded quart-sized zip pouch to hold their goodies. It seems that fashion girls have taken a strong liking to the pouches, even opting to carry them around town as a clutch, as Leandra Medine did during the most recent Paris Fashion Week. They're such a hit that as Racked pointed out, Jimmy Choo is even selling their own pink bubble wrap-inspired clutch. 

As a result of the popularity of the pouches, Glossier is now selling them in packs of 5 for $20, undoubtedly making fans of the brand's cheerful packaging quite happy. If organization is more your thing, they're perfect for seperating odds and ends, especially for travel.

The pouches are sure to be instant conversation-starters for girls who chose to carry them out into the world (which we'll likely start seeing even more of since you can stock up now). Keep scrolling to see Glossier's pink pouches in action, and shop them for yourself!

On the Runway: TAG Heuer Signs On With English Premier League

Photo At future games for the Premier League, official signboards will be shaped like the face of a Tag Heuer Carrera watch.

TAG Heuer has designs on soccer. After signing on as the official timekeeper of Major League Soccer in the United States, the German Bundesliga and the Chinese Football Association Super League, the high-end watch brand announced its sponsorship on Tuesday of the English Premier League, the richest and most watched national soccer competition, which includes many of the sport's most popular clubs, like Manchester United and Arsenal.

The three-year partnership makes explicit TAG's intention to capitalize on — and dominate — the most powerful sports field in the world, which draws fans of all socioeconomic backgrounds.

Starting next season, the boards held up by the fourth official (the man on the sidelines who signals substitutions and extra time) will be shaped like the watch face of a TAG Heuer Carrera, and referees will receive specially designed smartwatches that "will meet (officials') timing and training needs."

"This partnership will be our biggest sponsorship in sport ever, with reach that will go beyond the scope of our other timekeeping collaborations," said Rob Diver, managing director of TAG Heuer UK, adding that for the time being, it would maintain its partnerships in other sports like Formula 1 motor racing. "To be honest, I can't believe we haven't done this sooner."

The Premier League is in the fina l weeks of a sponsorship agreement of 40 million pounds, or $58 million, per season title with Barclays bank. But it recently changed its business model, abandoning a single lead sponsor in favor of around half a dozen major partners. Although neither TAG nor the league disclosed the exact value of the deal, it is estimated to be around $7.3 million. Other brands to sign up include Barclays, Nike and the video-game giant Electronic Arts — making TAG Heuer the only luxury player.

Luxury watch brands and the world of sports have long been bedfellows, so the news of this latest marketing marriage is unlikely to surprise many. Still, it is notable, for a few reasons.

First, TAG decided to associate itself with a league, ra ther than a particular individual or team. There have been scandals in the private lives of big-name players in the Premier League like Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs, and TAG was among the first brands to cut ties with the tennis player Maria Sharapova in March after she acknowledged failing a drug test, so the brand's shift from explicit or individual endorsements is noteworthy.

"When you work at a brand, it is your responsibility to maintain the integrity of that investment," Mr. Driver said. "Your job is to protect it and hand it on to the next generation."

Second, given that the brand is in the middle of one of the most challenging trading environments for the Swiss watch industry, the decision to embark on such an expensive foray into relatively new marketing territory might raise some eyebrows.

But watches and jewelry proved a bright spot in the most recent set of earnings results provided by the owner of TAG, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, this month. Revenue grew 7 percent during the quarter, and TAG Heuer was highlighted for its particularly strong perfo rmance.

"Unlike some of our competitors,TAG Heuer is not a brand that is hugely influenced by the ebbs and flows of the tourist market," " Mr. Driver said. "Our focus tends to be local customers within regional markets, so we don't make these kinds of decisions depending on the fluctuations of the macroeconomic climate. We are interested in areas that have long-term value, in good times and bad."

In attendance at the announcement in London was Claudio Ranieri, manager of the Leicester City club. This small underdog team, whose players cost less than a third of many richer and more glamorous rivals, is poised to win the league. As it has proved this season, soccer still is a game whe re there can be plenty of surprises.

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This Blogger Wore the Prettiest Short Wedding Dress

British blogger Pandora Sykes is one of our favorites for a number of reasons. Not only is she a pro at mixing high-street with high-end pieces (Topshop is a favorite of hers), but she's a fashion risk-taker with a magnetic quirky sense of humor too.

Which is why we were thrilled to see what Sykes wore for her weekend nuptials. Her dress, by fellow British designer Alice Temperley, was at once playful, clever, and timeless, featuring a high Victorian lace collar and long sleeves. The coolest aspect of the romantic gown? It was convertible! The bride wore it at full length and then removed the lower part for the reception.

Sykes gave a close-up view of the gown's flirty abbreviated length on Instagram, which showed off her strappy metallic heels. We love how she effortlessly went from elegant English rose with her veil and long gown for the ceremony to fun celebratory bride for the party.

Keep scrolling to see Sykes's lovely wedding dress and shop similar styles!

‘Real Housewives’ Invited Me In. How Could I Say No?

The template is simple: The women, dressed in designer labels, gather in a beautiful setting like Palm Springs, Morocco or Miami. Someone inevitably brings up a touchy subject (money, illness, addiction, infidelity) and awkward explosive arguments ensue. For Bravo, this has been ratings gold.

Housewives can be found in gated communities in more than 10 cities in the United States. The most popular show is "The Real Housewives of Atlanta," which averages over 3.6 million viewers per episode, according to Nielsen data.

"The Real Housewives of Potomac," the 10th series, had the largest premiere to date, in January, with 2.6 million viewers. There are Housewives abroad, in England and Au stralia, and if Andy Cohen has his way, this is just the beginning.

