Chanel parties in Las Vegas with Jessica Alba, Rachel Zoe, others

What better place in the world than Las Vegas for a numbers game?

Chanel pulled out all the stops this weekend in Las Vegas to celebrate 10 years of luxury in Sin City and the renovation of the boutique at the Bellagio. (The newly remodeled boutique opens Monday with several limited-edition Las Vegas-themed products, including a killer hot pink crystal-encrusted flap handbag with dice charms hanging from the chain and a nail polish shade called "Gold Fingers.")

The festivities began Friday night with the opening of "Numeros Privees: A Journey Through the World of Chanel," an installation and dinner celebrating the design codes of the French fashion house, including pearls, camellia flowers and quilting.

Guests came in from the East and the West traveling on chartered jets and in a fleet of CC-logoed cars to the Wynn Las Vegas. The group was a mix of clients and celebrity friends, including Jessica Alba, Rachel Zoe, China Chow, Diane Kruger, Lily Collins, Alexa Chung and Dree Hemingway, all of whom were dressed in their Chanel finery.

The evening began with cocktails and a walk through the 10-room installation. The first stop? One imagined it could be Karl Lagerfeld's doll house -- a room decorated with Coco Chanel-print wallpaper, curtains and pillows -- filled with dolls with a likeness to Coco Chanel, dressed in miniature Chanel jackets.

Next door, room 2.55 paid homage to the quilted, chain-handled Chanel 2.55 handbag with 24 video screens showing the details of how craftsmen cut, stitch and assemble each bag. A re-creation of Chanel's legendary Paris apartment at 31 Rue de Cambon was another stop on the tour. There, the lush peacock-printed wallpaper, Coromandel Chinoiserie screens and fresh camellia flowers were reminders of how those design motifs continue to influence Lagerfeld today.

Other rooms celebrated Chanel watches, fine jewelry and perfume. But the most popular room featured the ultimate arcade games, where guests (like Zoe, above) could try their luck at a classic claw machine filled with bracelets, cosmetics and other Chanel trinkets for prizes.

Afterward, the party moved next door to a darkened dining room space with a speakeasy vibe. And with Chinese New Year fast approaching (and nearly every hotel lobby and boutique window in town festooned with red dragons to attract Chinese tourists), everyone was delighted to dine on dim sum. The night ended with a performance by the rockabilly singer-songwriter Imelda May. And for those who were still on their feet, Chanel had one final number: late-night dancing at the new 1 Oak club at the Mirage.

-- Booth Moore

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Photos: Top, the "Numeros Privees: A Journey through the world of Chanel" installation. Middle top, left to right, Jessica Alba, Diane Kruger and China Chow at the event. Middle bottom, Rachel Zoe trying her luck at the arcade game at the event. Bottom, Poppy Devilleneuve, left, and Imelda May. Credit: Billy Farrell Agency

Happy Birthday, Jubilee: The Las Vegas showgirl spectacular turns 30

Bust out the feathers and the sparkles -- Jubilee at Bally's Las Vegas, the last showgirl spectacular on the Las Vegas strip, is turning 30 this month. A relic from a time when more was definitely more, the show features 85 statuesque dancers, seven elaborate numbers, and 1,000 costumes, many of which were designed for the original show back in 1981.

In honor of this glitzy birthday, I spoke with Pete Menefee, an  Emmy-winning designer who created many of the costumes for Jubilee (others are by Bob Mackie). Menefee works in a decidedly sparkly niche of the fashion world. He's dressed Michael Jackson, Shirley MacLaine and the band KISS, and he's worked on the Miss Universe pageants for 19 years. He's also a go-to guy for professional ice-skating outfits.  I asked him how he got the Jubilee gig, what he has to think about when creating showgirl costumes, and whether showgirls will ever go out of style.

All the Rage: How does a person start designing for a show like Jubilee?

Menefee: I had done a show prior to Jubilee for [Jubilee creator] Donn Arden called "Hello, Hollywood, Hello," so this was my second big cabaret show. Your first one you are so nervous about doing it right. I remember when I got my first show, looking at a blank piece of paper and thinking, 'I have to draw a woman in an evening gown with her breasts out.' It's really perplexing. You don't want it to be something people will laugh at. There's a real fine line to adhere to. It's almost like learning a second language for this kind of show.

ATR: Did you worry about the weight of the costumes and making sure the women could walk in them?

Menefee: The women in our show aren't walking in the costumes, they are dancing in them. I don’t worry about the weight; it's more about the balance. The women they hire are trained dancers and they are pretty much able to handle anything, but you don't want to make it so challenging that they don't look good. They do a lot of difficult dancing, some of it on stairs.

ATR: I read that a lot of the original clothes are still being used. That's amazing.

[UPDATED] Stylish Jay-Z rings in 2011 in a Tom Ford tuxedo

The Cosmopolitan, the latest hotel and casino to bow on the Las Vegas Strip, had Jay-Z and Coldplay on hand to help usher in 2011. In the process it ended up with an extra helping of star power -- in the form of unbilled performances by Beyonce and Kanye West (the latter appearance was apparently an unplanned one, Jay-Z told the audience) and the addition of some serious guitar licks courtesy of a John Mayer cameo.

FNO Las Vegas wants to deal shoppers a winning hand

So far, most of the buzz about Fashion's Night Out has been focused on the coasts, but if you happen to find yourself in Las Vegas on Sept. 10, the odds are looking pretty good you'll be able to find some FNO-related celebrations.

