ON AURA TOUT VU

Corseted bustier in silk satin and cristals, enhanced with 100 Syringes filled with crystal vaccine, which ends in a needle whose tip is adorned with a drop-shaped pearl.
The vaccine dress … by @onauratoutvu

WORLD DOES NOT UNDERSTAND SORBIER

Franck Sorbier couldn’t start his film without paying tribute to Robert Hossein, who was a faithful friend, who saw them humming like the wings of a hummingbird, only to end up making no noise at all, because their magic often reminds us of the calm chaos of these people fighting to keep their balance, like tightrope walkers all in feathers of lightness in the deafening silence of the Paris Fashion Week that promotes young men of 23 years old with just presumed talent.

Their show sounds like caresses and glances, but  all night long I negotiate with myself and with my conscience to know to whom I will wear my couture calame on the white sheet of paper. So here it is, back to the days of the fashion carnival, this magnificent place where each one wants to run faster than the other in order to attract attention. Golden threads to warp my day; a scrap of guipure shining with colors, to the dream where I can remain a child and still be free a little, childhood found in abundance by the Master’s dresses. Continue reading

ROLLAND L’ANDALOUSE

When Stéphane Rolland caresses the organza, it becomes as precious as a jewel, and it is then that the gold metallized silk embroidered with crystals and pearls appears. I see the dresses that a kiss accompanies with the stream of dreams that lights up the eyes, and that makes the passage from sadness to enchantment. Continue reading

FARHAD RE GORGEOUS

Farhad Re was born in Rome and grew up between Italy and France, where he spent most of his time invested in his work as a stylist loved by stars, princesses, and jet-setting ladies such as Catherine Deneuve, Ivana Trump, Joan Collins, Brigitte Nielsen, Ursula Andress, and Princess Soraya – heads of sumptuous and marked elegance. Known for his high fashion garments and accessories that despite their modernity reflect a taste for extreme luxury.

It is difficult to classify his singular creations mixing, instinctively, baroque, punk and romanticism. Organza, satins, furs, embroidery and laces are the refined ingredients of his elaborated combinations. Without any dose of nostalgia, he knows how to combine heritage and modernity, technique and creation.

Even if his house is young, it is part of a long tradition that he respects, while not hesitating to move towards new ideas. In 2018, Farhad Re moved his Atelier and showroom from Rome to Paris… Continue reading

INTERPARFUMS POST COVID

The company, which makes fragrances for Jimmy Choo, Coach, Montblanc and other brands, saw a 3.5 percent lift in sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31, to $184 million.

European sales were up 8.1 percent year-over-year, to $129.6 million for the quarter, while U.S. sales were down 8.8 percent, to $44.4 million in the quarter.

Inter Parfums chairman and chief executive officer Jean Madar said sales exceeded expectations and that several brands did particularly well. Montblanc posted a 9.8 percent increase, Jimmy Choo posted a 13.4 percent rise, Coach saw an 18 percent increase and Anna Sui grew sales by 62.3 percent. Continue reading

DIOR HOMME PARIS 2021

To live happily, look for elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion. To be fulfilled, look for inner wealth rather than pecuniary wealth; speak kindly, act frankly, in other words, let the spiritual grow through the common. For Jones, elegance is a perfume that permeates men’s heads. It is a conjugation of the body, which is measured by the way Kim wears his head, gait and military dress to enhance the whole in a martial allure.

Pleasant collection, and to stoke the fire, a collaboration with Peter Doig, this painter, who lives and works between Trinidad and London, known for his disturbing landscapes that mix reality, memories, images and references to art history that comes eco to the presentation. The militarization of dress was a central theme of his first graduation collection from Central Martins College in London in 2002. Continue reading

YOHJI YAMAMOTO ENKA

The space is black. The wave is dark like the dark chasm of the mask. There is no star in Yohji’s azure, the fascination of the night is carried away by the January winds, hoping for a glow in the twilight. This is the chromatic alchemist who is closer every day to Soulage and who plays with metal, for the heart is never so well balanced as on the cutting edge of steel.

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BARNEY SAKS IN GREENWICH

On Jan. 25, a 14,000-square-foot, two-level freestanding Barneys at Saks store will open in Greenwich, Conn., on the site formerly occupied by the Saks Fifth Avenue The Collective contemporary women's fashion store. Saks.com launched a Barneys shop in late December 2019.

