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RATS ARED DESERTING THE FASHION SHIP

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Saint Laurent intends to stage a physical fashion show in Venice in July, featuring an installation by artist Doug Aitken commissioned by the label’s creative director Anthony Vaccarello.

Known for his site-specific installations and happenings, Aitken won the International Prize at the Venice Biennale in 1999 for his hypnotic video installation Electric Earth, which explored a black man’s journey though the contemporary American landscape.

The timing would suggest that it will be a men’s collection. In recent years, Saint Laurent has skipped Paris Men’s Fashion Week, instead staging annual itinerant shows in New York City and Malibu.

The brand, owned by luxury conglomerate Kering, was the first to announce last year that it would drop out of Paris Fashion Week .It’s like rats deserting a sinking ship. Continue reading →

MILAN MEN’S FASHION WEEK

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Milan Fashion Week is expected to make a major comeback with a rich schedule of physical events in September only. For the time being, Dolce & Gabbana, Etro and Giorgio Armani are the only brands hosting physical runway shows during the week, on June 19, 20 and 21, respectively.

The week, which will involve a total of 63 brands, will also see the official debut of Glenn Martens as creative director of the Diesel label, as well as the launch of a capsule designed by Andrea Pompilio for casualwear brand Harmont & Blaine.

Ermenegildo Zegna will kick off the week with a digital event on June 18 and, among others, Fendi and Prada will also continue to opt for the digital format, scheduled on June 19 and 20, respectively.

TRUSSARDI NEW DIRECTION

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Trussardi the Milan-based company has appointed Serhat Işık and Benjamin A. Huseby as new creative directors of the brand, tasked with overseeing all aspects of design, image and branding. Their first collection for Trussardi will bow for fall 2022.

Işık and Huseby are known for their own label, the Berlin-based GmbH, launched in 2016, and which they plan to continue to design.

Işık is a first-generation German of Turkish descent and Huseby, of Norwegian-Pakistani heritage, grew up in Norway. Işık, who had been teaching fashion at the university in Berlin, was making collections on a noncommercial basis. Huseby had been a photographer and artist, who as a child sketched fashion looks and made his own clothes as a teenager. Cultural mixes and a sense of otherness have informed GmbH, and the city and cultural scene of Berlin have also shaped their approach. Continue reading →

RICHEMONT AND KERING

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With a surge in fourth-quarter sales and Compagnie Financière Richemont in recovery post-pandemic, the last thing on Johann Rupert’s mind is selling the company he founded more than 30 years ago.

Rupert, chairman, founder and shareholder of reference, said the group has invested and reaped far too many rewards for the company to sell or merge now with a competitor. If that happened, he said, then all of the shareholders would suffer.

Profits climbed 38 percent to 1.29 billion euros, with the company confirming a “strong start” into the new financial year, “with accelerating trends across all business areas. Continue reading →

DIOR 2022 BY KIM

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Kim Jones for his resort collection, skipped forward a decade to Dior’s successor Marc Bohan, whose graphic patterns inspired the laid-back, sporty lineup.

Roomy pants that pooled around the ankles anchored most of the looks, from relaxed tailoring in a warm palette of chocolate, forest green, caramel and dusty pink, to casual pieces in tactile materials.

Subtle variations on the Dior Oblique pattern, perhaps Bohan’s most lasting contribution to the house’s visual identity. But the former Dior designer’s lesser-known logos also provided fodder for inspiration: the CD initials, shaped like a heart, came embroidered on jackets and shirts.

As the world emerges from the coronavirus pandemic, that pragmatic approach felt both grounded and optimistic: packing a suitcase never felt so good.

FRANCOIS PINAULT’S MUSEUM

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More than 20 years after first floating the idea of creating an art institution in Paris, billionaire François Pinault will finally open the doors of his private museum to the public on Saturday. The Bourse de Commerce is the latest venue to house the Pinault Collection, after the Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana in Venice, Italy.

The museum is housed in a historic building in central Paris that can trace its roots back to the 16th century. At one point it served as a grain exchange, with an imposing circular floor that is the centerpiece of a renovation led by Japanese architect Tadao Ando, who has erected a concrete cylinder in the central rotunda.

Project began in 2017 and was completed in March 2020, the new museum features more than 75,000 square feet of exhibition space, in addition to a restaurant, the Halle aux grains, run by award-winning chefs Michel and Sébastien Bras. Continue reading →

IT BAG FROM OLYMPIA

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Burberry is banking on the Olympia bag, with a new star-studded campaign and global pop-up concept. The leather shoulder bag, known for its crescent moon shape and minimalist flair, was introduced on the brand’s fall 2020 runway and has been making appearances in Burberry collections ever since. Continue reading →

SORAYA THE EMPIRE OF PERCEPTION

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I like the memory of this time when the women in bikini surveyed the beaches. We enjoyed then without lie and without anxiety of this so soft vision, that the loving sky caressing their spine allowed to look with pleasure these pieces of fabrics which was masking everything and hiding nothing.