Mr. Cohen is the executive producer of the "Housewives" franchise and the host of "Watch What Happens Live," a talk show that features Bravo cast members mingling with A-listers. A live broadcast is my ultimate destination today.

Photo Carole Radziwill, center, with fans on a bus tour in New York City this month. Credit Michael Nagle for The New York Times Let's get on the bus.

Joining me on the tour are dozens of fellow journalists and several attentive press handlers. We outnumber the few ecstatic fans who won contests to be here. People will eventually pay $49 to be schlepped around the city, but without meeting any Housewives. Chris and JoJo Davis, teachers from Washington State, won a trip after re-enacting a notorious "Real Housewives" fight on the "Today" show.

"I think in normal towns we don't experience that," says Ms. Davis, 44. "So you can live vicariously through their craziness."

Another contest winner, Deanna Mannion, 29, of New York, tells me: "We all have that one friend that's kind of a little crazy. And sometimes you're that friend."

At a Ricky's cosmetics store in SoHo, Kristen Taekman, a 39-year-old model and a former New York cast member, does a catfight imitation, which I cap ture for Snapchat, as one does.

Video A Bus Tour of 'The Real Housewives'

Here's a Snapchat tour of sites frequented by the women in "The Real Housewives of New York."

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Waiting at Spin, a "ping pong bar" with 17 courts next to the Flatiron building, is Carole Radziwill, 52, an Emmy-winning former broadcast journalist and the show's designated Normal One. Her connections to the Kennedy clan and her relationship with a much younger vegan chef appear to interest fans more than her journalism. Clad in black leather, a miniskirt and boots, she holds court in the middle of the bar.

Ms. Davis, the teacher from Washington, can't take the distance any longer. "I know you're not a hugger, but can I hug you anyway?" she asks, rushing into Ms. Radziwill's arms.

We will encounter six New York Housewives on this tour. Ms. Radziwill is the only one I hear ask fans about them selves. She also lets her mask slip. When someone asks if this is where she and her boyfriend had a date, she nods and says: "That's where we did our scene." Pause. "Where we had our date."

It is the tiniest crack in the reality TV veneer. But it doesn't seem to matter. To fans, Ms. Radziwill is a real-life Carrie Bradshaw, the heroine of "Sex and the City," which also has a bus tour.

"I'm a little bit of a businesswoman," Ms. Radziwill told me earlier, "and in the end, you know, I'm a single girl with bills."

We pass a nightclub that was the scene of a catfight. It's not open. We trundle by a CB2, where one of the women had a breakdown. "Great storefront," the tour guide says, in a deadpan.

As we sit in traffic, I pull out Bravo swag: a Skinnygirl protein shake, from the multimillion-dollar company founded by the Housewife Bethenny Frankel. It tastes slightly chalky.

Let's get philosophical.

The tour ends at 30 Rock. Shari Levine, a Bravo executive, is waiting in the NBC gift shop. Some of these women don't even have husbands. Why call them housewives? "I think it's reflective of the times," said Ms. Levine, a senior vice president who has been casting the show since it started. "They often start married. Marriages change."

Frances Berwick, president of lifestyle networks at NBCUniversal, explains the appeal this way: "It looks like they have fabulous lives that people want to have, whether it's their closets or their Hamptons house or their wardrobes and then they're dealing with all sorts of the regular stuff like 'I don't like your boyfriend'."

She adds: "And then you also can judge them without feeling bad about yourself."

What would Gloria Steinem say?

The noted feminist was a guest on Mr. Cohen's talk show in December. "It is a minstrel show for women," she told him. "And I don't believe it, I have to say. I feel it's manufactured." But even Ms. Steinem can't help but gawk: "It's like watching a train wreck."

Is any of this real?

Along with Mr. Cohen, several Housewives insisted that they're just being themselves. Kenya Moore, a former Miss USA and a member of the Atlanta cast, said: "When it comes to rumor or conversations, those are all things that people naturally bring up when they're together. If it's being talked about in the world, why wouldn't we talk about it on our show and with the other ladies?"

That can get ugly, like the time that a Housewife, Aviva Drescher, yanked off her prosthetic leg and tossed it across a room.

"It was a great moment," Mr. Cohen said. But, he added, viewers detected that she had staged the outburst, and she is no longer on the show. The lesson: Act crazy, but keep it real.

Questions for Andy Cohen

I'm with Mr. Cohen in the tiny studio of "Watch What Happens Live." He stepped away from his role as Bravo's head of development in 2013, but he said he can't let go of the Housewives.

Originally from St. Louis, Mr. Cohen grew up watching soap operas, and he brings that sensibility to his shows, which he believes are often more substantive than the presidential campaign. For example, when Donald J. Trump alluded to his genitalia in a Republican debate, Mr. Cohen recalls thinking: "Well, now you've offended the 'Housewives' guy."

Photo Andy Cohen holding court on "Watch What Happens Live" in April. Credit Michael Nagle for The New York Times

He sees many possibilities for the future: "We will have the first daughter-of-a-Housewife Housewife at some point," he says. "There will be a lesbian Housewife."

I ask him: Can the word "crazy' ever be used as a compliment? He prefers the term "outrageous." Who pays for the women's elaborate trips to Dubai or St. Barts? "It depends on the trip. They throw these lavish parties that they're paying for a lot of times. That's part of the reason why they get so invested in them."

His guest tonight is Ms. Frankel, who spends most of her airtime defending her decision to call cast members rude names. After the show, the handlers begin forming circles around the talent. I am being cast out.

Around 11 p.m., I ride the elevator down into the real world, which is just as I left it. My love for the show has been strained by a day of abrasive personalities and aggressive product placement, but my addiction runs deep. The newest series, "The Real Housewives of Dallas," features a former Cowboys cheerleader and a woman who was raised by carnies. How can I resist?

