Fall Fashion Preview

Designer Lela Rose pays tribute to world's best restaurant in fall collection

Designer Lela Rose always finishes her New York Fashion Week runway show just before the noontime hour, so it's no wonder stomachs are usually growling. But hunger pangs were especially acute this time around, because the Dallas-born and -raised designer centered her fall collection around a particularly memorable meal at Ferran Adrià's El Bulli, the experimental haute cuisine restaurant on the north coast of Spain, three years ago.

"This collection is all about where food, fashion and entertaining intersect," Rose told reporters backstage after the show.

"This collection is all about where food, fashion and entertaining intersect," Rose said after the show.

Although the collection was not literally translated to the transcendental dining experience, traces of Rose's passion for food could be seen in the frothy blouses and skirts in a gold-dusted floral pattern; dresses in feathery, lighter-than-air ombre shades or swirly jacquard patterns; and waffle-like boucle check skirts and T-shirts.

Some of the patterns — including polka dots, stacked pearls and geometric shapes — resembled spherical orbs, a signature technique of Adrià, who is known as the father of molecular gastronomy. His restaurant was named the world's best five times by Restaurant magazine and received more than 2 million reservation requests for 8,000 seats in one year. Rose was among the special few to dine there before it closed in 2011.

The experience must have also been an aphrodisiac, as Rose's collection is sexier than usual, with tight lace pencil skirts, shoulders covered in tulle, and a black dress in a see-through grid pattern that will likely be lined for retail sale.

She recently met up with Adrià again, when he was the guest of honor at a dinner party she hosted at her Tribeca home. Other guests included superstar chefs Mario Batali, Thomas Keller, Dan Barber, Daniel Boulud and Dominique Ansel.

For the occasion, it seemed only appropriate that she wore a look from the fall collection — a gold-dusted floral peplum blouse and ivory trousers that resembled an Adrià specialty: salted peanuts and cone snow wafers.

Lela Rose swirl jacquard dress with tulle inset.

Photo courtesy of Lela Rose

Lela Rose swirl jacquard dress with tulle inset.

unspecified

Holiday shopping

New giant Quge-tip from Dallas-based Q-tip sells out in 2 days

Q-Tip

Q-tip's Quge-tip

A giant version of an everyday product has sold out in two days: Called the Quge-tip, it's a 6-foot version of the iconic Q-tip, the beauty staple that's been around for more than a century.

Measuring nearly six feet from tip to tip, Quge-tips feature enlarged swabs and a sturdy stick modeled after the original Q-tips swabs design.

The Quge-tip was released on December 9 and sold exclusively online in limited quantities for $35. Alas, according to a spokesperson for Dallas-based Elida Beauty, the parent company of Q-tip, the product flew off the virtual shelf.

"Now that they’re sold out, Q-tips is surprising fans with social giveaways," the spokesperson says.

The Quge-tip is one of two products just released by Dallas companies — both of which feel like they could be April Fools Day jokes — except that both are for real.

Dave & Buster's Claw PurseD&B

Dave & Buster's Claw Purse
The Dallas-based eatertainment chain is leveling up holiday gifting with the debut of the Claw Purse, a limited-edition purse designed by Chain. The Claw Purse is inspired by one of the brand's most iconic games — the claw machine — and according to a release, is "the season's most unexpected fashion statement" for anyone who loves bold style, nostalgia, and a little bit of play.

To mark a milestone for the brand, the Claw Purse launches alongside the expansion of Dave & Buster's Human Crane, a viral, full-body game experience that turns guests into the claw — where they are lowered down into a bin of huge prizes to grab whatever they choose.

Beginning in December 2025, the Human Crane will appear in over 112 Dave & Buster's locations with additional stores rolling out nationwide throughout the season.

But back to the purse: It made its debut at Chain's Holiday House, an event at the company's HQ in L.A., where "it quickly became a crowd favorite among creators, stylists, and culture icons," or so says the release. Which also calls this "the first creative collaboration" between Dave & Buster's and Chain, bringing together Dave & Buster's beloved gameplay with Chain's signature culture-forward point of view. So maybe there will be more collaborations in the future.

Q-tip's Qugetip Q-tip's Quge-tipQ-tip

Q-tips Quge-tips
The Quge-tip is a nearly six-foot supersized version of the "iconic" Q-tip cotton swab, first invented in 1923 and the go-to for beauty, baby care, first aid, cleaning, and everyday moments that call for a gentle, precise touch.

The six-foot Quge-tip features enlarged swabs and a sturdy stick modeled after the original Q-tips swabs design — offering a new way to experience an iconic tool at a dramatically large scale, designed as a playful, oversized tribute.

The release nots that Quge-tips tap into a rising trend of consumers using Q-tips swabs for alternative tasks, which now make up a meaningful share of cotton swab use: From dusting high shelves and cleaning hard-to-reach corners to large-scale art projects.

The six-foot Quge-tip features enlarged swabs and a sturdy stick modeled after the original Q-tips swabs design — offering a new way to experience an iconic tool at a dramatically large scale.

The company insists it's a real thing — they do a very funny video mocking late-night ads for cheap products — and that after debuting at qugetips.com on December 9, they sold out of their initial run. One note: They do not reveal how many Quge-tips were sold. It could just be, like 10 that were for sale.

There's a chance they'll be doing another issue, and they encourage interested shoppers to diligently follow their social media.

openings