Category Archives: BREAKING MODE

KERING FORREST BURN

Posted on by

Kering brands are banding together to donate a total of one million Australian dollars, or nearly $700,000, to local organizations in Australia working to fight the country’s wildfires, the group said in a statement Tuesday.

The group’s sustainability experts will select the organizations that will receive the funds, it added. In the longer term, the group, which owns fashion labels Gucci, Saint Laurent and Balenciaga as well as jewelry brands Boucheron and Qeelin, plans to take part in reforestation and biodiversity programs.

Wildfires ripping across Australia have killed dozens of people, destroyed homes and claimed the lives of thousands of animals, prompting an outpouring of support from around the world. The country’s entertainment and fashion industries are rallying behind relief efforts with over 50 fashion and beauty businesses, including David Jones, Country Road Group, Alex Perry, Dion Lee, Toni Maticevski and Elle Macpherson’s WelleCo pledging donations. Continue reading →

CAMPAIGN OF THE LORD

Posted on by

Louis Vuitton has teamed again with Collier Schorr for its spring campaign. The photographer shot actresses Emma Stone and Zhong Chuxi and a cast of models at London’s Park Lane Hotel.

They are captured in the Belle Époque outfits designed by creative director Nicolas Ghesquière, toting signature handbags such as the new Vanity in Monogram and the latest versions of the Dauphine.

The campaign is due to break in the February issues of international magazines, accompanied by a series of short digital films, to be posted on Louis Vuitton platforms in February, set to a track by transgender singer Sophie, who appeared on a giant video screen during the brand’s spring runway show.

 

EMANUEL UNGARO DIED

Posted on by

Emanuel Ungaro died Saturday evening in Paris. He was 86. A funeral service will be held on Monday in Paris. Born in Aix-en-Provence, originally his family hailed from Italy’s Apulia region and emigrated to Paris during the Fascist period.

Known for feminine designs, embellished with frills and polka dots and a penchant for the color fuchsia, Ungaro founded his couture house in 1965 and retired in 2004.

At the age of 22, he moved to Paris. Three years later he began designing for the House of Cristóbal Balenciaga for three years before quitting to work for Courrèges. Four years later, in 1965 with the assistance of Swiss artist Sonja Knapp and Elena Bruna Fassio, Emanuel Ungaro opened his own fashion house in Paris. Continue reading →

POLO DE FIGUERAS

Posted on by

Argentinian polo player, charity ambassador and model Nacho Figueras is launching his first luxury fragrance line, the Ignacio Figueras Collection, exclusively at Bergdorf Goodman on Dec. 11.

The six-scent collection is influenced by Figueras’ polo career and the scents are named after international polo tournament destinations  Buenos Aires, Figueras’ home city; Palm Beach, Fla.; Aspen, Colo.; Windsor, England, the site outside London of many a polo tournament; Jaipur, and Dubai.

The longtime face of Ralph Lauren fragrances developed the line for almost two years with master perfumer Carlos Benaim, who Figueras had known for a long time.

Figueras has plans to take the fragrance to Europe, and aspires to launch in Dubai and India. Sales of the collection will also raise funds for Sentebale, a charity that supports mental health and well-being of children and young people in Lesotho and Botswana affected by HIV.

BAG OR NOT BAG ?

Posted on by

Now, more than a decade later, the idea of one bag having it all has dimmed. According to an October report from The NPD Group, the handbag business is down 20 percent in the first eight months of 2019, compared to 2016.

Using the amount of bags on the spring runways as an indicator, the category is still a key driver of business and buzz for brands, but the entry points have expanded over the last five years. The rise of the resale market where prestige names like Chanel and Hermès, two brands that sit atop the status food chain, can be bought at reduced prices is beginning to chip away at market share. New brands are building buzz on social media and offer an entry-level contemporary price.

Consumers; attitudes about the resale market have shifted. Once the favorite of thrifty college students and hipsters, the resale accessories market now offers a buy-in on luxury handbags with marquee names that telegraph a level of social capital. Continue reading →

ZEGNA HELLO GOODBYE

Posted on by

After six seasons of impactful presentations at Pitti Uomo in Florence, Z Zegna is making a soft comeback to Milan in January.

The Italian brand, which is focused on delivering smart and elegant men’s wardrobes fusing a sophisticated fashion aesthetic with high-tech innovation, will unveil its new fall 2020 lineup with one-on-one appointments at its Milanese showroom located on via Savona.

“After several seasons when Zegna presented its two collections, Ermenegildo Zegna XXX and Z Zegna, in Milan and Florence, respectively, we decided to focus on Milan and its fashion week, in a moment where the city returns to be the most important international destination for men’s fashion,” said Zegna artistic director Alessandro Sartori, explaining the decision.