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The NYC Designer Beyoncé Wore in Lemonade

It's not like we need another reason to obsess over Beyoncé's Lemonade. The powerful music and imagery of the HBO special are not things we'll be quick to forget. But a cherry on top of the one magical hour is that Becyoncé's style throughout can only be described as flawless. 

She changes often throughout the film, wearing minimalist Yeezy pieces, extravagant Victorian-inspired gowns, and our favorite, a blouse by one of NYC's coolest designers, Rosie Assoulin. Beyoncé styles the ruffle-sleeved top with simple camo-print pants, balancing out the grandeur of the piece with something simple on the bottom. If you have yet to check out Lemonade, just know it's Queen Bey at her finest! 

Read on to see her look, and shop the top along with a few other pieces by Rosie Assoulin!

The Places Every New York Girl Loves to Shop

There are certain things no NYC visitor should miss out on: bagels, pizza, and a walk in central park. But, for anyone looking to do a little shopping, there are a few unique locales to add to your list. New York women flock to a handful of stores that capture the essence of the city's forward-thinking style.

These nine institutions are brick and mortars that locals love to frequent. Some have flagships in the city, but not all originate here in NYC. Still, each holds something special for fashion It girls of the Big Apple. So when you need a break from picking out your Airbnb, take a second to jot down these must-visit shops.

 Read on to check out and shop the 9 must-visit shopping spots!

13 Braided Sandals That Are a Complete Upgrade From Your Everyday Pair

Sandals come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, but this summer, there is one detail in particular that will take your open-toed footwear game to new heights. Whether you prefer them on the straps, soles, or purely as decoration, braided detailing on sandals takes an average pair of summer footwear and gives them a total style makeover. A simple braid across a neutral pair, for example, will take your go-to slides and make them that much more interesting, and who doesn't want that? 

Keep reading to shop 13 of our favorite pairs of braided sandals! 

Cassandra Clare Created a Fantasy Realm and Aims to Maintain Her Rule

Ms. Clare is the daughter of academics who spent her first two decades living in Tehran, London, Boston and Los Angeles. She retains the confidence of a precocious only-child who grew up with her nose in a book and largely in the company of adults. (Her mother, Elizabeth Rumelt, said her first words, "I want," were uttered in Farsi.)

On any given day, her hair might be blue or pink, and she'll be wearing a dress she designed herself from vintage patterns and in Liberty prints because as a plus-size woman she is often challenged to find clothing that matches her sensibility.

She took her pen name from "a terrible novel" she wrote in eighth grade called "The Beautiful Cassandra." The title was a reference to a story Jane Austen wrote for her older sister, Cassandra. "In it, Cassandra meets a handsome young man and they fall in love and kiss," Ms. Clare said. "And I was 13 and didn't know what should happen next, so I killed him."

Photo A steam engine that has been electrified and made to look as if it is powering the fans in Ms. Clare's writing studio in Amherst, Mass., acr Credit Tony Luong for The New York Times

Nearly a decade and a half later, Ms. Clare wrote her first piece of fan fiction. She was 25 and an assistant editor at The Hollywood Reporter, putting together a special section on "The X-Files" when she discovered the genre and tumbled down its rabbit hole (perhaps unsurprisingly, "The X-Files" have been catnip to fanfic folks).

"I printed it all out, and read it one night at the gym," she said. "I almost fell off the NordicTrack." That was when Ms. Clare created her "Draco Trilogy," which begins with Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy switching identities and unspools toward a battle for Hermione's affections.

(She was also writing as Cassandra Claire; she dropped the "I" when another f an-fiction author signed up all the "Cassandra Claire" domain names.)

In her book, Dr. Jamison devotes a chapter to the Clare brouhaha as a case study of Internet flaming and conflict. This particular one, she said, keeps getting rechurned. "Fan fiction looks like it's a collaborative community playing by the same rules, but it turns out that it isn't," Dr. Jamison said.

Sarah Rees Brennan, an Irish young-adult fantasy writer who also came up from fan fiction, has had her own online snipers charging her with plagiarism and for being a friend of Ms. Clare. Ms. Miller of Slate, who said she was baffled by the depth of the animosity toward Ms. Clare, said she wondered if it had to do with her being one of the first writers to leave the "bubble" of fan fiction to become a published author, as if the leaving were a betrayal.

So does Elizabeth Minkel, who writes about fan culture for New Statesman, among other publications, and is a fan fiction author herself. "For whatev er reason, when some people leave the community, there can be a legacy of negative feelings," she said. "It gets passed down word of mouth. And once people get mad on the Internet, there's no going back."

Ms. Clare would add one more variable: gender.

"Do I think the animosity toward me from fandom is about my thinking of fan fiction as illegal art and mashing up quotes from books and movies and plays into the fan fiction I wrote 16 years ago?" she said. "No. A million people did that and still do. I was nothing different or special except that I went on to be a successful author and public figure. They've always been very clear it's about punishing me for the latter, because it's seen as being uppity. It's not an old grudge being held on to. It's the pattern of how women are treated on the Internet every day."

Photo Ms. Clare and her husband, Joshua Lewis, in their writing studio in Amherst, Mass. Credit Tony Luong for The New York Times

As rowdy as the fan fiction arena is, there is just as much passion directed at Ms. Clare's published work. There were fans who were angry that the television cast was not in the 2013 Shadowhunters movie, and Ms. Clare was vilified for not advocating for them.