Soraya is a beautiful name for a princess. Her name in Persia means “the beauty of the stars” and whispers to us the charm of Romy in the movie “La Piscine”, as well as the loincloth that “La Pérouse”, in the description of his travels, designates more widely as “a cloth which serves to wrap the body of a Vahiné”. Flaubert also describes, in his work, the subtle envelope used by the simple-hearted African women just in front of Kilimanjaro and its eternal snows. Continue reading →

HEARST AND THE EARTH

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I wanna see bags and dresses, not bees reads one comment on Chloé’s Instagram account, which was recently scrubbed clean to make way for a radical visual narrative, so far focused on insects, plants, fruits and the occasional freckled nose.

To be sure, some of the French brand’s 9.5 million followers on the photo-sharing platform wondered if its account had been hacked, with users describing the nature closeups as super strange, stupid or weird.

Over Zoom on Friday, Chloé’s creative director Gabriela Hearst cited a deep and ambitious reason: A wish to rewire people’s brains and reconnect them to all the things the planet gives us.

It’s healing, she said. I feel that it’s doing something we never thought we could do on social media. It does have this healing vision for the eyes, as we go through the journey together of understanding where things come from. Continue reading →

GUCCI NEXT SHOW L.A

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Michele will present his next collection for Gucci with an in-person fashion show in Los Angeles on Nov. 3. The show will coincide with the occasion of the 10th LACMA Art+Film Gala, taking place on Nov. 6, for which Gucci is the founding and presenting sponsor.

Michele, however, has now changed the pace of Gucci's collections. In 2020, five years after his debut at the fashion house, in the midst of the global pandemic, the designer decided to abandon what he has called “the worn-out ritual of seasonalities and shows to regain a new cadence, closer to my expressive call. We will meet just twice a year, to share the chapters of a new story.” He conceived new names for the collections, inspired by the music world.

After Epilogue, the conclusive chapter of Michele's previous narrative, presented in July last year during Milan Digital Fashion Week, Michele directed with Gus Van Sant a series of seven episodes for his collection “Ouverture of Something That Never Ended” shown in November 2020, tapping the likes of Billie Eilish, Harry Styles and Florence Welch, among others.

On the occasion, the designer told that he felt “free,” giving “a natural rhythm” to the collections. “Of course, there is more responsibility in this self-pacing, and I want to be attentive to the company and position the brand in a respectful way. Continue reading →

VANS DIED AT 90

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Paul Van Doren has died at age 90. Born in Depression-era Randolph, Mass., he moved to sunny Southern California in the 1960s, where he built a checkerboard shoe empire that harnessed the power of skate and surf culture to become a global streetwear player with a little help from the cult Hollywood film “Fast Times at Ridgemont High and actor Sean Penn, who wore the classic Vans checkerboard slip-on sneaker on-screen and sent its popularity soaring. Continue reading →

GUCCI A FAMILY SAGA

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Gucci marks its centenary in 2021, passing through family feuds, take-over attempts, a near-bankruptcy, a public listing, storybook turnarounds and even a murder which has sparked the Ridley Scott film “House of Gucci” Just like the long-lived mythological phoenix, Gucci has cyclically regenerated, reaching its centenary in 2021.

Guccio Gucci, who in 1897 found work at London’s prestigious Savoy Hotel as a bellboy. Famously, the tale goes that he was inspired to create his company by the luxurious suitcases and trunks carried by the aristocrats staying at the hotel. In 1921, Gucci’s first stores opened in Florence, where he founded the company. The boutique in Rome’s luxury shopping street Via Condotti opened in 1938.

As a result of a League of Nations embargo against Italy, Gucci he found alternatives to imported leather and other materials in the 1935-1936 period, developing a specially woven hemp from Naples, printed with the first signature print. Continue reading →

UMOJA SNIKER

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The young brand Umòja is launching Mmea, a sneaker designed between France, Burkina Faso and Portugal, featuring traditional know-how.

Combining traditional know-how and innovative raw materials, Lancine Koulibaly and Dieuveil Ngoubou, founders of the brand have been thinking about creating a shoe that is “100% traceable, from the lace to the eyelet” since 2018. The two collaborators then looked for partners capable of designing all the elements of a shoe from eco-friendly materials.

In 2021, the results are in: the Mmea shoe, which means plant in the Swahili language, is composed of an upper made of organic raw cotton, hand-woven in Burkina Faso. The outsole is made of hevea milk, designed by a Lyon-based company that has also developed hevea foam reinforcements for Umòja. The midsole, the reinforcements and the heel are made of hemp fiber and come from Rouen.

Finally, the braids and laces are made of linen and everything is assembled in Portugal with a natural latex glue. According to Lancine Koulibaly, the shoe can go into industrial compost. Continue reading →

ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA

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The Ermenegildo Zegna Group is taking another step toward a more sustainable future.
The Italian men’s wear company has signed a deal with Stellantis, the Amsterdam-based automotive company created in 2021 from the merger between Italian-American Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and French PSA Group, to develop a sustainable mobility program.