While Sartori will meet journalists through personal appointments to illustrate the new Z Zegna collection, he will continue to stage a runway show to present the Ermenegildo Zegna XXX luxury men’s wear line. The show will take place the first evening of Milan Fashion Week, on Jan. 10 and it will immediately follow the Dsquared2 runway event, marking the Canadian-Italian brand’s 25th anniversary.

LIAIGRE DIERE DU LUXE

Posted on by

It doesn’t matter if you have style, reputation or money, if you don’t have a good heart, you’re worthless. Under heavy rain and despite the strikes, we arrive at Villa Liaigre at 71 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré where we are greeted by Anne Schumacher with a Ferrari body. In front of us” the Hotel Bristol, the palace of all the palaces, and this showroom created a year ago and a set of pieces “Master of art” of what France can give best in its heart, on the land of the Duke of Noailles sold to Jean François Sandrié, contractor of the King’s buildings, market garden of 60 ha on which is built the hotel and its surroundings.

Tribute to the works of Constantin Brancusi, for a cast iron stool imitating eben wood, a bedside table in bronze. I wanted to buy everything and do like that rich Chinese man in the roman of Marguerite Duras l’amant, who probably ordered a turnkey apartment for himself, to go live across the street while waiting impatiently for Liaigre to build his palace. Continue reading →

RADIO STAR

Posted on by

A soft symphony that sounds like silk that scratches the symbols of a bygone era, and even if the way of listening has evolved, nothing is lost, everything is transformed to return like this pendulum, so well adjusted, which returns, after excess, to its starting point, of the traditional machines that played with the past and the present.

Is producing less amputated sounds with TSF tubes an ethical approach? Probably, because reconditioning these old posts of our grandparents will remain for a long time to come an object of the future past. His wood cracks from these memories like lightning flashes that smash from the sky on earth. She listened to Radio London and its litany of long sobs of autumn violins that rocked our hearts, in a monotonous languor, for the hope of a better life.

I met the Héleore company, in a small shop in Paris, where a group of craftsmen came from this beautiful region now called Occitania and their singing accent of Carcassonne, a city with medieval architecture restored by Viollet-le-Duc and thus inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Continue reading →

CHRISTIE’S HYPE AUCTION

Posted on by

Christie’s brought in more than $2.1 million in its Handbags online auction, thanks in part to an Hermès matte white Himalaya Niloticus Crocodile Birkin 30 and a Louis Vuitton x Supreme Monogram Malle Courrier 90 Trunk, which both doubled their low estimates and sold at $125,000 each.

While an overall total of 89 percent of the pieces were sold during the auction, Supreme merchandise exceeded that number, selling 95 percent of its pieces including an Everlast Boxing Group that sold for $17,500, Stern Pinball Machine for $32,500.

This auction successfully captured luxury as it is defined today, the sale further cements skateboards, handbags and consumer products as collectible assets comparable to art pieces. Continue reading →

ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH 2019

Posted on by

In our American show, leading galleries from North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia show significant work from the masters of Modern and contemporary art, as well as the new generation of emerging stars. Paintings, sculptures, installations, photographs, films, and editioned works of the highest quality are on display in the main exhibition hall. Continue reading →

MONCLER OBSCURE

Posted on by

Moncler shares climbed 10.64 percent to 42.96 euros by noon Thursday on the Italian Stock Exchange following a Bloomberg report that Kering is holding exploratory talks to buy the luxury brand. That Kering is seriously thinking of a takeover of Moncler. It has the liquidity and it is already discussing the deal with a number of banks.

The deal could be in the range of 13.5 billion to 14 billion euros, a 30 to 40 percent premium on a capitalization of 10 billion euros. could take a matter of days, perhaps two week he forecast, viewing the deal as a response to the recent LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton proposed acquisition of Tiffany. Continue reading →

CHANEL METIERS D’ART

Posted on by

Virginie Viard on Wednesday showed her first Métiers d’Art line for Chanel. She chose to bring the collection back to Paris, after recent forays to New York and Hamburg, and titled it “31 Rue Cambon” in reference to the brand’s historic address, which also inspired the set codesigned by director Sofia Coppola, who sat in the front row alongside Kristen Stewart, Penélope Cruz and Lily-Rose Depp. Continue reading →

BIAGIOTTI AND BALMAIN LOGO

Posted on by

LB Monogram. Designed by Laura Biagiotti in 1975 was reproduced in a maxi and mini version on sneakers, on combat boot and boots. Shoe laces and embroideries become shoe buckles. Both logo Balmain and Biagiotti are very confusing but money solves every problem and especially with the Quatari. Rousteing will then carry on copying every brands and everything and the Quatari will pay for it till they will be fed up and will change of designer.  Continue reading →

AND THE WINNER IS…

Posted on by

We all saw them coming at the British Fashion Awards 2019. Lee’s ability to generate hype is remarkable,

Bottega Veneta was the big winner. Daniel Lee stated: “My job is to really make Bottega Veneta part of the fashion conversation, but this is a true heritage house, and that is something that moves a lot slower and in a very different way to something that’s ‘fashion’, “Trying to change this house into a fashion brand is a huge task.”

