What’s Happening: On New York City’s most notorious corridor for knockoff designer handbags, The Real Real has stocked a new storefront with 35 “superfake” handbags to draw attention to the industry’s counterfeiting crisis.

The Download: At The Real Real’s latest opening, none of the merch is shoppable. You’d be hard-pressed to even find a time of day when the jewel-box is open: Its posted hours read closed, every day of the week. Instead, its 35 exquisitely merchandised handbags—all of them counterfeits and illuminated by a Serge Mouille–lookalike ceiling fixture—stare down New York’s most notorious block for knockoff designer goods. The storefront itself is a bit deceiving in that it isn’t even a storefront at all. Rather, it’s an installation the luxury goods reseller crafted with creative agency Mythology to draw much-needed attention to counterfeiting in the fashion industry.

Among the 35 handbags on display, there are knockoff Birkins, Kellys, a Loewe Seagrass tote, a Prada Galleria shoulder bag, and a Telfar Shopping Bag, ringing as a who’s who of the market’s most coveted handbags. According to the retailer, which curated the assortment from a selection of fakes sent in by would-be consignors, the bags on view are almost impossible to distinguish from the real thing. These so-called “superfakes” appeal to customers across income levels, and the company hopes to use the installation to raise awareness about the ripple effects of counterfeiting. Customers can turn in their own fake designer bags for a chance to win the real thing—from The Real Real, of course.

In Their Own Words: “The point is to spark conversation around, ‘Why does it matter?’” Kristen Naiman, The Real Real’s chief creative officer, told the New York Times. “There has been so much conversation around fast fashion and how detrimental it is to the world… Fakes are even worse.” To Naiman’s point, the fashion industry has yet to spearhead an authoritative, industry-specific anti-counterfeiting agency with the power behind it that design’s Be Original Americas has, which has worked with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to seize $15.1 million worth of knockoffs.

Surface Says: SoHo may not need another “luxury” store, but a clever, statement-making installation? That’s another story entirely.

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Since launching Fabel, a buzzy rooftop restaurant in Miami’s Wynwood Arts District, in 2022, Matthew Rosenberg’s transition from architect to restaurateur has been as successful as his design career. Recalling the beach clubs of Saint-Tropez with a dash of Tulum, the visionary principal behind the L.A.-based firm M-Rad put his stamp on the local culinary scene with a sleek style, theatrical Mediterranean menu, and nightly performances by big-name DJs and pirouetting feather girls. Next month, Rosenberg will take his show on the road when Fabel pops up at the new OKU Ibiza (July 3–20). “I’ve spent many summers on the coastlines of southern Europe—a big influence on my approach to hospitality,” he says. “It seems only natural I return with what it taught me.”

Former El Bulli chef Dan Perretta’s menu will pair inspirations from his past with Fabel favorites. The DJ acts and feather girls are joining the fray, too, giving the Balearics a taste of Miami. “The Fabel experience can’t be explained or even seen, only felt,” he says. If Ibiza isn’t on the itinerary this summer, look for an upcoming announcement of another pop-up in The Hamptons this August.

Vincent Van Duysen is known for masterfully creating meditative spaces where purity and simplicity are paramount. His inaugural furniture collection for Zara Home, consisting of earth-toned armchairs, side tables, lamps, and accessories, was no different, and was modestly priced so his specific brand of quiet luxury could “be in everyone’s home, no matter who they are and no matter at what scale,” he said at the launch. Their second collection, released the following year, focused on dining furniture and accessories like table linens.

For his third and latest outing with the retailer, he delved into his archives and revisited some of his most recognizable pieces with a contemporary eye. Linen-upholstered sofas, loveseats, and armchairs star, as do pieces that deftly combine clean-lined wooden frames with plush elements. Highlighted pieces include a daybed whose rigorous forms evoke Donald Judd, and a solid ash or oak storage module equipped with metal containers. Also on offer is a sinuous chaise inspired by his former Antwerp residence and accessories like graphic kilim carpets and concrete side tables.

When: Until Aug. 8

Where: Orto Botanico Corsini and Forte Stella, Porto Ercole, Italy

What: With “Frequency,” the New York–based artist brings a series of painting and tension sculptures to the stunning vistas of Tuscany. At Orto Botanico Corsini, La Piana explores his dual heritage through six works bound to the botanical garden’s trees. The resulting vibration, sound, and movement activates the naturescape and brings a new kinetic energy to the natural world. At oceanfront Forte Stella, a companion show of 13 paintings and two additional outdoor sculptures continue the artist’s dialogue with forces of nature.

For decades, Catherine Opie has been beloved as a photographer who examines the construction of identity in America through a queer lens—and invites us to see what others fight to keep hidden. This limited-edition print, shot on a 35mm camera during a Gay Pride parade in San Francisco in 1989, captures the freedom Opie felt after coming out and embracing her sexual identity. It also serves as a powerful reminder of the strides made by the LGBTQ+ community to protect their rights, especially at a time when these civil liberties are being challenged by policymakers. Lehmann Maupin will donate a portion of sales to Callen-Lorde, a New York–based organization dedicated to LGBTQ+ healthcare. $5,000

Art for Change connects socially conscious art collectors with accomplished contemporary artists and their work. It offers exceptionally high-quality artwork created exclusively for Art for Change at manageable price points. Art for Change donates a percentage of the net proceeds of print or painting purchases to nonprofits to effect positive change in the world.

Surface Says: Art for Change gives socially conscious emerging collectors entry to the world of acquisitions with an emphasis on shared values.

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