Marketplace | Leading Edge
Fendi’s New Address By Lauren Hammack Photos by K.O. Rinearson
Sarah Crandall
82
slice | august 2011
I
t’s a perfect fit. The recent arrival of luxe Italian designer Fendi to premier Oklahoma City women’s couture destination Gordon Stuart has sparked a celebratory ovation among its clientele that has resonated well beyond the boutique’s Nichols Hills silhouette. The launch of the Fendi line at Gordon Stuart represents an exclusive – and very extensive – collection of ready-to-wear shoes and handbags from the fashion dynasty’s pre-fall and main fall collections, replete with the season’s prevalent colors of Flash Blue, Yellow Moon, Ochre, Prune and Gray. Resort wear and fragrances are soon to follow. The main fall collection’s year-round fabrics transcend seasons effortlessly, such as silks, lightweight cashmeres and the designer’s Sablé fabric, sumptuously refined material that seems to know intuitively that Oklahoma can experience all four seasons within any 24-hour period. The real beauty in this association comes from Gordon Stuart owner Sarah Crandall’s abiding desire to bring the best of the best to Oklahoma City – an aspiration that has identified Gordon Stuart consistently as one of the top ten couture boutiques in the U.S. Add to that Crandall’s exacting eye for the exquisite and the timeless, and it’s couture bliss for the boutique’s ecstatic clientele, who have poured in since the Fendi line launched this summer. “Our customers have been thrilled about the launch,” Crandall says. “So many have told me that Fendi is their favorite line.” She believes that Oklahoma City has always appreciated quality in design. “Our customers have come to rely on us for that,” Crandall observes, “and until now, they’ve had to leave the state to buy Fendi.” Before selecting the pieces Gordon Stuart would carry in its generous Fendi inventory, Crandall insisted on doing things the right way by waiting until she would be bringing in an extensive representation of the exclusive line, one that will join the boutique’s other luxury labels including Gucci, Dior, Giambattista Valli and one of Crandall’s recent ready-to-wear favorites, Talbott Runhof. How does Crandall intuit which items will appeal most to her clients? “I consider myself the ultimate consumer!” she says with a smile. “I’m always researching, looking for what will be the next big thing; it’s what I do and I love it.” As enviable as it sounds, being that consummate consumer is no easy feat. Crandall accumulates a staggering amount of frequent flyer miles in her regular buying visits – about every six weeks – to New York City. It was during one of those visits that Crandall affirmed that her boutique should carry Fendi. Once she