The coolest designer in town last weekend had to be Olga Berluti. The petit Parisian is the first artistic director of the house of Berluti and a real character to boot (pun intended). Where others concentrate on the bottom line and image, the third-generation Berluti is a true craftswoman and she's made the house the premier name for men's luxury shoes.
In fact, she wasn't here to sell her wares as much as to teach her loyal clients how to take care of their bespokes and oxfords. At the China Club's library on Friday night, Berluti offered an exclusive shoe-polishing demonstration. The highlight was when she revealed the secret - to use Dom Perignon champagne as a final spit-shine.
Over an hour, Berluti (below) prodded and tutored a table of high-powered businessmen, each of whom have likely never scrubbed anything with their executive hands, in the art of taking care of their expensive Berluti mules.
At one point, Olga felt one individual's result wasn't satisfactory, so the 60 year-old applied her own elbow grease to it until the shoe was absolutely gleaming.
You think Armani would ever personally sew your button back on if it fell off your suit? Don't think so.