The folks at the Wynn and Encore let us know that more than 20 of their luxury retailers will be doing something to mark the event, including Manolo Blahnik, Rock & Republic, Chanel, Hermes and Alexander McQueen

The Oscar de la Renta boutique is set to host an evening of merengue music and dance, the Champagne will be flowing and the music will be cranking at the Ensemble and Outfit shop and designer Katherine Parnello (of the Gimme More Couture collection) will be in the house at Black Satin Intimates.

All the Wynn and Encore events will run from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. that night.

During those same hours, there will be similar festivities just down the Las Vegas Strip at the Forum Shops at Caesars, including a party at the Salvatore Ferragamo boutique to celebrate the launch of the “W” bag -- and of creative director Massimiliano Giornetti's first women's collection.

David Yurman is offering truffles and Champagne -- and donating 10% of the evening’s proceeds to the Public Education Foundation. And Donald J. Pliner will be in his namesake store autographing shoes.

If grabbing a free "Tedtini" at Ted Baker isn't nearly enough to satisfy your cravings, some of the Forum restaurants, including Spago, Boa Steakhouse, Sushi Roku and Planet Hollywood, have also signed on to create special menu items.

Additional and updated information can be found at The Forum Shops at Caesars dedicated FNO page: www.forumshopsfno.com.

-- Adam Tschorn

More All The Rage coverage of Fashion's Night Out

Photo: The shopping esplanade at Encore at the Wynn, one of the Las Vegas properties that recently announced it will be participating in the Fashion's Night Out global shopping event on Sept. 10. Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Lanvin rolls the dice, opens Las Vegas flagship

Lanvin is gambling on Lanvin-ophiles jetting out to Las Vegas for its massive flagship. 

The Lanvin boutique that opened on Friday at Vegas' Crystals at City Center is the second one in the U.S. for the house (Bal Harbour, Fla., claims the first) and the third-largest boutique after Paris and Tokyo. Lanvin in Las Vegas is the first in the country to carry menswear, designed by Lucas Ossendrijver, along with creative director Alber Elbaz’s acclaimed women’s ready-to-wear. The shop also stocks shoes, bags, jewelry, Arpège fragrances and 120th-anniversary keepsakes -- dolls, playing cards and snow globes -- plus the Blanche bridal collection and 22 Faubourg totes.

Tom Ford bets on Vegas for second U.S. menswear shop

It's turning out to be a busy month for designer/director Tom Ford. Although his primary focus of late has been film -- his directorial debut, "A Single Man," starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore premieres Dec. 11 -- he's also been plotting to expand the retail presence of his eponymous menswear line, and today he opens a store in Las Vegas, just the second freestanding boutique in the country.

The 7,700-square-foot store, with an angular metallic facade that resembles the exterior of LA's Walt Disney Concert Hall, is located at the new Crystals retail center in the new CityCenter development. Fashion industry trade paper WWD reports the interior resembles that of the New York and Milan locations, with antique bronze and glass display cases, velvet sofas, and luxe touches that include a black marble fireplace, Ultrasuede paneled walls and a beaver rug.

Like the other stores, it will serve up everything Ford envisions the modern man of style could possibly need, with a dedicated shirting room, a sportswear salon, a perfumery (where you can have a custom-blended scent made), and a room dedicated to made-to-measure suits.

Other luxury stores slated to open at the Crystals include Louis Vuitton, Ermenegildo Zegna, Cartier, Kiton, Paul Smith, Versace and Tiffany.

As for more Ford stores, there's still no word on when a local outpost (which we first told you about last December) will open, although the Beverly Hills Courier reported last month that final remodeling plans for the 344-346 N. Rodeo Drive location have been finalized by the Beverly Hills Architectural Commission.

Tom Ford, 3720 South Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas

-- Adam Tschorn

Photo: Fashion designer-turned-movie director Tom Ford opens a 7,700-square-foot menswear emporium in Las Vegas today. It is in the Crystals retail complex, part of the CityCenter development. It's only the second company-owned freestanding Tom Ford store in North America, following the New York City location, which opened in 2007. His first movie, "A Single Man," adapted from a Christoper Isherwood novel, premieres next week. Credit: Simon Perry.

Jackets worth a jackpot in Vegas

Perusing the shops at the Wynn and Encore hotels today, I was impressed with the racks full of fall merchandise, exclusive styles and vast array of clothes and accessories at stores like Dior, Manolo Blahnik, and (two) Chanel boutiques.

But it was a store at the Encore called Ensemble, which sells a colorful mix of everything from Issa, D&G, Bishop of Seventh and Christian Siriano, where some serious and unexpected vintage gems hung among the contemporary clothes.  A striking red Givenchy coat that belonged to Jackie Kennedy Onassis stood out against the four other jackets -- one a pink number by Lanvin (that had the original Jeanne Lanvin label still inside) and another a cream Pierre Cardin coat with a square collar.

Todd Hanshaw, merchandising manager and women’s buyer for Wynn and Encore found the coats during his travels throughout Europe and displays them in the store.  Each sells for about $5,000, which means they’re best suited for a collector or someone who’s just done really well on the casino floor.  Since I fit neither of those descriptions, I just stared in awe.  There’s a million fancy and glittery things to look at in Vegas, but these vintage jackets, in amazing condition, felt the most special.

 

-- Melissa Magsaysay

Photos: Top: Vintage jackets at the Encore hotel. Left: Vintage Lanvin coat. Right: Vintage Givenchy coat. Photos by Melissa Magsaysay