Martinis at lunch? Not since Mad Men, my dear. Unless, of course, you were at Neiman Marcus the other day when Hervé Léger’s new creative director, Christian Juul Nielsen, added dirty martinis to the luncheon menu. It was a retro/forward thinking move that also defines his fresh take on the legacy of the fashion house that rocked the ’90s.

The intimate gathering was a salute to high-style femmes Lucinda Loya and Katie Brass in support of  the National MS Society, the midday affair orchestrated by Brass and BFF Susanne Biszantz, Hérve Léger CEO.

The fashion presentation served to introduce Nielsen’s take on the venerated brand and there could not have been a more chic representation of Houston’s fashionable set than the three dozen women invited for the champagne- as well as martini-infused midday fête. Consider Francine Ballard, Stephanie Cockrell, Isabel David and Millette Sherman for starters, each as stylish as one can get.

Having completed his first year anniversary with Hervé Léger, the 42-year-old designer with serious fashion industry creds (J. Mendel, Christian Dior, Oscar de la Renta) is putting his own spin on the line.

“I got the freedom to create something that feels more relevant and fresher and younger right now, and just modernizing everything,” Nielsen tells PaperCity in a brief on-stage interview.

While the look is inspired by the line’s history, recalling the days when super models Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, and Christy Turlington rocked the iconic bandage dress, Nielsen is moving it forward.

“I don’t try to do the dresses as they were in ’94 because that had a time that was right for them at the time. But I try to take the energy and the spirit of what it was like in the ’90s and what does that woman look like in 2019.”

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