FIRST AWARD AT 42 YEARS OLD

The designer From the flat country, I mean from Belgium for uneducated people,  Tom Van Der Borght won the Première Vision Grand Prize at the 35th edition of the Hyères International Festival of Fashion and Photography, which wrapped on Sunday, winning over a jury headed by designer Jonathan Anderson, founder of JW Anderson and creative director of Loewe.

In a break with its recent tradition of rewarding graduates fresh out of school, finealy. The Hyères jury selected a designer who is already established almost a retired fashion designer, It’s always better than Didier Grumler’s choices for his nights in Toulon. Van Der Borght started his fashion education at the age of 30 and established his label in 2013 after graduating from the Stedelijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten Sint-Niklaas, a fashion school located between Antwerp and his home base of Ghent. Continue reading

ARNAUD SUPPORT LAGARDÈRE

Bernard Arnault has again upped his stake in Lagardère SCA, as a French commercial court is expected to wade into a battle between French industry titans for control of the embattled publishing and retail company.

Acting in concert, Groupe Arnault and Financière Agache, the holding company controlled by Groupe Arnault, together with a group of companies controlled by Arnaud Lagardère, chief executive officer of Lagardère, now jointly hold 15.01 percent of the capital of Lagardère SCA and 16.93 percent of voting rights.

The move, revealed by stock market regulator AMF in a filing on Tuesday, comes as a Paris court is set to rule on Wednesday on a request from Vivendi, a media group controlled by French billionaire Vincent Bolloré, and activist investor Amber Capital for an exceptional shareholder meeting, part of their bid to gain board representation. Continue reading

PERFUMES AND THE WINNER IS

A variety of independent brands joined the likes of L’Oréal, the Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. and Coty Inc., taking home several awards. Diptyque, for example, won both of the home fragrance categories, and Gucci took home three awards for three different scents. Kim Kardashian West even joined the webinar to accept her award for fragrance of the year: Popular.

Among the presenters were designer Jason Wu, Rob Smith, Cher, Lionel Richie and Wes Gordon of Carolina Herrera, each of whom introduced several categories.

Fragrance of the Year, Women’s Luxury: YSL Libre Eau de Parfum, L’Oréal, IFF, Anne Flipo, Carlos Benaïm. Continue reading

PUMA’S HELPS KERING

Kering is selling 8.8 million shares, representing 5.9 percent of Puma’s capital. Kering said on Monday it was selling about 8.8 million shares that it owns in Puma, representing 5.9 percent of the German sporting good-maker’s share capital, through a placement to qualified investors.

Since 2018, the group gradually reduced its stake in Puma after spinning off 70 percent of the company to its shareholders as part of a plan to refocus on its luxury division. That move left the Pinault family’s private investment arm Artémis with a 29 percent stake, and Kering with around 16 percent.

“The proceeds of this transaction will be used for the general corporate purposes of Kering and will further strengthen its financial structure,” the French luxury group said in a statement.

Kering’s share price has recovered to its levels at the start of 2020, after plummeting by as much as 39 percent in March as the coronavirus pandemic shut stores and brought factories to a halt. Continue reading

RICK OWENS SPRING 2021

That Owens showed in front of the Lido Casino with no audience and not in Paris was a function of the coronavirus pandemic. Venice is two hours away from Owens’ Italian factory, where he’s been holed up. And incidentally, the word quarantine originates from the Venetian language and the region’s response to the bubonic plague in medieval times.

For all of these reasons, his spring collection felt like the defiant fashion act we’ve all been waiting for, what Owens dubbed “an exaggerated middle finger to doom” expressed with major shoulders, thigh-high boots, “lurid” colors, crisp tunics, flowing robes and sculptural capes.

The display was exhilarating, and the free-flowing clothes newsy for Owens, especially the simple yet architectural tunics and the chiffon shrouds in bubblegum pink with trailing ribbons. As he did for his terrific men’s collection for spring, Owens revisited some old, but still good ideas: fishnet tank dresses and hoodies that wink back to the masks used for his fall 2012 show. Continue reading

VUITTON SHOW ON ROOF TOP SAMARITAINE

It only took 15 years for Nicolas Ghesquière’s next runway venue to finally be ready: Louis Vuitton will cap off Paris Fashion Week on Oct. 6 with a fashion show at La Samaritaine.