These emotions have spilled out offline, too. Bookstores have received death threats against her; at a signing for "Clockwork Princess," the final book of her second trilogy, set in Victorian England, a fan smashed a book down on her hand because the fan was enraged, Ms. Clare said, that a character had died.

"People are deeply uncomfortable with the idea that the characters they love and regard as people, real people, were made up by someone, es pecially if that someone is a woman," she said.

Ms. Clare described a Twitter comment about one of her characters that read, "If it were up to you, Alec would be dead."

"I pointed out that it is up to me," Ms. Clare said. "And they seemed shocked to have to confront that fact, as if they couldn't remember that actually I made up Alec, his reality had trumped mine."

And then there are the legal disputes.

Young-adult and fantasy authors can earn millions, even if they are not household names like Ms. Rowling or Ms. Meyer.

"Lady Midnight" is Ms. Clare's 10th book, and the first in a trilogy for which Simon & Schuster, her longtime publisher, paid her in the high seven figures. There are 36 million Shadowhunter books in print (as compared to Ms. Meyer's 100 million for her "Twilight" books, and Ms. Rowling's 450 plus million for her Harry Potter books), published in 35 languages.

Photo A mechanical hand displayed in Ms. Clare's apothecary bar. Credit Tony Luong for The New York Times

"Lady Midnight," out since March 8, is already in its second printing, with 600,000 copies, and it has landed at No. 1, as her books tend to do, on the New York Times best-seller list for her category.

"What you find with urban fantasy authors is the loyalty levels are intensely high compared to just about any other fiction category," said Peter Hildick-Smith, chief executive of the Codex Group, which analyzes the book industry.

According to a survey conducted by Codex last week, Ms. Clare's peak audience is women ages 18 to 24, among whom she's as popular as Gwyneth Paltrow and Cameron Diaz. "She may not be a household name, but her fans are intensely loyal," Mr. Hildick-Smith said. "It r eally determines how consistently you can be a best-seller."

These high stakes may be why so many young-adult and fantasy authors find themselves ensnared by lawsuits.

In February, Ms. Clare was sued for copyright infringement, among other charges, by Sherrilyn Kenyon, an American young-adult author who writes an urban fantasy series about demon killers named Dark-Hunters. Ms. Clare's lawyer, John R. Cahill, said he expected the suit to be dismissed and issued a statement that read, in part, "The lawsuit failed to identify a single instance of actual copying or plagiarism by Cassie."

But the dispute puts Ms. Clare in good company: Ms. Meyer; Rick Riordan, another successful author who drew from Greek mythol ogy when he created his young-adult series; and Ms. Rowling have all been sued for plagiarism, often more than once.

"Fantasy is a genre of tropes, and I think a lot of people don't understand that," Ms. Clare said of the lawsuit. Fantasy is also an enormously profitable publishing space, and franchises can extend indefinitely. Ms. Clare is on her third trilogy, and as John Sellers, the children's reviews editor at Publishers Weekly pointed out, she has said she already has two more trilogies mapped out.

"She is not limiting herself to geography or even time," he said. "The only limit I think is what she's willing to write. It's a sprawling world she's created, and it seems it's only going to become more so."

On a recent Thursday, Ms. Clare was briefly at home in Amherst, Mass., on the site of the new house the Shadowhunters books have bought for her and her husband, Joshua Lewis.

For the last two years, she and Mr. Lewis have been renovating a mid-19th-century former warehouse set beside a crashing waterfall. They bought it for about $400,000 and have put as much as $2 million into the renovation, Ms. Clare said. "We took everything apart and put it back together," she said.

It's now an Arts and Crafts showpiece. Stairs are painted to look like bookshelves; bathroom tiles are printed with quotes from their favorite authors, like J. M. Barrie and Oscar Wilde. Their bed is hand-painted with quotes from Verlaine and Rimbaud, and there's even a hidden passage. "That's for Josh," Ms. Clare said.

The two met online over a decade ago, in a group for would-be children's book authors, where they bonded over literary arcana. Mr. Lewis, now 37, was at the time working on a Ph.D. in computer science at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Ms. Clare was living in Brooklyn, working nights as a freelance copy editor for American Media, which publishes National Enquirer and Star, and writing "City of Bones" during the day.

Mr. Lewis, who also writes fiction and with whom Ms. Clare has collaborated on "The Shadowhunter's Codex," a manual for would-be Shadowhunters, said he knew he'd won Ms. Clare over when he identified a line from "Catch-22" in one of her early emails. Their wedding rings are inscribed with this phrase: "Are we not two volumes of the same book?"

They moved to Amherst in 2009, when Ms. Clare's third book was published. Around that time, her store events began to change. "My first book event, my parents showed up, and maybe 10 people," she said. "For 'City of Glass,' I went to Toronto for an event and 1,000 people appeared. I thought, my God, did something happen?"

Across the street from the house is a 1920s barn that's been reimagined as a writing studio by Bruce and Melanie Rosenbaum, architectural designers with a specialty in steampunk design. They were so inspired by Ms. Clare's work, they created a steampunk-inflected interior from salvaged apothecary shelves and an old soda fountain. A vintage English telephone booth will become a time machine. "Knowing Bruce," Ms. Clare said, "it will probably work."

Collaborating with a mechanical engineer, the Rosenbaums turned all the modern appliances into fantastical contraptions. A tiny steam engine has been electrified and fashioned to look as if it's powering the ceiling fan.

There's an iPad in an apothecary scale and the gleaming soda fountain holds a tiny clockwork angel (in homage to the title of one of Ms. Clare's books) upon which play multicolored LEDs. It's inscribed with a passage in Latin, "which I can't read because I can't read Latin," Mr. Lewis said. "But it's from Milton, and it's something like, 'If I can't reach Heaven, I'll raise hell.'"

