Category Archives: BREAKING MODE
EMPLOYEE A LUXURY CHALLENGE
“With 70 brands and 150,000 staff worldwide, there’s no doubt that LVMH, the parent company of brands including Louis Vuitton, Dior, Guerlain, Bulgari and others…, is a global corporate
But even a fashion force like LVMH cannot rest on its laurels when it comes to recruiting and retaining staff, especially at a time when unemployment in the U.S. is hovering at a near 50-year low of 3.7 percent.
“Recruiting right has always been difficult. “From store level up to ceo’s, having the right people translates immediately into good results”.
So, yes, it’s an obsession and of course we are trying to not only find, but then help keep employees motivated and offer them a journey. A career which could be a journey thanks to the size of the group the fact that we have over 70 brands.” Continue reading
BRUNO SIALELLI AT LANVIN
Could Lanvin, said to be searching for new designer, have its eye on a hidden talent? The French house is in talks with Bruno Sialelli, who recently exited Loewe, where he was head of men’s wear. The likelihood of the house and the designer securing an agreement could not immediately be learned. Lanvin could not immediately be reached for comment.
Sialelli had been at Loewe since March 2016. Before that, he held senior design roles in women’s wear at Paco Rabanne, Acne Studios and Balenciaga. He is a fashion graduate of Studio Berçot in Paris.
Finding a new design and management leadership has been job number one for Fosun International, which acquired the French luxury house in February. Continue reading
ZOBEL PRICE FOR COURREGES
We were packed like sardines in Courrèges store located rue Francois 1er pumped with music and with people in a democratic move for crowd control. It was all standing, which also meant it was difficult to see her newly promised vision. Or, as the show notes states : “How the future is behind you.” This could also mean : let forget the past to free her of the specific codes of the house which built its name and aesthetic on space age. Then perhaps the cagoules and techno festival looks that came out made sense.
It was certainly as capsule and conceptual as Zobel’s predecessors, Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant – the first official designers of the house since André Courrèges and his wife sold the company in 2011.
There was only so far a series of jackets and knickers could take them, which is where, one imagines, this may end up too if Zobel doesn’t give us something more, something real that can be worn and resonates with today’s audience. Because this is what heritage houses seem to be struggling with right now. Who are they targeting and why? What is the house all about and why? What was the point of it even to begin with? How does that meet in the middle with a customer? Continue reading
EXCLUSIVE LVMH HOTEL IN PARIS
An exclusive hotel in Paris opened his doors for Canal-luxe.
This morning at 8 o’clock, the futur Cheval Blanc Hotel of LVMH opened its east side doors (the sun always rises on the east) to Canal-Luxe. We were all excited to discover the fabulous Art Deco building better known by the parisian by La Samaritaine.
A decade ago, the group LVMH bought the department store, La Samaritaine to build which would be soon become the next place of the luxe. It was a long process to come to the end of that project. But as we already stated a few years ago: Paris downtown will soon belong to Monsieur Bernard Arnault and to his group LVMH. He has regrouped around la Samaritaine most of his most famous brands. It would soon become the new golden place for shopping in Paris. Continue reading
CHANEL BAYWATCH
It was a grey autumnal day in Paris. But at the Chanel show in the Grand Palais, Karl Lagerfeld ensured that summer stuck around for a bit longer. The designer, who previously brought a Chanel supermarket and a rocket bearing the brand’s signature double “C” logo to fashion week, doesn’t do things by half.
This time, a beach was recreated that included an ocean with gentle waves, blue sky, wooden docks and lifeguards. To complete the scene, the former Baywatch actor Pamela Anderson watched the proceedings from the front row. Continue reading
CATWALK ON WATER CLOSET
Traffic literally stopped. After the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, it is L’oréal which halted the traffic on the River, the Seine. In front of the Musée d’Orsay and Tuileries gardens, and on a footbridge, people gazed at a floating, 195-foot-long catwalk.
It was about to spring to life with the L’Oréal Paris fashion-beauty show dubbed Le Défilé L’Oréal Paris billed as a celebration of beauty, fashion and diversity.
Eva Longoria appeared on a big screen to psyche up the audience. Two drones whirred overhead, and music pumped out of giant speakers as a barge parked parallel to the runway. Nothing really interesting as usual. They use the Fashion Week audience to make a buzz.
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HERMES AT LONG CHAMP
Hermès held its spring show at the Longchamp racecourse, as did Dior earlier in the week, just to tease Mister Arnault. The two houses made very different uses of the venue. If Dior was your rich gypsy aunt who reads Tarot cards and loves modern dance, Hermès was her richer, snobbier sister, for whom tastefulness is next to godliness. She’s not as much fun as the bohemian, but her cashmere is softer, her Champagne is crisper and you can put money on her horse it always seems to win. Continue reading
UMA WANG PARIS 2019
MUGLER CONFIDENTIAL
The guest list was only 200 people. The collection was short 27 looks. And the designer making his runway debut was a relative unknown: Casey Cadwallader, who worked behind the scenes at Acne Studios before taking the helm of Mugler last year. So what was Cardi B, a one-woman celebrity tsunami, doing in the front row? Continue reading
KORS DEAL FOR VERSACE
Michael Kors Deal for Versace for 2 Billion Euros? Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. is adding some Italian flair. a deal that is expected to close this week. The Versace family will maintain a role in the company, although it could not immediately be learned what will be the exact nature of their involvement.
