Palette- and Palate-Pleasing Confections During MBFW

Sweet Revolution Caramels are good to you and not bad for you – in moderation. Photo courtesy of Sweet Revolution Caramels.

DURING Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, sometimes food and drink grab some of the spotlight, but not necessarily because a dress is made from candy bars or a blouse is constructed from beer cans.

Rather because they are such a nifty idea or a pleasant and welcome surprise. And so it was on several occasions during the New York edition that just wrapped.

Erickson Beamon was responsible for one of the most interesting show formats of fashion week. For Spring-Summer 2013, the design team asked the question “Who are You? in a presentation that featured a band seated on the floor playing the same tune in a continuous loop, people in conversation seated on bleachers and silent models conveyed around the space on push carts.

While all of this was going on, a makeshift bar in the corner of the Box tent was doing good business with a Pear Cognac infused with pureed organic strawberries and lemon juice. It proved to be a delicious thirst quencher and a good aide for contemplating the question at hand.


Macarons are good by themselves or with Champagne. Photo by Yours Truly.

Nicholas K, which has kicked off fashion week the last few seasons, left one wondering whether aviation or travel informed the collection. That, too, was a question that could be contemplated while consuming something tasty in the form of the Maple Honey Caramels that were placed in the front-row seats. They are from Sweet Revolution Caramels (htttp://www.sweetrevolutioncaramels.com). Even better news is their pedigree: made from “simple, natural organic ingredients. That is, maple, honey, cream, butter, sea salt, vanilla bean and lemon. Not an additive/preservative or a drop of corn syrup in sight!

One of the sweetest treats of all were the macarons set out on trays for any taker during the Fotini presentation. The SS13 collection sought inspiration in the muted colors favored by several 18th-century French painters, including Fragonard. The color profile is butter, sage, soft pink, lavender, taupe and white; ditto for the macarons. Could they have been from anywhere except the Upper East Side location of Ladurée (http://www.laduree.fr/)?

Heineken Is Sporting New Face and Same Familiar Taste
The old (left) and new Heineken bottle. Photos courtesy of Heineken USA.

THIS one has a longer, leaner neck, more defined shoulders and is slimmer through the torso. Taller, too.

This is not a description of the latest It super model but the new design of the Heineken beer bottle The "Star Bottle" is arriving in select venues in New York State this week and will rollout across the United States, commencing in March 2013. It debuted in parts of Asia a few months ago (see video below of launch party in Malaysia) and made its world debuted last year in western Europe.

The Dutch brewer, which fashions itself as the leading "upscale" beer importer to the United States, literally wants to be head and shoulders above most others in the marketplace, hence the new design of the 12 oz. and 22 oz bottles. The Star Bottle also sports a feature that is designed to help keep the beer cooler longer.

The Star Bottle represents the first change in the design of the iconic Heineken green in more than 60 years. In this changing environment, however, Heineken is hard pressed to stress that one element that has remained unchanged is the taste.

According to company p.r., "consumers can still expect the same smooth, full-bodied beer with a complexity that balances fruity notes with mild bitterness ..."

Bottoms up!

Gnosis Has a Good Deal on Chocolate to Move

The Cupuaçu Spread, above, and Aphrodisia are going for a good price at Gnosis. Photos courtesy of Gnosis.

CHOCOHOLICS out there might be interested to know that Gnosis, the chocolatier dedicated to promoting health and wellness, has a deal.

Here's the deal: For the rest of September, everything down to Hot Chocolate and Creme Brulee Body Butter is 25 percent off. According to company founder Vanessa Barg aka Chocolate Girl,

Gnosis is doing such a good public service to celebrate the end of summer and the beginning of fall. How nice is that!

On a totally self-serving note, Gnosis is also repackaging its products. But there are not too many better or nicer ways to move the old to make room for the new, right?

All takers can avail themselves of the offer on Reishi Mushroom Extract and anything else by entering code SEPT-25 at checkout. Make it so by 30 Sept., for as has been noted, this deal won't last forever. (http://www.gnosischocolate.com).

Living in the Moment, Chantelle Rolls Out Fall 2012

One could look and touch. Photos courtesy of Chantelle.

THE atmosphere was fun, festive and friendly at its Madison Avenue showroom last week when French lingerie line Chantelle Paris invited the press to view its Fall 2012 collection.

The tone was set by a scrumptious crudite and Marquis de la Tour Brut Rosé to wash it down with or to savor with macaroons from Ladurée while guests took in the collection as they would art in a museum or gallery.

Lending a salon feel to the proceedings, a professional was on hand to attend any and all who wanted to know her correct bra size. Above all, Chantelle wants a woman to have the right fit because that is what really makes her beautiful and by extension, its delicate but sturdy undergarments.

Decisions, decisions.

The Fall 2012 collection takes as a reference point cornerstones of both high-end jewelry and high-end lingerie. At Chantelle this includes refinement, elegance, attention to detail and craftsmanship. Craft is palpable in virtually every piece. Embroidery is almost omnipresent – on tulle, on knit, on lace. The resulting images are motifs and tableaux that evoke fireworks, pearls, a bridge and so on.

She cannot believe her eyes.

Many ensembles have names taken from Parisian landmarks. Embroidery on Icone 3850 is evocative of butterfly wings. It is so detailed that it boggles the mind as to how such intricacy can be applied to such dainty fabric. Every stitch in the collection bears an accent that enhances without seeming overmuch – bows on bra straps, gemstones at the bodice, pleats on waistbands of panties. Case in point is Pont des Arts 3940. The design is patterned after the Parisian foot bridge of the same name and also resembles an architect's rendering of an ancient city.

Amongst all of this beauty if there is an ugly ducking, it is Hedona 2030. Though well-designed and functional, it seems rather too subdued – dare I say blah – in an animated line. On lingerie the plaid is lost in translation.

Bra specs are important matters.

Another spot of bother is the very element that drives the collection – embellishment. It can also be a little impractical for some tastes and lifestyles. Chantelle is keenly aware. Lines sold in the United States have less augmentation than those sold in France. Perhaps even less is in order. U. S. women who want to throw on a simple matching bra and panties may be put off by frou-frou. Others may deem undergarments with a chevron motif (Saint Honore 1980) too fine to wear under jeans and a T-shirt or sweats. Further, wearer beware of an unsightly silhouette if the imprint of your Calais lace (Eternelle 3620) is visible under that razor-thin silk blouse. Caveats, notwithstanding, Chantelle executes its vision admirably.

Guess why these women are smiling.

In revealing its fall line in August, the lingerie maker joined the increasing number of brands (Gap, Ippolita and TSOVET are recent examples) that is beginning to display its wares days and weeks before they hit stores rather than months. Or they are doing both. (Chantelle put out an edited version of its Spring 2013 collection). It is a welcome trend. Chantelle for fall is already in Bloomingdale’s, Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and JCPenney and other places that carry the line “if they have taken them out of the boxes,” one marketing rep said.

Chantelle party guests will be eagerly awaiting boxes in the post. All who got measured for a bra could avail themselves of a bra-panty set from the line.

Good. Stuff!

Visit http://www.chantelle.com/ to learn more about Chantelle Paris.