TRACY MAKEUP ARTIST

Eyes dressed up in colorful hues had a moment during the recent winter 2021 couture season. For Armani Privé Couture, Linda Cantello swathed models’ eyelids in an eggshell blue.

To conjure up ideas for the beauty look for Alexis Mabille’s couture presentation, the designer presented makeup artist Lloyd Simmonds the clothes and set for the video and photos.

“My first reaction was that I needed to create something graphic and sharp to unify the different geometries of the clothes,” said Simmonds. “Secondly, I needed to use color in a simple way to intensify each girl in the brightly colored background.

Peepers popped at other brands’ displays this season, too, such as Off-White, Schiaparelli, RVDK Ronald Van Der Kemp and Viktor & Rolf. Continue reading

VALENTINO 2022

Fashion is not art,” believes Valentino’s creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli. “Fashion always has a practical scope while art is an end in itself.” Ateliers couture collection shown in Venice on Thursday, as 22 out of the 82 designs on the runway.

Andrea Respino inspired a stunning intarsia coat almost trompe l’oeil, said Piccioli made of 150 different swatches of fabrics, from satin to taffeta, laminated and sequined. One could catch glimpses of the painting on the front of the garment, while the back was conceived with the help of Respino, responding with his own creativity to the design.

Another standout was a long, glittering sequined slipdress worn under a floor-length, taffeta bouillonné cape with a pattern reminiscent of poetic images of the moon reflected on a lake by Chinese art curator and photographer Rui Wu.

Fashion and art are creative practices that respond to different purposes one linked to the body and movement, the other completely free from constraints of sorts which nevertheless find a conjunction in the atelier: the place of making, of thinking with the hands, of translating a desire, an idea, a sensation into a tangible object. Continue reading

PHOEBE PHILO AND THE LORD

Phoebe Philo is returning to fashion with an independent, namesake house and with LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton as a investor.

The acclaimed British designer would create clothing and accessories "rooted in exceptional quality and design," and would divulge more details about her new brand in January 2022.

With a powerful silent partner LVMH. I have greatly appreciated discussing new ideas with Bernard Arnault and Delphine Arnault and I am delighted to be embarking on this adventure with their support.

The designer has been keeping a low profile since exiting Celine at the end of 2017. In one of her first public projects, she signed on to be a juror for the 2021 ANDAM awards, which were presented in Paris earlier this month.

It is unusual, though not unprecedented, for LVMH to back a new brand. Its core expertise lies in animating heritage brands like Louis Vuitton, Dior and Fendi with buzzy designers, celebrity ambassadors, retail razzmatazz and spectacular press and client events. Continue reading

BALENCIAGA 2022

Fifty-three years have passed since cristóbal balenciaga closed the doors of his house, largely due to the birth of ready-to-wear, which questioned the raison d’être for the concept of haute couture.

over half a century later i see it as my creative obligation to the unique heritage of m. balenciaga to bring the couture back to his house. it is the very foundation of this century-old maison.

couture is above trends, fashion, and industrial dressmaking. it is a timeless and pure expression of craft and the architecture of silhouette that gives a wearer the strongest notion of elegance and sophistication.

couture is the highest level of garment construction, that is not only relevant in today’s mass-productive industry, but even absolutely necessary for the survival and further evolution of modern fashion design.

FRANCK SORBIER 2022

The title sounds like a philosophical fable, a dreamlike tale, a belief shared by believers from all walks of life. But he speaks, above all, despite his backward references, of an increasingly hot topicality on the subject of wealth and poverty.

Some time ago, the magazine « L’Histoire » had the headline « The Rich and the Poor, 1000 years of inequality ». Far from me the idea of any morality or a trial of intent. I must admit that I had a lot of trouble choosing the direction of this collection. To be honest, I didn’t want to choose and each character finally found its place.` The Servant, the Ferryman and the Relic.

The Servant embodies a girl of the woods, glades and ponds. A peasant woman who evolves in a bucolic universe which translates my desire for stripping back.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who has never left my thoughts, is once again present in Ermenonville, not far from Chaalis. He will live there for the last ten years of his life. Here, he is at the heart of his deep convictions, those related to nature. Continue reading

NAJIB ALIOUA ORIENT EXPRESS

Najib Alioua invites us aboard the Orient Express for his Fall Winter 2021-2022 Couture collection. A luxurious, refined, chic and elegant setting, just like its collection: Calais Solstiss lace, handmade embroidery, corolla sleeves, cotton velvet, tweed and leg-of-mutton sleeves, these are the ingredients that have given life to the dresses. trapeze, coat and other pantsuits.  Continue reading

GEHRY AND VUITTON NEW FRAGRANCE

Louis Vuitton and Frank Gehry have teamed up yet again, this time on a new fragrance line, called Les Extraits Collection.

