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Dallas’ top high-fashion boutique selects Houston for next location

One of the country’s premier high-fashion boutiques is coming to Houston’s River Oaks District. Dallas-based Forty Five Ten, the longtime go-to shop for Texas and out-of-town fashionistas, will open in September 2016.

In a release, owner Brian Bolke calls Houston “a top fashion destination” and says it has been on his radar for a while. “Houston has its own chic style, and we’re thrilled to soon be a part of it.”

The 3,300-square-foot Houston fashion temple will house collections for women, men, home, and cosmetics. In Dallas, Forty Five Ten is known as a destination for designer lines such as Moschino, Thakoon, Celine, Narciso Rodriguez, Proenza Schouler, Comme des Garcons, Rick Owens, and Jason Wu.

The store has attracted notables such as Oprah, Laura Bush, Gwyneth Paltrow, Victoria Beckham, Steven Tyler, and Rihanna. It also is famous for hosting fabulous parties for visiting celebrity designers and charities.

For Houston, fashion director Taylor Tomasi Hill will focus on emerging designers in her selections for women’s ready-to-wear and accessories, and Nick Wooster is handling the men’s merchandising. There also will be an Assouline book department, and home creative director Rob Dailey is curating the home area.

The store also will feature the Cooper Bar, a champagne and coffee bar at the entrance. “We want a store that will add to the walkability of River Oaks District and be part of the fabric of this emerging neighborhood,” Bolke adds. “It’s a store to meet a friend, browse leisurely, and explore.”

Forty Five Ten — named after its address on McKinney Avenue in Dallas — opened in April 2000 and has since built an international reputation for offering the best of the best in fashion and home. In that time, Bolke also has become an important supporter of many local organizations.

A new 37,000-square-foot flagship store will open in downtown Dallas in late 2016.

Dallas-based Forty Five Ten is coming to Houston's River Oaks District in fall 2016.

Photo by Wade Griffith

Dallas-based Forty Five Ten is coming to Houston's River Oaks District in fall 2016.

shopping openings

From catwalk to moonwalk

Houston company unveils Prada-designed spacesuit for mission to moon

Photo courtesy of Axiom Space

The Prada suit, which fits men and women, will enable astronauts to perform a spacewalk for at least eight hours.

Fashion met the future as Houston-based Axiom Space and luxury fashion designer Prada revealed the design of the spacesuit that NASA astronauts will wear during their upcoming journey to the moon.

Axiom, a space exploration company, and Prada, a global luxury brand, debuted their design of the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan, Italy.

Set for 2026, NASA’s Artemis III mission will be the first “staffed” lunar landing since Apollo 17 in 1972. Four astronauts have been selected for the 30-day mission.

Components of the white, gray, and red spacesuit include:

Lights
HD camera
Cellular communications
“Endurance athlete”-style nutrition
Backpack with portable life support system
Custom-made gloves
Boots designed to withstand lunar temperatures and rough terrain

Axiom Space Prada spacesuit The spacesuit work is being performed under a nearly $1.3 billion NASA contract.Photo courtesy of Axiom Space

Axiom says the suit, which fits men and women, will enable astronauts to perform a spacewalk for at least eight hours. It’s geared toward lunar missions and low-earth-orbit missions.

“The AxEMU has significant advancements in safety, mobility, sizing, and performance,” the company says.

During development of the suit, Axiom placed a dark cover on the outer layer to conceal the suit’s proprietary technology. However, the suits worn on the lunar surface will be made from a white material that reflects heat, and protects astronauts from extreme high temperatures and lunar dust.

The spacesuit work is being performed under a nearly $1.3 billion NASA contract.

“Going beyond our limits is one of the company’s values that perfectly reflects the spirit of the Prada brand and my parents’ vision. I’m very proud of the result we’re showing today, which is just the first step in a long-term collaboration with Axiom Space,” Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada’s chief marketing officer and head of corporate social responsibility, says in a news release.

Axiom says the suit is near the final stage of development. Already, it has gone through testing by astronauts and engineers at Axiom, NASA, and SpaceX facilities.

Among the tests were reduced-gravity simulations at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and underwater simulations at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, also in Houston.

The suit will undergo an in-depth design review in 2025.

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This story first appeared on our sister site InnovationMap.

fashion design prada nasa space