"Actually, it's from Virgil," Ms. Clare said. Mr. Lewis beamed at her.

The microwave, a wildly elaborate device, has its own Latin inscription, an appropriate coda, perhaps, for Ms. Clare's career: "Justice should be served hot."

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What Fashion's Power Players Look for in Young Talent

Pratt Institute, located in Brooklyn, New York, is one of the most prestigious art colleges in the world, and it has been especially kind to fashion. Having launched the first fashion program in the United States, Pratt is to thank for the myriad fashion schools and programs that have sprung up since. So it's no surprise that the school's industry connections run deep, a fact that was made very clear at their annual fashion design jury review panel this past week.

Spotlighting select students' senior thesis collections, the event welcomed major industry players like the critic Lynn Yaeger, designer Adam Selman, editor in chief of Interview Keith Pollock, and about 15 others (this editor included) to weigh in on the students' final work. Any fashion publication worth their salt—from Vogue to W to Harper's Bazaar—had a member from their team on hand, making it an incredible opportunity for the young talent to receive feedback from the crème de la crème of fashion while also making vital connections.

Thrust into this mix, I made it my duty to find out exactly what it is these head honchos are looking for in up-and-coming designers. Unsurprisingly, the judgments were fairly subjective and thus diverse—it's nearly impossible to shake personal preferences in a situation like this. I couldn't help but gravitate to those collections that were more minimalistic, and more important, wearable, but I also appreciated the funkier, avant-garde offerings. However, if you compared my notes to, say, Yaeger's, the differences would likely be stark, and that's a good thing—fashion, after all, is created with different outcomes in mind. Some designers honor what's commercial while others privilege artfulness over everything.

Nevertheless, we were given certain universal parameters for our review, which I've outlined in a printable checklist below. We all agreed that the best collections checked off most, if not all, of these boxes, so consider it your one-stop-shop for perfecting your own designs, or simply sniffing out top quality designers-on-the-rise.

Scroll down to see what fashion's power players look for in young talent…

On the Runway: Prince’s Fluid Style, Rooted in Heels

Photo Prince performing at Wembley Arena in London in 1986. Credit Michael Putland/Getty Images

Last February, during New York Fashion Week, the audience at the Hood by Air show had a "moment," one of those rare shocks that jolt you out of your catwalk stupor and stick with you long after the lights have dimmed. It came courtesy of a model named Hirakish, who careened down the runway in a patent-leather suit and spiky high-heeled bootees, and who proceeded to go off-piste and to spend the rest of the show running in and out of the stands, interrupting other models' struts and otherwise joyfully, and challengingly, sticking his stiletto-shod feet in our faces.

Photo The musician at the Grammy Awards in New York in 1988. Credit Ron Galella/WireImage

I thought of this on Thursday when the news came that Prince Rogers Nelson, the diminutive musician with the oversize talent, had died. Unlike David Bowie, another musical icon who recently passed away, Prince was not often name-checked by designers as a collection reference.

Though fashion played a big part in his image, as the many slide shows currently making their way around cyberspace attest, and tho ugh he made a surprise guest appearance in 2007 at Matthew Williamson's 10th anniversary show, serenading the attendees and grinding with dancers and models (as one of the attendees, I can tell you, that was another "moment"), he wasn't a go-to aesthetic inspiration.

Slide Show Prince Took Heels to New Heights

CreditJeff Kravitz/AMA2015, via FilmMagic

Prince refused to adhere to genres in clothing, just as he refused to adhere to genres in music, which meant he tended to ooze into the designer imagination instead of immediately leaping to mind. But in the way he assumed the tropes of kitsch femininity — lace, ruffles sequins, peekaboo and high heels — and transformed them into the vehicles of an in-your-face masculine sex appeal, Prince had enormous influence.

Most of which can be summed up by the shoe.

The high heel was the through-line of his wardrobe for the four decades he was in the public eye; the consistent base upon which he layered all sorts of style and character changes. Prince wore heels when he barely wore anything at all (just bikini bottoms and a trench coat); he wore them in "Purple Rain" and with baroque brocade; he paired them with pastel suits, laser-cut, bottom-baring jumpsuits; he wore them with white hippie tunics at Coachella and slinky metallic gold at the Grammys; he wore them offstage, out to dinner in Sweden in 2013, and, according to Mike Tyson's memoir, "Undisputed Truth," to play basketball.

Photo Prince at the People's Choice Awards in Pasadena, Calif., in 2005 Credit Kevin Winter/Getty Images

He wore them so much that there were rumors he needed hip surgery as a result. And he wore them, he said, not because he wanted to be taller, but because "women like 'em."

He wore them as they were originally designed to be worn, as demonstrated in "Standing Tall," an exhibition last year at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto about men in high heels: as an expression of power and privilege reserved for male royalty, and only later co-opted by women in the 17th and 18th centuries. It made some sense. His name, after all, was Prince.

Slide Show Prince's Style, Through the Years

CreditDeborah Feingold/Corbis

And in doing so — in wearing them so regularly, unapologetically (he did not hide behind the acceptably masculine heels of cowboy boots) and effectively — he transformed the idea of men in heels to possibility from joke. On women, heels suggest sex; Prince showed they could function the same way for men.

It is a meaningful part of the equation that has added up to the current trend toward gender fluidity in fashion. Which, let's face it, really means men in women's wear, since women have been borrowing from men's wear for decades.

Put another way: There was Prince, and then there was Hedi Slimane's fall 2015 men's wear show for Saint Laurent, with its three-inch heels; the heels in the men's wear colle ctions of Rick Owens and Gareth Pugh (and Hood by Air); and the black velvet midcalf heeled boots Kanye West wore in Paris last year, to name just some examples.