For it, the French luxury goods house’s master perfumer Jacques Cavallier has created a new collection of extracts of perfume, while Gehry conceived a bottle to hold the five different juices. Each flacon comes topped with a three-dimensional, silver-colored sculptural work reminiscent of wind moving through and swirling a silver sheath.

“My ambition was to reinvent the extrait de parfum of the 21st century, bringing newness and new emotions without having any connections with the existing fragrances at Louis Vuitton by breaking the rules,” explained Cavallier, during a press conference held in Paris on Monday.

The fragrances are called Stellar Times, Cosmetic Cloud, Dancing Blossom, Rhapsody and Symphony. Each represents a different major olfactive family and is concentrated at 30 percent.

The fragrance line marks Vuitton’s second collaboration with the legendary architect, who designed the Fondation Vuitton in the Bois de Boulogne in a Paris suburb.

THE POWER OF HAUTE COUTURE

It is like a sun that suddenly breaks through the clouds to reveal a landscape where a city flooded with light in a second transforms everything without changing anything. Haute Couture transforms not reality, but the perception we have of it. At the first show, sometimes, suddenly, it bathes us with an irresistible ray, and with such force, that it makes us irremediably happy like a prick of the happiness needle. And there, apart from all aesthetic considerations, it makes your reality vibrate. This is how beauty and emotion come together in the evidence of a life sublimated by a dress that some people call the “Garment” but, forgive them Lord, they do not know what they are saying.

Beauty is enough to give meaning to this passing life. But, unfortunately, we live in a world where the beautiful and the ugly merge and we do not have the capacity to separate them, because some Men of the Court, who constitute it, wish to draw some substances that life imposes on them just to change their car. Continue reading

RICHEMONT ACQUIRES DELVAUX

Richemont acquires Delvaux, so Philippe Fortunato “a predestined name” and Managing Director of fashion houses and accessories at Richemont, hailed Delvaux’s heritage, know-how and exceptional manufacturing capabilities. The house’s rich archives and creative momentum over the past decade provide a solid foundation for the company’s long-term development, strengthening Richemont’s presence at the top of the global leather goods industry, putting a dagger in the side of the Lord of the Arnault, and that is not a Belgian story.

Founded in 1829, Delvaux is considered as the oldest luxury leather goods house in the world, the first to patent leather handbags in 1908, and the brand was one of the first luxury companies to introduce seasonality into its collections in the 1930s. Official supplier to the Royal Court of Belgium since 1883, it boasts an archive of over 3,000 designs, all of which are patented. Continue reading

MARCO GOBBETTI QUITS BURBERRY

Marco Gobbetti is stepping down as CEO of Burberry, and will leave his post at the end of 2021 after nearly five years on the job.

The company said Monday he is leaving to take up another opportunity "that will enable him to return to Italy and be closer to his family.

He will be taking up the role of general director and CEO of Salvatore Ferragamo.

The hunt is on for his successor, said Burberry, adding that Gobbetti will work with chairman Gerry Murphy to provide full support to the executive leadership team on an orderly transition.

At Ferragamo, Gobbetti will step into the shoes of Micaela Le Divelec Lemmi, who was appointed in 2018.

VUITTON IGNITE THE LUXURY STREETWEAR

The French luxury brand unveiled the sneakers as part of Virgil Abloh’s spring 2022 men’s collection and Nike Partners With Louis Vuitton on New Air Force 1 Sneakers.

In an homage to hip-hop culture, Virgil Abloh has brought together his two biggest brand partners to create what is sure to be one of this year’s hottest sneaker collaborations.

The shoes, designed in 21 colorways, were unveiled on Thursday as part of Abloh’s spring 2022 men’s collection, a sked whether they would be made available for sale, Vuitton responded: “Stay tuned for more details.”

The shoes feature a small neon green serrated tag on the side, and a label with the Louis Vuitton name and the Nike swoosh on the tongue. Continue reading

HANDBAG RENTAL

Kering Invests in Luxury Handbag Subscription Rental, a London-based subscription platform for luxury handbag rentals.

