FENDI 2021
At Fendi, if summer came with a languid and romantic mood, fall brought a new vibe upbeat, energetic and optimistic, life is not monochromatic. Continue reading
YVES ST LAURENT 2020
A BONNE A PART
Chaumet is hosting an exhibit dedicated to Joséphine de Beauharnais and Napoleon Bonaparte at its recently refurbished Place Vendôme flagship in Paris.
Running from April 10 to June 12, the show will focus on the pair’s love story, featuring jewelry, paintings, letters, illustrated documents and other artwork, displayed in the historic rooms overlooking the Place Vendôme. In addition to pieces from Chaumet’s collection, curator Pierre Branda has gathered items from public and private collections, including the Royal Danish Collection and the Louvre Museum.
Chaumet is the only private company taking part in a series of events marking the Year of Napoleon” in France, which will include exhibits at the Archives Nationales, the Musée de l’Armée and the Musée de Malmaison.
The historic jeweler was closely associated with the pair and their coronation, serving as Joséphine’s official jeweler and supplier of Napoleon’s sword for his coronation adorned with the 140-carat Regent diamond.
JEAN PAUL SACAI POSTPONEMENT
The Jean Paul Gaultier maison has opted to sit out this month’s couture week and celebrate this event during safer and happier times.
The Gaultier show was originally scheduled for Jan. 27 and was to feature a one-off couture collection created by Sacai’s Chitose Abe – the first of a series of guest creatives following the founder’s retirement from the runway in January 2020. A fake designer but a real weather vane this Jean Paul 2.
This marks the second postponement for the Jean Paul Gaultier X Sacai collection due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has scuttled most physical fashion shows over the past nine months. Paris Prefecture mandated that the upcoming men’s and couture weeks in the French capital taking place from Jan. 19 to 28 must be audience-free to curb the spread of infections. But guess who’s going to present in live on the samariatine? Jean Paul Gaultier said Abe’s show is now scheduled for Paris couture week in July. Continue reading
VALENTINO AND MEDIA
Enzo Quarenghi is joining the Rome-based luxury house as chief client officer and digital acquisition, effective Jan. 12. This position is part of a new division spearheaded by Venturini, to whom Quarenghi will report.
The new role signals Valentino’s increased focus on digital and an acceleration of its strategy to place customers at the center of its business, communication and marketing activities.
Quarenghi was previously Visa Italy’s CEO, and brings to Valentino expertise in customer experience and digital innovation. Prior to Visa, he worked for American Express as vice president, client acquisition, and was part of the Italian board. He holds a master’s degree in aerospace engineering and started his career working for consultancy firms such as Ernst Young and Accenture.
VERSACE FLASH COLLECTION
LOUIS VUITTON MOET AND TIFFANY
Louis Vuitton has selected Vuitton executive Anthony Ledru to become chief executive officer of the American jeweler.
Wha’s more, Alexandre Arnault, CEO of Rimowa since 2017 and the second eldest son of LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault, is to become Tiffany’s executive vice president, product and communications, lending his strong digital acumen, Millennial perspective, branding expertise and vast network of connections in Silicon Valley. Continue reading
UPCYCLING UP CIRCLE CLEAN
Both established names like Burberry and McQueen and up-and-comers like Deborah Lyons are working to make sourcing secondhand fabrics more accessible to brands and students. Can Upcycling Go Mainstream? When bigger names experimented with upcycling fabric, it was mostly reserved for one-off capsules, for marketing or greenwashing purposes.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak last year, designers found themselves in isolation, with much of their teams on furlough, factories closed and fabric fairs canceled. All of a sudden, designing with the leftover fabrics in their studios became part of a new normal, and established designers joined the independents and sustainability warriors who had long been advocates of deadstock.
Last month, green campaigner Stella McCartney admitted she was running short of fabric to upcycle or recycle. Continue reading
KOTY CARDASHIAN A DEAL
Coty Inc. has closed a deal to acquire 20 percent of Kim Kardashian West’s beauty, but beauty is always ephemeral. Coty plans to bring KKW beauty into new categories, including skin care, which is slated to launch in fiscal 2022.
