From

San Francisco’s Chanel store just re-opened following an extensive remodel by architect Peter Marino. The store’s 7,900 square feet spread over three stories, with floor-to-ceiling translucent, hand-pleated silk panels. Sounds light yet opulent, like Marino’s previous work for the French house. But then the accessories display area supposedly has gold jewel-box walls and a gold leaf ceiling – I’m very curious to see how that could be pulled off without looking gaudy or ironically gaudy.

The store is located on Maiden Lane, one of my favorite places in San Francisco (yeah, going out on a limb for that choice. Maiden Lane is gated for pedestrians and looks like a generic block from any high end shopping neighborhood in a European capital). After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, Chanel commissioned gates to close off the block to cars. The brand’s name is on a plaque by the gates.

There are some exclusives to the boutique to entice visitors to come back, and the store held parties over this past weekend.

Chanel
155 Maiden Lane
San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 981-1550

Hermès and Leica updated their 2003 collaboration with this year’s 35mm rangefinder system camera, the Leica M7 Edition Hermès. The camera’s body is finished in silver chrome and accented by either orange or étoupe leather. 100 pieces of each color will be available, and the cameras will have serial numbers. They’ll be available in the UK stating in December 2009 at authorized Leica dealers and the Leica Store Mayfairand. It’ll retail for 8500£ or $14,265.

More info:

To complement the design of the camera, the special Leica M7 Edition Hermès set includes a silver anodised Leica Summilux-M 35 mm f/1.4 ASPH. wide-angle lens, a matching classic round lens hood in silver anodised metal – manufactured specifically for these models – and a Leicavit M rapid winder in silver chrome. A real leather carrying strap, handcrafted by Atelier Hermès to match the colour of each camera, provides the finishing touch. Each set is delivered in a linen-covered, silk-lined box.

The Leica M7 Edition Hermès camera has a number of distinct features compared to the standard Leica M7 model. For example, the top plate is engraved with the Leica name in classic script: the red Leica logo has been omitted to preserve the colour harmony of the leather covering. All control elements of the Leica M7 Edition Hermès have been manufactured exclusively in metal, and the back of the camera is finished in silver chrome. Furthermore, the red colour of the engraved auto and 7 settings on the shutter speed dial has been replaced by the specific shade of the camera’s leather. The technical specifications of the special edition set are otherwise identical to the standard model.

Do you find this camera too preppy? You can always carry your regular camera (weathered & authentic, obvs) in a touch-chic Givenchy case! The French luxury goods houses take care of everyone.

The Givenchy case is $3,620 at Barneys.

LA producer Belief just released the first in his upcoming series of Aaliyah remixes. His take on “Try Again” updates the song with deeper beats and reverb but thankfully retains a lot of the original’s seemingly simple directness. I can’t call the track minimal because it’s too layered, but at the same time, the production and performance came across to me as a honed down and pure. Loved it when it came out, love the remix now.

Aaliyah – “Try Again (Belief Remix)”

The original:

Visit Belief at his site, SoundCloud, or MySpace