Category Archives: BREAKING NEWS
VALLAT LEAVES RICHEMONT
Richemont’s fashion and accessories chief Eric Vallat is stepping down a little over a year after taking up the job. The parent of Cartier, IWC and Van Cleef & Arpels said Tuesday that Vallat will step down from his current position and from the senior executive committee for personal reasons. This change is effective Oct. 26, 2019.
Richemont’s chairman Johann Rupert said: “Eric has been offered a wonderful opportunity outside the group and I fully understand his decision to pursue it. The fashion and accessories businesses will report to Jérôme Lambert, group chief executive officer. Brands in Richemont’s fashion and accessories stable include Chloé, Dunhill and Maison Alaïa. Continue reading
DEVEAUX NEW YORK 2020
It’s the way most people shop, looking to update their look rather than doing a complete stylistic about-face.
Deveaux design by Tommy Ton isn’t about a wholesale discarding of pieces from season’s past, rather it’s about offering new ideas with garments people can slot into their existing wardrobe for an update on their personal style. create
His silhouettes in shades of camel, olive and creams. Standouts were a monochromatic sandy-colored ribbed tunic over a flared pant, easy jumpsuits and a mannishly proportioned suit in olive with a waist belt that produced a structured hourglass effect.
A black satin shirtdress felt seasonless and good for day or night, much like many of the looks in his collection.
He once again cast a wide net with his models, showing the collection on a mix of ethnicities, ages and gender expressions, all of which added to a joyful and exuberant update on his idea of uniform dressing.
LAURENCE AND CHICO 2020 NY
FASHION WEEK EXTINCTION
Trump’s tariff war, the U.K. in Brexit chaos and Italy trying to cobble together a new government. There is a lot of news to keep up with this season, including Tom Ford’s imprint on the CFDA and the impact of luxury brands’ new diversity councils.
What’s likely to be the most pressing topic, though, is sustainability, especially with climate change reminder Hurricane Dorian creeping up the East Coast; 16-year-old Swedish environmental hero Greta Thunberg building momentum for the Sept. 20 global climate strike with her rallying cry, “The house is on fire, let’s act like it,” and Extinction Rebellion turning the heat up on the British Fashion Council. At least, there are 150 brands that can say they have signed French President Emmanuel Macron’s Fashion Pact.
But with the growing public outrage, will it be enough? Can fashion week save itself from extinction?
ONE MILLION BABY’S LIPSTICKS
Gucci sold more than 1 million lipsticks in the first month since the Alessandro Michele-designed line dropped in May.
At $38 each, that puts the Gucci brand at more than $38 million in retail sales for the lipstick launch. That could potentially put Gucci makeup ahead of industry projections, which estimated the collection would do more than $100 million in retail sales in the first year. Coty has held the Gucci beauty license since it bought it from P&G in 2016, and executives unveiled the Gucci numbers at the Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference on Tuesday. Continue reading
CARTIER ROYAL WATCHES
Kate and Meghan own Cartier watches worth thousands of pounds – which is most expensive? Meghan Markle, 38, and Kate Middleton, 37, are both married into the Royal Family, and so have access to many luxuries in life. They both love Cartier watches, but whose is worth the most?
Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton are both style icons in their own rights. Since marrying into the Royal Family they have inspired items to sell out from a number of brands.
Their wedding dresses have inspired many, and Meghan guest edited the famous September Issue of British Vogue this year. Both women have penchant from watches from the same French brand, Cartier. Cartier is a jeweller founded as far back as 1847. It is now synonymous with expensive items, especially women’s watches. The brand also has a history long linked with the British Royal Family. Continue reading
BURBERRY COMMERCE ONLINE
Burberry is looking to augment its customer relationships beyond the physical store appointments by introducing a new Chat function within its mobile app.
The service, dubbed R Message, is by invitation-only and will be made available to the brand’s top-tier customers, allowing store associates to chat directly to their clients to book in-store private appointments, field product requests, as well as make sales on the platform with a seamless payment system created in partnership with Apple Pay. Continue reading
STEVE HIETT PASSED AWAY
Steve Hiett, best known as a photographer with a taste for deep color and eclecticism, died at age 79.
He had been hospitalized recently due to cancer, which he’d been fighting for several years, according to his agency D+V. Hiett died in Montpellier, France, having been based in Paris for many years, although born in England in 1940. He was with his wife Louise Despointes, whom he met as a model in the late Sixties and Seventies and went on to collaborate with often.
