Fashion Parlor

Noami Osaka captured her first grand slam title at this year's U.S. Open, but her victory was overshadowed by controversy surrounding her opponent, Serena Williams. Williams was slapped with a $17,000 fine for comments she made to the match's officiator after he accused her coach of cheating—a ruling that has generally been categorized as sexist and unprecedented.

But despite the squabble on the court, Osaka kept her cool, and she opened up on Ellen about what it was like to play—and win—such a controversial match.

In the interview, Osaka tells Ellen that she really, really wanted to turn around when she heard Serena Williams calling out the officiant, Carlos Ramos for dirty calls, but that she didn't want to break her focus. Instead, Osaka kept her back turned to Serena's side of the court, contemplating her next move.

In the full clip below, Osaka also shares how she thought the crowd was booing her after the match, what Serena Williams whispered in her ear upon her victory, and her celebrity crush (Michael B. Jordan!!)—prompting Ellen to play matchmaker.

Fried Green Tomatoes is one of my favourite movies ever! I’ve probably watched it about 10 times and could watch it well over another 10 times. My favourite part of the movie is when they make their fried green tomatoes, they look so crispy and salty and have always made my mouth water!

I decided one day about 5 or 6 years ago that I would give these a try and it wasn’t shocking that they were just as good as I have always imagined. Well, lately I’ve had a hankering for them, probably due to the fact that we have so many green tomatoes in our garden right now! So, we plucked a few green tomatoes from the vine (I should mention here that you want the tomatoes to be hard! That way they won’t fall apart when you fry them!) and gave it a shot!

Typically I would only use almond milk for dredging the tomatoes but I recently came across a post which suggested using vegan mayo so we went this route (we thinned it out slightly with almond milk) and they turned out AMAZING! The vegan mayo gave them more flavour and it’s also a great substitute for the egg which some people use for dredging the tomatoes in!

I’ve never been to Louisianna or Mississippi but these definitely make me feel like I’m taking a quick trip there from the comfort of my own home!

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do! Make sure to share your thoughts in the comments section below!

xo

Jilly

Larissa Thomson | cofounder of ONDA Beauty

A quiet, serene morning might not be what you’d imagine for a busy mom/former fashion editor turned company founder/native New Yorker/not exactly a morning person who loves coffee. But somehow, Larissa Thomson manages it. Cofounder of the exquisite clean beauty boutique ONDA in Tribeca and Sag Harbor, Thomson builds in flexibility: Some days, she’s getting her son ready for school; other days, her husband does. Some mornings, she’s off to exercise; on others, work takes priority. “I’m consistent in my inconsistency,” she laughs. “I try to do the things that make me feel my best each day, so I change things up—and feel the freedom that comes with that.”

Thomson’s apartment reflects her devotion to simple, clean lines warmed with eclectic flourishes, much like the beachy-by-way-of-Tulum ONDA boutiques in Tribeca and Sag Harbor. We spent a somewhat typical weekday morning with her there, and it was really hard to leave.

6:45 a.m. – 7 a.m.: I open my eyes. If it’s a day that my husband is getting my son ready for school, I meditate in bed for ten to twenty minutes. I’ve learned that if I wait to do it, things start to get hectic, and it may not happen at all. I practice Vedic meditation, but sometimes I like to do my own—what I guess you might call intention-based meditation. I set up a scenario in life I’d like to manifest, then practice feeling the feelings that coincide with that scenario. I am a pretty big believer in making things happen for yourself.

7:15 a.m.: I’m definitely a morning coffee person, and quite specific about it: dark roast with oat milk and a bit of maple syrup. I’ve been trying to cut out processed sugar, gluten, and dairy—not always easy, but I’m doing okay. If I’m lucky, my husband brings me my coffee—he does it perfectly.

7:30 a.m.: After I’ve had enough coffee to wake me up, I ask Alexa to play classical music, which I’ve always loved in the morning (especially Bach’s Goldberg Variations). If I’m alone, I light some incense (since no one in my family likes it but me).

