IN THE CANNES: Karl Lagerfeld has been snapping up a storm, preparing for a major exhibition of photography in tandem with the Cannes film festival next month. The likes of David Lynch and Isabelle Huppert posed for portraits by Lagerfeld, along with 58 other film folk, the majority of them French. The designer plans to be in Cannes May 23 for a party in his honor, but don't expect to see him mounting the festival's famous steps. "I'm not a red-carpet person," he joked.
Still, Lagerfeld couldn't avoid the spotlight Monday in his native Germany following the revelation, first published in Der Spiegel, that a radical left-wing group had considered kidnapping him in the Seventies. A member of the militant Red Army Faction told the magazine that it had a list of possible ransom targets, including Lagerfeld. It was not clear why the plan was never carried out. Nevertheless, the designer spent the weekend ducking requests for commentary from German newspapers, some of which ran the story above the fold.
SUITE TIME: Swatch Group is getting in on the hotel game. The Biel, Switzerland, company has formed a venture with China's Jin Jiang International Hotel Management Co. to purchase the 78-year-old Peace Hotel in Shanghai. Swatch said it would control 90 percent of the hotel. It estimated renovations would cost $30 million and take up to two years. The south wing of the Art Deco hotel will include an arts center, restaurants and stores for Swatch-owned brands Omega, Blancpain, Breguet and Swatch. Brands such as Bulgari, Fendi and Armani all have announced plans to open their own hotels.
YSL [HEARTS] PARIS: Yves Saint Laurent has always been synonymous with Paris — so much so that the house even has a legendary fragrance named after the City of Light. So when it came to the premiere of the movie "Paris Je t'aime," which will be at the Paris Theatre next Tuesday, it seemed like a natural move for the French brand to want to participate. The movie features 18 shorts by 18 directors about the different Paris arondissements, and Maggie Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman, who both star in vignettes, will cohost the premiere with First Look Pictures and YSL. The after party will take place at YSL's 57th Street boutique, with a portion of proceeds from sales of the new "Downtown" totes to be donated to Anthology Film Archives. The actresses will then host a private dinner. The venue? Chat Noir, a French bistro on the Upper East Side, of course.
Still, Lagerfeld couldn't avoid the spotlight Monday in his native Germany following the revelation, first published in Der Spiegel, that a radical left-wing group had considered kidnapping him in the Seventies. A member of the militant Red Army Faction told the magazine that it had a list of possible ransom targets, including Lagerfeld. It was not clear why the plan was never carried out. Nevertheless, the designer spent the weekend ducking requests for commentary from German newspapers, some of which ran the story above the fold.
SUITE TIME: Swatch Group is getting in on the hotel game. The Biel, Switzerland, company has formed a venture with China's Jin Jiang International Hotel Management Co. to purchase the 78-year-old Peace Hotel in Shanghai. Swatch said it would control 90 percent of the hotel. It estimated renovations would cost $30 million and take up to two years. The south wing of the Art Deco hotel will include an arts center, restaurants and stores for Swatch-owned brands Omega, Blancpain, Breguet and Swatch. Brands such as Bulgari, Fendi and Armani all have announced plans to open their own hotels.
YSL [HEARTS] PARIS: Yves Saint Laurent has always been synonymous with Paris — so much so that the house even has a legendary fragrance named after the City of Light. So when it came to the premiere of the movie "Paris Je t'aime," which will be at the Paris Theatre next Tuesday, it seemed like a natural move for the French brand to want to participate. The movie features 18 shorts by 18 directors about the different Paris arondissements, and Maggie Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman, who both star in vignettes, will cohost the premiere with First Look Pictures and YSL. The after party will take place at YSL's 57th Street boutique, with a portion of proceeds from sales of the new "Downtown" totes to be donated to Anthology Film Archives. The actresses will then host a private dinner. The venue? Chat Noir, a French bistro on the Upper East Side, of course.
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