What is the better way to showcase a cruise than to be on cruise? In Paris, last night, at the Grand Palais, a vintage, live-sized dreamboat, specially constructed for the occasion, became the backdrop of a maritime collection, gingerly modeled on the fake pier. Continue reading
Category Archives: BREAKING MODE
CRUISE BACK TO FRANCE
In recent years, the cruise season has been a springboard for European luxury houses to fan out to increasingly exotic locales, from Rio de Janeiro to Havana, Palm Springs, Dubai and Seoul. In 2018, the pendulum is swinging back closer to home, with four major brands all opting to stage their shows in France.
As Chanel prepares to unveil its cruise collection in Paris on Thursday, to be followed later this month by Christian Dior in Chantilly, Louis Vuitton in Saint-Paul-de-Vence and Gucci in Arles, the fashion flock is gearing up for an extended stay in the home of Champagne, macarons and train strikes. Continue reading
BAPTISTA FASHION GAME OVER
It’s game over for Lacoste and Felipe Oliveira Baptista. The heritage French sportswear brand on Wednesday said it has parted ways with the designer, who has been creative director of the brand since 2010 an impressive run in today’s revolving-door era.
The next collection, for spring 2019, will be designed by Lacoste’s creative studio. “A new organization of the creative direction of the brand” will be announced in the coming months, Lacoste said.
Best known for its iconic crocodile logo polo shirt, Lacoste, which this year is celebrating its 85th anniversary, recently relocated its show back to Paris from New York after 13 years presenting Stateside. Continue reading
HYÉRES FESTIVAL
“Hyères” “means in French yesterday” During Sunday night’s prizegiving for the 33rd Festival International De Mode, De Photographie Et D’Accessoires De Mode a Hyères, Lisi Herrebrugh are a Dutch duo, neither of them fluent in the local speak and therefore momentarily ignorant their names had just been called. So their models beat them to the podium, their chaotic exuberance amplifying the winning collection of menswear infused with the couple’s Caribbean roots. Continue reading
STORY OF FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER
I’m a photographer.I live and photograph the one of the most beautiful city in the world – Paris. My name is Flavia Raddavero, and I work in fashion. Paris is a great source of inspiration: Paris has great history of fashion, great history of elegance.
SAYYA WINTER 2018 TBILISI
THE BEST SNEAKERS IN THE WORLD
The Best Sneakers Of All Time as Seen On Kanye West. Say what you want about Kanye West but you can’t deny the incredible influence he’s had on sneaker culture. From his early collaborations with Adidas, to his full-fledged Yeezy line (which now includes boots and apparel, in addition to sneakers), Kanye always sets the tone for what we want to wear especially on our feet. Taste like a feet in did !
While Kanye has said he draws inspiration from art and architecture, he’s also well-versed in the history of fashion and footwear, so we’d like to think he’s done his research on past sneaker trends as well. May be thought to be hired by Mr. Arnauld ! Continue reading
FRENCH LOOSING CRAFTSHIP
As consumer demand for artisan craftsmanship continues to flourish, brands and retailers are integrating one-of-a-kind, hand-made objects and accessories into their product offerings.
To work in the fashion industry, one must understand the processes behind it. There are two levels of perception. The first level is tangible it implies the aspects of the product that you can consciously touch, smell and perceive, such as quality, comfort and elegance that are the very lifeblood of artisanship.
People started buying Louboutin shoes because, unlike others, they were extremely comfortable, original in design and crafted by hand. This level is based on logic but when it comes to customer choice, fashion has almost nothing to do with rationality. This brings us to the second level that is intangible and rooted in our subconscious. Continue reading
KRISTINA FIDELSKAYA
VALENTINO ASSOCIATION WITH DEVIL
Valentino has linked with Chinese giant Alibaba to give its Candystud collection some pop in Beijing. Maison Valentino is launching two limited-edition Valentino Garavani Candystud bags, four exclusive sneakers styles and a collection of small leather goods to mark the occasion.
The collaboration will help promote the Valentino Garavani Candystud collection at a Valentino pop-up store in Beijing’s Sanlitun neighborhood and on a 3-D virtual store on Tmall Space, where the platform’s Luxury Pavilion hosts pop-up shops.