Zegna Group will implement a strategy to make its company’s fleet, which \ includes 200 cars, fully green by 2025 by progressively introducing plug-in hybrid and full electric vehicles to significantly reduce CO2 emissions and air pollution.

According to Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, the car company will put at the disposal of Zegna 30 different models between affordable plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles.

Today’s announcement is a perfect illustration of the capacity of Stellantis to support the Zegna Group toward a zero emission objective for its employees and its supply chain, with state of the art green cars; said Stellantis chairman John Elkann. “Today, environmental, social and corporate governance is at the core of every responsible management decision and it is our common objective to demonstrate that companies have a clear role to behave against global warming. Continue reading →

RITZ AND CHANEL SIDE BY SIDE

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François Perret, head pastry chef at the Ritz Paris, is opening a street-facing shop to make his sweet treats available to a wider audience. The star Perret of the Netflix series “The Chef in a Truck,” is bringing his sweet treats to a wider audience with the opening of a street-facing pastry shop at the Ritz hotel in Paris next month.

Wearing a white chef’s jacket and a surgical face mask, as he surveyed construction work at Ritz Paris Le Comptoir, the gourmet boutique with a white-and-peach interior that is due to open its doors on June 7 at 38 Rue Cambon, a stone’s throw from the historic Chanel flagship. Continue reading →

CHINESE SOON MASTER OF THE LUXE

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Fosun Fashion Group, the Chinese owner of Lanvin, Wolford, St. John and Caruso, has formed a strategic alliance with e-commerce firm Baozun, Activation Group and other industry players to strengthen its ability to capture China’s fast-growing demand for luxury brands.

As a part of the partnership, Baozun and Activation will both become minority shareholders in Fosun Fashion Group, and the preferred partners for all brands in FFG’s portfolio, as well as in exploring new business models and solutions for brand expansion.

Fosun’s unprecedented alliance in China is also a sign of further consolidation in the luxury sector that ‘s been accelerated by the pandemic. Traditional competitors are now joining hands to protect their shared interests.

Last November, Farfetch inked a mega partnership deal with Alibaba and Compagnie Financière Richemont. Kering’s Pinault family is also putting funds into the new luxury retail venture that’s targeting China’s online luxury market. Continue reading →

PANDEMIC AFFECTS PUIG PROFITS IN 2020

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It was the first time in recent history that Puig closed a year with a loss. Due to lockdowns and social distancing, consumption of fragrance, makeup and fashion, but the Spanish family-owned beauty and fashion company expects its business to amp up, and aims for sales to double in three years and triple in five years.

In the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2020, the Barcelona-based group posted a net loss of 70 million euros, versus a gain of 226 million euros in 2019. Profit before tax came in at minus 72 million euros, against an increase of 304 million euros in the prior year.

There are two big changes in the industry the smartphone revolution and China,” the company’s portfolio has historically been heavily skewed toward fragrance, which is invisible, thus not seen in the ubiquitous online selfie culture, and has grown less quickly than the skin care and makeup categories.

BUILGARI NEW FRAGRANCES

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The Allegra collection of five fragrances comes with Magnifying essences enabling customers to personalize their perfumes. Bulgari Taps Into the Customization Trend With New Fragrances

Long gone are the days when Bulgari hosted lavish parties across Italian dreamy destinations and venues. The company’s physical events might be a victim of the pandemic, but the Roman jewelry house instilled its passion for conveying the multiple facets of the Italian lifestyle in its new collection of fragrances, called Allegra or joyous in English.

Allegra can resonate with many types of customers, as it was designed to evoke Italian experiences and emotions via different olfactory families, ranging from floral-oriental scents that for Gonzalez Sebastiani could appeal to European and Middle Eastern clients, to citrusy fragrances that could work best for the Chinese and American clientele. Continue reading →

FASHION MERCATO 2021

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Designer Felipe Oliveira Baptista who brought a sophisticated and artistic touch to Kenzo over a two-year stint is to step down from his role of artistic director, and his exit from the Paris-based fashion house, will take effect on June 30 when his employment contract will arrive at its term.

Sylvie Colin, chief executive officer of Kenzo, expressed her gratitude to the designer “for his talent, creativity and contribution to the artistic development of our house.”

It is understood a successor will be named in due course, and that the brand is likely to pursue a new direction.

Oliveira Baptista was partial to enveloping, nomadic silhouettes, and had returned the brand to the women’s calendar of Paris Fashion Week. His tenure coincided with the death last October of founder Kenzo Takada, due to complications from COVID-19, and he let color, pattern and energy erupt on the runway for fall 2021 as an ode to the Japanese fashion maverick. Continue reading →

ALBER ELBAZ DIES AT 59

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His death, due to COVID-19, was confirmed by Compagnie Financière Richemont, his joint venture partner in AZ Factory, his latest fashion venture.

Alber had a richly deserved reputation as one of the industry's brightest and most beloved figures. I was always taken by his intelligence, sensitivity, generosity and unbridled creativity," Rupert said. "He was a man of exceptional warmth and talent, and his singular vision, sense of beauty and empathy leave an indelible impression. Continue reading →