Courtesy of TabeTomo; courtesy of Foundrae
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? Foundrae opens on Madison Avenue, The Brooklyn Museum Turns 200 and a beloved Ramen restaurant reopens.
GOLD STANDARD: FoundRae Heads Uptown
“Before I ever set foot in the space, I had a feeling it would be FoundRae’s newest home, because of its auspicious address: 777,” says Beth Hutchens, who founded the lifestyle brand in 2015. Interiors of the 1,600 square foot space, on Madison Avenue between 66th and 67th streets, were inspired by fashion icon Diana Vreeland’s Park Avenue apartment (note the red hues). The bookcase-lined walls boast an assortment of vintage and antique books and objects; vignettes tucked in between showcase ephemera and kaleidoscopes of FoundRae medallions. Solid gold chains in a variety of lengths, links, and weights hang on wooden crescents, encouraging guests to create pieces personal to them. FoundRae.com
THE BIG PICTURE: The Brooklyn Museum at 200
“The Brooklyn Artists Exhibition,” which opened earlier this month in honor of The Brooklyn Museum’s 200th birthday, features 200 artists from the borough. How to choose only 200? Through an open call that resulted in almost 4,000 submissions and an Artist Committee helmed by the likes of Jeffrey Gibson, Vik Muniz, Fred Tomaselli and Mickalene Thomas. The museum notes that “participants represent a full range of disciplines, from drawing and painting to sculpture, video, installation, and beyond…together these works capture the vibrancy of both Brooklyn and its artists, who are bound by deep-rooted connections and a shared love of this singular place.” A virtual tour is available on the museum’s site; the exhibition is up through January 26, 2025. BrooklynMuseum.org
COMEBACK KID: TabeTomo Reopens
Those whose eating habits change with the seasons will be thrilled to know that East Village favorite TabeTomo has reopened after a series of misfortunes ranging from pandemic closures, vandalism and fire. For the unfamiliar, the restaurant (whose name translates to “eating buddy”) specializes in Tsukemen or “dripping ramen,” which they describe as “a modern cousin of the traditional Japanese ramen dish invented in the 20th century. The noodles are dipped into a separate bowl of broth, allowing the consumer to enjoy much richer broth and firmer noodles.” It’s a bit of an IYKYK situation, but if you don’t, now is the perfect time to be enlightened on all things Tsukemen, most notably the 60-hour pork broth. TabeTomoNYC.com
PLAYING TO WIN: MoMA Design Store x Champion Archives Collection
MoMA’s Design Store is killing it with collabs — examples with Nike and Bodum are still available on their site. The latest is with Champion, but it’s actually not their first partnership. A MoMA Champion hoodie, now in the museum’s collection, debuted in 2017 in conjunction with theexhibit “Items: Is Fashion Modern?” The latest collection features five pieces — a satin bomber jacket, hooded jacket, retro cardigan, sweatshirt and baseball t-shirt — all inspired by the design store team’s visit to Champion’s archives in New York and (who knew?) their custom facilities in Kansas City. Priced from $45 – $145 at Store.MoMA.org
NATURE LOVER: Egon Schiele at Neue Galerie New York
Mention “Egon Schiele” to an art lover and they will undoubtedly mention the Austrian artist’s often haunting portraits. But it turns out that Schiele was quite prolific in painting landscapes as well. A selection of those works are now on display at Neue Galerie New York’s exhibit “Egon Schiele: Living Landscapes.” The museum notes that with these works “flowers and trees assume the role of portrait subjects and convey an almost human appearance. Schiele’s landscapes always represent more than their apparent subject matter. His portrayal of nature and his rendering of towns and trees epitomize the life cycle and the human condition.” A fully illustrated catalog accompanies the exhibition. On view through January 13, 2025.