Although unable to work professionally in recent months due to his illness, Hiett was snapping shots for Instagram earlier this year. What appears to be his last public shot is a dark but artful picture of his hospital room at night, from his perspective in bed. Continue reading
FASHION PRICE POST MORTEM
His legendary fashion career was ignited by an award. In his twilight years, he acted as a judge for the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers, leaving most contenders starstruck. And now he will be immortalized with a fashion prize in his name. LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton confirmed exclusively that its Special Prize will henceforth be named the Karl Lagerfeld Prize.
The first one is to be presented during the sixth edition of the contest on Sept. 4 at the Fondation Louis Vuitton.
“Karl Lagerfeld, creative director of the house of Fendi since 1965, was involved in the prize since its launch,” said Delphine Arnault, the force behind the high-profile design competition. “He was fully committed to it since Day One, transporting us with his enthusiasm and his energy, sharing with everyone, whether other jury members or candidates, his culture and his passion for fashion. We shall always cherish those precious moments.” Continue reading
LVMH DONATE 10 MILLION EUROS FOR AMAZON
LVMH, Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy has pledged to donate 10 million euros to help fight the Amazon wildfires. Good deal for Jeff bezos !!!
The sum will support the financial initiative revealed by French President Emmanuel Macron during a press conference at the G7 summit in Biarritz on Monday. Continue reading
THE 10 BEST TAKI FRAGRANCES
LAURENCE LI AND CHICO WANG
New York Fashion Week continues to attract young designers who stand out as the Canadian duo “Laurence and Chico”, a specialist in extravagant outfits worn by dizzying silhouettes.
The couple formed by Laurence Li and Chico Wang, based in Vancouver but both of Chinese origin, remain faithful to a favorite accessory: excessive wigs giving an unexpected verticality to their models, who mock male/female barriers. Girl or boy, “it doesn’t matter” for the outfits designed by the duo, said Laurence Li.
last September on the theme of crazy sports, the two men chose the place of their last trip, Thailand, as their main inspiration for their autumn-winter 2019 collection presented on Thursday.
Fabrics printed with flowers or exotic fruits, skirt and suit sets with geometric shapes, diamonds or checks highlighted with silver pearls, long enveloping coats made of tulle ruffles… The range of colours was wide, including fluorescent yellow and pink, appreciated by Cardi B or Lady Gaga, the brand’s two most famous customers launched in 2015. (LIVE IN 11 DAYS ON CANAL-LUXE).
NYFW 2020
Two weeks after the Council of Fashion Designers of America released its preliminary official fashion week schedule, IMG has released its roster.
Prabal Gurung will celebrate his 10th anniversary with a Sept. 8 evening show at Spring Studios. In recent days, the designer explained why he was no longer considering showing at The Vessel at Hudson Yards. His move stemmed from The Related Companies’ Stephen Ross’ decision to host a fundraiser for President Donald Trump in the Hamptons last weekend. Continue reading
MODEL LIU WEN APOLOGIES
Just days after Yang Mi severed ties with Versace over slights to Chinese sovereignty, Coach and Givenchy too have run afoul of the same sensitive issue, putting high-profile celebrity partnerships with Liu Wen, Jackson Yee and Guan Xiaotong in jeopardy.
The two brands issued apologies on their official Weibo accounts on Monday just after midday for giving off the impression that Hong Kong and Taiwan are separate countries.
The outcry surrounding the two brands is nearly an exact repeat of the Versace scenario. T-shirt designs from the two brands list a series of cities followed by the country it is located in, for example, Beijing, China; But Hong Kong does not follow the same format and is listed stand-alone in the Coach design and for Givenchy as ;Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Meanwhile for both brands, Taipei is listed as Taipei, Taiwan. Continue reading
SHISEIDO AND TORY BURCH
Under the terms of the agreement, Shiseido will have the worldwide license to develop, market and distribute Tory Burch beauty products effective Jan. 1. The license has been held by the Estée Lauder Cos. since 2011.
Right now, Tory Burch’s beauty assortment consists of several fragrances, but under Shiseido, the plan is for Burch’s beauty purview to expand.Beyond growing the fragrance business, Shiseido plans to explore the possibility of launching other beauty categories.
Tory’s very much into beauty and digital, and there’s a lot of things we can do in terms of digital innovation and frankly, beyond fragrances. So yes, we can grow fragrances, but the brand certainly has potential to grow beyond fragrances, Rey said.
The Tory Burch beauty business will be run out of New York, managed by Shiseido Americas. Shiseido picked up the Dolce & Gabbana fragrance license in 2016, and also has licenses for Elie Saab, Narciso Rodriguez, Issey Miyake, Serge Lutens and Zadig & Voltaire fragrances.
MEMMORY OF AN ODOR !
