Year of the Rat Style with our Favorite Fashion Tastemakers

 

 

South Coast Plaza welcomed an exclusive group of social media fashion tastemakers from Southern California to a Lunar New Year private luncheon at Crudo at the  new The Hall Global Eatery by Chef Amar Santana.

 

 

 

 

Dressed in festive style, our guests viewed a curated collection of the Year of the Rat bags, shoes and accessories from our boutiques.

 

 

 

 

The event was a glimpse of what’s in store  to usher in the new year – from capsule collections to red envelopes to special events.

 

 

 

 

Among those on display were Lanvin‘s sleek small hook bag made of smooth and crocodile embossed leather decorated with mouse pins; retro Miu Miu crystal-accented Noir sunglasses; selections from Burberry‘s vibrant collection featuring Riccardo Tisci’s whimsical version of the Thomas Burberry monogram for the Year of the Rat, and more.

 

 

 

Chloé‘s Year of the Rat capsule collection includes ready-to-wear and accessories printed with beautiful, limited-edition illustrations hand-painted by British artist and illustrator Julie Verhoeven. To create this year’s symbol, Verhoeven used Chinese painting techniques. 

 

 

 

Rita, an adorable little rat in a tweed jacket, is the star of Tory Burch‘s peppy Lunar New Year collection that includes ready-to-wear, jewelry, shoes and accessories. If you love Rita as much as we do, you don’t have to settle for a item with her on it – you can buy a bag in her shape in quite a practical size to carry day to day. Rita even carries her own Tory Burch bag, making her for a photo-opp must for our guests.

 

 

 

 

A couple of playful takes on the Year of the Rat involve some famous mice. Among luxury brands, Gucci went with Mickey Mouse, while Miu Miu selected Minnie Mouse for a capsule collection of bags, pouches, T-shirts, jackets and sweatshirts.

 

 

 

 

 

kate spade new york‘s throwback Tom & Jerry collab includes jewelry, ready-to-wear and accessories with the ’40s cartoon mouse. The canteen bag and chain wallet shown above make it easy to add a little fun to any outfit.

 

 

 

To complement the Lunar New Year luxury items, Chef Amar Santana created a special menu, drawing from his travels. Guests indulged in a four-course meal beginning with a crudo sampler that featured three specialties, including the Japanese Hamachi Bay scallops with black truffles and Scottish salmon with carrot ponzu.

 

 

 

 

The first and second courses featured family-style lamb hummus and crispy pork belly which was followed by braised lamb shanks and Shermoula baked fresh fish.

 

 

 

The surprise dessert was an artful composition of sesame gelato, custard egg tarte and red bean paste.

 

After the luncheon, guests explored South Coast Plaza and our boutiques to see more Year of the Rat style.  South Coast Plaza’s Lunar New Year festivities continue through February 9.