Couture art, outre men’s footwear and the art of dressing for summer

PARIS — Sequins and beads embroidery, ostrich feathers, camelias, chains… these are some of the objects that come straight out of Chanel’s bag of tricks from the hands of French artisans. Nine ateliers, all owned by Chanel, take part in creating some of the most visually arresting looks for the brand. They also inspired the start of Chanel’s satellite collection — the Metiers d’ Art — a once-a-year collection taking place during pre-fall that highlights these special ateliers and their craft. The most recent is the Paris-Edimbourg collection that happened in England last December, and debuts in stores next month. (Last year, it was the Paris-Bombay collection.) The unique heritage of the jeweler Goossens, the feather craftsman Lemarié, and the embroiderer Lesage, are among the few that help ensure the continued presence of artisanal work in the House of Chanel.

Damiani place vendome

The history of Damiani is linked to passion for the goldsmith’s art and skills. The brand’s master setter, Sante Rizzetto, has been working for Damiani for more than 50 years.

In the early ‘80s, Damiani was one of the first Italian companies that already understood the importance of having ambassadors for a luxury brand. Since then, Damiani has worked with people like Mila Jovovich, Jennifer Aniston, Isabella Rossellini, Natassja Kinski, Sophia Loren, Chiara Mastroianni, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow and Sharon Stone.

The Damiani Eden collection for 2013 is inspired by the snake, the emblem of temptation. The iconic collection was first created in 1998 when the Eden masterpiece bracelet won a Diamond International Award. The Eden’s design is an essential spiral, a modern, contemporary and precious way to remember the snake. Eden then inspired a series of other jewels: bracelets, rings, pendants, earrings and even a watch.

Ah, Choo

After a hiatus of about nine years, Jimmy Choo men’s shoes returned to the spotlight in 2011. For this season’s spring/summer 2013 collection, the popular court slipper gets the royal treatment with colorful tassels, tiger prints and even a giant embroidered lobster. For the man who is more into classics, the three-toned loafer or the simple buckled suede shoe makes the grade.

Mihara Yasuhiro

In March, prolific Japanese designer opened a pop-up shop in Joyce Paris. “I have a good relationship with Joyce and when they invited me, I said yes right away,” said the designer, who is also known for his Puma by Miharayasuhiro line of shoes. Available in the pop-up store were the spring/summer 2013 men’s collections, which included smart and wearable pairs. Perfect for the countryside, the shoes are just as at home in city streets, chic and understatedly casual as the rest of his collection.

The lure of couture

It’s the height of summer and even haute couture has succumbed to colorful and airy-light ensembles. At Versace, hints of skin showed up on the chest of sexy curved shapes, as did embroidered “windowpane” styles with peeks of skin. The same windowpane was a major theme at Chanel couture, which borrowed from its own checkered-woven heritage. At Maison Martin Margiela couture, the windowpane looks were large squares embroidered on see-through hems.