The stock market didn’t react well to reports of an impending deal, with Kors shares trading at $66.11 at 11 a.m., down 9 percent.
Versace is run by Donatella Versace, creative director, and her brother Santo Versace, chairman, who own 20 percent and 30 percent of the firm, respectively. According to sources, the private equity firm Blackstone, which owns 20 percent of Versace, is planning to sell its stake in the deal.The remainder of the company is owned by Allegra Versace Beck, Donatella’s daughter and the niece of the house’s late founder, Gianni Versace.
GUILLAUME HENRY AT PATOU
Sidney Toledano, chairman and chief executive officer of LVMH Fashion Group, is spearheading the project and has already selected and signed on a designer to lead it: Guillaume Henry.
Last March, Henry exited Nina Ricci and he is said to be passionate about the legacy of Patou, a French designer who brought modernity and buzz to fashion in the Twenties —and innovated in business with fragrances, logos and sport clothes.
LVMH is now in the throes of building teams around Henry with a view to launching the first collection of ready-to-wear and accessories in the second half of 2019.
It is understood the group views Patou as something of a niche, rarified name and not its next megabrand. Consequently, LVMH will likely start with a single boutique, most likely in Paris, along with e-commerce and select wholesale partners.
The relaunch suggests the world’s largest luxury group is anticipating an easing of the streetwear craze, and a swing of the fashion pendulum back to sophisticated chic. Continue reading
ARMANI GREEN GATORADE
In 1996, Giorgio Armani was one of the biggest and most thrusting brand names in fashion and the man himself was among the richest people in Italy.
The logo isn’t going anywhere. At a time when designers are tweaking the look of their logos (Burberry, Berluti and Celine ) Armani said he’s keeping Emporio’s as is. “It’s mine and I’m holding it close,” the 84-year-old designer said during a collection walk-through. This was his first show at Linate, and he said he was keen to make a connection between past and present.
That was one reason why Nineties heartthrob Robbie Williams closed the show in a black pleated skirt and matching sequin jacket and performed later for a crowd that numbered 2,300, including members of the public who won tickets to the event.
“Hello, I’m Robbie Williams, you might remember me from the Nineties. Tonight you are mine,” he told a cheering audience before waving his black walking stick around and breaking into song and paying tribute to George Michael with a high-energy cover of “Freedom.” Continue reading
MOSCHINO 2019 MILAN 2019
MILANO FASHION WEEK 2019
There are plenty of birthday candles to blow out this time around during Milan Fashion Week 2019. Continue reading
KIRKWOOD APOCALYPSE NOW
The Nicholas Kirkwood Spring Summer 2019 show in London appears the apocalypse is now ! Nicholas Kirkwood certainly tapped into this mood for his first London Fashion show this season (having shown in Paris for several seasons), putting on a monster production that reverted us to Orwellian times. The “hacker” was his inspiration, specifically “a group of hacker activists rebelling against a government-enforced regime of banality and fashion monotony. Continue reading
CHANEL BUYS A JOURNEY
Expanding its reach into the realm of watchmaking, Chanel has bought a minority stake in Montres Journe, the French luxury house said on Monday.
Established by François-Paul Journe, who made his first watch in Paris in the early Eighties, the company has been making high-end time pieces in Geneva since 1999. It limits production to 900 watches a year, designing and building all of the movements, cases and watch cases.
“Chanel’s stake will enable Montres Journe SA to continue its development by ensuring its sustainability, as well as its autonomy,” Chanel said in a statement. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Chanel in 1998 invested in Bell & Ross and in 2011 in the Swiss watchmaking house of Romain Gauthier, who has made components designed by Chanel teams for the French house’s Monsieur watch. Chanel has not disclosed its ownership levels in the watchmakers. Continue reading
A FLOATING SHOW IN PARIS
L’Oréal Paris is gearing up to stage its second fashion-beauty runway show, With a floating catwalk near the Musée d’Orsay, the display on Sept. 30 at 2 p.m. at the Port de Solférino is expected to attract even more eyeballs than the high-profile show staged on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées last year.
“Everyone is invited,” Pierre-Emmanuel Angeloglou, L’Oréal Paris global brand president, told “We wanted to choose an iconic space in the city that really reflects the true Parisian spirit.”
Le Défilé L’Oréal Paris a “celebration of beauty, fashion and diversity.” The program is done in partnership with the Chopard jewelry brand and 12 established and emerging fashion houses, including Off-White, Balmain, Jacquemus, Isabel Marant, Ami, Giambattista Valli and Elie Saab, which will be showing looks inspired by Parisian chic from their fall 2018 collections. Continue reading
BOUCHERON HEADS OR TAILS
Boucheron and the Monnaie de Paris have teamed to make a series of limited-edition coins, including a 1-kilo (35.3-oz.) pure gold coin in the shape of an emerald-cut stone, with references to the high jewelry house including the Place Vendôme, ivy vines and a diamond encrusted leaf.
