Fall Fashion Preview
Inside Tommy Hilfiger and Dee Ocleppo's $80 million apartment: There's room for Eloise, too
NEW YORK — This was one fashion week invitation I wasn't going to pass up.
Rather than show her fall collection in her studio, as she normally does, handbag designer Dee Ocleppo and husband Tommy Hilfiger opened up their fabulous apartment in the Plaza Hotel condominiums. The couple reasoned that the collection, based on an opulent Grand Bazaar theme centered around the Istanbul marketplace, fit in with the surroundings of the lush apartment.
"It's definitely not a springy, summery-looking apartment. It's deeper, darker tones. It's the old-world concept," Hilfiger explained.
"It's definitely not a springy, summery-looking apartment. It's deeper, darker tones. It's the old-world concept. She thought that because it's the fall collection, she would show it here," Hilfiger explained as he welcomed guests to the 18th floor penthouse apartment.
"It just shows better here than in the showroom," Ocleppo said as she conversed with accessories editors from the major fashion magazine in the dining room, where classic black-and-white photos of Hollywood celebrities and politicians dotted the burgundy walls. "And I like that I didn't have to walk across the street (where her showroom is). It was convenient."
Detachable reversible covers are a hallmark of Ocleppo's design and for fall/winter, she centers on wooly-looking Kalgan fur panels that can be removed or reserved to feature a different looking handbag of arabesque tapestry embroidery, burnished python or exotic leathers like ostrich. Other distinctive features include fringe trim, peacock feather embroidery and embossed designs.