I pour a tall glass of water and add a tablespoon of The Beauty Chef’s Hydration and Collagen (it tastes heavenly), a squeeze of lemon, and a half teaspoon of Pure Essentials C Buffered powder. I take three or four Catalyst Gold capsules for energy, healthy skin, and hair. I also think it helps with sugar cravings. Finally, I take a dropper of VeganSafe B12.

7:40 a.m.: I brush my teeth with my ionic toothbrush and Davids Whitening Toothpaste, scrape my tongue (no matter what, I do this twice a day, and I’ve got my whole family doing it, too) with a copper tongue scraper, floss with Dr Tung’s Cardamom floss, which I’m addicted to. Then I do some work—post on Instagram for ONDA, answer emails and texts—and then head off for either The Class or SLT [Strengthen, Lengthen, and Tone, a mix of cardio, strength, and
stretching work].

10:15 a.m.: I really like my bathroom, and a hot steamy shower is my thing; I take my smoothie with me. I start with face cleanser, which I switch up quite a bit, but when I’m needing a luxurious clean, I use May Lindstrom’s Honey Mud cleanser/mask and let it sit while I wash my hair. (Side note: It’s delicious, in case a little drips into your mouth.) Right now I’m using the True Botanicals or the Reverie shampoo, along with the conditioner—the scents are fresh and slightly herbal. Then I wash with Tammy Fender Très Rose Shower Gel.

Next I do a deep scrub with our ONDA Calendula + Bergamot Coffee Body scrub. As I said, I love my coffee! It’s solar-infused and wildcrafted in upstate New York. The ingredients are soothing, mildly astringent, and beautifully cleansing; the organic coffee and chili pepper help to reduce the appearance of cellulite. My skin feels smooth, perfectly hydrated, and alive after I use it.

I rinse the Honey Mud off my face, and two or three times a week, I use the goop Exfoliating Instant Facial for serious skin polishing afterward. It leaves my skin looking like I just left our treatment room at ONDA!

ONDA Beauty CALENDULA + BERGAMOT
COFFEE BODY SCRUB goop, $85

goop by Juice Beauty EXFOLIATING
INSTANT FACIAL goop, $125

Jao GOE OIL goop, $49

If I still want some more skin love, I use a body oil like Goe or Living Libations Best Skin Ever Seabuckthorn right after my shower to trap in the moisture while my skin is still wet. The Goe smells like summer all year round, and the Best Skin Ever has the most beautiful golden-orange color and smells faintly of vetiver, lavender, and patchouli.

10:30 a.m.: After cleansing, my skin-care routine always starts with True Botanicals Nutrient Mist, which smells unbelievable—and nourishes and preps my skin to receive what comes next more effectively. Sometimes I put on Marie Veronique’s Soothing B3 Serum to soothe, then her Vitamins C + E + Ferulic Serum, which is an anti-aging powerhouse, and finally, goop Perfecting Eye Cream to depuff and combat fine lines. I put Tammy Fender Quintessential Serum on for my last, profoundly moisturizing step; it smells divine, and it’s like food for the skin. Some days, I change up this routine depending on what my skin needs, what the weather is, and what my mood is dictating, but I always believe in layering your serums and the obvious results that provides for your skin.

goop by Juice Beauty PERFECTING EYE CREAM goop, $90

Marie Veronique SOOTHING B3 SERUM goop, $90

RMS Beauty MASTER MIXER goop, $38

(M)anasi7 All Over Colour in
Kobicha goop, $57

10:35 a.m.: I like to keep my makeup simple, light, and natural. I apply Marie Veronique Everyday Coverage Tinted Sunscreen SPF 30 for sheer coverage and protection, a little lip/cheek cream from (M)anasi 7—the Kobicha shade is a great fall color! I use RMS Master Mixer all over my face to give me a bit of a shimmer and glow, a bit of Adventurine Kiss Lip Serum, and I’m set for the day.

Last of all, my new favorite scent is Ayu Smoking Rose. It reminds me of a trip we just went on to Morocco—floral but smoky and exotic. I grab my things and head to the shop or an appointment, or I work from home for a while. Once I enter the shop, it’s hard to sit down and get to business. I just want to talk to everyone about products and the store. That’s my comfort zone. : )

Weekends? That’s a whole different story.

