Mandarin Oriental, Paris Launches “Love By Messika Package” For Valentine’s Day

Inspired by Valentine’s Day, Mandarin Oriental, Paris is introducing the Love by Messika room package for February. In addition to enjoying luxurious accommodation at the five-star hotel that has been awarded “Palace Distinction” by Atout France, guests will receive an elegant and contemporary gold necklace from world-famous jeweller, Messika.

Exterior of Mandarin Oriental, Paris on the Rue Saint Honore

Founded in Paris in 2005, Messika was created and orchestrated by Valérie Messika, daughter of the famous diamond dealer André Messika. Her jewellery is new and unexpected; the contemporary style and forms reinterpret the traditions of fine jewellery whilst revealing their creator’s profound passion for diamonds. Celebrating its tenth anniversary, this dynamic brand has made waves in the world of fine jewellery since its first collection. Driven by its success, Messika now has 250 stores in 50 countries around the world. In 2013, the Maison launched its first flagship store on one of the most luxurious streets in Paris, at 259 Rue Saint-Honoré and in 2015, its first High Jewelry Atelier. Messika plans to open another 5 boutiques in 2016.

Mandarin Oriental, Paris Hotel Lobby

With Love by Messika, guests will enjoy the most romantic stay in the City of Love, indulging in the spacious comfort and stylish décor of their room or suite. Upon arrival at the hotel, guests will be welcomed with romantic treats and discover an oasis of tranquillity in the heart of Paris.

During their stay, guests will enjoy a VIP welcome at the stunning Messika boutique, where they will be presented with a gold diamond necklace and Messika scented candle. Located a few steps away from the hotel on one of Paris’s most fashionable streets, the Maison at 259 Rue Saint-Honoré became Messika’s first flagship store when it opened in 2013.

Acclaimed Fashion Designer Isaac Mizrahi Is The Subject of First Museum Exhibition in March 2016

Isaac Mizrahi, 2015. Photo Credit: Photograph © Jason Frank Rothenberg

The Jewish Museum will present the first museum exhibition focused on Isaac Mizrahi, the influential American fashion designer, artist, and entrepreneur. On view from March 18 to August 7, 2016, this survey exhibition explores Mizrahi’s unique position at the intersection of high style and popular culture.

Isaac Mizrahi takes a bow on the runway with his models at the showing of his 1997 Spring collection in New York Thursday Oct. 31, 1996. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

While best known for his clothing design, Mizrahi’s creativity has expanded over a three decade career, moving beyond fashion to embrace acting, directing, set and costume design, writing, and cabaret performance. Beginning with his first collection in 1987 and running through the present day, Isaac Mizrahi: An Unruly History weaves together the many threads of Mizrahi’s prolific output, juxtaposing work in fashion, film, television, and the performing arts.

Behind the scenes, preparing the spring 2010 collection; Mizrahi’s design process is intense and at times hilarious, with many rounds of fittings and much impromptu experimentation. Credit Line: Photograph © Jason Frank Rothenberg

The Real Thing, Coca-Cola–can paillette dress, spring 1994. The Coke can makes an improbable appearance on the runway: Mizrahi used an elaborate process to create these custom paillettes from real Coca-Cola cans. He worked with the charity We Can, which employed homeless New Yorkers to collect cans to recycle; these were shipped to the sequin-maker Langlois-Martin in Paris, where they were cut into paillettes that were then sent to India to be beaded onto dresses. The result is a high-fashion, nearly weightless modern take on a ubiquitous American icon. Credit Line: Photograph © Jason Frank Rothenberg

Spring-Heeled Heels, leather, metal, spring 2010. Credit Line: Photograph © Jason Frank Rothenberg

Mizrahi’s inventive and provocative style brings complex issues into the arena of fashion, igniting a spirited discourse about high versus low, modern glamour, and contemporary culture. His runway shows were cast with unconventionally beautiful models of all ethnicities, dressed in Star of David belts, Western wear infused handmade lace, Adidas sneakers in place of high heels, handbags worn as hats, or a humble cotton undershirt paired with a floor-length taffeta skirt. Uniting opposites is a Mizrahi signature, which can be seen in his many combinations of evening and sportswear, formal and casual, couture and mass market.