Jessica Liu, president of fashion and luxury at Tmall, said, “Valentino’s simultaneous running of a physical Candystud Factory pop-up store in Beijing and online with a Pavilion Tmall Space is a perfect illustration of how luxury brands can leverage Alibaba to engage their consumers and take advantage of the New Retail opportunity.” Continue reading
MUA MUA DOLLS RIYAHD 2018
GUCCI MANUFACTURING PLANT
Gucci is the latest luxury brand to christen a new manufacturing plant near Florence.
“This is the biggest industrial investment in the history of Gucci,” said Marco Bizzarri, president and chief executive officer of the Kering-owned brand. To wit, the ceremony drew François-Henri Pinault, chairman and ceo of the French group.
The Gucci factory joins others opened by Hermès International over the last few years and Louis Vuitton revealing plans to open a new workshop in Beaulieu-sur-Layon in early 2019, following one expected to open in July and another in 2020.
The opening of the new industrial hub capped an extraordinary two years for Gucci, which has seen revenues grow from 3.5 billion euros at the end of 2014 to 6.2 billion euros at the end of 2017. Continue reading
SAUDI ARABIA’S FASHION WEEK
Although Roberto Cavalli cancelled at the last minute the first day of Saudi Arabia’s inaugural fashion week, the show went on anyway. Eager to take part in the historic moment, big European names like Roberto Cavalli and Jean Paul Gaultier had agreed to headline Arab Fashion Week in Riyadh.
The fees for their presence has not been communicated.Staged at the city’s Ritz Carlton Hotel, and served as a strong, symbolic step towards a more liberal economy and female empowerment. But Riyadh is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s larger plan dubbed Vision 2030 which is meant to diversify the oil-dependent nation’s economy and nurture new industries.
Often referred to as MBS, bin Salman is known as Saudi’s “millennial prince.” The 32-year-old just completed a world tour to conjure new business for the Saudi Arabian economy. His meetings with Silicon Valley companies like Facebook and Apple, for example, made headlines worldwide.
Inside, the exclusive crowd of Saudi female VIPs and aristocrats were feeling relaxed, socializing without their abayas or niqabs, snacking on pastries and sipping Arab coffee served by veiled, local women carrying elaborate silver carafes. Continue reading
CARTIER SANTOS
This film is a tribute to Alberto Santos-Dumont and it celebrates his intrepid, thrill-seeking spirit and unstoppable quest to go further. A friend of Louis Cartier, this pioneering aviator was devoted to the skies. His life was dominated by his quest to push the boundaries of the possible and make his dream come true. This story of irrepressible ambition is told in 60 seconds that capture the thrill of adventure and his almost mystical pursuit of take-off.
To capture in images this fearless and free-spirited quest to escape the constraints of reality and attain the unknown, Cartier approached Seb Edwards, a British director who trained in New York and is known for his award-winning campaigns. Continue reading
ALAÏA IN BOND STREET
In what’s shaping up to be a major year for Maison Alaïa in the U.K., the house founded by the late Azzedine Alaïa will open a flagship on Tuesday.
This is the Paris-based Alaïa’s first flagship outside the French capital, where it currently operates two stores and sells at shops including Galeries Lafayette, 10 Corso Como and Harrods.
Located at 139 New Bond Street near to IWC and Fendi the 6,000-square-foot London flagship spans three floors. The space was the former home of the vintage jeweler S.J. Phillips. Continue reading
H&M AND MOSCHINO
H&M’s annual November designer collaboration is always big news and it’s and possibly even more of a headline-grabber this year as the company chose a combination of Coachella, Gigi Hadid and Instagram to unveil the name of the designer brand with which it will be working.
Just after midnight. Designer Jeremy Scott, who presided over the star-studded party, his 12th turn at the festival, should have no trouble translating his Moschino designs into less expensive and just as cheerful versions for the Swedish fast-fashion retailer.
Every year, fashion lovers and bargain hunters alike anticipate news of H&M’s latest designer collaboration the way sports fans wait for draft day. It’s hard at this point, after 16 years of the high-low mash-ups the first of which was with Karl Lagerfeld in 2004 to say which collaboration has been the most spot-on. The Moschino effort may just be one of the more popular, judging from the way fans have snapped up Scott’s designs since he took over as creative director in 2013. Continue reading
VUITTON DOUBLE C ++
Following its failed bid for Hermès, could LVMH, Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, be angling to snap up another independent competitor, Chanel?
