Selena Gomez, left; Olivia Rodrigo, center; and Sydney Sweeney, right, wearing Armani at the 2025 Academy Museum Gala. Source: Getty

Armani's Night at the Museum

In five years, the Academy Museum gala has become a “major carpet” à la the Met Gala, as one Hollywood insider put it to me. It's also the unofficial awards season fashion kick-off. And unlike the Gucci-sponsored Art+Film gala, which is pretty much dominated by the Kering-owned brand, the film museum fundraiser attracts all the top luxury houses, many of which bought tables and used the occasion to unveil fresh-off-the-runway looks by their new creative directors.

It was Armani’s night, however. The Italian luxury giant, celebrating its 50th anniversary and founded by Giorgio Armani, who passed away in September, dressed an astounding 24 guests from all generations, from Martin Scorsese to Sydney Sweeney, and they were all impeccable.

Some wore looks from the debut Armani Archivio, or archive project, which curates and recreates past styles and was launched at the Venice Film Festival. A standout was Olivia Rodrigo in a Spring 2005 midriff-revealing white beaded vest and black hip-hugging evening skirt, with train, that was timeless, like all of Armani's work.

With an eye toward the future of the brand, there were also new looks in the mix. Among them, Selena Gomez's simply chic custom Armani Privè black strapless gown with a spray of crystals at the neckline, worn with a tuxedo jacket over the shoulders. 

Ayo Edebiri, left, in Chanel; Monica Barbaro, right, in Dior, at the 2025 Academy Museum Gala. Source: Getty

The rest of the crowd was a mixed bag, fashion-wise. Newly-minted Chanel ambassador Ayo Edebiri can really do no wrong, and she repped the brand perfectly in a straight-off-the-runway Chanel cocktail dress, while Monica Barbaro was the picture of elegance in a straight-off-the-runway Spring 2026 Dior white silk pleated bustier dress by Jonathan Anderson. I love the lengths on these dresses; they look so modern. 

Kodi Smit-McPhee, left, in Saint Laurent; Kim Kardashian, center, in Margiela; and Jeff Goldblum, right, in ERL by Eli Linnetz at the 2025 Academy Museum Gala. Source: Getty

Some of the runway red carpet dresses could have used a better fit (Naomi Watts in Balenciaga and Charli xcx in Saint Laurent, as examples). I have heard from stylists, with all the places in the world these in-demand samples need to be, there hasn't been time for a lot of alterations, and some brands aren't even allowing them, which doesn't do anyone any favors.

Then there was Kim Kardashian’s focus-pulling, face-covering, waist-cinching Margiela Spring 2025 couture gown which just seemed punishing. And we all know fashion is fantasy, but it was hot in L.A. on Saturday, like 85 degrees hot when the red, um, blue carpet started at the museum, which made Jeff Goldblum’s tuxedo, nylon puffer and patent leather gloves ensemble look all the sillier, as much as we love the L.A.-based designer who made it, Eli Linnetz. Likewise, Kodi Smit-McPhee sporting an oversized Saint Laurent bomber jacket over his suit was a case of the outfit wearing him.

Channing Tatum, left, in a Tiffany & Co. brooch, with Adrien Brody, right, in a David Webb brooch at the 2025 Academy Museum Gala. Source: Getty

Tiffany & Co. jewelry has been on a full court celebrity press, and had another big showing at the Academy Museum Gala with both archival and Bird on a Rock collections. As evidence the men’s brooch trend is here to stay, Channing Tatum wore a Tiffany 1939 platinum and gold floral sparkler pinned to his lapel, while Adrien Brody rocked a David Webb tiger brooch.

Also of note, jeweler Jessica McCormack is coming into the season hot. The London talent who designed Zendaya’s engagement ring, and will open her second U.S. store at South Coast Plaza next year, made Leslie Mann’s discreet diamond earrings and Zoë Kravitz’s stunning Goldfinch yellow diamond ring.

Zoë Kravitz wearing Saint Laurent and Jessica McCormack jewelry at the 2025 Academy Museum Gala. Source: Getty

Jurnee Smollett and Tracee Ellis Ross at Monsieur Dior by Dominique Crenn opening. Source: Dior

Bienvenue, Monsieur Dior 

Elsewhere in luxury land, the Monsieur Dior restaurant at the newly opened Rodeo Drive House of Dior boutique soft-launched Friday night with a friends and family party.

Tracee Ellis Ross, Maude Apatow, Jurnee Smollett, Adrien Brody, LaKeith Stanfield, stylists Wayman Bannerman and Micah McDonald, Ryan Hastings and more came out for the debut of the stunning indoor-outdoor space (the rooftop terrace might be the nicest on the street), with a large cocktail bar and separate dining area.

Chef Dominique Crenn at Monsieur Dior in Beverly Hills. Source: Dior

The French food by three-time Michelin chef Dominique Crenn is inspired by Dior looks throughout history. The concept was easy to recognize with a caviar and crème fraîche service designed to look like the house’s iconic houndstooth, which goes all the way back to the New Look, but harder to recognize with the guinea hen main course inspired by Laetitia Casta’s gold lamé sheath from Cannes 2003.

Regardless, it will be a great spot for ladies-who-lunch gatherings, afternoon tea and drinks, though I imagine dinner will be a harder draw. The restaurant officially opens Oct. 24, with daily lunch service and the bar and lounge open during boutique hours. Dinner service, which runs Wednesdays through Saturdays, launches Nov. 12. Reservation info here.

Designed around a courtyard staircase, the store itself is glittering. It opened without much fanfare, perhaps because creative director Jonathan Anderson's first women's collection won't hit the racks until January, and he will want to celebrate that in L.A.

