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    Magnums and music

    Semi nude sun bathing, giant martinis and celebs like Jay-Z: Inside the crazyNikki Beach life

    Shelby Hodge
    Jan 2, 2013 | 12:21 pm
    • The music blasts throughout the open-air eatery and dancing takes place not onlyon the beach but also on table tops.
      Photo by Shelby Hodge
    • The Nikki Beach experience in St. Barts includes sun worshipping andpeople-watching.
      Photo by Shelby Hodge
    • Regulars on the St. Barts scene Houston's Grant Kaiser and John Furnish knowtheir way around the Nikki Beach menu.
      Photo by Shelby Hodge
    • The chichi St. Barts crowd always finds its way to Nikki Beach.
      Photo by Shelby Hodge
    • The Nikki Beach beauties let loose in the sand.
      Photo by Shelby Hodge
    • The sushi boat is loaded with temptations.
      Photo by Shelby Hodge
    • Photo by Shelby Hodge
    • The tan is the thing in St. Barts.
      Photo by Shelby Hodge
    • Julio Cuba on electric violin keeps the scene rocking at Nikki Beach.
      Photo by Shelby Hodge
    • Laura Sweeney and Shafik Rifaat enjoy primo seating for joining the sushi boatclub.
      Shelby Hodge

    ST. BARTS, French West Indies — Electric violinist Julio Cuba trades stints with saxophone master Florencio Cruz, both working their musical magic in tandem with Nikki Beach DJs, producing sounds that inspire dancing on tabletops and rocking on the adjacent sandy beach.

    Contempo music blaring, the world beats to a decadent drummer at Nikki Beach, the favored watering hole of a rich international coterie that annually commandeers this tiny island as its exclusive playground.

     

      Magnums of Dom Perignon and flavorful rosés are iced down in gigantic martini glasses. Bikini tops are shed for semi-nude sunbathing.  

    Restaurant, bar and beach club — Nikki Beach regularly draws the St. Barts celeb crowd that includes Beyoncé and Jay Z, Fergie, Bono, Rachel Zoe and Mary J. Blige, each savoring the pseudo anonymity that the sophisticated clientele affords. No autographs or iPhone photos, thank you.

    Magnums of Dom Perignon and flavorful rosés are iced down in gigantic martini glasses. Bikini tops are shed for semi-nude sunbathing. And, on occasion, the feisty partygoer will be showered (literally) in champagne.

    It's an intriguing tableau of billionaires, models and the see-and-be-seen all played out against a stunning backdrop of white — billowing swaths of white sails overhead, all white sun beds, wait staff in white and deck chairs covered in white canvas.

    While Sunday is the hot ticket (reservations required well in advance), Nikki Beach rocks most days.

    The satisfying menu heavy on sushi (the extravagant sushi boat a popular choice for large parties) and French-inspired fare are offered midday to late afternoon. Reservations a must for Sunday, recommended for other days.

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    Silk and Sequins

    Cultural fashion takes center stage at Runway to Asia in Houston

    Joel Luks
    Jul 10, 2025 | 12:30 pm
    Asia Society Runway to Asia fashion show 2025
    Photo by Annie Mulligan
    Rekha Muddaraj, Shazia Sultan, Danny Nguyen, Zang Toi, Bonna Kol, Phoebe Tudor, and Leigh Smith.

    If fashion is a language, Runway to Asia spoke it fabulously fluently.

    The ballroom of The Post Oak Hotel shimmered with silk, sequins, and sartorial splendor as Asia Society Texas debuted its first-ever Runway to Asia style-studded affair — a glamorous gala-meets-catwalk moment where heritage was hand-stitched into haute couture.

    More than 300 guests filled the swanky venue for the event, greeted by models perched like living mannequins in Danny Nguyen’s Fall/Winter 2025 collection, each ensemble a fabric-forward love letter to cultural identity and avant-garde vision. This was a glamnifesto on what it means to wear your roots with pride and purpose.

    Leading the stylish charge were co-chairs Leigh Smith, Shazia Sultan, and Phoebe Tudor, who curated the afternoon like seasoned couturiers. Attendees noshed on a three-course lunch before the real feast began: a full-throttle catwalk presentation honoring two design dynamos — Danny Nguyen, Houston’s own silhouettist supreme, and international fashion luminary Zang Toi.

    Rekha Muddaraj, former KHOU 11 anchor turned emcee extraordinaire, welcomed the crowd with poise, passing the mic to Asia Society Texas president Bonna Kol, who framed the gathering as more than just fashion, but part of the nonprofit’s mission to celebrate cultural diversity through art.

    The applause crescendoed when Michael Buening, the organization’s director of performing arts and culture, announced the event had raised more than $300,000 to fund more than 20 annual programs.

    Pro tip: philanthropy always looks better in couture.

    Then came the honors. Nguyen was honored with the Texas Trendsetter Award, praised by Shazia Sultan for blending traditional elegance with avant-glam silhouettes. Meanwhile, Tudor crowned Toi with the Global Icon Award, charting his runway rise from Malaysia to Manhattan.

    Toi’s “Opulence of the Orient Express” collection brought the house down with 37 jaw-dropping looks: Ottoman-inspired caftans, midnight velvet suits, pearl-dusted evening gowns, and coat-dress hybrids that defied the laws of layering. Each ensemble whispered luxury and screamed craftsmanship.

    The raffle added a thrill of retail roulette with prizes including a luxe Hill Country escape, personal styling sessions with the honorees, and golden tickets to Zang Toi’s Fall 2026 New York show.

    Soaking in the scene were Sushila Agrawal, Nancy Allen, Fady Armanious, Kristy Bradshaw, Divya Brown, Tripp Carter, Theresa Chang, Anne Chao, Molly Crownover, Kari Dagley, Chloe Dao, Debbie Festari, Kathy and Marty Goossen, Brigitte Kalai, Mandy Kao, Sippi Khurana, Karen Kwok, Teri Lee, Kelley Lubanko, Christy Lynn, Petra Martinez, Sneha Merchant, Duyen Nguyen, Cabrina Owsley, Akemi Saitoh, Miya Shay, Sue and Randy Sim, Shawn Stephens, Y. Ping Sun, Ileana Trevino, Janae Tsai, Stephanie Tsuru, Heidi Turney, and Asha Virani.

    Asia Society Runway to Asia fashion show 2025
      

    Photo by Annie Mulligan

    Rekha Muddaraj, Shazia Sultan, Danny Nguyen, Zang Toi, Bonna Kol, Phoebe Tudor, and Leigh Smith.

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