Feature

Shopping Preview

Uptown
After a six-month delay in construction and many a newspaper column hinting at a Fashion Week opening, Donna Karan just couldn't wait to ask customers over to DKNY, her 17,000-square-foot crystal palace of a store at 655 Madison Avenue (at 60th Street; 212-223-3569). Karan's dreamy vision of Y2K shopping includes Ducati racing bikes and CD-listening stations scattered among the racks of eco-fleece jackets and cashmere sweaters. At a branch of Blanche's Organic Juice Bar on the top floor, shoppers can mainline wheatgrass as they lounge in DKNY Lucite chairs and watch the kids zone out at the Sony PlayStation.

As part of its unrelenting campaign to overhaul its image as the bag-maker to the Volvo set, Coach redesigns its premier corner of 57th Street (595 Madison Avenue; 212-754-0041) to show off a new, cooler look. Architect Peter Marino, who made the uptown Barneys swank on a Medici-size budget, has given Coach ebony-stained floors, cast-aluminum banisters, and poured-concrete stairs. The traditional attaché case isn't nearly as sexy as these new leather pea coats and motorcycle boots. The much-anticipated furniture collection includes leather director chairs and the requisite beanbag chairs.

The 38-year-old Italian fashion powerhouse Genny launched the careers of style sharps like John Bartlett and Gianni Versace; late October brings the first Genny boutique (831 Madison Avenue, at 69th Street; no phone yet) to the U.S. The current house designer, the Dutch-born Josephus Thimister, has classics like military-style coats and floor-length leather skirts marching to his own beat.

Style goddesses Naomi Campbell and Jennifer Lopez own several seasons' worth of Roberto Cavalli, but the designer will not be clothing similarly callipygian mortals until early October, when he opens a boutique at 711 Madison Avenue, at 63rd Street (no phone yet). Like his countrymen at Gucci and Fendi, Cavalli has dosed up on plenty of feathers and fringe this season. For those not working the "Page Six" party circuit, there's also denim and eyewear.

Christiane Celle is heading north to 935 Madison Avenue (at 74th Street; 212-535-4100), to open another Calypso for loyal Hamptons and St. Barths customers to visit without ever leaving 10021. Cross those linen bustle skirts and pashmina ponchos off the shopping list after just one run-through. For Mommy's stylish bébés, there are also precious bustle skirts and ponchos from Celle's Calypso Enfant label.

His new store at 941 Madison Avenue (at 75th Street; no phone yet) will be a hybrid between a jewel box and a birdcage when it opens in December, says Christian Louboutin. Signature surrealist creations -- Louboutin has pasted photographs and false fingernails on the shoes of previous lines -- will be displayed in vintage curio cabinets.

With his cashmere pantsuits and cowl-neck jersey dresses, Enrique Martinez was the Calvin Klein of his native Latin America before he died suddenly last fall. But a Valentino expat has slid behind the wheel, and so Enrique Martinez will be making its first retail foray into the American market in late September (785 Madison Avenue, near 67th Street; 212-734-5776).

That Fendi baguette bag is no longer in danger of knocking over a pyramid of champagne flutes at Lalique's tiny Madison Avenue boutique. The company is packing up its crates and heading one block south to a bigger space (712 Madison Avenue, at 63rd Street; 212-355-6550); it pretty much had to, since the collection has expanded to include fragrance, scarves, handbags, and furniture. Starting October 28 (when it opens), customers can order a custom-made crystal boudoir or crystal-paneled mahogany bar direct from the factory in France.
MAURA EGAN

Antiques
At Christie's (219 East 67th Street, 20 Rockefeller Plaza; 212-636-2000), movie buffs may salivate again over Marilyn Monroe -- but this time, it's her worldly goods that have people excited. This estate sale, which runs October 27 to 28 (preview, October 22 to 26), includes more than 800 lots of the bodacious icon's gowns, furs, costume jewelry, and furniture; the sale's glittering prize is the beaded silk dress Monroe wore in 1962 when she sang "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" to JFK. Given the recent importance of dresses connected to the presidency that wouldn't make it into the Smithsonian, this one is sure to fetch its estimated high-six-figure price tag.

Not everyone can be as lucky as Richard Gere and get a private session with the Dalai Lama. Settle for an eleventh-century Tibetan bronze of Padmapani, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, with inlaid-silver eyes and copper lips (estimate: $280,000- $350,000). It's one of the many treasures up for grabs during Asia week (September 13 to 17) at Christie's. At the "Fine and Rare Wines" sale on October 1, oenophiles will want to slog home with a towering bottle of 1990 Louis Roederer Cristal, one of only 2,000 Methuselahs produced to commemorate the millennium. Andrés Serrano's controversial Piss Christ (estimate: $15,000-$25,000) will hit the block on October 5 at the "Photographs" auction. And it's too bad Liz Taylor is currently unattached: The Egyptian Revival diamond-ruby-sapphire-emerald-and-onyx Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet (estimate: $350,000- $450,000) from the "100 Years of Jewelry Design" auction on October 18 seems tailor-made for the ailing Cleopatra.