Ghesquière will parade his spring 2021 women’s collection on the top floor of the not-yet-completed complex under a glass dome known as La Rotonde; while those tuning in to the livestream will have a completely different experience thanks to green-screen technology and other digital razzmatazz.

Nicolas’ goal is to create a connection with the guests, according to Vuitton. It is a fashion show that has been designed for digital, but based on a live experience.  Continue reading

CHANEL A PARIS

A new exhibition in Paris aims to redress the balance, providing the most extensive overview so far of the creations of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, who revolutionized fashion with her sleek, fluid designs that helped to liberate women from their corsets.

Tweed suits, the little black dress, two-tone shoes and quilted handbags: Chanel’s signature codes are as synonymous with French luxury today as they were a century ago, at the risk of obscuring the woman who launched the brand.

“Gabrielle Chanel. A Fashion Manifesto,” which opens on Oct. 1, coincides with the reopening of the Palais Galliera fashion museum and the inauguration of its new basement space for permanent exhibitions, sponsored by Chanel. Surprisingly, it’s the first major Chanel exhibition to be staged in the French capital. Continue reading

KHAITE RTW 2021

While many designers have opted for escapist, feel-good fashion or tried their best to include clothes that work for life at home, Holsten showed a compelling lineup rooted in what one might call power dressing, and worn by models whose determined attitudes approached defiance, as though they’re up to whatever challenges 2020 and beyond throws at them. Continue reading

FONDATION ELBAZ

Laurent Malecaze joins Paris-based AZ Fashions from The Webster in New York, and so Alber Elbaz Finds CEO for Fashion Startup. Laurent Malecaze as chief executive officer of his fashion startup, currently ceo of luxury retailer The Webster in New York.

Elbaz confirmed his arrival exclusively and described an instant personal and professional rapport with Malecaze, who helped The Webster accelerate and widen its digital operations. AZfashion touted the hire in a brief statement, noting the two men would develop the overall strategy of AZfashion and oversee its implementation across the venture.

The development comes almost 11 months after Elbaz announced his comeback to fashion in a joint venture with Compagnie Financière Richemont, and should accelerate AZfashion’s launch, which has been delayed due to shutdowns and slowdowns related to the coronavirus crisis. Continue reading

VIVIENNE HU NYFW 2021

Hu later moved to the United States for her professional development. She worked at an investment bank for over three years, then attended Parsons School of Design and gained industry experience with Oscar de la Renta and Yigal Azrouel. Hu established her brand and debuted her spring/summer collection in 2012.[The label has two stores in Soho, New York, that opened in 2013 and 2016 respectively,[and its first China store opened in 2015.

A CASTLE FOR CHANEL

The French fashion house plans to unveil its annual Métiers d’Art collection on Dec. 1 at the Château de Chenonceau, one of the jewels of the Loire valley. The current château was built in 1514–1522 on the foundations of an old mill and was later extended to span the river. The bridge over the river was built (1556-1559) to designs by the French Renaissance architect Philibert de l’Orme, and the gallery on the bridge, built from 1570–1576 to designs by Jean Bullant.

Traditionally a traveling show that has alighted in destinations including Shanghai, Rome, Edinburgh, Salzburg and Dallas, the Métiers d’Art show was held in Paris last December in the wake of the death of Chanel’s longtime creative director Karl Lagerfeld earlier in the year.

Chanel is expected to be one of the first major brands to return to the catwalk this fall, with its show at the Grand Palais on Oct. 6 scheduled to be one of the highlights of Paris Fashion Week, which should also see brands including Dior, Louis Vuitton and Hermès welcome guests in a socially distanced manner. Continue reading

VIRTUAL FRAGRANCE FOUNDATION AWARDS

Despite double-digit sales declines in the category over the course of 2020, the fragrance industry had a bright spot Thursday afternoon, thanks to the 2020 Fragrance Foundation Awards webinar, which revealed winners in 25 categories.

Here, see the winners for all categories of the 2020 Fragrance Foundation awards.

Fragrance of the Year, Women’s Luxury: YSL Libre Eau de Parfum, L’Oréal, IFF, Anne Flipo, Carlos Benaïm.

