Suit yourself
ROBERT Gieves of venerable British bespoke menswear company Gieves & Hawkes will be in town next month to inaugurate a similar couture-style service here.
Gieves will oversee the October 8 event at The Peninsula which coincides with the unveiling of a refurbished Gieves & Hawkes boutique at the hotel.
A bespoke suit will be offered to 10 celebrities to introduce the made-to-measure service. One of the names being bandied about to receive a $20,000 suit is musician/entertainer and general man-about-town Kenny Bee. Other contenders are said to be 'from the fields of finance, property, banking and law'. Nothing particularly celebrated about any of those. What does it take to be a celebrity here these days? keep the ball rolling THE British may have handed over, but the Bela Vista Ball lingers on. Party organiser extraordinaire Ted Marr's phone is apparently ringing non-stop with people wanting to know when they can start dusting off their tuxes. The all-night bash, held at the Bela Vista hotel in Macau, usually takes place around now, but this year it has been pushed back to November 22. The theme hasn't been decided yet, although apparently the usual party favourites will still be there, especially that breakfast at 4 am.
chanel vision BONNIE Gokson, undoubtedly one of Hong Kong's most stylish women, begins a newly-created position as regional external relations director for Chanel tomorrow.
She will continue to be based in Hong Kong, but will travel extensively to liase between all Chanel's regional operations. The move is quite a departure for Gokson, usually associated with Joyce, owned by her sister Joyce Ma. She was also a high-level event-organiser and choreographer for a time, bringing her considerable aesthetic gifts to shows and parties. Gokson is currently in Milan and was unable to comment.
Industry insiders say there is something of a rapport de force between big fashion companies at the moment, trying to outdo each other by bringing in high-profile 'names'. Eurasian beauty Claudia Shaw d'Auriol also joined Chanel earlier this year and the much-photographed David Au was seconded over to Louis Vuitton a few months ago. Talent helps, but in the artifice-filled world of fashion, having an immediately-recognisable face and name counts more than anything.
upper glass SUPER-stylish new restaurant Vong at the Mandarin Oriental is the venue for a high-society tea this Tuesday to be hosted by crystal-makers Lalique. The occasion will see the unveiling of a new Lalique figurine and the launch of the 1998 limited edition bottle of perfume, Ondines.
Apart from Vong's uniquely-stylised teatime offerings, guests will also be treated to a talk on fung shui: they will need all the good fortune they can get if they want to buy the $54,060 figurine or even the $4,900 crystal bottle of scent.
worth noten JOYCE staff were in high spirits at the opening of the Dries Van Noten boutique in The Landmark recently. Which wasn't surprising really, given that socialites and the fashion set couldn't seem to get enough of the embroidered cashmere shawls, floaty sarong-skirts and Orient-inspired brocade jackets on offer. Roberto Dominici of Joyce, which introduced Hong Kong to Van Noten's delights, walked around the party with a gleam in his eye. Was that because the cash register barely stopped ringing? 'I'm happy because I'm happy, but that obviously helps,' he said, before slipping away to check on the sales count. Within an hour and 15 minutes, more than $300,000 worth of Dries Van Noten goodies had been snapped up.
'It's crazy, crazy, crazy,' said Joyce's Adrienne Ma of the scene. The customers, it must be said, were no saner.
Indian Club IF ethnic-chic fashion a la Dries sound appealing if slightly out of the most price ranges, an alternative is at hand: Indian-based couturier J.J. Valaya is sending a selection of India-inspired wearables for a charity event scheduled for October 9 at the Holiday Inn Golden Mile.
The $500 entry includes cocktails and a show, and the money raised goes to the Deaf Aid Society in Bangalore, India, to benefit hearing-impaired children. Punters can shop for Valaya ensembles after the show.
The organisers, a group of Hong Kong Indian women who call themselves Manzil, describe the offerings as 'a clever blend of ethnic and contemporary moods, using rich Indian textiles, bold new colours, updated classic silhouettes and the finest handwoven embroidery'. Sounds much like what's happening on every other catwalk - only this is the real thing. For information and tickets, call Neelam Chhada at 28559655 or Shalini Gagoomal at 28383583.
