Daily Front Row

2009 March 9

Well-Heeled

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A Fall 2009 look from Roger Vivier
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(PARIS) "It's always been our intention to put Roger Vivier where we are now, but we still need to grow," said Bruno Frisoni on Saturday afternoon at the brand's rue du Faubourg-St. Honoré store. "It's always been a very ambitious project." That desire for excellence reared its head on that day, when Frisoni and Inès de la Fressange were on hand to introduce the Fall 2009 collection of handbags, shoes and costume jewelry to editors and retailers.

The Playing Hearts collection is loosely based around a stack of playing cards designed and illustrated by Frisoni. The motifs--diamond buckles, embroidered clubs and hearts made of chain, even heels made of spades--appeared wittily in the pieces. "It always has a sense of humor," said de la Fressange of the brand. This season's bag is the Diligence, a sac with a double-opening and single hand strap. The Slap Jack is the brand's new shoe, a T-strap Mary Jane with a high heel that comes in a variety of leathers as well as a leopard print.

And while Vivier remains a relatively young brand given it's relaunch in 2002, the brand plans to continue to expand with freestanding retail stores. A Bal Harbour location is set to open in November 2009, while an additional outpost in Taipai is slated to open in September. "We're still very young," said Frisoni. "But we have a lot to work with."
ASHLEY BAKER