September means one thing, a whole month of fashion.
Renowned editors, designers, models, Instagram sensations and the street style crew pack their suitcases and flock to New York, London, Milan and Paris for fashion’s biggest event and a month on the road.
But where do they head for some much-needed R&R post shows? These are the hotels where serious fashionistas need to head post-Fashion Week mayhem.
Hôtel de Crillon, Paris
The most glamorous backdrop to Fashion Week is Paris legend, Hôtel de Crillon, you could say Paris’ most elite hotel. It was closed for a four-year renovation, before its extravagant doors re-opened in 2017. And voila, with interiors that have retained the historic soul with modern entrees, Hôtel de Crillon is ideal for the well-heeled regulars. Karl Lagerfeld designed the decor of the Grands Appartments, a set of two exquisitely over-the-top suites overlooking the Place de la Concorde. This is Paris’ Grand Dame Hotel, the luxury locale to find respite after a week of fashion fervour. The hotel boasts not only impressive interiors, but high-quality amenities too. A Rosewood spa lies inside, where the relaxation area offers a pool, steam room, infrared sauna and Himalayan salt wall to relax in. Additionally to your body, give your skin and hair some post-fashion week TLC with the treatment room using Sisley products (French luxury, plant-based skincare brand) and hair salon by celebrity stylist David Lucas.
St Regis, New York
This is New York glam. A hotel for jet setters, full of regulars. For couture lovers, it’s the Dior Suite at the St Regis that is the big draw, meaning you can still revel in a (peaceful) fashion heaven post the runways. Swaths of fabric in the label’s signature palette of warm greys, subtle pinks and soft whites throughout. Ornate Louis XVI-esque furniture in the living-room nods to the Avenue Montaigne atelier in Paris. Suite guests can also access the second floor of the Dior boutique on 57th Street, which will be opened exclusively for their visit. Swan down to the spa in the hotel’s lower lobby for a complimentary champagne to start a luxurious spa experience packed with customised treatments amongst the beaux-arts interiors. If you’re not staying, make sure to visit its King Cole Bar & Salon (birthplace of the Bloody Mary) for a cocktail to celebrate fashion week successes or to help you unwind.
The Mandrake, London
The London hotel that has everyone talking, and is guaranteed to be packed every London Fashion Week. How do we know? As soon as it opened in 2017, Vogue editor Edward Enninful hosted a party here. However, it’s not just high-end parties the hotel is famous for, but its wellbeing services too. Created by Beirut-born Londoner (who lives in Alexander McQueen’s former studio in Hoxton), you’ve got elements of a souk, mythical jungle and top-class spas with the Newman Rooms representing light and Mandrake rooms representing dark depending on your sleeping preferences. The Mandrake’s Spiritual Wellbeing Concierge marks the first of its kind globally due to its focus on healing the soul as much as the mind and body. Fashion Week can be exhausting in many ways, so, here, find exceptional in-house practitioners to cater to your wellness needs from energy healing to sound therapy, yoga, and tarot card reading. A generous offering of classes awaits including chakra healings, shamanic healings, sound frequency alignments and of course a deep, expert massage. While at The Mandrake, go upstairs to the upper-floor terrace and you’ll find a greenhouse with garden chairs and medicinal pot plants, the perfect sun-trap for an afternoon of rest. Also, don’t miss YOPO restaurant serving up South American inspired flavour combinations to re-awaken your body from within.
Maison Breguet, Paris
Remember this name: Maison Bréguet. The new 5-star hotel in eastern Paris thought up by Brice Errera and Samuel Gelrubin. Small enough for boutique-hotel character, but with comforts that rival the city’s famous palace hotels, this cosy five-star hotel seduces guests and is nothing less than fabulous with its Pierre Fray wallpapers and Carrara marble fixtures. An under-the-radar gem is our new black-book favourite for indulging in a post Paris Fashion Week moment. All accompanied with a swanky restaurant and bar, an intimate outdoor terrace, and an exquisite petite spa. The perfect mixing of Parisian grandeur with French art de vivre, tuck yourself away in the hotel’s sauna, hammam or treatment room for a rejuvenating facial.
11 Howard, New York
Best for…fashionistas with a conscience. In fashion-central SoHo (think Opening Ceremony and Kirna Zabete concept stores), is this boutique hotel with a heart. It’s more Scandinavia than New York, warm, modern and paired back, all rooms with light oak floors, handcrafted furniture, and custom artwork. Head to the higher floors for the best views, particularly The Terrace Suite, with its wrap-around balcony. Its raison d’etre is “conscious hospitality”, donating a portion of booking revenue to Global Poverty Project to help fight inequality around the world, guests get free morning coffee in the first-floor Library and an early evening glass of wine on the house several nights a week. If that wasn’t tempting enough, 11 Howard also features HigherDOSE, an infrared wellness spa (with DOSE standing for dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins, the hormones your body releases inside a infrared spa) to boost your euphoria to help you evade a post-Fashion Week slump.
Chiltern Firehouse, London
A Balaz establishment, Chiltern Firehouse is a party den in Marylebone. The waitresses are dressed in Emilia Wickstead, the menu is designed by ex-Conde Nast director, and for those in the know, there is a secret smoking terrace and a hidden black door entrance for after hours. A successful combination of clubby English country house with New York-style dazzle, it’s a magnet for the fashion set. Its where you eat, drink and party with the A-list during Fashion Week, however the restaurant’s focus on seasonality and healthy eating means it’s also the perfect spot for a post-events health kick. With separate brunch, lunch and dinner menus, it will replenish all your body is craving.
Baglioni Hotel Casa, Milan
Fashion doesn’t go out of fashion in Milan. The latest Milanese hotel by luxury group Baglioni Hotels, Casa Baglioni (opened earlier this year) offers a unique townhouse experience in the centre of Milan while its partner hotel, The Carlton, is closed for refurbishment. Subdued in comparison to Milan’s grand hotels yet still offering top of the range amenities, the mid-century building is nestled in the city’s bohemian, art district Brera. This is where you go for an aperitif, in fact where everyone goes for an aperitif, in the ground-floor hotel restaurant by Michelin-starred Chef Claudio Sadler. A much-needed end of the day cocktail, and light bites (the latter provided complimentary in Milan, it’s a cultural thing). There’s no better spot than Casa Baglioni’s lush rooftop bar, also headed up by Chef Sadler. Catch the sunset on the rooftop, run to the state-of-the-art fitness centre downstairs to try the techno gym machines, before coming back upstairs to the hotel rooms to retire for the night.
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