Looks
Fashion's Retro Perspective

Tailored suits and trench coats reminiscent of hardboiled crime dramas … Sleek ties and satin evening clutches … Glamorous women sporting sweptback curls … You can practically smell the French cigarettes and hear the prop plane starting up.

A sultry streak evocative of classic film noir runs through this year’s spring collections. The season’s designs merge the soft and aggressive, mixing rough textures with gossamer, and substituting navy for black. Alexander McQueen goes ’40s with broad shoulders, cinched waists, and pencil skirts. Dior keeps the upper-half boxy and serious, but adds a flirtatious flair to skirts. For men, designers such as Ermenegildo Zegna and Brioni layer monochrome or subtle tone-on-tone shades like charcoal and khaki, evoking black-and-white celluloid heroes—as, of course, do the classic trench and fedora.

Why now for a return to noir? Perhaps because, in a time of uncertainty, fashion naturally leans toward the moody but keeps subversion on the sly—under the concealing brim of a hat, or in the slightly sinister sheen of dark red lips. By Kristin Butler

On him: Burberry London classic trenchcoat ($1,450), www.burberry.com. Dress shirt by Brioni ($450), www.brioni.com. Pinstripe suit ($3,295), dress shoes ($675), and silk tie ($150) by Ermenegildo Zegna, www.zegna.com. “The Como” fedora by Borsalino ($300), 212-239- 4368.
On her: Clarisa skirt in silk satin ($1,740) and Adriana jacket in chalk-striped wool ($2,430) by Christian Dior, www.dior.com. NATALIE PORTMAN for Té Casan Poppy shoes ($255), www.tecasan.com. Satin plissé clutch by Giorgio Armani ($1,023), www.armani.com. Piaget Magic Reflections Earrings ($20,000), www.piaget.com
Photo by Alex Cao. Styling by Kevin Lennox. Makeup & Hair by Chuck Jensen.

Accents
Rose Gold Standard

A Victorian creation, rose gold has emerged as a hallmark of modern jewelry designs targeted to young but bling-averse buyers. Where silver and platinum once dominated, the warmer tones of this copper-gold alloy appeal to those who want more subtle pieces. “Generation X often looks at yellow gold as kind of Las Vegas and flashy,” says Jeff Prine, executive editor of Modern Jeweler. “But rose gold is kind of an in-between — it’s a warmer metal, and it’s flattering to many skin tones.” The hue is a function of the copper-to-gold ratio: Higher copper content results in “red gold,” which has deeper warm tones—and a more masculine name, which helps appeal to male consumers. Red gold is showing up on men’s watches, imbuing them with a subtly antique vibe. But rose gold “isn’t limited to old-fashioned designs,” says Prine. Molded into everything from big, bold cocktail rings to delicate diamond pavé earrings, the return of rose gold heralds a new appreciation of a timeless material. By Kristin Butler

Clockwise from top left: Ron Hami 18k rose gold, diamond, and smoky quartz ring ($2,100), www.ronhami. com. Roberto Coin 18k rose gold bracelet ($2,920), www.robertocoin.com. Corum Romvlvs 18k red gold and crocdile watch ($18,000), at Tourneau, 800-348-3332. Irene Neuwirth 18k rose gold marquise earrings with diamond pavé ($9,290) and circle earrings with labradorite and diamonds ($3,110), at Barneys New York, 888-8barney.
Photograph by Alex Cao.

Motion
The Skyline's the Limit

For some 40 years now, American car fanciers have had to salivate from afar over a series of extraordinary high-performance cars sold in Japan, but not in the U.S., as the Nissan Skyline GT-R. The newest iteration of this 2+2 coupe, to be released here at last in June simply as the Nissan GT-R, is as fast and furious as they come: 480 horsepower, a top speed just a tick under 200 mph, and zero to 60 in 3.5 seconds (that’s two-tenths of a second faster than Porsche claims for its iconic 911 Turbo). With an exterior inspired by Japanese anime and instrumentation designed by a video-game company, the GT-R is as cutting-edge a supercar experience as you can find—but at an MSRP of $68,950, it’s also something of a bargain. Nissan clearly had the 911 Turbo in mind as it designed the GT-R, yet the Porsche’s list price now tops $125,000 for comparable performance. Which means you can pick up a practical BMW 535i sedan with the savings. By Evan Cornog

The 2009 Nissan GT-R will be available in the United States beginning June 2008, www.nissanusa.com.
Photograph courtesy of Nissan.

