ERIC TIBUSCH COUTURE 2019
MEN, MIX OR NOT, THAT IS THE QUESTION?
After switching to joint women’s and men’s displays following the arrival of Clare Waight Keller as artistic director in 2017, Givenchy has decided to switch back to the men’s wear fashion calendar for the fall 2019 season. At least one major brand is battling the tide of coed shows.
The French fashion house will stage a presentation on Jan. 16 during Paris Men’s Fashion Week, before returning to the runway in June.
Waight Keller, will continue to show women and men side by side in her ready-to-wear and haute couture shows, the brand said. “Granting men’s wear a dedicated platform starting from January reflects the house’s support of Clare Waight Keller’s vision for the brand,”. Continue reading
LAST WEEK SECRET WAS OUT
Last week, Victoria’s Secret ceo Jan Singer left her post under pressure. A representative from L Brands would not confirm whether Mehas would be joining Victoria’s Secret, only to say that further “commentary” regarding Jan Singer’s departure would be revealed during report to day.
Though women carrying Victoria’s Secret shopping bags are still a familiar sight in malls and big cities, the brand for the last few years has been struggling to reverse declining sales and recapture relevancy amid changing consumer tastes and shopping habits and increased competition, among them Aerie, Soma, ThirdLove, Adore Me, Lively and Spanx.
Victoria’s Secret has been under scrutiny for failing to keep up with shifting consumer demands, especially involving themes of female empowerment and diversity. Its reticence to change has been made even more pronounced with the emergence of competitors like Rihanna’s lingerie company Savage X Fenty and ThirdLove, which aim to be more inclusive of women of different shapes, sizes and backgrounds. Underwear trends have also been shifting toward comfort and athleticism, rather than lacy, padded and push-up. Continue reading
PATEK FINISH MEN ONLY
Patek Philippe chose Milan to unveil its new women’s Twenty-4 Automatic watch. Thierry Stern took the stage positioned under a glass structure erected in the courtyard of the storied 17th-century Palazzo Serbelloni. “It’s been nearly 20 years after the debut of the Twenty-4 Manchette watch and we’ve been working on this new women’s timepiece for the past five years and through 40 prototypes,” said the affable executive.
The Geneva-based company is launching the first model of the collection with a self-winding mechanical movement in a round case.
Asked about choosing Milan for the launch a first for Patek Philippe Stern highlighted the city’s link to “fashion and beauty. We have to be in Milan. If it works in Italy, it will work everywhere.” Continue reading
YVES SAINT LAURENT LAST YEARS
Pierre Bergé is never far from fashion designers. The French bulldog, seems to be the only character that resists the passing of time in “Celebration,” a documentary by Olivier Meyrou on the couturier’s last years at his fashion house in France.
“As the legend goes I don’t know if it’s true in order not to affect Yves Saint Laurent, every time the dog died it was replaced on the very night and kept the same name,” said Meyrou in a statement.
The depiction of an aging, ailing Saint Laurent moments before his departure from the fashion house in 2002 is said to have incensed Pierre Bergé, Saint Laurent’s life and business partner, who blocked the release of the film.
“Celebration” dives into the day-to-day activity of the Saint Laurent couture house, capturing the intense preparation of fashion shows and special celebrations. Continue reading
FLYKNIT RUNNING LUXURY SHOES
“Running is fun, running is cathartic,” I sing in my head before dragging myself down for a spontaneous evening run. Admittedly, I could think of ten other things I would rather be doing at 7pm on a Monday night. The motivational force? Testing out the all-new Nike Zoom Fly Flyknit trainers. Continue reading
PROENZA SCHOULER FINDS INVESTORS
Proenza Schouler the company led by designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez said Monday that a new group of private investors have bought back the company in its entirety. That marks an exit for Castanea Partners as well as a group of investors led by financiers John Howard, chief executive officer of Irving Place Capital, and Andrew Rosen, ceo of Theory.
The company said “a significant round of fresh capital has been raised during this process for the purposes of investing in the company’s growth and developmental strategies.”
Proenza Schouler said the money would be used to “enable the brand to expand globally by focusing on its core businesses of luxury ready-to-wear, leather goods and PSWL, as well as continuing to support its existing licensing partners L’Oréal Luxe and Onward Luxury Group SpA.
As part of the shift, ceo Judd Crane and chief financial officer John Paolicelli stepped down Monday and Kay Hong was named ceo. The company said, the designers are thrilled by this opportunity to refocus the company around their original vision and cement the brand as a clear leader in the ever-evolving fashion and retail landscape.