The Beverly Hills Retail Renaissance Beyond Rodeo Drive

Inside The Vintage Project store on Brighton Way. Source: The Vintage Project

Dior parent company Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy has taken over Rodeo Drive like it's playing the board game Monopoly. The luxury conglomerate already owns numerous properties on the street, and has two new mega projects in the works—a Frank Gehry-designed Louis Vuitton campus in the spot originally slated for a Cheval Blanc hotel before that plan was scrapped by the Beverly Hills Planning Commission, and a new Tiffany flagship on the site of the Luxe Hotel, which LVMH purchased for $200 million and will demolish soon.

But it’s not all about the Arnaults and Rodeo Drive.

Off the main stretch, two new independent stores offering a more intimate shopping experience and personalized service have opened, curated by next-gen L.A. style arbiters.

The Vintage Project Has Something for Every Kind of Collector

Store owner Sarah Jordan Buss. Source: The Vintage Project

The Vintage Project is bringing Parisian flair to Brighton Way courtesy of Sarah Jordan Buss, the former men's stylist whose 2023 wedding to L.A. Lakers scion Jesse Buss, and wedding dress by Oscar de la Renta, made headlines in the fashion press.

Buss first fell in love with vintage when she found her Betsey Johnson homecoming dress at a Salvation Army and has amassed a collection of more than 500 pieces for the store. She saw an opening in L.A.'s vintage market for a place that stocks a range of offerings, from a museum-worthy 1980s dress from Gianni Versace's personal collection to more attainable items, such as a Prada button-down shirt in the designer's 2004 painterly postcard print, priced at $375.

The boutique on the top floor of the historic 1930s building at 9615 Brighton offers a by-appointment experience, which Buss curates for each shopper, and an on-site tailor. Guests enter through a pretty foyer with marble flooring, a mahogany 1920s bar cabinet, and a blue Murano glass chandelier, ringing a doorbell to go inside.

The showroom itself feels like a luxe walk-in closet with plush seating, soft blue carpeting, crown moldings and custom cabinets that open to reveal racks of colorful tops and drawers of pristine Manolo Blahnik and Miu Miu shoes from the 1990s and 2000s. "It's like you're in someone's Parisian apartment," Buss said, noting that her stock is mostly sourced in Europe, and much of it is unworn. "It's quality first; pretty much everything I get, I've restored," she said.

There is something to wear for any occasion, from an '80s Moschino safety pin number, to a ladylike '90s Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton puff-sleeve cotton dress, to a fabulous John Galliano era-Dior floral velvet bias-cut gown. As an added touch, Buss has specially tagged the pieces with the storytelling behind them. "If it was seen on a runway, on a celebrity or in a publication, it will be noted on the garment tag," she said. 

E.M. Reitz Kingfisher shirt. Source: E.M. Reitz

Laurel Pantin's Earl IRL Store Opens With E.M. Reitz Trunkshow

Meanwhile, at 427 N. Canon Drive, Laurel Pantin has opened Earl IRL, a by-appointment store that also has the feel of a personal closet. The former style director at InStyle magazine and fashion director at Austin's luxury boutique ByGeorge has a great eye for styling and wearing elegantly casual fashion, as followers of her popular Substack Earl Earl know well. (When you start to see women wearing sweatshirts around their waists, over blazers, this fall, you can thank Laurel.)

Her unerring taste translates to the store, which stocks tailoring by Kallmeyer, sparkles by Ashish, sweatshirts and T-shirts by Everybody World, select vintage and resale pieces by Prada, Dries Van Noten and Celine among others, and fun accessories like Indress feather brooches. Pantin asks shoppers to email earl@earlirl.com for an appointment so she can make sure to have preferences and sizes ready.

You only have to look at the trunk shows she’s got in store to know Earl IRL is going to be a serious fashion destination. On Oct. 29 and 30, buzzy London bag maker Métier will be popping up.

Shirt maker extraordinaire Erin Reitz kicked things off this week with her collection E.M. Reitz, and the timing couldn’t have been better with shirting on everyone’s mind after the Chanel/Charvet runway moment, and the passing of androgynous style icon Diane Keaton.

E.M. Reitz Mirador tuxedo shirt. Source: E.M. Reitz

Reitz, a veteran of Ann Taylor and Eddie Bauer, launched her edited line of premium shirts, priced $440 to $650, as an antidote to the too-many and too-much fashion industry.

She is based in Charleston, S.C. and works with the former pattern maker for The Row, using the finest fabrics, such as an exclusive Sea Island cotton-silk blend, and is obsessive about details like triple-needle stitching, French seams and real shell buttons.

"It's taking the time to construct beautifully fitting, breathable, soft, well designed shirts," said Reitz, who sells 15 styles through her website and at trunk shows around the country at high-end boutiques such as Capitol in Charlotte, N.C., Hero Shop in Marin, Calif. and Earl IRL in Beverly Hills.

I love her Kingfisher shirt, which has a versatile collar that transforms from a high-buttoned, drapey cowl neck to a low-slinging V-neck with a dramatic sailor collar. Reitz has an incredible new tux shirt, too—the Mirador—which comes in white shadow stripe or indigo chambray (as seen above), with a tucked bib, elegant saddle stitching down the sleeves, and rounded cuffs that would look amazing tucked into a ball skirt. Next up will be a soft, blazer-style shirt.

Reitz also just launched men's shirts, and it's going well so far; her first customer at Earl IRL bought one, sharing from the dressing room that it appealed to his sensibility of not "wanting to look too fashion." How on brand!