Change was a theme also reflected in the winner of the Urban Luxe category: Fenty, Rihanna’s namesake label launched last May and it represents the first major brand LVMH has founded from scratch.The collection is diverse, size inclusive and price conscious in a competitive market. “I really appreciate that LVMH is flexible enough to allow me to have a different perspective on how I want to [do] things,” she said of her financial backer.

Model of the Year Adut Akech has been a trailblazer from day one, calling out racism that still slips through the cracks, and converting her personal success story into a parable for refugees. I want to be known as someone who made a positive impact,” she told Vogue in the September Forces for Change issue, which she fronted with 14 other inspirational women. “It’s an honour to be used as an example of what diversity looks like [but] I want to be more involved with charities that are changing people’s lives.”

Continue reading →

BALMAIN CEO RESIGNATION

Posted on by

Massimo Piombini, who joined Balmain in April 2017 and piloted the brand through an expansion phase, is leaving the firm. Balmain confirmed that Piombini is leaving for personal reasons, and added that a new chief executive officer would join the company in February.

"Under his leadership the company has experienced a significant growth and organizational evolution, setting a solid basis for further growth of the brand in the next years, Balmain said in a statement. The house wishes him well on his future endeavors."

It is understood that turnover at the Paris-based house almost doubled over the past three years. During Piombini’s tenure, Balmain opened boutiques in Paris, Hong Kong, Moscow, São Paolo and Miami, and it signed a lease for a New York flagship, which is slated to open in the first half of 2020. Continue reading →

ULTRA HIGH NET WORTH INDIVIDUALS

Posted on by

Despite a recent contraction in fine art sales and fluctuations in jets and yachts, demand for luxury continues to grow. The global luxury market is expected to reach 1.26 trillion euros in 2019, up 8 percent compared with the previous year, or 4 percent at constant exchange rates. Expectations of 3 to 5 percent annual growth at constant exchange rates through to 2025 for personal luxury goods, with sales reaching between 335 and 375 billion euros.

In 2019, China is showing a 30 percent growth, confirming Chinese customers & purchases redirected locally, followed by the rest of Asia and Japan. Impacted by social unrest, Hong Kong is declining by around 2 billion euros compared with 2018. The Chinese are leading 90 percent of growth in 2019.

The Millennials (the Y generation) and the Z generation contributed to 100 percent of the market growth in 2019. Gen Y is expected to reach 50 percent of market value in 2035. And it is in China and in South East Asia that they show they are most dynamic and attracted by the personal luxury goods. Continue reading →

GIVAUDAN ACQUIRE INDENA

Posted on by

Swiss fragrance and flavors supplier Givaudan said Tuesday it has reached an agreement to acquire the cosmetics business of Italian company Indena.

Headquartered in Milan, Indena is specialized in the identification, development and production of high-quality active ingredients derived from plants, to be used in the pharmaceutical, health food and personal-care industries. Backed up by almost a century of botanical experience, the company counts four manufacturing locations employing around 800 people, sales activities in more than 80 countries and holds more than 100 primary patents.

According to Maurizio Volpi, president of Givaudan’s fragrance division, this operation will be strategic for the company as Indena has “an excellent reputation in the market, thanks to the quality of their ingredients, their strong focus on innovation as well as the mastering of their supply chain. Continue reading →

DROUANT HAS REOPENED

Posted on by

Opened in 1880, Parisian restaurant Drouant is open. The historical 1,475-square-foot establishment, which sits just next to the Opera Garnier in the second arrondissement of Paris, needed to be finished in time for the Goncourt Prize, a prestigious French literary ceremony that has been held in a private salon on the upper level of the restaurant every year since 1914.

The race was completed on time. On Nov. 4, author Jean-Paul Dubois was honored in a freshly redecorated Goncourt salon, following the footsteps of previous laureates Marcel Proust, Simone de Beauvoir and Leïla Slimani, who won the prize in 2016 for her haunting novel “Lullaby.” The restaurant, helmed by chef Emile Cotte, officially reopened to the public on Nov. 12. Continue reading →