4 SIMILAR HERMES BIRKIN
The iconic Hermes Birkin Bag was first designed for Jane Birkin in 1984, and the most popular celebrities, including Victoria Beckham and the Kardashians have a Birkin. A Hermes’ bag costs $11,900 or more. Don’t you think it is overpriced? Canal-Luxe has investigated and you can get similar bags for less than €400 ! Here is our investigation:
CHANEL IN MOVE
In a dramatic shift for the company, Chanel Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Chanel Ltd., is transforming its wholesale business into a concession model.
The company plans to operate concession departments in its major accounts, which include Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s. The process began last year with Bloomingdale’s 59th Street location, and this year several others were converted, namely Saks in Greenwich, Conn., and Atlanta and Neiman Marcus in Atlanta. The rest will be phased in over the next year.
“You might be wondering why, after 12 years of relative silence, am I doing a real interview,” said John Galantic, president and chief operating officer of Chanel Inc. “It’s a time of pretty major change here. The old saying is ‘don’t waste a crisis. But I look at it the other way more, which is when the business is very strong and the demand very desirable, there’s much more leverage and leeway to make change. Continue reading
LOGO OR NOT LOGO
As recently as a year ago, you didn’t wear logos,” now it’s over. Stars and assorted style-world moguls tricked out in Fendi logo regalia persuaded her otherwise. “Nowadays everything is allowed,”
Fendi is among the latest in a raft of luxury labels to advance the proposition that too much is never enough. Emboldened by the success of logo-ridden skate wear brands like Palace and Supreme, high-end labels including Prada, Balenciaga, Valentino and Chanel have joined the stampede, their monograms stamped on everything from hats to hosiery and, with a nod to the 1990s, the elastic bands of men’s skivvies.
It’s the trend that keeps going and going. This fall, fans of the hypebeast culture can choose from logo-embellished Balenciaga pullovers and embroidered Gucci slippers at Barneys New York, Off-White sweatshirts and camouflage jackets at Saks Fifth Avenue, and Vetements parkas at 10 Corso Como, the newly alighted Milanese purveyor of cooler-than-thou luxury wares in Lower Manhattan. Continue reading
VICTORIA SWAROVSKI NOT SECRET
This year’s is one of my all-time favorite looks we’ve done,” mused Monica Mitro, Victoria’s Secret’s executive vice president of brand communication and events, of the coveted 2018 Swarovski Look. Victoria’s Secret Angel Romee Strijd was chosen to strut this year’s Shooting Star Swarovski Look during the Celestial Angel part of the show on Thursday.
The look is collectively adorned with over 125,000 Swarovski crystals — with more than 55,000 on the celestial star wing and 70,000 on the full-body sheer, black bodysuit (worn over a lacy black bra and matching, cheeky briefs). The 3-D mono-wing, which breaks the traditional paired wing concept and was designed by Marian Hose, includes a seven-pointed crystal-encrusted star with circular cutouts and suspended, oversized Chessboard crystals. The look weighs 27 pounds and it took more than 250 hours to apply the Swarovski crystals to the wing alone. Continue reading
AKA PRODIASHVILI 2019 TBILISI
SERGE RUFFIEU OUT AT CARVEN
Serge Ruffieux confirming his departure from the label via an Instagram post on Monday. The house in a brief statement thanked the designer for his creative input and collaboration. Carven was founded in 1945 by Madame Carven, born Marie-Louise Carmen de Tommaso, a peer of Christian Dior and Pierre Balmain. The famously petite couturier was known for traveling the world with her collections and bringing back a trove of exotic influences.
The house had undergone a renaissance in 2008 under the direction of its then new owner Henri Sebaoun and former artistic director Guillaume Henry, who positioned Carven as a contemporary brand.
After Henry moved to Nina Ricci, Carven initially named Alexis Martial and Adrien Caillaudaud as artistic directors for the women’s collections, and Barnabé Hardy for men’s. Carven then sold a majority stake to Hong Kong-based Bluebell Group in 2016 and suspended the men’s line that year. Continue reading
ALAIN CHEVALIER DIES AT 87
Alain Chevalier, co-founder of French luxury conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, has died at the age of 87. Chevalier passed away on Thursday at his home in Megève.
In 1987, Chevalier merged his Moët Hennessy group with Henry Racamier Louis Vuitton, forming LVMH. As chairman of the group in 1989, Chevalier found himself at the center of French magnate Bernard Arnault most famous corporate conquest.
Racamier, the leader of the Vuitton family at the time, had enlisted Arnault help in 1988 to ward off raiders of the LVMH leather goods, Champagne, cognac and perfume group, which was publicly traded but controlled by a jumble of bickering families.
At Racamier behest, Arnault took a minority stake. But when Racamier added new conditions to the terms of their deal, Arnault turned on him and pitted family member against family member, launching what became one of the nastiest hostile takeover bids in French history. Continue reading