Congressional clapback queen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has struck again. This time, she’s hitting back at a former member of her own party with a message for anyone who worries she might be the Democrats’ future: “New party, who dis?”

That’s what she wrote in a tweet responding to the news that former senator Joe Lieberman said in an interview that he’s hopeful she’s not representative of what his former party is becoming.

“With all respect,” Lieberman said Thursday, January 10, on Fox Business, “I certainly hope she’s not the future and I don’t believe she is.

“She’s gotten a lot of attention because she’s different. She’s controversial,” Lieberman explained. “But if you look at the majority of new Democrats in the House, they tend to be, I say, center-left, if they are not left-left. And that is because they had to be center-left to win some of those competitive swing districts that they took from Republicans.” Lieberman went on to caution against Ocasio-Cortez’s proposed 70% tax on income over $10 million.

That AOC hit back so succinctly may be a testament to her view of Lieberman's role in determining what the future of the Democratic party should be. To answer her question, who exactly is Joe Lieberman? The answer, to put it simply, is that he’s a former Democrat who has seemingly burned nearly every bridge he had to the party.

Even many establishment Dems have long had issues with Lieberman, as CNN pointed out last year, after he endorsed Republican candidate John McCain over eventual-president Barack Obama during the 2008 campaign. Lieberman is also widely viewed as being responsible for killing the possibility for single-payer (i.e., government-funded) healthcare while the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) was making its way through Congress, as Slate documented at the time. AOC’s support for Medicare for All, another name for a single-payer option, puts her at odds with Lieberman on that issue.

Lieberman has extolled the virtues of centrism, and his comments on AOC appear to indicate he views her as too radically leftist to be the future of his former party. But the youngest-ever woman in Congress has been widely hailed as one embodiment of the new wave of progressive politics that helped Democrats reclaim the House in the 2018 midterms.

Democrats have reportedly been trying to figure out how to check AOC’s public power, according to Politico. As the political superstar’s power consolidates on social media and in the public eye, questions about whether or not she’ll play the party’s game continue to surround her future in the House, where pragmatism is often praised over idealism.

Lieberman may well be expressing the concerns of establishment Democrats in this case. The voters may ultimately decide the future of the Democratic Party, though, and time will tell if they’re more aligned with a former senator who was too conservative to stay a Democrat than a House representative some worry is too progressive to be one.

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Want more from Teen Vogue? Check this out: Here’s Why Members of Congress Including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar Give Me Hope

I think red  has always been one of my favorite colors… I don’t know what it is really, but something about wearing this particularly vibrant hue makes me feel the happiest! I also noticed that whenever I shop for something, my eye naturally gravitates toward this color, which is probably why my collection of red pieces is always expanding! Today’s little red dress is my latest find and newest obsession. Flirty and fun, it has this incredibly easy, summery vibe, yet I also appreciate the fact that it can be dressed up with just a few accessories for a polished look and feel. Love that!

For Love & Lemons Buttoned Mini Dress (also love this and this) | Brixton Audrey Straw Beret | Aquazzura Optic 50mm Pumps | Wicker Wings Kuai Rattan And Leather Tote

We decided to shoot our editorial at Villa Daniela Grossi because it has preserved all the charm and character of a historic residence with its antique furniture, frescoed walls and large Italian garden overlooking the splendid panorama of the surrounding countryside. The Villa is located in Camigliano, a small country village close to Lucca.

It was the perfect day, with so many roses of different colors – fragrant lemon trees, a turquoise swimming pool and a garden with a valley view, what eels you can look for! The light was golden and warm.

The intimate ceremony took place in a cozy chapel, where the gorgeous wedding gown stood out on the ancient terracotta bricks. We designed a simple and elegant “mise en place”  that was set up under the trees that made the perfect frame for this sophisticated event. As everything else was so bright, it was important that we bring a sense of grace through the linens, place settings and furniture. The centerpiece was minimal as the lush roses surrounding the area were enough to create a magical atmosphere.

Deciding on our color palette was dictated by the blush tones found naturally in the villa’s walls. So, we decided for a colorful centerpiece of flowers to balance the pale color of the walls, creating the perfect contrast to make it both elegant and romantic. Every small detail was taken care of and the Italian garden was a special setting for the pictures of this young couple.