She expects Coty will bring scientific knowledge around formulation to the table, while Kardashian West will bring a massive following she has 197 million followers on Instagram alone.
Concernig Kim she has a unique ability to read the latest beauty and wellness trends, while we have the expertise on global product, (As you can see on the picture the latest collection of her husband) positioning, access to a vast global distribution network, and the resources to enter new beauty categories,” Nabi continued. Continue reading
LONDON AGAIN ONE ISLANDS
The British government is locking down large parts of the country once again, with London mayor Sadiq Khan saying 2020 will be London’s “toughest Christmas” since World War II.
London stores, which over the weekend were forced to shut again due to new lockdown measures imposed by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, will not reopen in the new year until they can do so for good.
Jace Tyrrell, chief executive officer of New West End Company, which represents hundreds of businesses in central London around Piccadilly, Oxford and Regent Streets, said the opening and closing of stores due to last-minute lockdowns was costing retailers a fortune, and that businesses needed a clear exit strategy from government before they reopen once and for all.
We don’t want to open unless it’s for good, said Tyrrell, who was also speaking for hospitality businesses, and restaurants in the West End. He added that while central London retailers were expecting some form of higher restrictions in the run-up to Christmas the new, full lockdown came as a disappointing surprise. Continue reading
KERING DEATH AND TAXES
Kering Thursday confirmed that French authorities opened an inquiry into Kering’s taxes in February 2019, but continued to refute allegations of fraud, following a report published by the investigative from Mediapart. Kering had not been previously informed of this inquiry, the French luxury group said.
The inquiry appears to be linked to the potential consequences for Kering French companies resulting from legal proceedings initiated in November 2017 involving LGI, the Group’s Swiss subsidiary. Those proceedings resulted in a 1.25 billion euro settlement between Gucci and Italian tax authorities in May 2019.
Kering refutes in the strongest possible terms the allegations contained in the press article and forwarded by other media. The preliminary inquiry was opened by France’s Parquet National Financier, the country’s financial public prosecutor’s office. Continue reading
YSL VIDEO IN THE DESERT
Like a halo around the moon, a breath surrounds Vaccarello in the morning dew of a few grains that constitute a sea. I will be sand in the wind, and just by saying this word, images of dust arise immediately, which swirl with lightness, softness, and splinters of quartz, but also with the grace and sound of the wind, which whistles as if by magic on the place and makes the Little Prince of fashion appear in all its splendor. He softly whispers to us and says “Draw me a sheep,” I will give you a Bergé.
RE-LOOK O’NEAL
On Monday, Adidas, which owns Reebok, publicly confirmed rumors that it was exploring options for the brand. Reports have been circulating for months that the German activewear company was looking to sell the brand, which it acquired in 2006 for $3.8 billion. Last year, it reportedly wrote the value of the brand down to just under $1 billion.
It was more than a year ago that Shaquille O’Neal publicly revealed that he would “love to buy” Reebok, a brand that he had served as an ambassador for back in his NBA playing days in the Nineties. And his partnership with the deep-pocketed Authentic Brands Group could potentially make his wish a reality. Continue reading
FENDI ME & MRS JONES
The British designer will present a couture collection for the Rome-based luxury house in Paris. In September, when Jones was named Fendi’s artistic director of couture and women’s wear collections, the Rome-based luxury house said his first collection would bow in February.
Silvia Venturini Fendi, artistic director of accessories and men’s wear collections, and her daughter Delfina Delettrez Fendi, jewelry creative director, will also be involved in designing the couture collection.
Whether the show will accommodate guests is still to be defined, given the uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the possible restrictions to be enforced by the French government, but the collection will once again be presented at Palais Brongniart,the temple of the stock exchange formerly in Paris, a sign perhaps Continue reading