Each week, Alexa is rounding up the buzziest fashion drops, hotel openings, restaurant debuts and celeb-studded cultural happenings in NYC. It’s our curated guide to the very best things to see, shop, taste and experience around the city.
What’s making our luxury list this week? A new spot from the Cervos team, a sparkling Met jewelry collab, and comfy shoes that aren’t sneakers step out in Flatiron.
SLIPPERY HOPE: Eel Bar debuts on the Lower East Side
Can’t get into Cervos? Try their new spot, Eel Bar, around the corner-ish on Broome Street. While Cervos is “a downtown ode to the seafood of the Iberian Peninsula,” Eel Bar is inspired by “the region where Northern Spain and France meet.” This translates into dishes including shrimp and egg Gildas (skewers of deliciousness), ham and cheese croquetas, fried mussels on the half shell and black rice a la plancha. And those are just the snacks. Pair with one of over a dozen wines by the glass, a broad selection of vermouths, or a never-fails filthy martini. EelBarNYC.com
HEAVY METAL: The Bronze Age summer show at Demisch Danant
When it’s hot, surround yourself with cool things. This show, at Demisch Danant in the Village, is built around bronze. It’s one of the oldest materials known to man, cool to the touch, and designers have utilized it to make some pretty gorgeous things. Pop in and browse pieces by late greats like Jacques Dumond, Maria Pergay and César, mixed in with contemporary artists Sheila Hicks and Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance. Through August 17 at DemischDanant.com
SHOE IN: Rothys opens in Flatiron
The brand known for ultra-comfortable shoes made from sustainable materials (like threads made from recycled plastic bottles, hemp and RWS-certified merino wool) has opened its third store and largest in the city, on 5th Avenue in the Flatiron district. Its 1,880 square feet features works by Mexican artist collective Caralarga as well as an installation of fabrics directly knitted in Rothy’s own factory. The space is a quiet testament to eco-conscious interiors, featuring energy-efficient LED lighting, recycled paint from EarthPaint, 100% FSC Certified wood and Marmoleum flooring. Rothys.com
GOLD RUSH: Catbird x The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Catbird has just dropped their second collection with The Metropolitan Museum of Art. For two decades, the beloved Brooklyn sustainable jewelry brand has crafted exceedingly wearable baubles made locally using over 95% recycled 14k gold and 95% recycled diamonds. The five designs for The Met were inspired by themes in The Costume Institute’s spring 2024 exhibition “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” and range from $98 for a Pearl Plum charm (a nod to a 17th-century still life by the Italian painter Orsola Maddalena Caccia) to $990 for a Moonstone Bubble necklace (evoking a moment in a 1859 painting by the French artist Thomas Couture). Catbirdnyc.com
GLASS HASSLE: Najla El Zein at Friedman Benda
“Opacity, Transparency, and Everything in Between” is Najla El Zein’s second show at Friedman Benda. While the Lebanese-French designer and artist has become known for large sculptural works, predominantly in stone, this exhibition marks her first foray in glass. There are over a dozen pieces, in substantial sizes, that she has named “Ensemble(s),” all crafted in Amsterdam, where she now lives. After working for so long in an easier-to-control material, she admitted that “working in the hotshop is a stirring and unpredictable experience: high temperatures, fumes, flames, constant movement, and an unsettling sense of the unknown.” Yet she persevered, and the results are a beautiful addition to her body of work. Through August 9 at FriedmanBenda.com