Now that there’s a premiere date and full-length trailer for the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones, it’s time to review all the major fan theories out there. How will it all end? Who will die? Or rather, who won’t die? Here, a list of the most important theories and predictions to think about while you wait for Game of Thrones to return.

1. Bran is the Night King. Bran has always been kind of the worst, but he’s even more the worst now that he’s omniscient. He’s definitely the Three-Eyed Raven, but is he also the Night King? This Redditor has a more detailed explanation, but the gist is that Bran keeps going back in time throughout history to stop the Night King and eventually got stuck inside him.

For what it’s worth, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, who plays Bran, doesn’t buy this theory. “I think it’s less that they’re the same person and more that they’re two of the ancient beings of Westeros,” he told Vulture after the season seven finale. “Perhaps we can think of it as, these are two characters with a huge amount of power, but one is a Frankenstein’s monster who is driven by nothing but hatred and violence. Then there’s Bran, who uses his powers for good.” (It’s also worth noting that Isaac had not seen scripts for season eight when he said this.)

With the release of the season eight teaser trailer in January 2019, this theory is more convincing than ever. How else would you explain Bran’s absence when the rest of his siblings were hanging out in the crypts of Winterfell?

2. Daenerys is pregnant with Jon’s baby. Back in season one, Mirri Maz Duur told Daenerys that she’s barren, but as Jon Snow pointed out in “The Dragon and the Wolf,” Mirri isn’t exactly a reliable source. Season seven included much discussion of the fact that Daenerys is supposedly the last Targaryen and her dragons are the only children she’ll ever have, which all feels like the perfect setup for a surprise pregnancy. Add to that the fact that Ser Jorah told Jon to keep the ancestral Mormont sword Longclaw for his children, and the foreshadowing for a Daenerys/Jon baby is all there.

3a. Cersei is pregnant with Euron’s baby. The only man Cersei slept with onscreen in season seven was Jaime, but there’s no reason to believe he’s the only person she’s been inviting to the royal bedchamber. The finale uncovered some offscreen dealings between Euron and Cersei—she collaborated with him on his “go home but really go get the Golden Company” plan—so it’s possible they’ve been collaborating elsewhere and for a while.

3b. And no, it’s not a fake pregnancy. In December 2018, Vanity Fair pointed out that the scripts of past GoT seasons on view at the Writers Guild of America West’s library suggest that this pregnancy is legit. Anyone who previously thought Cersei was lying about being with child just needs to read this scene direction for “Eastwatch” (season seven, episode five), when Cersei tells Jaime she’s pregs:

She nods, it’s true….Her happiness is contagious. They get another chance at family. This time with no one standing in their way.

This scene description for Cersei and Tyrion’s meeting is also telling:

Tyrion sees what he sees and knows what it means. He can hardly believe it but knows it to be true….She stays silent for too long, long enough to tell him that he’s right. And once she knows he knows, she can think of nothing else to say.

3c. But Cersei might lose the baby in season eight. As seen in the full-length trailer released in March 2019, an emotional Cersei looks on while holding a glass of wine.

This could mean several things: Cersei’s already given birth, Cersei was never pregnant to begin with, Cersei lost the baby. If the third possibility proves to be true, don’t say you weren’t warned. In a flashback during season five, Cersei is granted three questions by Maggy the Frog in the woods of Casterly Rock. One of her questions concerned her children, to which Maggy said, “The king will have 20 children and you will have three,” aka Robert’s bastards and her and Jaime’s children, respectively.

4. Jaime is going to kill Cersei. Season seven came and went without this much-discussed theory coming to pass (read more about it here), but the stage is now set for a final showdown between Jaime and his sister/lover. After she revealed her plans to sit around and let everyone else fight the Night King, Jaime left Cersei and their alleged unborn child and rode northward. If and when he and Cersei meet again, you can bet it won’t be a happy reunion.

