Style - August 2012

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Society in Miniature

Beauties From A Gilded Age at the New York Historical Society is a collection of portrait miniatures commissioned by high-society host Peter Marié between 1889 and 1903. The watercolour-on-ivory miniatures include reclusive actress Maude Adams and Lady Frances Folsom Cleveland who married President Grover Cleveland when she was just 21 years old, making her the nation's youngest First Lady.

Luigi Cesnola, the director of the Metropolitan Museum at the time of Marié's death, declined to receive the collection, claiming the miniatures weren't representative of New York - Cesnola proclaimed he could "go out on Broadway and find women as beautiful as any in the collection". While Marié certainly wasn't straying beyond his own elevated social sphere in his admiration of the female form, the exhibition remains a fascinating glimpse at a particular social milieu.

■ Reflecting Fashion - Art and Fashion since Modernism, takes a very different historical moment and looks at how, in the 20th century, fashion became part of the language of the avant-garde. The exhibition will explore the interplay between art and fashion from the beginning of modernism to the present, and is curated by Susanne Neuburger in collaboration with Barbara Rüdiger.

Beauties From A Gilded Age, New York Historical Society until 9 September, www.nyhistory.org; Reflecting Fashion, Museum Moderner Kunst in Vienna, until 23 September, www.mumok.at

Home Help

■ The Rehydrating Starter Kit (€120) niftily combines a Neroli cleansing milk, rehydrating toner and

Liposome Day Crème in a gorgeous white case. The cleanser is super-gentle with no parabens and a natural fragrance. Follow up with the floral toner that instantly refreshes skin, making an excellent addition to your travel bag. The moisturiser combines liposomes with natural powerhouses such as horse chestnut extract.

■ For the body the Turkish Body Scrub with Eucalyptus (€37) is a thorough but gentle salt crystal scrub that uses the naturally cleansing eucalyptus to scour away dead skin. Wrap yourself up in a big robe to complete your at-home spa treatment and be thankful for the absence of new-age dolphin music.

Kerstin Florian products are available at luxury spas all over Europe including Aspria Spas on Avenue Louise and Arts-Loi, Brussels and online at kerstinflorian.co.uk

Store Front

Fashion lovers will be sharpening their elbows in preparation for the autumn/winter collaboration between high-street favourite H&M and fashion house Maison Martin Margiela.

This collection is going to be sought after, as H&M's creative advisor Margareta van den Bosch notes: "Maison Martin Margiela is one of the most important and influential fashion houses of the past three decades...this radical collaboration will give fashion lovers the chance to wear some special pieces."

Can Margiela's avant-garde aesthetic translate though? They claim: "The democracy of our fashion has always been at the centre of our creativity and the collaboration with H&M allows us to push this instinct further."

The collection will be launched on 15 November. www.maisonmartinmargiela.com; www.hm.com

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