FRENCH INVASION: France's president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and his wife, Cécilia, ruffled a few French feathers last May when they chose their inaugural wardrobe at Prada. It now appears they also love all-American style — the Sarkozy family spent their summer vacation at Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire and last week were spotted shopping up a storm at the Ralph Lauren boutique on Boston's tony Newbury Street. A Polo Ralph Lauren spokesman said the family made two visits to the boutique, declining to give any more details. NOIR TO NEW YORK: While Matthew Williamson and Luella Bartley are migrating to London Fashion Week for a season this September, some London designers are taking the chance to explore pastures new themselves. Alongside London label Preen, Noir, the Copenhagen-based label designed by Peter Ingwersen, which has shown in London since the fall 2006 season, will present its spring collection in New York on Sept. 8. A spokeswoman for Noir, which is known for its edgy, men's wear-influenced silhouettes, said Ingwersen wanted to show in New York to address more U.S. press and buyers. However the brand's spring collection, which is made using ethically produced materials, will continue to be exhibited at the Estethica area of the London Fashion Week tents this season, which spotlights ethical fashion.

Ingwersen is blazing his own ethical trail, launching several categories within Noir. His spring collection will showcase Nu Noir, a line of transparent lingerie, which plays on the idea of transparency in the manufacturing chain, and he's just launched Black Noir, a diffusion line initially for the Scandinavian markets. Later in 2008, Ingwersen will introduce Illuminati II, a cotton fabric brand manufactured in Uganda under his control, which adheres to the U.N.'s Global Compact principles of corporate social responsibility. Illuminati II cotton is set to be available for fall 2008 collections.

LATEST IN TARGET: Dominique Cohen's advance from high to low was jump-started over the weekend when her limited edition jewelry collection debuted at Target stores. The Los Angeles designer, known for producing 18-karat rose and yellow gold necklaces in coin, lace, bamboo, Buddha and Champagne bubble motifs, made her layerable looks affordable by using ribbons, beads, faux pearls, and bronze and gunmetal chains. The necklace-heavy collection, which will end its run on Feb. 3, consists of about 25 styles priced from $14.99 to $59.99. Cohen has been eager to extend her reach beyond the women aged 30 and over who gobble up her core $6,000 to $35,000 jewelry. She opened a Los Angeles store last April that will be followed later this year by another on Madison Avenue and East 65th Street in Manhattan, and has been ramping up a handbag line initially introduced for fall. Dominique Cohen "is a lifestyle brand. [Leather goods are] another avenue for us to create more brand recognition, and it seemed like a no-brainer," Cohen said earlier this year.