Not so, said Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive officer of LVMH, at the company’s annual general meeting in Paris on Thursday.
Asked to comment on rumors that a senior LVMH executive had met with members of the Wertheimer family, which controls Chanel, to explore an acquisition, Arnault said: “Chanel is an outstanding business, but we are not in contact with them. I don’t know who told you that, but in my opinion, it’s fake news.
Privately, Chanel is the object of regular speculations, although Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, the reclusive billionaire brothers who own the maker of 2.55 handbags and tweed jackets, have given no public indication that the brand might be for sale.” But Mr. Arnault had already said that for Hermes and Vuitton before, so who knows?
DOLCE & GABBANA NEW YORK
SUPREME LVMH LUGGAGE
Cult NYC streetwear brand Supreme’s latest collaboration was announced last Tuesday with iconic German luggage manufacturer Rimowa. They have developed a four-piece suitcase collection.
Since Alexandre Arnault took over Rimowa (after LVMH acquired an 80% stake in the premium luggage company), the young CEO has been rolling out a new, more millennial-focused image for the brand, employing strategies such as pop-up retail experiences and savvy collaborations to give Rimowa further appeal in the fashion and lifestyle spaces.
Indeed, the Supreme collaboration doesn’t look to be the last streetwear partnership for Rimowa this year: Arnault teased an upcoming collaboration with Off-White with an Instagram post in September 2017, before returning to the subject with another photo posted when Virgil Abloh was named at the head of Louis Vuitton’s menswear collections, this time suggesting that the collaboration was slated for launch in Summer 2018. Continue reading
KERING FOCUSES ON LUXURY
Does Kering need some money to pay Hedi Slimane’s allemony after the divorce?
In 2011, Kering acquired Volcom, an action sports brand. One of the less visible brands at Kering has begun taking steps to sell action sports brand Volcom to focus fully on the group’s luxury labels.
“In accordance with Kering’s strategy to fully dedicate itself to the development of its luxury houses, the group is also ready to spin off German sportswear brand Puma.
As reported, Kering and Stella McCartney on March 28 said have agreed to end their 17-year partnership and that the designer would purchase Kering’s 50 percent stake in her namesake brand. Continue reading
YOON AHN DIOR JEWELLERY
Kim Jones will be in good company in his new role as artistic director of Dior Homme, which has appointed Yoon Ahn, a member of the designer’s inner circle, as the brand’s jewelry designer.
Known as Yoon, Yoon Ahn has carved a rare niche for herself as an entirely self-taught designer. On the day we met, she had just learned that she’d been named an LVMH Prize finalist. “It’s crazy—we just made pants for the first time!” she says, laughing. “For us to be even be nominated is like, what?”
Tokyo-based Ahn and her partner Verbal, a celebrated rapper in Japan and former member of M-flo, the Nineties hip-hop group, are super-connected in the fashion industry. The power couple, which has its own streetwear brand Ambush that figured among the finalists of the 2017 LVMH Prize, has appeared in campaigns for Louis Vuitton and Dr. Martens. They’ve also collaborated with brands including Colette, Sacai and A Bathing Ape. Continue reading
INXX WINTER 2018 SHANGHAI
LES GALERIES LA CORNET
Tapping into the expertise of smaller independent stores, Galeries Lafayette has named Clara Cornet creative and merchandising director of its future flagship on Avenue des Champs-Elysées, effective since Feb. 1.
Cornet, who has been working in the United States for five years with edgy retailers Opening Ceremony and The Webster, reports to Nadia Dhouib, who will manage the new Paris department store.
“As part of her missions, Clara Cornet will be responsible for the unique and exclusive selection of brands and products, as well as the visual identity and content for this flagship store which will open in 2019 to establish it as the international benchmark for a ‘new generation’ commerce, by reinventing the physical store’s codes to surprise and inspire its clients at every visit,”. Continue reading
LEONARD FALL 2018-19 PARIS
Leonard Fall-Winter 2018-19 Paris Fashion Week. The Rite of Winter. As winter came, so did an unstoppable desire to flee the city and the drudgery of everyday life to rediscover nature. Destination: Iceland.
