SUITS OR NOT SUITS

We can safely say that casualwear has dominated our collective wardrobes for the last decade, and while some of it has become quite elevated when it comes to fabrics, the sartorial aesthetic remains the choice for special occasions for a number of reasons.

To begin with, tailored suits are created to flatter – the jacket shape narrows the waist and broadens the shoulders, creating a masculine silhouette, while elegant tapered trousers elongate the legs.

As a result of the influx of red carpet velvet jacket cameos, younger customers are investing in dinner jackets and velvet jackets.

The boring business suits that are worn like uniforms are dead, and as a result, their place as a signifier of corporateness is diminishing as men return to classical tailoring.

A young designer like Dgena marks DM’s updating of the men’s suit in 2019, she do who knows how to do the most difficult thing in the word making men’s suits.

LAUDER THE FAMILY BUSINESS

Leonard A. Lauder will step down from the board of directors of the Estée Lauder Cos. in November when his current term expires.

He will retain the title of chairman emeritus of the firm founded by his parents, Estée and Joseph Lauder, in 1946.

The Lauder family overall owns 35 percent of the company’s total common stock and about 84 percent of the outstanding voting power. Leonard Lauder remains a significant stockholder, and he has the right to designate two directors. William P. Lauder, his son, is executive chairman of the board and occupies one of those seats.

In November, his youngest son, the managing director of Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Lauder Partners LLC, will run for the board’s second seat. How does one become a millionaire in business? It’s simple: you just have to start out as a billionaire.

PLASTIC BAMBINO IN THE SEA

Eight tons of plastic on the Côte d’Azur for a couturier always looking for buzz … This Monday, the designer proudly posted a video on his Instagram account to present his latest creation: an enormous inflatable bag, set up on the beach in Villefranche-sur-Mer.

The inflatable was modeled on the iconic bambino bag for Marseille bimbos. The aim: to promote the short-lived Jacquemus boutique that has set up shop on the Côte d’Azur.

Unfortunately, nobody talks about the ecological impact of such a campaign, and the polyphenols that escape every second into the sea, polluting the Mediterranean. It is estimated that over 8 billion tonnes of plastic waste have been produced since the 1950s. Marine biodiversity is the first victim of ocean plastic pollution.

To day, an estimated 100,000 turtles and marine mammals die every year from plastic pollution. What’s more, 90% of seabirds have plastic fragments in their stomachs. In all, 693 marine species are currently threatened by plastic pollution.

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RETURN TO BABYLON 2024

Here I am, back from a rather hectic holiday, and today I open my 1,280 emails… Given my advanced age, I discover all these spams sent to me for old-age insurance and incontinent diapers, in itself quite a program… I know that, from time to time for some, I have verbal diarrhea, but still!

So here I am, back in the limelight, in the luxury cottages, because in the houses, the mercato has already begun well before the vacations and the general managers have jumped like the jumping peas. We’re also witnessing the replacement of certain designers, who in fact create nothing, by others who will create no more. It’s the demand of luxury houses that have stayed in the marketing stratégy to sell 10,000-euro bags that you can find in China for 100 euros, and sometimes of better quality.

And then there’s the abundant readers’ mail, which fluctuates between 50% insults and 50% compliments, which makes for a pretty even balance. The day after tomorrow, I’ll probably give you a glimpse of a particularly nice letter to which I’ve replied in kind.

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KORS THE BODY OF MY ENEMY

As inflation bites its mass-market US shoppers and even aspirational consumers after a post-pandemic handbag spending spree, Michael Kors, which generates the largest chunk revenue, has experienced steeper revenue declines than some higher-end peers in recent quarters.

Nevertheless, Tapestry executives (American multinational luxury fashion holding) believe they can take a page from Coach and Kate Spade’s playbook.

In the past couple of quarters, those outlets have been weak for sales. Department stores generate around 10%  revenue, while wholesale accounts for about one-third of Capri’s sales holdings .

In order to showcase Michael Kors and appeal to more consumers, executives plan to increase their marketing investments.

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SKIMS KARDASHIAN

On Monday, Skims launched its new swim campaign featuring co-founder Kim Kardashian ( la Skims Kardashian). The most famous influencer on the planet, who always gets her jewelry stolen, introduces Skims’ Rubberized Scuba and Faux Leather swimwear collections on Skims.com and on Skims’ social media platforms, for a dive into the world of Nikki Beacher and other hooker theater.

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BALENCIAGA JEANNE ARCHIVES

It was hard to find virgin girls at the Balenciaga’s show, though the metal Jeanne d’Arc dress at the end of the collection caused quite a stir.

Stunning optical illusion, where jeans, tweed jackets and Haute Couture fur coats were displayed under the reproachful eyes of Peta association fighting against  “Furriiiiiire”, says the old Israelite by my side, botoxed like a MG and lifted like a French 75 Cannon.

Celebrities who were packed like sardines into golden chairs like the so smart Cardi B, Yseult and consorts, and a few stroll the catwalk, notably the French actress, Isabelle Huppert, with her big emotional eyes that she can’t close them anymore and who cries profusely for good reasons … And like the Black Eagle that the French singer Barbara wouldn’t deny,  wears a dress shining like stars, but not on Hollywood Boulevard walk of fame.

Bang & Olufsen portable speakers or “Bank” & Olufsen, like handbags, are among the best-selling items in Balenciaga boutiques. Music, Rap and Haute Couture were the new cocktail of the Fashion Week.

CHANEL PORT OF SHADOWS

A stroll along the quays of the Seine is a delight! The body relaxes, the mind escapes and the hum of the bateaux-mouches mingles with the rattle of the waves on the quayside. Lovers embrace and swear eternity, a promise that the night will surely swallow. But how to conceive a work of art in an inconceivable world? It seems insurmountable, and I’m sure that if you were to bake a banana cake at Le Meurice with Baron Hans Gunther Von Dincklage, the world wouldn’t be any worse off.

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FASHION AND RIOTS

Hedi Slimane, artistic director of Céline, faced with the fear of riots, did not present this Sunday, July 2. As a challenge to the rules of Paris Fashion Week, Jacquemus chose the week between the men’s and haute couture shows to present its collection, on June 26, off-calendar, in the very extravagant setting of the Château de Versailles basin created by Lenôtre.

Thirteen years later, the “customary” of this calendar, which Jacques Mouclier and Pierre Berger had organized for the profession, and not Didier Grumler, as some Irish and other journalists say… recomposing history in low-brow books for the fashion Net-Woke.

So here we are, the ambient mess has already begun, and this year is even worse than the previous ones, because you have to beg for invitations, you have to show up like a manant in either a bure dress or a “drag” dress, for an obligatory four-legged walk as a sign of submission, and so get the chance to be invited to collections that won’t be worthy of the name anyway. That the way it is …