Focused on new shops for this week’s Westender column, including Kiss and Makeup, which made its way over to this side of the Lions Gate after a decade on the North Shore. Managed to get over there for a visit last week and can’t stop thinking about the S’well water bottles they sell – non-toxic, stainless steel interiors that keep beverages cold for 24 hours and warm for 12. Plus the bottles have really charming designs. S’well, a women-run company, also partners with a number of charities, including UNICEF, to help bring clean water to vulnerable children.
(Interior shots of Pendleton towels and Brixton hats at Kiss and Makeup)
More good news: Aesop opened a Gastown location. Previously the line was (and probably still is) available in Vancouver at WANT Apothecary. I use a couple of the quality products – and especially love the fact that they that don’t irritate my sensitive skin.
The newish outlet in Richmond is also mentioned. Haven’t made it out yet to know if it was worth waiting in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Then there is the new Dior stand-alone at the Fairmont Hotel. I didn’t mention it in the article because it took away from the focus, but the French fashion house recently came under fire for using 14-year-old model Sofia Mechetner. The new face of the house opened Dior’s latest Haute Couture show wearing a sheer dress. Some media are painting her tale as a “Cinderella story,” saying that she was “plucked from poverty.” Dior’s creative director, Raf Simons, discovered Mechetner in a Dior store in Paris. She grew up in a town outside Tel Aviv, sharing a bedroom with two siblings, and raised by a single mom holding down three gigs, according to The Washington Post. The model looks like a (very) young Claudia Schiffer – the 90s phenom who didn’t start her modeling career until age 17. Anyway, who’s to say whether the controversy will impact the company appeal … sadly, I doubt it.
For those wondering why I included it in the list – not just because of the near-tween model, but also because in reality the overwhelming majority of us will never set foot in the new shop, the reason is because I think the store’s opening speaks to Vancouver’s growing luxury retail market. It’s a sign of the times, whether we like it or not.
Comments are closed.