Isaac Mizrahi, sketch for Elevator Pad Gown, spring 2005. Credit Line: Photograph by Richard Goodbody, the Jewish Museum, New York

Isaac Mizrahi, sketch for Extreme Kilt, fall 1989. Credit Line: Photograph by Richard Goodbody, the Jewish Museum, New York

Isaac Mizrahi, sketch for Totem Pole, fall 1991. Credit: Photograph by Richard Goodbody, the Jewish Museum, New York

Mizrahi’s outsized personality, loquacious charm, and innate sense of timing have made him a beloved figure, appearing in living rooms across the country through his numerous film and television cameos, as a judge on Project Runway: All-Stars, and on his current show on the QVC network Isaac Mizrahi Live!.

Elevator Pad Gown, grosgrain-ribbon bodice, quilted silk and lamb’s-wool skirt, spring 2005. Workhorse elevator padding used by movers inspired Mizrahi. He appropriated the quilting technique, but elevated the shipping blanket in a patchwork of blue, green, gray, and silver silk Credit Line: Photograph © Jason Frank Rothenberg

Blossom Blazers, double-silk gazar jackets with ruffle collar, silk crepe pants, spring 1991. “I tried to take the silliest things, like ruffles, and toughen them up,” Mizrahi notes. Here, ruffles are writ large, recalling the Elizabethan ruff and giving structure to a decorative element. The jacket was produced in pink, orange, or aquamarine. The aim was to turn a daywear blazer into an article of evening dress.” Credit Line: Photograph © Jason Frank Rothenberg

Isaac Mizrahi was born in 1961 in Brooklyn, New York. Raised in a Jewish family, he attended the Yeshiva of Flatbush before transferring to New York City’s High School for the Performing Arts (he was a featured  extra in the groundbreaking film, Fame, based on the school) and then Parsons School of Design. He entered the New York fashion scene in the late 1980s; his clothing line, Isaac Mizrahi New York, debuted at Bergdorf Goodman in 1986. In 1989 he received the Perry Ellis Award for Emerging Talent and was named Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Womenswear Designer of the Year, an award he won again in 1991.

Unzipped, a riotous, witty, and insightful documentary about the making of his fall 1994 collection, earned Mizrahi and the director, Douglas Keeve, the 1995 Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. When his fashion house closed in 1998, Mizrahi followed other passions in theater and dance, designing costumes and sets for Mark Morris and Twyla Tharp and winning a 2002 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design for a Broadway revival of Clare Boothe Luce’s The Women. In 2003 he was the first fashion designer to launch a line of well-designed, affordable clothes in collaboration with Target.

High/Low: a 2003 ad for IM for Target made the point. Credit Line: Courtesy of Target Corporation

Today he stars in Isaac Mizrahi Live!, a call-in home-shopping TV show that airs weekly on the QVC network. He also appears as a judge on Project Runway All Stars. Mizrahi has directed and narrated “Peter and the Wolf” at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, directed and designed “The Magic Flute” and “A Little Night Music” for the Opera Theater of Saint Louis, and worked the red carpet at the Oscars and Golden Globe Awards. He is currently at work on a television series and memoir.

SAN FRANCISCO BALLET ; Program C: Beaux: Mark Morris. choreographed by Mark Morris, San Francisco Ballet, 2012. Lonnie Weeks and Pascal Molat at Sadler’s Wells, London, UK ; 2012 ; Credit: Photograph by Marilyn Kingwill, image provided by ArenaPAL.

Blackbird, Star of David belt, ostrich-feather hood, stretch wool jersey bodysuit, stretch wool jersey pants, suede and brass belt, fall 1991. Mizrahi irreverently puts symbols to work as part of the religious, political, and cultural mash-up of the fall 1991 collection. “If crosses are everywhere, why not make the Star of David ubiquitous too? Just another thing?” Credit: Photograph © Jason Frank Rothenberg

Isaac Mizrahi: An Unruly History will be organized thematically, exploring key trends in Mizrahi’s work—from the use of color and prints to his witty designs that touch on issues of race, religion, class, and politics. The core of the exhibition will feature iconic designs from the Isaac Mizrahi New York clothing label (1987–98), the “semi-couture” collections (2003–11), and his trailblazing line for Target (2002–8).