5. Arya is going to kill Cersei. This is basically the same as the “Jaime killing Cersei” theory, only in this scenario, Arya kills Jaime to steal his face, then wears it so she can get close to Cersei and murder her. This would both fulfill Maggy the Frog’s prophecy and allow Arya to cross another name off her list.

6. Tyrion is in love with Daenerys. During the finale’s boat sex scene, many people wondered why Tyrion was lurking near the door of the room where Daenerys and Jon were consummating their incestuous love. One theory is that Tyrion has been falling in love with Daenerys for some time and is upset he has a rival. He was instrumental in sending Ser Jorah away for greyscale treatment and also advised Daenerys to leave Daario behind in Essos because he wouldn’t be the first or last man to love her. “The Dragon and the Wolf” director Jeremy Podeswa says Tyrion’s look was purely a result of strategical worries, but keep dreaming, shippers.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly in September 2018, Dinklage said things are “complicated” with Tyrion and all those feelings, having both a personal and professional connection to Dany. “Obviously, he has feelings for Daenerys. He loves her—or thinks he does. She’s awe-inspiring. He’s questioning that because he doesn’t have a good track record for falling in love. There’s jealousy wrapped up in there.”

7. Tyrion betrayed Daenerys. An alternative explanation for Tyrion’s behavior on the ship is that he actually betrayed Daenerys while “convincing” Cersei to join the cause after her initial refusal. Or if he hasn’t betrayed her yet, he’s thinking about it because this Jon romance throws a massive wrench into the whole operation.

8. Tyrion is a Targaryen. This one (read more about it here) is never not going to be a thing unless they do a flashback that shows Tywin Lannister specifically impregnating Joanna with Tyrion.

9. Melisandre’s going to Volantis to get an army of red priests. When Melisandre peaced out of Dragonstone in season seven, she told Lord Varys that she was heading to Volantis but would return to Westeros because she’s supposed to die there. According to one compelling theory, she’s going to Volantis to pick up an army of R’hllor followers who like to set their swords on fire, and if all goes well, she’ll bring them back to help Daenerys and Jon fight the Night King.

A Game of Thrones / A Clash of Kings / A Storm of Swords / A Feast of Crows / A Dance with Dragons

George R R Martin amazon.com

10. Nymeria will make another comeback. Arya encountered her long-missing direwolf in season seven for the first time since season one but let her continue wandering the forests because she’s not meant to be a pet. Why bring the direwolf back at all though? So when Nymeria and her pack of angry wolves appear again in season eight to save the day in some major battle, it won’t be so out of left field. Then again, it costs money to animate the direwolves, so unless the dragons leave the picture, don’t get your hopes up. But doesn’t Dog Army (or Wolf Army, rather) have the nicest sound to it?

11. Azor Ahai will be revealed. “Who is Azor Ahai?” is a question so complex that you could devote an entire book to it, but current candidates include Jon, Daenerys, The Hound, Ser Davos, and Jaime Lannister. If the show doesn’t answer this question in season eight, then you’re officially allowed to skip any and all Melisandre scenes in future rewatches.

12. Cleganebowl. There was a bit of a tease for the long-anticipated fight between Sandor Clegane, aka The Hound, and Gregor Clegane, aka The Mountain, in “The Dragon and the Wolf,” but alas, nothing happened except for a stare-down. In March 2019, Entertainment Weekly released 16 covers teasing the final season, along with the words “GAME OVER.” Gracing one of those covers are The Hound and The Mountain. Is Cleganebowl really going to happen now or what?

13. Jon survives the war and goes on to win the game of thrones. If you read way too much into the teaser trailer for season eight, you will likely side with folks who think that Jon’s statue in the crypts of Winterfell is a major hint to how the series will end. Compared to Arya and Sansa’s statues, Jon’s is one of an old man.

Then again, other fans believe it’s just hard to sculpt facial hair on statues; Jon’s statue is nothing special.

14. Sansa will definitely die this season. Going along with the theory that Sansa dies at her current age, fans also think she’s going to be killed like her old man, Ned Stark. In the first season, before Ned gets his head chopped off, he tells Robert Baratheon, “Winterfell is yours.” In the trailer for this upcoming season, when Sansa greets Daenerys at Winterfell, she says the Exact! Same! Thing! In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Maisie Williams told everyone to pay attention to the parallels between the first and the last seasons, so there’s definitely some merit to this one.

