Stuck in history. Tony Ward presented his spring-summer collection 2017 during Paris fashion week at the Orotoire du Louvre offering to his guest a mystic and romantic experience. The spirit of this collection was influenced by a story dating the Byzantine period. Ward tried to evoke a moment in history where clothes were very rich in colors and heavy decorated, using quality fabrics with vivid colors embroided with precious stones, crystals and floral laces.

Even thought this collection has a concept and it was well realized we must say that it is a little bit out dated. It is nice to reconnect with tradition and history. However, Ward could have gone further in his design to make it more contemporary by pushing the concept in a more recent vision. It is true that Ward is known for his timeless design which provides a classical image and it is clear that there is a quality of embroideries and fabrics but it is hard to imagine that a young lady or even a sophisticated and a modern woman of today would identify herself with this style. Continue reading →

Less is more? Stephane Rolland presented his collection spring-summer 2017 at Xinhua Gallery in the 8th district during Paris Fashion week.

Rolland provided to his guests the experience of a very minimalistic architectural space with the dresses exposed like sculptures in a podium, an idea which fits well with the concept of his design.

Stephane Rolland is well known for the pure style, minimalist approach and sculptural organic shapes in his couture. We must say this collection, even though it is not very different from what we have seen before from Rolland, it is still very pleasant to watch in terms of esthetics. This time some of the dresses gave an image of a princess-like dress. It gives a vision of a modern eastern princess coming out from a fairytale. Continue reading →

Julien Fournié is inspired by kinetic art and the works of its masters in the 1960s. The new “permanent member” of the restricted circle of Haute Couture is pacing his collection with a dialogue between 2D and 3D with semi-geometrical, semi-physiological shapes. He is using them both in garment architecture and in graphic embellishments. Continue reading →

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Italy’s government continues to support the country’s fashion industry and has pledged to channel 36 million euros, or $38.1 million, in the system this year through the Italian Trade Commission.

Opening Pitti Uomo in Florence on Tuesday, Carlo Calenda, Italy’s minister for economic development, announced the investment,

Emphasizing the importance of Calenda inaugurating the international men’s wear trade show, Marzotto said the minister showed confidence in the event and underscored the efforts organizers are making to attract buyers from new countries. Continue reading →

Schiaparelli has officially been awarded Haute Couture status by the French Ministry of Industry and the French Couture Federation, confirmed the brand yesterday. Despite showing its collections during Couture Fashion Week each season since its high-profile has been relaunched in 2014, the fashion house has only enjoyed guest status until now.

A great couturier and visionary artist, Elsa Schiaparelli brought an artist’s sensibility to 20th century fashion. She was the first to assign a theme to her Haute Couture collections starting in the early 1930s.

As a child, Elsa felt a deep affection and immense admiration for her uncle, Giovanni Schiaparelli, the renowned astronomer. In her autobiography, Shocking Life, Elsa Schiaparelli recounts that her uncle told her the beauty marks on her cheek were arranged like stars forming the Ursa Major constellation. Continue reading →

Last May,the leather goods brand, WE ARE NOT, opened its first outlet 7 rue Malher in the 4th district of Paris. It was only six months ago, and six months later the companies is in liquidation.

WE ARE NOT was created with the objective of revolutionizing high-end leather goods by offering high-quality, sustainable and fashionable pieces at less than 300 euros.

To create beautiful, practical and sustainable  pieces, WE ARE NOT went to seek the know-where where it is, in a family workshop in Tunisia. Nappa calfskin was selected for its finesse of grain, its sophistication and its silky touch. Diving leathers, that is to say that the tint is produced by immersion, which ensures an excellent resistance of the coloring. Only precious skins can benefit from this technique. Continue reading →

In 1987 a fashion house in Rome asked him to design a prêt-à-porter collection. Their invitation was due to his dual baggage of skills: cultural Marras has always involved himself in every form of artistic/creative expression  and technical. Continue reading →

Buccellati has a new owner. The historic Milanese jewellery label, in which Italian private equity firm Clessidra acquired a 67% stake in 2013, has been sold to Chinese conglomerate Gangtai, specialized in the consumer, culture, finance and health industries.

The Italian private equity firm and the Buccellati family, which held 33% of the capital, have announced in a press release that they have sold an 85% stake in the label to the Chinese group, while still holding the remaining 15%. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed.

Clessidra has been trying to sell Buccellati for several months, and Swiss luxury group Richemont was tipped as a potential buyer. Continue reading →

Callot Soeurs (French pronunciation: (kalo) was one of the leading fashion design houses of the 1910s and 1920s.

Callot Soeurs opened in 1895 at 24, rue Taitbout in Paris, France. It was operated by the four Callot sisters: Marie Callot Gerber, Marthe Callot Bertrand, Regina Callot Tennyson-Chantrell and Joséphine Callot Crimont. The sisters were born in France to a Russian family.

The eldest sister, Marie, was trained in dressmaking, having earlier worked for Raudnitz and Co., prominent Parisian dressmakers, and they were all taught by their mother, a lacemaker. The sisters began working with antique laces and ribbons to enhance blouses and lingerie. Their success led to an expansion into other clothing.

In 1900, they were featured at the Paris World’s Fair. That year, they had a staff of two hundred and did two million francs in sales. By 1901, they had tripled their workforce and doubled their sales. Continue reading →

The “Lady of Fashion.” Franca Sozzani died in Milan at the age 66 years old. She dedicated her life to support fashion and creativity in all its forms.

She was Vogue Italia editor in chief, born in Mantua, Italy, in 1950. Sozzani headed the Italian magazine for 28 years, shaping it into one of the most influential fashion titles in the world. Sozzani’s career unfurled at Condé Nast, as she started at Vogue Bambini in the Seventies, followed by women’s magazine Lei and men’s magazine Per Lui in the Eighties.

He pointed to her sense of humor and healthy distance from the industry. “She had a very transversal idea of life and would find the irony in vanity.” Continue reading →

Next Januray, six new fashion designers have been invited to the next edition of the Paris Haute Couture Week. Paris Fashion Week will host no less than six new names: Antonio Grimaldi, Galia Lahav, Georges Hobeika, Hyun Mi Nielsen, Maison Rabih Kayrouz and Xuan.

The Chambre Syndicale has also re-invited the members hosted in previous sessions: Aouadi, Francesco Scognamiglio, Guo Pei, Iris Van Herpen, Julien Fournié, Ralph & Russo, Schiaparelli, Ulyana Sergeenko, Vetements, Yuima Nakazato and Zuhair Murad.

The new foreign labels will benefit from a great deal of media exposure, offering a big boost to these  couturiers comprising both well-established names and emerging designers.

The most important is to find young talents and to support them. If you really want to boost your presentation, you have just to invite the group Canal-Luxe which represents today 21 millions of readers.

The weekend wasn’t quite the knockout retailers hoped for because of frigid weather, snow and ice storms in the country. The key question was whether the last-minute rush over the weekend will be enough for stores to hit their holiday targets of 3 to 4 percent growth  and at what price to margins those sales will come.

Saturday was actually pretty busy. It was almost the equivalent to last year’s final Saturday. Although we were slightly behind in traffic, the malls had been lagging, mostly because the holiday selling season has been spread out, beginning before Black Friday and extending out due to the extra shopping weekend this year.

Typically for Black Friday, 50 percent off is almost always planned promotions. This past weekend, maybe a few were planned promotions. I would venture that because promotions were deeper, the management teams did not think this was a successful holiday. Continue reading →