Each week, Alexa is rounding up the buzziest fashion drops, hotel openings, restaurant debuts and celeb-studded cultural happenings in NYC. It’s our curated guide to the very best things to see, shop, taste and experience around the city.
What’s making our luxury list this week? Christopher John Rogers for J. Crew, Jenny Bird’s pop-up, and Wollman Rink reopens.
Christopher John Rogers has created a collection of over three dozen vibrant styles that debuted at select J.Crew stores (and online) last week. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native who won the CFDA Emerging Designer Award in 2020, noted “My brand is about providing people with the tools to express themselves through color, through print, through volume…We wanted there to be a lot of print variety in the collection while keeping everything cohesive through a limited color palette. We have a bold stripe next to embroidered sequins next to giant polka dots, smaller polka dots — it really runs the gamut but it’s all easy to mix and match.” Shop his limited edition offerings, including pieces for kids, at JCrew.com.
“I accept my brother’s death but I do not accept his art dying with him,” reads a quote attributed to Marcelo Bengoechea about his brother, the late photographer Fernando Bengoechea. Fernando died in the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami; he was vacationing in Sri Lanka with his partner, Nate Berkus, at the time. Fernando had devised an innovative technique of weaving two identical Giclee prints, resulting in the same image rendered in a textural style. Marcelo has continued that tradition, cutting and weaving his brother’s images. An exhibition of those pieces, called “Woven Together: Reflections” is now on display at Cristina Grajales Gallery. It was curated in partnership with acclaimed designer and Fernando’s former partner, Nate Berkus, and is on through January at CristinaGrajales.com
The omakase invasion continues with the opening of Kinjo at 11 Adams Street, the site of a former torpedo factory under the Manhattan Bridge in Dumbo. Their opening menu is $95 and includes six nigiri and five additional courses, which vary but could be Kumamoto oysters dressed with ikura, scallop and yuzu crudo, wagyu with truffle, botan ebi with curry glaze, and koji-cured duck with pineapple hoisin. Small plates (overseen by chef de cuisine Eddie Lee, previously of Momofuku), are on offer in the bar and lounge area: rice cakes with truffle butter, udon with poached egg and aonori, snow crab dip with chips, tuna toast with crème fraîche and a cucumber salad. Kinjo also partnered with Brooklyn Kura to create and bottle a custom Junmai Ginjo Namazake craft sake. KinjoDumbo.com
Jenny Bird, a demi-fine jewelry brand of “lightweight statement” pieces sported by the likes of Michelle Obama, Selena Gomez, and Zendaya has opened its first, albeit temporary, retail shop at 21 Spring Street in Nolita. Bird, who hails from Canada, is a self-taught designer who debuted with handbags but pivoted to jewelry and, a couple of years ago, added sunglasses to the mix. Interestingly enough, she credits a trunk show at the late, great Henri Bendel (and subsequent coverage in Daily Candy) as helping launch her handbag line. That’s very IYKYK. Even if you don’t, it’s worth popping by her pop-up for on-trend styles that won’t break the bank. Through December 22. Jenny-Bird.com
Attention skaters: get ready to channel your inner Nathan Chen. Wollman Rink is now open. This iconic New York City venue, which debuted in 1950, is more than just a stage to show off your axel, spin, salchow, and lutz. Skate School, for example, offers lessons for skaters of all ages and skill levels. There’s also a rink-side village of heated igloos, complete with cozy interiors, and two dining options: The Café (located in The Clubhouse) and Melba’s in the Park (an outpost of Harlem’s infamous Melba’s Restaurant) located in The Overlook area. WollmanRinkNYC.com.