Sports fans will have a field day at Sotheby's (1334 York Avenue, at 72nd Street Street; 212-606-7909) when Yankees co-owner Barry Halper sells off his collection of baseball memorabilia (preview begins September 17; sale, September 23 to 29). The bat Babe Ruth used as a cane in 1948 during Yankee Stadium's twenty-fifth-anniversary celebration (estimate: $50,000- $100,000) and Lou Gehrig's 1927 uniform ($75,000-$125,000) are just a few items stepping up to the plate. Following the success of last year's vintage-handbag sale, fashion-department head Tiffany Dubin has decided to stir things up again with a "Cocktail Sale": Silver shakers and leopard-pattern tumblers will be mingling with a Catherine Walker gown designed for Princess Di (estimate: $30,000- $40,000) and a Givenchy sheath dress and overcoat identical to the ones Audrey Hepburn wore in Funny Face ($2,000- $3,000). Highlights may be previewed in Bergdorf Goodman's windows September 10 to 21 (the sale is September 30). If martinis aren't your cup of tea, you may fare better at the "Chinese Works of Art" auction (September 15), where a set of twelve Qing Dynasty porcelain cups (estimate: $550,000-$650,000), each depicting a different month, will be offered.

The president will soon be practicing his schwing, er, swing, on Westchester greens, and seemingly just in time, William Doyle Galleries (175 East 87th Street; 212-427-2730), in collaboration with Bonhams of London, will be holding a "Golf Memorabilia" sale on October 5 (preview, October 2 to 4). After he retires, Bill can futz with vintage irons or a 1566 book containing the first printed reference to the game (estimate: $50,000-$70,000).

Those who tend to experience more turnover in their closets than a retail store are slowly learning to appreciate the charms of vintage; they wouldn't miss the "Couture and Textiles" auction (preview, November 13 to 15; sale, November 16), which showcases a century of designs by the likes of Poiret, Norell, and Halston. Doyle has divvied the estate of choreographer Jerome Robbins into a pas de deux: Works from his modern-art collection -- drawings by Al Hirschfeld from West Side Story and Ben Shahn works on paper -- will be presented at the "20th Century Art and Design" sale (November 17); furnishings will go to the gavel on December 15.

Now that Swann Galleries (104 East 25th Street; 212-254-4710) has doubled its space, it is offering more sales than ever before. On October 7, Swann will hold its first "Photographs" auction of the season: Edward Weston's 1936 Dunes, Oceano (estimate: $40,000-$60,000) and Man Ray's Study of Lee Miller, circa 1928 ($25,000-$35,000), are among the many images. Prefer canvas to Kodak? The "Works of Art on Paper" sale (November 11) will feature sundry oils and watercolors: Important pieces include Edward Hopper's 1922 East Side Interior (estimate: $30,000-$50,000) and Andy Warhol's 1983 Endangered Species silk-screen set ($40,000-$60,000).

The first New York Armory Antiques Show of the season will run from September 29 to October 3 at the Seventh Regiment Armory (Park Avenue at 67th Street; 914-698-3442); 100 international dealers will be flogging everything from pre-Columbian statuettes to rococo commodes.

Designers like Nicole Miller, Marc Jacobs, and Vivienne Tam have been known to sweep through the Vintage Fashion and Antique Textile Show (October 7 to 10; Metropolitan Pavilion, 123 West 18th Street; 212-463-0200, extension 236) in search of inspiration from an antique sari or a Deco gown. Nearly 60 dealers are expected to show, and "vintage" can translate into a museum-quality garment from the 1700s. But unlike at a museum, you could walk out with a sixties Norman Norell gown or an early-American quilt. This year marks the first preview gala ever (on October 7).

At the Gramercy Park Modern show (October 8 to 10; 69th Regiment Armory, Lexington Avenue at 26th Street; 212-255-0020), dealers will be toting furniture, home accessories, and paintings and textiles spanning from the Art Deco and Art Nouveau periods through the fifties and sixties. Another required stop is the Modernism show held the following month (November 11 to 14; Seventh Regiment Armory), where 70 international dealers will unfurl late-nineteenth- and twentieth-century goods; Lalique, Georg Jensen, Jacques Adnet, Tiffany, and Jean Royère are just a few of the boldface names you'll spot here.

Admirers of the Cloisters' unicorn tapestries can hunt down a replica at the Gramercy Park Antiques & Textiles Show (October 15 to 17; 69th Regiment Armory; 212-255-0020). Browse through textiles, gilded consoles, and estate silver, or visit a new special section that, in the spirit of Martha Stewart, is devoted to do-it-yourself -- with original bath fixtures, antique wallpaper, and restored stoves. If you happen to fall in love with a frayed Aubusson, you can pick up some pointers on its rehab at a seminar on rug restoration.

Scholars, collectors, and curators will crowd into the world's largest Print Fair, at the Park Avenue Armory (preview, November 3; sale, November 4 to 7; 212-759-4469). Included are 100,000 works ranging from old masters to Japanese prints.

The ever-popular Triple Pier Expo is held on two consecutive weekends (November 13-14 and 20-21; Piers 88, 90, and 92; 212-255-0020), and more than 600 dealers hawking furniture, collectibles, and accessories will be in attendance. Helpful tip -- each pier is dedicated to a different period: twentieth-century design, Americana, and eighteenth- and nineteenth-century European antiques.

If Empire armchairs are on your holiday wish list, the New York Armory Christmas Antiques Show (December 8 to 12; Seventh Regiment Armory; 914-698-3442) offers everything from seventeenth-century French secretaries to Art Deco accessories to Patek Philippe vintage watches.

Replace your champagne-stained Louis XVI divan at the Seventh Regiment Armory's annual Winter Antiques Show (718-292-7392). From January 21 through 30, more than 70 dealers will exhibit American, European, and Asian antiques and paintings dating from antiquity to the twentieth century.
ANNA RACHMANSKY