Now through July 4, the de Young Museum in San Francisco is featuring Balenciaga and Spain, an exhibition curated by Hamish Bowles, European editor-at-large of Vogue.
Cristóbal Balenciaga’s impeccable tailoring, innovative fabric choices and technical mastery transformed the way the world’s most stylish women dressed.
By Paul Duclos
Published: May, 2011
The exhibition illustrates Balenciaga’s expansive creative vision, which incorporated references to Spanish art, bullfighting, dance and regional costume, as well as the pageantry of the royal court and religious ceremonies. Cecil Beaton hailed him as “fashion’s Picasso,” and Balenciaga’s impeccable tailoring, innovative fabric choices and technical mastery transformed the way the world’s most stylish women dressed. www.deyoung.famsf.org
For a more masculine take on fashion, we suggest you stop by On the Fly—within walking distance of the Ferry Building. This 1 Embarcadero Center boutique is committed to outfitting the modern gentleman with solutions that acknowledge his discerning tastes and busy schedule. According to the mission statement of store founder, Ami Arad, the store wishes to edit the world of choices available to customers “in such a way that you can be confident that every purchase is a stylish one.”
And Arad should know. Here’s how he describes himself on the site: Renaissance man, raconteur, male chauvinist pig. There’s also this charming description:
“On any given weekend [Arad] may be playing soccer or cheating at golf, tailgating at a Cal football game, reading the latest business best-seller, shopping for a loyal customer, or even officiating a friend’s wedding (he has done six). Grinding his teeth in the gritty underworld that was Berkeley’s premier men’s store—George J. Good—instilled certain qualities in Ami as a young man: expensive tastes (especially as they pertained to tailored clothing), a nostalgia for the men’s haberdashery, and a desire to exceed customers’ expectations. The grasshopper learned quickly, evidenced by twice being named a regional finalist in Esquire’s “Best Dressed Real Man in America” competition. The “cigar boom” of the mid-1990’s drew Ami to what Forbes magazine would rate “one of the Top 10 tobacconists in the world”—Sherlock’s Haven in downtown San Francisco. More bad habits were nurtured at the cigar shop, including a penchant for super-premium cigars, small-batch bourbons, and a medium-rare Porterhouse (sometimes all in the same evening). www.onthefly.com
Readers are also encouraged to ask Arad about his remarkable “club.”
Housed in a 3,000 square foot space at 560 Sacramento Street in the heart of San Francisco’s Financial District, Wingtip is something of a refuge for busy downtown professionals. There are a number of “loyalty” perks related to the place, too, which the sales staff will be only too glad to share with you. www.wingtip.onthefly.com
