My company engages in spirited small talk and there is an air of bright anticipation as we approach our destination: the private home and atelier of Luis Vuitton.
A populist with marked patrician leanings (or is it the other way around?), Mr. Mizrahi has designed for Target since 2002, but he also maintains an atelier for private clients in his Greenwich Village design studio.
A few days before the weekend began, Amaka Osakwe, the designer of the fashion line Maki Oh, welcomed a private client into her atelier, in a serene enclave on the island filled with walled mansions and cultivated greenery.
The 118-year-old house has been reinvigorated by fourth-generation deStefan Stefan Hemmerle, but it remains utterly discreetits work is sold only in its Munich atelier and through private sales.
Next, Amses synthesized current New York City art practice and the European atelier system that worked on private commissions.
It leaves the impression that 5, Avenue Marceau is less a couture atelier than a mad king's private theatre where the actors conspire, elaborately, to humor his fantasies.
The house in question is an 8,500-square-foot 8,500-square-foot 8,500-square-foottwo-storycre walled garden thomebelonestled the grandparents of an assintont in Mr. Kayrouz's atelier.
Though not a member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, he shows during both the Paris haute couture and ready-to-wear fashion weeks, and he employs 150 tailors and other garment workers in his atelier in Beirut, where he said he caters to a mostly Middle Eastern, Russian and European private clientele.
Look for luxury that is subtler than an outrageous price tag, and keep the following mantra in mind: When in doubt, just browse. 1 P.M. Arrive by private jet, car and driver, or, more likely, the 4, 5 or 6 train and enter the third-floor atelier of Shahin Samouhi, 766 Madison Avenue, (212) 737-7212.
