Should you find yourself strolling into Kirna Zabête on Newtown Lane during your next trip Out East, there’s one name you need to have bookmarked in your mind. Polomi, the refined and elegant handbag line by Polomi Chande, is now carried by the luxury mecca, which prompted a fittingly chic Hamptons celebration on Friday evening.
Charlotte Groeneveld joined Chande on hosting duty, welcoming discerning tastemakers from near and far to the boutique for a much-earned glass of chilled sparkling rosé, or thirst-quenching Paloma, after battling the Friday traffic on the Long Island Expressway.
The launch marked the third Kirna Zabête location to include Polomi in its assortment. A no-brainer, it seems, having fast become a hot commodity since debuting on the Upper East Side earlier this year. “Polomi has quickly risen to the number two spot for bags in our Madison location,” Ellie Dickinson, senior buyer at Kirna Zabête, said. Which is no mean feat, given the long-established labels it shares shelf space with. “Our customers have a great eye for quality and have immediately been drawn towards Polomi’s classic designs and colors. The Genevieve PM has been our best seller since day one.”
Another reason they’re going down a treat? You can perhaps credit it to the oft-discussed quiet luxury movement of late, with Polomi’s offering eschewing logos or branding for more of an ‘IYK, YK’ approach. Born, raised, and educated in London, Chande now divides her time between her hometown, New York, Singapore, and Dubai. As well as that global outlook which requires the need for accessories that blend seamlessly into your wardrobe no matter where you are, she has mined her Indian heritage and roots, her family’s passion for craftsmanship, her interior designer mother’s love for collecting heirlooms, and even the treasures she remembers seeing within her grandparents’ estate jewelry assortment to conceptualize the line. The latter reference point is particularly evident in the bespoke, durable, and recycled stainless steel hardware—like the elegant strap on the Nox clutch, which brings to mind a vintage watch band.
Toting their Noxes, Genevieves, and Safiris—with Groeneveld admitting she’s not let hers out of her sight since she acquired it in February—guests rambled a few doors down from Kirna Zabête to Sant Ambroeus for an intimate seated dinner. At each place setting, multi-hyphenate Christina Grasso had designed custom place settings with sweet sayings for everyone on her beloved typewriter.
Over antipasti, baskets of freshly-baked bread, branzino, and cacio e pepe, Chande talked more about the plans up her sleeve for the future of the brand. Dressed in pre-loved high-waisted cream leather pants by Isabel Marant and an olive green shirt to complement her ‘absinthe’-hued Nox, the designer is very much just getting started when it comes to creating the quintessential wardrobe pieces for her globally-minded customer.
Seeing as the name Nox refers to the goddess of the night, Chande also instinctively knew to make sure that the table was armed with a round of party-starting pre-dinner tequila shots served in crystal glassware as they toasted to a fun summer ahead on the East End.