Fragrance of the Year, Women’s Prestige: Lancôme Idôle, L’Oréal, Givaudan, Adriana Medina, Shyamala Maisondieu, Nadege Le Garlantezec.

Fragrance of the Year, Men’s Luxury: Dior Sauvage Parfum, LVMH, Parfums Christian Dior, François Démachy.

Fragrance of the Year, Men’s Prestige: John Varvatos JV x NJ Silver Edition, Revlon, Symrise, Carlos Viñals, Nathalie Benareau. Continue reading

KARL AND KIM FOR FENDI

The K.K touch, Jones is to show his first collection for Fendi in February 2021, the Italian brand said in a brief press release.

“Kim Jones is a great talent and since joining, he has continuously proven his ability to adapt to the codes and heritage of the LVMH houses while revisiting them with great modernity and audacity; said Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive officer at LVMH. At Fendi, I am convinced that his vision and passion will highly contribute to the success of the women’s collections.”

Serge Brunschwig, chairman and ceo of Fendi added: “Kim is one of the most talented and relevant designers of today. With Silvia Venturini Fendi, who has virtuously carried on Fendi and Karl Lagerfeld legacy, Kim will bring his contemporary one of a kind point of view into the world of Fendi.”

It is understood Jones has harbored ambitions to design women’s wear for some time, and held discussions with Versace in Milan in recent years. He is the latest acclaimed men’s wear specialist to broaden his fashion universe to women’s wear, following on the heels of Hedi Slimane. Continue reading

FROM COCA-COLA TO FRAGRANCE

A whopper or not ?There’s a new executive structure at Sephora, with Martin Brok joining the world’s largest prestige beauty retailer as president and chief executive officer, reporting to Chris de Lapuente, who previously led the chain for 10 years.

Brok, who most recently was Starbucks Inc.’s president of Europe, Middle East and Africa, will start at LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned Sephora on Sept. 14.

Arnault said Brok would be charged with creating the next breakthrough chapter at Sephora,” highlighting his "extensive international leadership experience in multiple fast-paced and client-oriented businesses at a crucial moment of change for global retailing.”

In a letter addressed to Sephora’s more than 35,000 employees, de Lapuente said the executive shake-up would fire up our innovation and accelerate our quest to be the world’s most loved beauty community. Continue reading

LANVIN NEWS FROM THE EDGE

Lanvin has tapped Arnaud Bazin as its new deputy general manager. The fashion house confirmed his arrival and said Bazin would work with Grace Zhao, its new deputy general manager for the Asia-Pacific businesses. “Together, Mr. Bazin and Ms. Zhao will oversee the overall strategy for the brand and its implementation globally,” .The lord of luxury dispatches his men everywhere in fashion and luxury groups.

Bazin was most recently senior vice president of collection merchandising at Versace, and has been in that role, a new one, a little over a year. Zhao joined Lanvin last November from Dolce & Gabbana, where she was senior vice president, Asia-Pacific.

“I am very glad that Arnaud has joined us and we will continue to drive the development of the company as a team,” said Joann Cheng, chairman of Lanvin.“We have seen significant growth in Asia-Pacific since Grace joined and we believe it is the second engine for us to display the growth trajectory globally,” she added. Continue reading

PARIS FASHION WARMED UP

Paris Fashion Week will go ahead this fall with 88 brands on the official calendar, although it is not yet known how many of them will be holding physical shows and presentations.

Among the major brands revealed to be missing from the schedule this season are Celine, Alexander McQueen, Comme des Garçons and Off-White. As reported, Saint Laurent and Valentino are also skipping the Paris season.

The list of absentees also includes Sacai, Lacoste, Lemaire, Junya Watanabe, Noir Kei Ninomiya, Rochas, Atlein, Guy Laroche and Kwaidan Editions. Rochas has been without a designer since last December after parting ways with Alessandro Dell’Acqua, and Lemaire showed its coed collection during the men’s week in July.

The spring 2021 collections for Comme des Garçons, Junya Watanabe and Noir Kei Ninomiya will be unveiled during mini shows or presentations in Tokyo between Oct. 19 and 23 as part of Comme des Garçons’ seasonal showroom there. And Franck Sorbier for a physical Show in Paris Downtown. Continue reading