We’re bringing Barneys to Saks in a way that’s relevant to today’s luxury consumer and focused on discovery, the unexpected, and fun.

Margolies characterized the Barneys project as part of the strategy of the past five years to elevate Saks, in her words, into the fashion authority delivering the best choices and the best edit, any way customers want to get it, and to further the four-year, $250 million-plus modernization of the 640,000-square-foot Fifth Avenue flagship, recasting and renovating the floors. It’s essentially complete now, except for some future men’s renovations. Continue reading

BLACK YACHTS

As the name suggests, superyachts are meant to garner attention.The Black Swan for its black exterior and graceful aesthetic, the striking structure is proof of the power of simplicity.

Using the powerful image of an arrow , he tried to create an aerodynamic exterior that would give the yacht a distinctive look, while also improving the efficiency of the craft in the water,”. Continue reading

GAZZAZ THE PRINCE OF PERFUMERY

Death of Saudi perfume magnate Hussein Bakry Gazzaz at the age of 95. I dreamed of bringing to my beloved country what I saw in Cairo in the 1920s,” Gazzaz said in an interview in 2014.

Hussein Bakry Gazzaz & Co (Gazzaz) was founded in 1942, when Mr. Gazzaz became the first fragrance importer in Saudi Arabia. “The quaint streets and stores of Cairo left a mark in the spirit of the ‘little boy from Mecca’ that I was”. Born in 1925, Hussein Bakry Gazzaz was one of the most famous businessmen in the perfume industry in Saudi Arabia.

While he was still young, his family moved to Egypt where he attended school. When he returned to Saudi Arabia, he founded the small perfume company that would become one of the largest of its kind in the region. Continue reading

A BONNE A PART

Chaumet is hosting an exhibit dedicated to Joséphine de Beauharnais and Napoleon Bonaparte at its recently refurbished Place Vendôme flagship in Paris.

Running from April 10 to June 12, the show will focus on the pair’s love story, featuring jewelry, paintings, letters, illustrated documents and other artwork, displayed in the historic rooms overlooking the Place Vendôme. In addition to pieces from Chaumet’s collection, curator Pierre Branda has gathered items from public and private collections, including the Royal Danish Collection and the Louvre Museum.

Chaumet is the only private company taking part in a series of events marking the Year of Napoleon” in France, which will include exhibits at the Archives Nationales, the Musée de l’Armée and the Musée de Malmaison.

The historic jeweler was closely associated with the pair and their coronation, serving as Joséphine’s official jeweler and supplier of Napoleon’s sword for his coronation adorned with the 140-carat Regent diamond.

JEAN PAUL SACAI POSTPONEMENT

The Jean Paul Gaultier maison has opted to sit out this month’s couture week and celebrate this event during safer and happier times.

The Gaultier show was originally scheduled for Jan. 27 and was to feature a one-off couture collection created by Sacai’s Chitose Abe – the first of a series of guest creatives following the founder’s retirement from the runway in January 2020. A fake designer but a real weather vane this Jean Paul 2.

This marks the second postponement for the Jean Paul Gaultier X Sacai collection due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has scuttled most physical fashion shows over the past nine months. Paris Prefecture mandated that the upcoming men’s and couture weeks in the French capital taking place from Jan. 19 to 28  must be audience-free to curb the spread of infections. But guess who’s going to present in live on the samariatine? Jean Paul Gaultier said Abe’s show is now scheduled for Paris couture week in July. Continue reading

VALENTINO AND MEDIA

Enzo Quarenghi is joining the Rome-based luxury house as chief client officer and digital acquisition, effective Jan. 12. This position is part of a new division spearheaded by Venturini, to whom Quarenghi will report.

The new role signals Valentino’s increased focus on digital and an acceleration of its strategy to place customers at the center of its business, communication and marketing activities.

Quarenghi was previously Visa Italy’s CEO, and brings to Valentino expertise in customer experience and digital innovation. Prior to Visa, he worked for American Express as vice president, client acquisition, and was part of the Italian board. He holds a master’s degree in aerospace engineering and started his career working for consultancy firms such as Ernst Young and Accenture.

LOUIS VUITTON MOET AND TIFFANY

Louis Vuitton has selected Vuitton executive Anthony Ledru to become chief executive officer of the American jeweler.