In the end, his shoes were, as Prince once sang, a sign o' the times.

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50 Outfit Ideas Fashion Girls Are Obsessing Over Right Now

Spring is in the air, and boy does it feel good! This change in season also brings about a change in wardrobe that you may or may not be ready for. If the latter rings true for you, take time to look through these 50 outfit ideas seen on fashion's elite across the globe.

Per usual, we love turning to the newest street style shots to see what kinds of outfits fashion girls are wearing right now, and with this heap of stylish ensembles, you'll be more than ready to take on this change of season like a fashion pro. 

Keep reading to dive into these 50 amazing outfit ideas!

Unbuttoned: Bankers in the Age of Bernie: Do They Need Camouflage?

It's no accident that in "The Big Short," the Adam McKay film based on Michael Lewis's book about the financial crisis, the bad bankers — the ones who created the problem in the first place — wear slick suits and ties, and the outsider traders and hedge fund managers — the ones who recognized that everything was teetering on a precipice and tried to call foul (and even fraud) — wear jeans, shorts, T-shirts and jackets (the exception being Ryan Gosling's character, an outlier at Deutsche Bank). The first represent the before; the second, the after.

The stereotype style has been eroded by the global financial crisis, sure, but also casual Friday s; the rise of the entrepreneurial class, especially in technology; and the growth of a shadow banking sector — the venture capitalists and hedge funds and private equity firms that have their own, less identifiable uniform, much of which can be characterized by what it is not: the banker clothing of yore.

Photo Christian Bale as a hedge fund manager in "The Big Short." Credit Jaap Buitendijk/Paramount Pictures

It is the difference between the clothing featured in "The Wolf of Wall Street," the 2013 film tale of overblown early 1990s excess, all contrast spread-collar shirts, pinstriped suits and paisley ties, and that in the Showtime series "Billions" (Andrew Ross Sorkin of The New York Times is one of the creators), which takes place in the current day and features a corrupt, competitive and charismatic hedge fund chieftain with a gigantic mansion and a wardrobe that consists almost entirely of gray T-shirts, jeans and hoodies.

"He is aggressively not a suit guy," said Eric Daman, the show's costume designer, who is now prepping for the second season. The hoodies may be cashmere, the jeans Rag & Bone, the sneakers limited edition, but to the untutored eye, the character may look like nothing so much as a rogue Facebook employee (and he would not look out of place at a Sanders rally).

Which is not an accident. As the tech world has risen in the "global pecking order," in the words of John Studzinski, a partner at the asset management firm Blackstone, its determinedly dress-down uniform has infiltrated the world of those who would finance it. The theory being, at least for some, if you can't beat 'em, dress like 'em.

For others, "it's less 'show me the money' than subtle," Mr. Studzinski said. "People are going out of their way to be more under stated; materialism is less valued than ownership. At a recent Friday lunch, I was looking around and it was all Brunello Cucinelli and Loro Piana. I don't even know if those brands make suits."

Photo William Ackman, the founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, is known for his tailored suits. Credit Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times

Then there is the fleece, now ubiquitous (but not Old Navy fleece, Sun Valley/Herb Allen fleece), which tends to be associated with the private equity world. Indeed, one founder of his namesake private equity firm is famous for wearing a fleece vest every day to work, and referred to it in an interview as his "signifier." It is, he said, the new cashmere, a (slightly) more mature relative of the hoodie. It also, he pointed out, had useful associations with work and a no-frills approach to the world, values likewise associated with the Shinola watches, Red Wing boots and bracelets that are now often seen throughout the financial world. Ditto the facial hair.

There are exceptions, of course. The hedge fund manager William Ackman, occasionally known as the "George Clooney of banking," is famous for his perfectly tailored suits. (Coincidentally, Mr. Clooney has also made a movie about the financial crisis, "Money Monster," which is to debut in Cannes next month.) Almost everyone I spoke to agreed that financial services guys still look like what you think of when you think of bankers. See, for example, Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, and Lloyd Blankfein, chairman and chief executive of Goldman, or see their employees — though even they tend to disaggregate their suits when in the office and keep their ties hung on the back of their door.

"But that in-your-face power suit image?" M r. Studzinski said. "That image is long gone." This election year, however, its ghost lingers on.

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How to Find Super-Flattering Vintage Jeans

If you've ever spent an afternoon wading through piles of retro 501s, you're aware that finding the perfect pair of vintage jeans takes commitment and perseverance. But knowing exactly what to look for—and where—can make the job practically painless.

Model Camille Rowe shared her tips with Vogue, revealing her ideal fit ("tight on top, pretty high-waisted") along with her favorite shop for trying them on: What Goes Around Comes Around in Los Angeles. Watch the video below for more tips from Rowe, and then shop a few vintage-inspired jeans to add to your wardrobe!

What to Know About Calvin Klein’s Dual Departure

Photo Italo Zucchelli and Francisco Costa in 2013. Credit Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images

Calvin Klein Inc. announced on Tuesday that Francisco Costa, the women's creative director for Calvin Klein Collection, and Italo Zucchelli, the men's creative director, would leave the brand. Here's what to know about the latest jolt in a series of fashion shake-ups.

Both men shaped the brand for more than a decade

The Brazil-born and Fashion Institute of Technology-educated Costa came to Calvin Klein in 2001, after designing for Oscar de la Renta and Gucci (under Tom Ford). He assumed the women's wear mantle in 2003 and won the CFDA's Womenswear Designer of the Year Award in 2006 and 2008. He also won the 2009 Cooper Hewitt National Fashion Design Award, which meant face time with the first lady, Michelle Obama.