15. The ice dragon will die. If there’s anything that will for sure throw a wrench in any human plans to defeat the Night King and the Army of the Dead, it’s the fact that they now have an ice dragon. But there’s hope! In the official trailer for season eight, Jon and Daenerys approach her remaining two dragons, which are standing over a huge pile of bones. Please note the size and amount of these bones because there’s no way they’re human. Yes, they could be the bones of a bunch of dead horses or something, but it’s totally plausible that these could be the remains of Viserion, aka the ice dragon, aka death on wings.

16. Samwell Tarly has been telling the story of Game of Thrones this whole time. This fan favorite theory about the books being a series of historical texts written by Samwell got an important boost early in season seven when he and Archmaester Ebrose (Jim Broadbent) had the following exchange at the Citadel library:

Ebrose: “If you’re going to write histories, Tarly, you have to do the research. If you want people to read your histories, you need a bit of style. I’m not writing The Chronicles of the Wars Following the Death of King Robert I so it can sit on a shelf unread…

[Sam shakes his head at the title] Ebrose: “You don’t like the title? What would you call it then?”

Sam: “Possibly something a bit more…poetic.”

Maybe something like, A Song of Ice and Fire? Hmmm???

One Reddit user has theorized that if Sam does turn out to be the writer/narrator, he’ll also have a big part of the final episode: “Sam is writing the story and the last scene is him putting the book away after telling the story to someone, maybe his grandkids, and he’ll be played by GRRM.”

Wishful thinking, maybe, but speaking of GRRM, George R. R. Martin has compared himself to Samwell on more than one occasion over the years. “I would probably be Samwell Tarly. I love Sam too. He’s a great character,” he said in 2014. “Tyrion might be who I want to be, but Sam is probably closer to who I actually am. The fat kid who likes to read books and doesn’t like to go up a lot of stairs.”

17. The Night King is Symeon Star-Eyes. Instead of regular pupils, the Night King has seven-point stars in his eyes. Pay attention because these peepers connect him to Symeon Star-Eyes, a knight from the books who had star-shaped sapphires for eyes. And Bran once explained that this knight “had a long staff with blades at both ends and he could spin it in his hands and chop two men at once.” IDK if you remember, but the Night King is basically a wizard with his spear.

18. The Night King is the Stranger. Now that we’ve established the Night King has stars for eyes, you’ll notice it also pops up in the stained glass behind the Iron Throne. That stained-glass eye is said to be a reference to the Faith of the Seven, and if these two things are truly connected, the Night King could be the Stranger. And no, the Stranger is not a creepy scary movie coming out this summer. In the GoT universe, the Stranger is one of the seven gods who represents death. Hello! The Night King kills literally everyone!

19. Cersei is going to marry Jon. If for some reason things don’t work out with Dany because of, well, their ~relations~ or something else, there is the possibility of Jon saving all of Westeros thanks to a union with Cersei. This theory, which first surfaced in 2017, has some life again ahead of season eight. Like the folks at the International Business Times, imagine for a second Jon leading both armies from King’s Landing and Winterfell to take down the White Walkers and the ice dragon formerly known as Viserion. Yes, the chances of this happening are slim, considering how Jon refused to even acknowledge Cersei as queen in season seven. Then again, Cersei wanted to marry Prince Rhaegar when she was younger. If and when the truth comes out, this marriage could very well work out. Icky, but think of all the people they would save!

20. Grey Worm is going to die. Not long after the release of the season eight trailer, fans began speculating why Grey Worm and Missandei’s passionate pre-battle kiss was so prominently featured (compared to, say, an ice dragon). Over on Reddit, one fan (maxer108) thinks Grey Worm will die saving Missandei:

To me, he completed his character arc after going from basically a fighting machine to someone who cares so much for Missandei that he would do anything to save her, especially with the shots we got of them in that trailer. He’s gonna die to save her, somehow.

Twitter is also losing it:

Eliza Thompson senior entertainment editor I’m the senior entertainment editor at Cosmopolitan.com, which means my DVR is always 98 percent full.

