River Oaks Boutique Stunner and a Top Museum Combine Forces How Akris and The Menil Make Fashion Arty BY Matthew Ramirez and Sophia Anderson // 03.28.18 photography Lizette Belen Soto 1 13

Jessica Bustillos, Rebecca Rabinow, chair Marcy Taub Wessel

What: Celebrating the Akris Spring/Summer 2018 Collection

Where: Akris in the River Oaks District

PC Moment: Inspired by the work of mid-century architect/designer, Alexander Girard, a pioneering talent in furniture and interiors with breakthrough originality, Akris in River Oaks District combined forces with The Menil Collection to present the fashion house’s 2018 Spring and Summer Collection. Members of the Menil Society Group and other artsy influencers clinked cocktails and enjoyed light bites from Swift + Company while mingling in the beautiful boutique. A few of the Girard-inspired looks were presented on models who circled within the store; the collection’s bold colors juxtaposed with mixed and diversified shapes were an ode to the designer’s celebrated motifs including those inspired by folkloric wooden dolls.

A Q+A, led by Michelle White, the Menil’s senior curator, included a discussion of the extensive renovation to the Menil’s Renzo Piano-designed main building. (The iconic museum is set to reopen this fall, date to be announced, along with the upcoming Menil Drawing Institute unveiling, which is also expected to take place this fall. Meanwhile, visitors can still enjoy the Rothko Chapel, Cy Twombly Gallery, the Dan Flavin Installation at Richmond Hall, and the Byzantine Fresco Chapel, all within the Menil’s leafy Montrose campus and remaining open.)

Who: Menil director Rebecca Rabinow; Menil trustee and and the evening’s chairman Marcy Taub Wessel; Akris executives Melinda Kingsley-LaPlaca and Mary Claire Meuchner, in from New York, joining Houston boutique director Jessica Bustillos; Janet Hobby, president of the Menil Foundation board; collectors Judy Nyquist, Bridget Wade, Linda Kelly, Kelly Silvers, and Leigh Smith; Phoebe Tudor; Blakely Griggs; physician Katy French-Bloom; Sabrina DiMichele; Jerry Ann Woodfin Costa and Victor Costa; Mimi Lloyd; Olivia Persia; artist Kitty Rabinow (mom of Menil director); and Carol Neuberger. PC Picks