Zucchelli, a graduate of Polimoda Fashion School in Florence, arrived at Calvin Klein in 2004, after a stint at Jil Sander. His accolades include the 2009 CFDA Menswear Designer of the Year Award. How Costa's and Zucchelli's industry praise translated into sales isn't public knowledge; as Business of Fashion's Lauren Sherman writes, "it's unclear whether the company's ready-to-wear collections — particularly the women's line — were successful financially," citing Calvin Klein's former president and C.E.O., Tom Murry. He previously told the site, "It's not a business that contributes to the bottom line and it probably never will be."

Costa could be counted on for a dose of minimalism

Of his debut collection in September 2003, Cathy Horyn said that Costa "accomplished two essential things at Calvin Klein: he gave more credence to the trouser suit in women's lives than to the giddy ruffle — a story of the 2004 spring collections — and he brought forward the notion that freedom in dress begins with female underpinnings, as Chanel knew when she popped women out of their corsets." Her description can be applied to Costa's streamlined offerings from the past 12 years, though his fall 2016 ready-to-wear in particular pushed the envelope — prints, plush furs, stones sewn into circular cutouts and a pantsuit as the closing look — but still read as Calvin.

Photo Credit From left: Jason Merritt/Getty Images, John Shearer/Getty Images, Jason Merritt/Getty Images His designs became red-carpet staples

Dozens of celebrities have worn Costa's designs. Of note: Emma Stone in peach short sleeves at the 2011 Golden Globes, Jennifer Lawrence's simple red Oscars dress from the same year and — of course — Lupita Nyong'o's pearl-encrusted Academy Awards gown that was stolen from her Hollywood hotel room.

There's now plenty of room for (potentially) Raf Simons

Women's Wear Daily started tracking Raf-to-Calvin rumors months ago, and any commentary since from Simons has been closely studied. (Speaking to Alexander Fury about the possibility of Raf Simons women's wear, the designer said: "Sometimes [in] a lot of the men's I don't even find fashion. I find wardrobe. Elegant, and beautiful, and modern, sometimes. Beautifully executed. Does it impress me? Not really. With the evolution of our society, it's not the biggest challenge, I think, to have it perfectly executed.") Calvin Klein plans to put women's and men's wear in the hands of one person, according to the announcement.

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Watch Taylor Swift Reveal 73 Things About Herself

Taylor Swift, current cover star of the May issue of Vogue, invited the publication into her dreamy Beverly Hills home to answer 73 revealing questions about herself. The queries run the gamut from something she's always wanted to try but has been too scared to (Coachella, which she can now check off her list) to the one woman's closet she would raid if she could (Blake Lively) to her favorite fashion trend of all time (high-waisted stuff) to her favorite scented candle (Byredo's Tree House). If you thought you knew everything there is to know about Swift, guess again.

Click below to watch the charming interview with Swift in its entirety!

On the Runway: Chanel Rides to the Aid of Amal Clooney’s Lacemaker

Photo The lace on Amal Clooney's wedding dress, by Oscar de la Renta, was made by the French lacemaking company Sophie Hallette. Credit People Magazine, via Associated Press

Ever since Kate Middleton was married in a gown festooned with lace from Sophie Hallette, a traditional, family-run company in the north of France, and Amal Clooney followed suit with her Oscar de la Renta confection, the French lace industry has been having something of moment. It's on the runways — at brands like Valentino, Dior and Céline — and in the headlines.

Behind the scenes, however, a battle of sorts has been going on, as Desseilles and Codentel, two of the oldest lace companies in the French towns of Caudry and Calais, squeezed by competition from Asia and unable to comply with French labor laws, declared bankruptcy this year.

Holesco, the group that is the parent company of Sophie Hallette, bid to acquire Desseilles, but late last month, it lost out to the Chinese company Yongsheng Holdings. So when it came time to make an offer for Codentel, the group brought in backup.

Last week, Chanel, which has made a sort of a sideline out of identifying and preserving classic French artisanship for the future, took a minority stake in Holesco. And on Monday, the judge of the commercial court in Boulogne-sur-Mer named Holesco the new owner of Codentel. The company guaranteed the jobs of all 36 employees, and it will make a total strategic investment of 1.03 million euros, or $1.16 million.

"It was a French solution to a French problem: the need to protect our savoir-faire," Romain Lescroart, president of Sophie Hallette, said by phone from France. Mr. Lescroart's is the third generation of his family to run the lacemaker, which was founded in 1887 and bought by his grandfather. Sophie Hallette has 300 employees and annual revenues of €30 million, and it supplies brands such as Yves Saint Laurent, Dolce & Gabbana, La Perla and Ralph Lauren.

Photo Sophie Hallette provides lace for many fashion labels, including this spring 2016 style at Burberry. Credit Gio Staiano/Nowfashion

After the decision, Bruno Pavlovsky, president of Chanel's fashion activities, said in a statement: "For Chanel, acquiring shares in the company's capital means the opportunity to accompany Sophie Hallette as it develops and perpetuates the lace industry in France. The court's decision in favor of Sophie Hallette is positively inscribed in this approach."

Hallette will not be part of the Chanel Métiers d'Art program, the group of small businesses such as the embroiderer Lesage, the milliner Michel, the maker of silk flowers Guillet and the Scottish cashmere house Barrie. They are fully owned by a Chanel subsidiary called Paraffection, and the Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld holds< /a> a special show featuring their work once a year.

Mr. Lescroart characterized Chanel's investment as less than 25 percent of the company. However, the relationship with Holesco is fully in line with Chanel's strategy of keeping local skill in place. Though the house tends to frame such investment as a selfless gesture, it is not an entirely disinterested party. Indeed, it is one of Sophie Hallette's top five clients.