Wha’s more, Alexandre Arnault, CEO of Rimowa since 2017 and the second eldest son of LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault, is to become Tiffany’s executive vice president, product and communications, lending his strong digital acumen, Millennial perspective, branding expertise and vast network of connections in Silicon Valley. Continue reading

UPCYCLING UP CIRCLE CLEAN

Both established names like Burberry and McQueen and up-and-comers like Deborah Lyons are working to make sourcing secondhand fabrics more accessible to brands and students. Can Upcycling Go Mainstream? When bigger names experimented with upcycling fabric, it was mostly reserved for one-off capsules, for marketing or greenwashing purposes.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak last year, designers found themselves in isolation, with much of their teams on furlough, factories closed and fabric fairs canceled. All of a sudden, designing with the leftover fabrics in their studios became part of a new normal, and established designers joined the independents and sustainability warriors who had long been advocates of deadstock.

Last month, green campaigner Stella McCartney admitted she was running short of fabric to upcycle or recycle. Continue reading

KOTY CARDASHIAN A DEAL

Coty Inc. has closed a deal to acquire 20 percent of Kim Kardashian West’s beauty, but beauty is always ephemeral. Coty plans to bring KKW beauty into new categories, including skin care, which is slated to launch in fiscal 2022.

She expects Coty will bring scientific knowledge around formulation to the table, while Kardashian West will bring a massive following she has 197 million followers on Instagram alone.

Concernig Kim she has a unique ability to read the latest beauty and wellness trends, while we have the expertise on global product, (As you can see on the picture the latest collection of her husband) positioning, access to a vast global distribution network, and the resources to enter new beauty categories,” Nabi continued.  Continue reading

LONDON AGAIN ONE ISLANDS

The British government is locking down large parts of the country once again, with London mayor Sadiq Khan saying 2020 will be London’s “toughest Christmas” since World War II.

London stores, which over the weekend were forced to shut again due to new lockdown measures imposed by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, will not reopen in the new year until they can do so for good.

Jace Tyrrell, chief executive officer of New West End Company, which represents hundreds of businesses in central London around Piccadilly, Oxford and Regent Streets, said the opening and closing of stores due to last-minute lockdowns was costing retailers a fortune, and that businesses needed a clear exit strategy from government before they reopen once and for all.

We don’t want to open unless it’s for good, said Tyrrell, who was also speaking for hospitality businesses, and restaurants in the West End. He added that while central London retailers were expecting some form of higher restrictions in the run-up to Christmas the new, full lockdown came as a disappointing surprise. Continue reading

KERING DEATH AND TAXES

Kering Thursday confirmed that French authorities opened an inquiry into Kering’s taxes in February 2019, but continued to refute allegations of fraud, following a report published by the investigative from Mediapart. Kering had not been previously informed of this inquiry, the French luxury group said.

The inquiry appears to be linked to the potential consequences for Kering French companies resulting from legal proceedings initiated in November 2017 involving LGI, the Group’s Swiss subsidiary. Those proceedings resulted in a 1.25 billion euro settlement between Gucci and Italian tax authorities in May 2019.

Kering refutes in the strongest possible terms the allegations contained in the press article and forwarded by other media. The preliminary inquiry was opened by France’s Parquet National Financier, the country’s financial public prosecutor’s office. Continue reading

YSL VIDEO IN THE DESERT

Like a halo around the moon, a breath surrounds Vaccarello in the morning dew of a few grains that constitute a sea. I will be sand in the wind, and just by saying this word, images of dust arise immediately, which swirl with lightness, softness, and splinters of quartz, but also with the grace and sound of the wind, which whistles as if by magic on the place and makes the Little Prince of fashion appear in all its splendor. He softly whispers to us and says “Draw me a sheep,” I will give you a Bergé.

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RE-LOOK O’NEAL

On Monday, Adidas, which owns Reebok, publicly confirmed rumors that it was exploring options for the brand. Reports have been circulating for months that the German activewear company was looking to sell the brand, which it acquired in 2006 for $3.8 billion. Last year, it reportedly wrote the value of the brand down to just under $1 billion.

It was more than a year ago that Shaquille O’Neal publicly revealed that he would “love to buy” Reebok, a brand that he had served as an ambassador for back in his NBA playing days in the Nineties. And his partnership with the deep-pocketed Authentic Brands Group could potentially make his wish a reality. Continue reading