The luxury Italian house has introduced ‘Mémoire d’une Odeur’ to its Gucci Beauty portfolio, it announced via Instagram this week. The perfume, which the label categorizes as a “universal fragrance,” was inspired by “the power of memories which can be relived in the present.” It is creative director Alessandro Michele’s latest addition to a growing fragrance portfolio for the brand. Continue reading
KARL MET AT THE MUSEUM
Although no great fan of fashion exhibitions, especially retrospectives, the late Karl Lagerfeld is perhaps the designer most deserving of one.
The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York certainly thinks so, and head curator Andrew Bolton is to conceive the showcase for 2022.
The Met has yet to divulge the theme of its 2020 fashion exhibition, saying only that the Costume Institute’s permanent collection would be the primary source of looks as the institution marks its 150th anniversary Continue reading
REPETTO AN ANGEL IN L.A
Just as designers such as Tom Ford, Hedi Slimane, Nicholas Kirkwood and Jeremy Scott succumbed to the city’s creative vibe, Repetto America chief executive officer Gilles Assor believes L.A. will be an inspiring backdrop for the brand’s activities.
Repetto Studio in New York’s Chelsea closed its doors on Wednesday. The space, which opened in the spring of 2018, will relocate to the West Coast before the end of the year.
During its tenure in Manhattan, the studio was a private showroom and community space for members where dancers and creatives could take dance classes, as well as a venue for brand events such as exhibitions and collaborations. Repetto’s store on West Broadway in Manhattan’s SoHo will remain open. We’re generating business with that store," Assor said. It’s our first flagship in the U.S. Continue reading
BRAZILIAN SWIMWEAR
In 1974, though, backsides were under attack via California legislation outlawing nude sunbathing. A radical fashion designer and Austrian expat in Hollywood, Rudi Gernreich, had a solution: The thong swimsuit. “The Thong is my response to a contradiction in our society: nudity is here; lots of people want to swim and sun themselves in the nude; also lots of people are still offended by public nudity,” he wrote in a ’70s manifesto, citing Brazilian swimwear, Sumo wrestlers’ mawashis, and thong sandals as references for his then-trademarked design. At the time, Gernreich made his unisex thong swimsuit in black and brown fast-drying nylon, revolutionizing the look of SoCal beaches and the limits of acceptable taste. Continue reading
SUSSEX FOR CHANGE
The Duchess of Sussex has taken control of September’s British Vogue, dedicating it to 15 “fearless women,” including Jane Fonda, Jacinda Ardern, Greta Thunberg and Salma Hayek Pinault, in an issue dubbed “Forces for Change.” Continue reading
STELLA MC VUITTON
LVMH said Monday that Stella McCartney would continue as creative director and ambassador of her brand, while holding majority ownership. Stella McCartney, who confirmed her split from Kering last year, switching sides in a new partnership with France’s other luxury giant, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
McCartney’s is the second female-run fashion house that LVMH has taken on board this year, after the owner of Louis Vuitton and Dior set up a luxury maison with singer and entrepreneur Rihanna under the Fenty label.
In addition, she will hold a specific position and role on sustainability, as special adviser to LVMH chairman and chief executive officer Bernard Arnault and the executive committee members. Continue reading
GERMAN FLAVORS BY GIVAUDAN
Givaudan, the flavors and fragrance creator, has purchased the German firm Drom in a bid to expand its reach in the global fragrance market.
Founded in 1911, Drom is a perfume house that makes fragrances for consumer products and fine fragrance customers. Headquartered near Munich, Germany it has manufacturing facilities in China, Germany, the U.S. and Brazil. The company employs 489 people around the world.
Gilles Andrier, chief executive of Givaudan, said the acquisition “is fully in line with our strategic ambitions. Like Givaudan, Drom has a long heritage in fragrance creation and their capabilities and strong culture will fit perfectly with ours. We look forward to welcoming Drom’s employees to Givaudan and are confident that our combined capabilities will deliver a compelling, valuable proposition for our customers across segments and in key markets.”
The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Givaudan said Drom’s business would have represented approximately 110 million euros of incremental sales to its own 2018 results on a pro forma basis. Givaudan plans to fund the transaction from existing resources.
The planned acquisition remains subject to formal approvals from the relevant regulatory authorities and the transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2019.”
NY FASHION WEEK
Just when you were settling into the ides of summer, the Council of Fashion Designers of America has a reality check for the industry the breakdown for the official New York Fashion Week.
Domestic and global retailers, media and other stakeholders piped up to make it clear that previous seasons were too long and too crowded. The crowds spoke and the CFDA listened. So NYFW spring-summer 2020 will run from Sept. 6 to Sept. 11, starting with Telfar on the opening Friday night.
Steven Kolb, president and chief executive officer of the CFDA, said, “I am excited for the strong September lineup which will continue to showcase and celebrate the creativity and diversity of American fashion.” Continue reading