Chanel's statement said: "The goal of this collaboration is to preserve the historic lace sector, the pride and rich heritage of the Calais and Caudry region. It also intends to ensure that this exceptional expertise and the invaluable Leavers, these 200-year-old machines that are key to creating extremely fine lace, with its own certification (Dentelle de Calais-Caudry®), essential for the demands of haute coutu re and creative design, remain in France."

It also ensures, of course, that the Chanel supply chain remains healthy, and in France.

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The One Instagram Quality Eva Chen Thinks Is More Important Than Followers

As the head of fashion partnerships at Instagram, Eva Chen is a genuine expert on making the most of the photo-sharing app. So when she offers up advice, you can bet we're tuning in. Her latest words of wisdom? It's not followers that count, but engagement.

Chen talked to Business of Fashion about how to get ahead on Instagram, stating, "It's not a numbers game. I feel like the fashion community is especially competitive and brands are looking at each other's follower counts. But it's the passion and engagement that people feel for a brand that matters most. That is a key gold star. You can have millions of followers, but more important is whether people are commenting and tagging their friends. That means you've created something that people are talking about and that's what makes a good post."

There you have it! When it comes to Instagram, the key to success lies in getting others involved. Read on for a look at how Eva Chen masters Instagram.

In London, ‘Undressed’ Unveils the History of Underwear

Photo Lingerie on display at the "Undressed" exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Credit Anthony Devlin/Press Association, via Associated Press

LONDON — Enter any clothing store these days and you are likely to find yourself faced with the G.L.R.: the Great Lingerie Resurgence. White paneled silk slips trimmed with whispers of black lace at Céline, scallop-edged organza shorts and chemise tops at Dior and a seductive mishmash of boudoir and boardroom in the form of peek-a-boo bralets and power suiting at Givenchy and Balenciaga — we are in an underwear-as-outerwear moment.

And the theme is not limited to the runways: This month, the luxury department store Selfridges unveiled its Body Studio, a 37,000-square-foot space dedicated to off-duty dressing, and an exhibition described as the largest ever devoted to the subject opened Saturday at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

"Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear" examines the big role that undergarments have played in shaping cultural attitudes, gender tensions and shifting style trends, and it helps to explain our endless fascination with what lies beneath.

Photo Tamila lingerie set from an Agent Provocateur collection for spring 2015. Credit Sebastian Faena, via Victoria and Albert Museum London

From corsets, caged crinolines and whalebone stays to bras, briefs and padded boxer shorts, more than 250 objects, along with film images, packaging and advertisements, depict the history of underwear from the mid-18th century to the present.

"It is serendipitous that we are opening right at a moment where underwear, and its ongoing transition from a deeply private to provocatively public garment, continues to be a major creative and commercial trend," said Edwina Ehrman, curator of both the exhibit and the Textiles and Fashion sections at the museum, noting the surging popularity of athleisure clothes, pajamas as daytime garments and luxury loungewear.

"A show must always include contemporary pointers as well as the historical ones, if visitors are to successfully make sense of it,'' she continued, "and we are currently in an ever more informal era that embraces the gap between dress and undress."

The exhibit, however, demonstrates that underwear as outerwear is nothing new and devotes an entire floor to its historical antecedents. Showstoppers include a simple 1911 silk evening slip by Paul Poiret that could have gone down a runway last season and 1920s pajama playsuits for the cocktail hour. Contemporary selections include a white chiffon Alexander McQueen bustier dress plated with gold and padded at the hips, and an Empire-style embroidered muslin gown with matching lace panties by John Galliano for Givenchy, both of which took cues from the allure of 18th and 19th century bedroom attire.

Photo A corset dress from Antonio Berardi's spring 2009 collection, worn by Gwyneth Paltrow at a 2008 red carpet appearance in Paris. Credit Sipa Press/REX Shutterstock, via Victoria and Albert Museum London

On another floor, and in a break from convention, the layout turns thematic rather than chronological, deconstructing the shared sociological underpinnings of fabric scraps spanning centuries, nationalities and classes. Section titles include Fashion; Health and Hygiene; Volume; and Performance Underwear — and include some unexpected revelations.

For example, panties are a relatively recent innovation: Drawers didn't make an appearance until the early 1800s. And many of the most progressive and enlightened underwear designers of the 19th century were women, harnessing new technologies and materials in the design of corsets and bustiers to allow women greater ease of movement and less physical strain.

Thoug h Ms. Ehrman was at pains to stress that corsetry should not be seen purely as an instrument of paternalistic and physical oppression — "Cut, fit, fabric and visibility continue to play a powerful role in the way a wearer of an undergarment is able to present themselves to the outside world, sculpting their sense of dignity and self-confidence," she said — the brutal beauty of a cerise satin corset alongside X-rays revealing its impact on internal organs is startling.

And a Spanx-style waist trainer, the kind of slimming tool endorsed by celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, posed stretchy, neutral-toned questions on how much 21st century underwear continues to subjugate, rather than empower or celebrate, the female physique.

Photo A 1936 advertisement, designed by Hans Schleger for the Charnaux Patent Corset Co. Ltd. Credit Hans Schleger Estate, via Victoria and Albert Museum, London

But Sarah Shotton, creative director at the lingerie retailer Agent Provocateur, an exhibit sponsor, said that today more women were buying such items for themselves rather than for male delectation.

"There are more styles in the market than ever before, incorporating more body shapes and sizes, and that scope and scale allows women to find an expression of femininity, confidence and her desires that suits her best," she said.

"As attitudes and boundaries continue to shift, more women are finding what works for their bodies, and that's beautiful to see."

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