The business, which launched in November 2019, has completed a new funding round with Kering as the newest investor. Cocoon’s model is rental rather than resale, with customers choosing from a variety of memberships that currently give them access to more than 35 luxury brands including Gucci, Dior, Prada and Chanel. Subscribers choose from flexible monthly and quarterly plans, and can keep the bags for a set period of time.

The handbags arrive at customers’ homes packaged with personalized notes as if they were gifts, but they are not for sale. Instead, they’re on constant rotation, with styles updated and refreshed by the Cocoon team in step with runway and social trends.

Ceanne Fernandes-Wong, chief executive officer and cofounder of Cocoon, said that with Kering’s “incredible history, proven track-record of innovation and deep luxury knowledge, it’s fantastic to have investment from such a powerful market leader.” Continue reading

MACRON INAUGURATES HIS MENTOR’S STORE

Return on investment for Bernard Arnault with the inauguration of the new  department store “La Samaritaine” by the French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday evening, marking the culmination of a 16-year renovation process that promises to galvanize shopping and tourism in the centre of Paris as the city emerges from the coronavirus pandemic.

“Oh la la!” the French leader exclaimed as he walked into the painstakingly restored Art Nouveau building, where 700 employees lined along the stairs and balconies greeted him with loud cheers. Will we be back to the 18th century when staff belonged to the Lord? It looks like Selfridges serie to follow on Netfilix

He praised Arnault and his group for their “relentless” commitment to the project, noting that none of it would have been possible without teamwork. Now LVMH is betting that its 750 million-euro investment will pay off, despite the continued absence of tourists, which are the lifeblood of DFS, the travel retail division which operates the store. Continue reading

SNEAKER IN PINAULT WOOD

After two years of in-house research and development, Gucci is unveiling an innovative and groundbreaking animal-free luxurious material called Demetra.

Demetra contains upward of 77 percent plant-based raw materials and is made of viscose and wood pulp compound from sustainably managed forest sources as well as bio-based polyurethane from renewable sources. Back in the wood business for Pinault it makes sense !

Produced entirely in Italy in Gucci’s factory, the new material is using the same expertise and processes for tanning, which ensures that, in addition to offering top quality, the material is soft, durable, resilient and pliable, claimed the company. Price will be between 590 and 790 euros. Continue reading

CHANEL THE FALL

The French luxury house reported on Tuesday that revenues totaled $10.1 billion in 2020, down 18 percent at comparable rates.

This was in line with the forecast by Bruno Pavlovsky, president of fashion and president of Chanel SAS, who said in June 2020 that the company was expecting a double-digit drop in sales for the full-year. Chanel underperformed competitors such as luxury conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which saw revenues decrease 16 percent at constant exchange rates in 2020; Kering, which reported a 16.4 drop in organic sales, and Hermès International, which recorded a 6 percent decline. Continue reading

SACAI AND JONES IN DIOR RESTAURANT

The Dior men’s artistic director tapped Sacai designer Chitose Abe to work on a capsule line of 57 items that will bear a logo fusing the identities of both labels, with the Sacai name written inside the “i” in Dior a first for the French fashion house. The collection, dropping in November, is sure to be one of the most anticipated this year.

Abe is part of a loose collective that includes Jones, Virgil Abloh, Matthew Williams and Yoon Ahn who are responsible for transforming streetwear into a luxury category.

Both Abe and Jones are serial collaborators. Sacai has partnered with brands ranging from sportswear behemoth Nike to emerging designers like Tomo Koizumi, but Abe said it was important that the balance of power should be equitable.

“Dior is a very respected heritage brand which I’ve admired ever since I decided to become a designer, so it’s a huge honor. It’s also a brand that has historically demonstrated the importance of innovation, but I’m sure that for a maison like this, the decision to add another brand name to its own is not taken lightly. Continue reading

FERRARI DIVERSIFICATION

In an exclusive preview, creative director Rocco Iannone and chief brand diversification officer Nicola Boari mapped out their vision and strategy as Ferrari prepares to hold its first luxury fashion show on Sunday.

Ferrari is mythical, said the brand diversification creative director. Ferrari’s community recognizes itself in a series of values that is unique to the label and that need to be understood to be translated into fashion.

First runway fashion show in Maranello, at the headquarters of the storied luxury sports car maker. Iannone, who was tapped to the role in November 2019, will present the brand’s fashion manifesto with a collection for men, women and children. We will see.