The collaboration, which coincides with the jeweler’s 160th anniversary, is meant to celebrate French luxury traditions and follows similar projects with other prestigious French institutions including Sèvres-Cité de la Céramique, Baccarat, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and French chef Guy Savoy. Working with Savoy, the mint issued a rose-gold pan featuring a black truffle, fried egg while it reinterpreted Marie Antoinette’s milk bowl with the Sèvres-Cité de la Céramique. The Cartier collaboration resulted in a coin stamped with the Taj Mahal, complete with a diamond-encrusted dome. Continue reading
PRABAL GURUNG NY 2019
CARDI B & NICKI MINAJ FIGHT AT NY FASHION WEEK
Could you imagine Virgil Abloh rappers’ friends fighting at a LVMH Paris Fashion Show? This is the story, a star-studded party ended in dramatic fashion when Cardi B and Nicki Minaj nearly came to blows at the Harper’s Bazaar Icon bash in New York City last Friday.
In one of several videos posted to Twitter, Cardi B, wearing a red dress, can be seen lunging towards Minaj before throwing a shoe at the rapper as their security teams rush to break it up.
The two hip-hop artists involved in the melee, which happened just as the red carpet shuttered. Cardi B was later photographed with a large bruise above her right eye as she left the party. The back of her dress was also torn. Minaj, who was unharmed in the encounter, was quickly escorted downstairs by Minaj’s security team. Continue reading
BURBERRY FUR OR NOT FUR
Burberry said early on Thursday the no-fur policy will apply to Tisci’s debut collection for Burberry later this month, and the company will phase out existing real fur products.
Over the past year, the brand has come under fire from anti-fur protestors who staged screechingly loud and aggressive protests outside its runway shows. The company also became the target of criticism in the British press for its decision to destroy new, but unsalable, merchandise each year. Continue reading
TOM FORD SPRING SUMMER NY
JINQING CAI PRESIDENT OF KERING CHINA
Kering is reinforcing its corporate team in Greater China in order to adapt to the fast-changing business environment in this market, which has been continuously growing in importance for the luxury industry since Gucci opened its first store in China in 1997. This new management set-up will strengthen the existing corporate structure specifically dedicated to supporting the long-term development of Kering’s luxury Houses in Greater China.
Ms. Jinqing Cai has been appointed President of Kering Greater China, starting from September 10, 2018. Her mission will be to reinforce the visibility of Kering in Greater China and to strengthen the links between the Group and its local partners. She will be based in Kering’s Shanghai office and will report to Jean-François Palus, Group Managing Director of Kering. Continue reading
CELINE NEW LOGO
On Sunday, Céline’s designer Hedi Slimane offered followers clues about the world he is fashioning for the French label on Instagram, revealing a new logo, and some explanations as well.
“The new logo has been directly inspired from the original, historical version that existed in the 1960s,” reads the first line of description, all in capital letters, as is the logo. The designer opted for a “modernist typography” that dates from the Thirties and removed the accent on the first “e” for a “more balanced proportion” evoking the label’s collection in the Sixties, the description continued.
One of the most prominent and influential fashion figures, Slimane joined the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned label in February with the mandate of broadening its scope to add men’s, couture and fragrance lines. His collection makes its debut on Sept. 28 in Paris. Continue reading
STOCKHOLM FASHION WEEK
Fashion Week Stockholm, which has been showcasing some of Sweden’s most interesting brands and designers since 2005, has progressively established itself as one of Northern Europe’s leading fashion events. In part due to their renewed presence during this bi-annual event, fashion houses such as Acne, Tiger of Sweden, Filippa K, Hope, and, more recently, ATP Atelier have gained regional notoriety and brought international attention to the Swedish fashion scene. It has also enabled the so called “Scandinavian aesthetic” – often defined by its minimalism, functionality and simplicity – to be widely popularized and globally recognized.
Much like the other major fashion weeks, it also serves as a platform for emerging and increasingly established fresh talent, presenting a younger generation of designers who are pushing the boundaries of what’s expected when it comes to Nordic style and aesthetic. Here is a selection of up-and-coming designers who are launching Sweden’s fashion into the future, informed by worldly references and infused with their domestic heritage. Continue reading
FASHION BANDAGE
Contemporary designer brand Hervé Léger, best known for its body-con “bandage” dresses, has a new creative director: Christian Juul Nielsen.
He also has served as the creative director at advanced contemporary brand Land of Distraction since November 2016. It is understood that he will continue at the startup brand while bringing a shot of energy to the Hervé Léger brand.
The latter was part of the BCBG portfolio owned by Max Azria until the company fell on hard times and found itself in bankruptcy proceedings last year. Brand management firm Marquee Brands acquired the BCBG trademarks including Hervé Léger and then sold the Hervé Léger brand to Authentic Brands Group. ABG is also a brand management firm.