Peggy Truong Entertainment Writer Peggy is Cosmopolitan.com’s entertainment writer, specializing in Leonardo DiCaprio, This Is Us, and the royals.

Shannon Barbour News Writer Shannon is a news writer at Cosmopolitan.com, and when she's not obsessing about Cardi B, she's thinking about Justin Bieber and still trying to memorize Beyoncé's Beychella choreography. 

Source: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/tv/a12103695/game-of-thrones-season-8-theories-predictions/

NEW YORK, United States — Saks Fifth Avenue is plowing ahead with its three-year $250 million reorganisation and renovation of its uptown flagship, and not all of its brand partners are happy with the new strategy.

Richemont-owned fine jewellery brand Cartier is taking legal action against the department store for “breach and attempted termination” of the companies’ leasing agreement and seeking $40 million in damages. The suit was filed in New York State Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Since 2011, Cartier has occupied a shop-in-shop boutique on Saks Fifth Avenue’s valuable ground floor, and the agreement was extended for five years in 2016. However, Saks Fifth Avenue plans to move jewellery displays to a basement space next year called “The Vault” as part of a broader rethink of its flagship.

A statement from Cartier says the brand was “asked to move to a location within the store that does not align with the Maison’s positioning and image standards.” Cartier says it refused the move and senior executives at Saks Fifth Avenue assured the brand it would retain its boutique through the renovation. Cartier alleges Saks Fifth Avenue “improperly terminated the parties’ agreement,” demanding in August that Cartier vacate the space by October 13. At this point, the fate of the existing boutique is unclear because of the litigation; there are no formal plans to close it yet.

Saks Fifth Avenue declined to comment on the litigation.

“We have re-conceptualised the model of our Fifth Avenue Flagship in a way that will revolutionise luxury shopping,” a spokesperson said. “In partnership with our many existing and new vendors, our grand renovation will deliver a one-of-a-kind experience to our customers through elevated and dominant category presentations in our re-imagined store.”

Y. David Scharf, partner and chair in real estate loan work-outs, restructurings and foreclosures at Morrison Cohen, says that while such disputes are not uncommon, the fact that two name brand companies have not been able to find a mutually beneficial commercial solution to their disagreement is unusual. “It’s of a scale that tends to show an irreparable breach in the relationship if they are resorting to this type of litigation,” he says.

Saks Fifth Avenue, owned by Hudson’s Bay Co., is attempting to create more experiential destination points within the flagship to attract more visitors and fend off competition from online luxury shopping players — including Richemont’s Yoox Net-a-Porter — and multi-brand beauty retailers eating into its market. While cosmetics, handbags and jewellery could once all be found on the ground floor, the department store announced a new multi-year plan in 2015 to shuffle the floor plans.

The beauty counters, long a mainstay of department store ground floors, moved to a larger space on the second floor in May 2018. Complete with brand-specific spa rooms and event spaces, the 32,000-square-foot area will be accessible via a new escalator and wrap-around staircase in 2019 in addition to the existing elevator bank.

The department store is now in the process of renovating the ground floor to be dedicated to handbags and soft accessories, and building out the dedicated fine jewellery space in the basement. Both are planned to be completed in 2019.

Meanwhile, Cartier has focused on expanding its own retail network, recently launching a new traveling pop-up “experience” in Seattle, opening a new boutique in Boston and renovating a new flagship in Hong Kong, now its biggest location in Asia-Pacific. In New York, the brand renovated its flagship in 2016. Beyond Cartier’s boutique at Saks Fifth Avenue’s flagship, neither it nor Richemont’s other fine jewellery brand Van Cleef & Arpels have other boutiques with Saks Fifth Avenue. Richemont’s Piaget has a boutique at Saks Fifth Avenue in Toronto.

“It may be that Saks feels, from a business perspective, that it would be better off getting rid of the Cartier space,” says Scharf, describing the filing as the first step towards a negotiated buy-out or some other kind of solution. “Saks threw down the gauntlet.”

Related Articles:

Department Stores Battle for Manhattan

Inside the Reinvention of Saks Fifth Avenue