Category Archives: BREAKING MODE

YVES ST LAURENT COLETTE CALL

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Colette the space that housed the Paris concept store for 20 years will reopen on Saturday as Saint Laurent Rive Droite, a new retail format developed by creative director Anthony Vaccarello that will sell everything from Jean Prouvé chairs to Saint Laurent-branded condoms.

The new boutique and its sister unit on Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles, opening the same day, represent a departure for Saint Laurent, known for its minimal stores featuring acres of veiny marble and gleaming shelves. Continue reading →

CHLOE RESORT CHINA 2020

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Atop the Long Museum in Shanghai, Chloé resort 2020 dove deep into China’s cinematic treasures, in a first that brought the French label outside its home country to launch a collection.

In the lead-up to Thursday night’s runway show, creative director Natacha Ramsay-Levi found herself digging through the film works of Chinese director greats: Jia Zhangke, Hou Hsiao Hsien, Zhang Yimou, Lou Ye, and Bi Gan, as well as their leading ladies Gong Li, Shu Qi, and Zhao Tao.

Ramsay-Levi played with old China codes quilted jackets with flowers, jacquard prints and even pajama styles. After seeing how it paired so well with the architecture around the city, she added Art Deco flourishes to the clothes, which had been pulled from the house’s archives.

For the brand’s devotees, there was plenty to pick from long-trailing neck scarfs, earthy colors and tailored pants in multiple material variations ranging from georgette silk to denim. Continue reading →

FENDI BACK TO CHINA

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It’s been 12 years, since Fendi last held a show in China. In 2007, it was a show-stopping spectacle held atop the Great Wall. On Friday evening, the brand returned to the country to stage its first co-gender show, although with a very different tact.

The location of tonight is the Powerlong Museum, where a slick futuristic winding ramp that spread over multiple floors acted as the runway, recalling the spiral interior of the Guggenheim.

Actor Timmy Xu opened the show, which added 15 new looks 10 women’s and five men’s. At least for now, Fendi is overseeing both collections herself. The late Karl Lagerfeld was not involved in the planning of the China event so the combined men’s and women’s collections accurately reflected the new creative structure.

Not looking at the past but to the future is something we have very much learned from Karl. China, to me, is really a country which embraces the future a lot. Continue reading →

GUCCI CRUISE 2020 ROME

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Just two miles away from Vatican City, a bold pro-choice message was unfurled Tuesday before an international fashion public. In a darkened space in the halls of Rome’s Capitoline Museum, stone Roman faces and their gods presided over a runway where a white gown embroidered with a sequined uterus stirred a media frenzy.

It was Gucci’s 2020 cruise collection, and designer Alessandro Michele chose to make his voice heard through his most powerful weapon: needle and thread.

Amid controversial times, Michele was successful in making fashion’s voice heard. Just across the Tiber River, however, as the 47-year-old designer was putting the finishing touches on his fashion-forward collection, Pope Francis voiced his opinion on the pro-life, pro-choice debate, at a Vatican conference on Saturday. According to the New York Times, the Pope stated that abortion, even of a sick fetus, is like hiring a “hitman.”

Homage to Michele’s Roman upbringing. Models draped in veils and swathed in flowing gowns called to mind the Vestal Virgins, ancient highborns, who in Roman times took a vow of celibacy to honor the Godess Vesta. Continue reading →

KAISER MEMORIAL IN PARIS

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Karl Lagerfeld Memorial Event to Be Held in Paris, Organized by Chanel, Fendi and the Karl Lagerfeld brand, “Karl For Ever” will be staged at the Grand Palais for one night only.

In celebration of his legacy, the houses of Chanel, Fendi and Karl Lagerfeld have organized a memorial in honor of the fashion Kaiser. The tribute, named “Karl For Ever,” will be held at the Grand Palais in Paris on June 20, for one night only during Paris Men’s Fashion Week.

There had been no public ceremony since the designer’s passing. In keeping with Lagerfeld’s wish not to have a public funeral, he was cremated during a private ceremony in Nanterre, France. The event, accessible via private invitation, should attract around 2,500 guests. Continue reading →

GIORGIO ARMANI CRUISE 2020

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In his first runway show for a cruise collection, Giorgio Armani touched down in the island nation of Japan, and brought with him even more of an island vibe. The show began with looks in neutral shades, eventually moving on to more vibrant reds and blues.

Linen, silk and satin were accented with leather trim and sumptuous knits. Lightweight fabrics were often used in voluminous pieces, from oversized women’s blouses and flowing ponchos to pleated men’s trousers that gathered at the ankle like jogging pants.

Wide belts with exaggerated buckles defined the waist of coats and pants, tortoiseshell necklaces were chunky and layered and brooches and earrings packed a punch with their sheer size and bright, shiny colors.

One standout piece was a sheer black dress, gathered into pleats from the neck to the waist and secured at the collarbone with a cord. Complete with pockets, it was a picture of effortless elegance. Continue reading →

MEN’S PARIS FASHION WEEK

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Once again, Paris has confirmed its position as a global leader among menswear fashion weeks. For the upcoming season, Paris Fashion Week Men’s has revealed an expanded calendar with no less than 60 runways up from 56 in January which will present Spring/Summer 2020 collections over the course of six days from 18 to 23 June.

Givenchy had been expected to return to the Parisian menswear calendar with a runway show but now this won’t be happening until next January. However, the Parisian programme be welcoming back Palomo Spain, which will kick proceedings off on Tuesday, 18 June, at 11 AM. Led by Spanish designer Adolfo Gomez Palomo, the brand had decided to return to New York to show its collection last season. Continue reading →

VUITTON TRACE AND TRACK

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Louis Vuitton on Friday unveiled the first global blockchain designed to help consumers trace the provenance and authenticity of luxury goods, a platform named Aura it has developed in partnership with Microsoft and New York-based blockchain software technology company ConsenSys.

Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive officer of parent company LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, said the technology was still in the very early stages, but touted it as a key tool in the fight against fakes.

Executives at the luxury conglomerate, including chief digital officer Ian Rogers, declined to elaborate on the platform, which will be open to all luxury brands without intermediation, with data remaining confidential. Continue reading →

NAZHA THE KERING McQUEEN

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China is the Kering-owned brand’s biggest market, and have 18 stores in the Greater China region, including four in Hong Kong, three in Macau. British fashion house Alexander McQueen appointed Chinese actress Nazha to be their first China brand ambassador on Wednesday.

The brand made the official announcement on Weibo, China’s own Twitter, with five images of her wearing McQueen’s pre-fall 2019 collection.

“I am thrilled to be the brand ambassador of Alexander McQueen, may we join hands and walk into the unique aesthetic world of Alexander McQueen,” the actress said on Weibo. Born Gülnezer Bextiyar in Ürümqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in 1992, Nazha began her modeling career at the age of 16 and later graduated from the prestigious Beijing Film Academy in Beijing in 2011. Continue reading →