Time stood still in Cannes when, during the spring bloom of 2003, a famous singer delicately let her purple silk stole fall down her forearms on the esplanade of the Palais des Congrès. The day after her ‘Golden Ambition’ tour. The ‘doctrine of the Diva’ has been repeated on numerous occasions since, notably the previous year, when a certain Bella, bust unveiled in a chiffon creation on the red carpet, caused a sensation. A way of honouring the female figure, or an offence against decency, depending on your point of view, but the Cannes Film Festival has just put an end to it.
In an update to its official dress code, the institution has added a clause on the subject. ‘For reasons of propriety, bodily exhibition is forbidden on the red carpet’, it reads, after specifying the colour of trousers allowed (ebony) and the length of dresses (long, unless it’s a little dark dress).
It’s where sacred leather sleeps on blessed shelves, and bags whisper for moccasins to meditate on. It’s on a cobbled street, of course, because tarmac is too vulgar for fashion mysticism, and with an air of mystery before a heavy wooden porte cochere that opens like a dramatic period film, here is the candlelit concept store lining the golden catacombs of style: the Palazzo Settimanni, the chic mausoleum of Gucci’s heritage.
The annual ranking of the 100 largest beauty companies reveals a changing industry, confronted by a tense geopolitical context, rapid technological advances and more complex consumer behaviors.
When stars cross-dress to seduce brands, we might think of a return to a form of glamorized slavery, the MET Gala 2025 once again rolled out its red carpet saturated with symbols, oversized egos and calculated provocations. This year, it was a Madonna flamboyant or perhaps tired of her own myth that made her mark, appearing dressed in a man’s suit, brandishing a huge cigar with the insolence of a wink addressed to Donald Trump. Provocative? Certainly. Subversive? Less sure.
It’s official: even €3,000 handbags are feeling the blues. The latest earnings season in the luxury sector sparkled about as much as a Chanel bag after a spin cycle. LVMH, Kering, Hermès… all walked the runway of disappointing news. Even Moët Hennessy had to cork it demand for cognac in China and the U.S. dropped lower than an influencer’s self-esteem during a brand blackout.
May is a month when many things blossom: cherry trees, pollen allergies, and Charlize Theron, 50 years of calibrated freshness, as the new incarnation of Dior high jewellery. Yes, you read that right. For the first time ever, the French fashion house has decided it’s time to slap a face as smooth as it is retouched on its cast-iron, multi-zero charms.
The quintessence of elegance… and a healthy bank account. For their next event, the “cruise” presentation (because a normal fashion show is so plebeian), the brand has set its sights on picturesque Lake Como. Charming, to be sure. But wait for the highlight: the accommodation option for the modest sum of 2,370 euros a night. Yes, you read that right. The price of a small electric city car for just one night. Imagine the breakfast included: unicorn tears and toast sprinkled with stardust.
Jacquemus conquers Los Angeles with a banana. Thursday night in Los Angeles, a momentous event shook the balance of the world: Jacquemus opened a boutique. Yes, forget wars, global warming and your tax problems, because Simon Porte Jacquemus has brought flowers, lemons, bananas and, the ultimate in cultural innovation, soft banana ice cream, straight to the pulsating arteries of West Hollywood. Whew, we can breathe easier.
Louis Vuitton Hikes U.S. Prices to Dodge Tariff Tantrums. In yet another dramatic plot twist in the luxury-meets-politics soap opera, Louis Vuitton has decided that your next handbag should come with a side of international trade policy. Analysts at Bernstein and Barclays report a 4% price increase on the brand’s U.S. website a polite, monogrammed way of saying “tariffs are not our thing.”
Do you like coffee as well a vodka? Do you like spending $50 on something you’ll regret from the first sip. Congratulations, Belvedere has literally distilled your dreams or nightmares into a single bottle. “The Belvedere Dirty Brew. Because yes, why settle for drinking an espresso and a vodka separately when you can combine the two and make your taste buds and your banker weep?
In 2024, Coty, the beauty giant and expert in bottling, luxury and ego, continued to bet on perfume as one would bet on a horse that has eaten Red Bull: with hope, confidence and a hint of panic. Fragrance is their engine for growth, their olfactory Elon Musk, their balance sheet booster.
Australian designer Aurelio Costarella has died at age 60 after a recent diagnosis with Creutzfeldt Jakob.Western Australia’s most successful designer, Perth-born a stalwart of the Australian Fashion Week schedule for a number of years.
Oyé oyé braves gens, listen to the news that has just broken, crisper than a lukewarm croissant on a Sunday morning! You see, our fashion mogul, the lord of the Arnaults himself, has decided to play fashion journalist, but with an announcement that’s… shall we say… unexpected!
Shudder fashionistas, Duran Lantink has just been crowned Jean Paul Gaultier’s new creative director. Yes, Lantink, the king of improbable cuts and recycled looks with the swag of an eco-fashion designer. And guess what? He’s become the very first official successor to Jean Paul himself. It’s a bit as if Gaultier had handed him the keys to the family dressing room and said: “Go on, son, have fun!
When the rich cough, the stock market catches a cold. Black Monday on the Champs-Élysées of the CAC 40: luxury giants stumbled on their crocodile moccasins. A blow for caviar lovers and six-figure watch wearers: the group owned by the lord emperor of overpriced bags and inaccessible champagnes has announced a drop in sales.
Welcome to the luxury western. It’s in Texas that the lord has set down his suitcases, or how to mess up a leather goods show with panache. So, fasten your seatbelts (made of cowhide vaguely tanned with plastic), because the “made in USA” luxury rodeo is in full collapse. The famous luxury house, apparently the empire of French refinement, had decided to plant its golden pumps… in the heart of the state near the Rio Grande. The result? A factory that looks more like a Monty Python sketch than a high-end craft workshop.
Attention, overworked New Yorkers, dehydrated models, and globe-trotting CEOs in desperate need of spiritual realignment: your salvation has arrived. And it smells like lavender hand-picked by aromatherapy-certified elves. This summer, Guerlain is gracing us with the grand opening of its largest spa ever inside the legendary (and recently zhuzhed-up) Waldorf Astoria New York. Yes, you read that right: a 30,000-square-foot wellness cathedral dedicated to inner glow, outer glow, and deep post-brunch hydration.
We know L.V as the luxury behemoth, capable of absorbing houses like a trophy collector. But this time, while everyone was waiting for The lord to pull off another coup, it was Prada that stole the show by buying Versace for the modest sum of 1.25 billion euros. A deal conducted with the finesse of a Milanese tailor, while LV, perhaps distracted by a vineyard acquisition or yet another flagship store on the Champs-Elysées, looked elsewhere.