Karl's Black Book... Miami's New Hot Spot... Tory Burch and the Gorillas...

KARL’S BLACK BOOK: Fervent bookworm Karl Lagerfeld, whose personal library is the size of a ballroom, is the latest designer invited to reinvent the holiday edition of France’s “Le Petit Larousse Illustré” (“Larousse Small Illustrated Dictionary”). The cover of the limited edition, matte black tome, due for release Nov. 4, features a corner illustration by Lagerfeld of the famous Larousse “Semeuse,” or “Seed-Scatterer,” blowing a puff of dandelion seeds in her birthday suit and a pair of blue, elbow-length gloves. The book’s black case features a photo-cum-sketch, self-portrait of the designer, with the words “Habillé par Karl Lagerfeld” (“Dressed by Karl Lagerfeld”) scrawled in silver. Adding further pomp to the occasion, Lagerfeld has even made it into the dictionary’s proper nouns section for the first time, along with the likes of Björk, Marion Cotillard and Brad Pitt.

 

MIAMI’S NEW HOT SPOT: Miami’s Design District is gaining some heavyweight fashion retailers. According to a spokeswoman for Dacra, a Miami-based real estate development firm that owns much of the neighborhood’s property, Marni plans to open its first freestanding store in Florida in a 2,800-square-foot space near to Art Basel Miami Beach in early December. And following the flight of many independent businesses from South Beach to the Design District’s NE 40th Street, Tomas Maier plans to close his eponymous South Beach store and reopen at 170 NE 40th Street in November. The 6,000-square-foot, freestanding building, which formerly housed a Kartell showroom, more than doubles the size of his original store, which will enable Maier to display more accessories, home items and books. Another U.S. store is slated to open this spring, but Maier wouldn’t disclose the city. The only other fashion retailers currently in the Design District area are Y-3 and En Avance, a men’s and women’s designer boutique that relocated from South Beach’s Lincoln Road in 2008.

BEIJING FLASHBACK: Next Tuesday’s 29th annual Salute to Women in Sports Awards Dinner’s honorees will bring back memories from Beijing. The evening at the Waldorf-Astoria will honor gymnasts Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson, among other athletes.

 

 

 

 

 

GOING APE: Bloomingdale’s 59th Street windows went wild on Tuesday. Large photographs of an endangered gorilla named Miza were displayed next to Tory Burch’s new children’s T-shirts as part of the store’s “Gorilla Girls” event. Excited children, with their parents in tow, charged up to the eighth floor to hear author Craig Hatkoff read his new book, “Looking for Miza.” Hatkoff enlisted the help of his friend Burch, who created a limited edition children’s shirt selling exclusively at Bloomingdale’s for $30. While Burch said she currently designs a few looks for little girls, this extracurricular venture doesn’t signal a separate children’s line is in the works. However, it has spurred a newfound interest in endangered wildlife. Burch said she’s planning a trip to Ethiopia next month. “I’m starting to be more interested about what’s really happening over there and how we can help,” she said.