Taste
Hill's Country

Hill Harper, a star of the television drama CSI: NY, is used to being front and center on TV screens, but lately he’s gone behind the scenes as an investor in restaurants and hotels in Los Angeles and New Orleans. “The hospitality industry isn’t so much different than what I do as an actor—attempting to give people an experience that improves the quality of their lives,” Harper explains.

His frenetic schedule was actually what piqued his interest in the hospitality business. In addition to his steady gig on CSI, he’ll appear in the forthcoming film Mama I Wanna Sing, playing a talent manager. He’s also the author of Letters to a Young Brother and its forthcoming follow-up, Letters to a Young Sister. And he founded the MANifest Your Destiny foundation, which offers mentoring and scholarships to underserved young men. “I’m on the road so much,” says Harper, “it makes a huge difference to me if I walk into a hotel that makes me feel better, makes me feel at home.”

Harper’s newest venture, with chef Alberto Lazzarino (late of L.A.’s Piccolo and Cheebo), is Melograno, a high-end Italian eatery on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame that showcases Lazzarino’s Piemontese roots. Harper’s restaurant mantra: "Everybody should feel special; everybody should feel like a regular." By Christina Alex

Hill Harper photographed at Melograno, in Hollywood, Calif. by Marc Royce.

Oasis
Going Eco in Mexico

It may cost more than a traditional vacation, but eco-travel is hot. In a 2007 Travelocity poll, 78 percent of respondents planning travel in ’08 said they would pay extra for an “eco-friendly” destination. “We’re really finding this gaining traction in the luxury segment,” says Amy Ziff, editor at large at Travelocity—she calls the trend “eco-chic.” It doesn’t get more eco, or more chic, than the exclusive Cuixmala resort on Mexico’s Pacific coast. Once the playground of corporate-raider-cum-conservationist Sir James Goldsmith, Cuixmala, nestled in a private 25,000-acre reserve, has been transformed by Goldsmith’s heirs into an enviro-paradise of deluxe villas set amongst protected wilderness. Goldsmith’s daughter, Alix, who runs Cuixmala with her husband Goffredo Marcaccini, designed the impeccable interiors. The surrounding land bursts with life, including some 1,200 plant and 500 animal species. From July to March, eco-parents and their kids can help tote endangered turtle hatchlings to the sea. Armchair (er, dinner plate) activists can do their part, too: At its nearby organic farms, Cuixmala grows and raises all its own food and coffee, and produces 30 handmade cheeses. Conspicuous consumption never tasted so sweet. By Califia Suntree

The Casa Alborada villa at Cuixmala. $2500 per night (high season) plus meals. For rates and reservations contact reservations@cuixmala.com.

Photo of the Casa Alborada villa courtesy of Cuixmala.

Turf
Star Tower

Frank Gehry’s latest project is coming to life in downtown L.A.: a $1 billion mixed-use development featuring two shimmering residential towers, one 19 stories high, the other 48, for the international and downtown professional crowd. Directly opposite his swooping Disney Concert Hall, Gehry’s new commission will add some style to the famously boxy L.A. skyline. Trouble may be brewing for the architect in Cambridge—where MIT is suing him for alleged design flaws in his four-year-old, $300 million Stata Center—but elsewhere, Gehry’s signature tumbling, folded, and warped surfaces are as highly sought-after as ever. His employer, William Witte, president of project developers Related of California, calls Gehry “L.A.’s star architect.” At a city hearing for the project, Witte remembers, “Everyone said, ‘Be bold!’ And the current vision is amazing.” The development, slated to open in 2011, is phase one of what the Grand Avenue Project and will include nearly 500 residential units, 250,000 square feet of retail, a 295-room Mandarin Oriental Hotel, and a 16-acre park. Its centerpiece will be the 48-story tower, which Witte hopes will become L.A.’s premium address along the city’s emerging performing arts corridor. The tower will house he hotel and 266 luxury apartments, modeled on the “Five Star Living” residences at New York’s Mandarin Oriental, which includes penthouses valued at $35 million. “It’s not going to be Fifth Avenue or the Champs-Elysees,” says Gehry, but “it could end up a pretty unique thing.” By Wendy Kohn

For more information, visit www.grandavenuela.com.

Image courtesy of Related of California.