GAZZAZ THE PRINCE OF PERFUMERY

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading →

RE-LOOK O’NEAL

Posted on by

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 →

FENDI ME & MRS JONES

Posted on by

The British designer will present a couture collection for the Rome-based luxury house in Paris. In September, when Jones was named Fendi’s artistic director of couture and women’s wear collections, the Rome-based luxury house said his first collection would bow in February.

Silvia Venturini Fendi, artistic director of accessories and men’s wear collections, and her daughter Delfina Delettrez Fendi, jewelry creative director, will also be involved in designing the couture collection.

Whether the show will accommodate guests is still to be defined, given the uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the possible restrictions to be enforced by the French government, but the collection will once again be presented at Palais Brongniart,the temple of the stock exchange formerly in Paris, a sign perhaps Continue reading →

A NEGLIGEE FOR LAGERFELD

Posted on by

Karl Lagerfeld Adds a Black-tie Touch to Lingerie with Aubade, A dawn from beyond the grave.

The brand is collaborating with Aubade Paris for a fall 2021 capsule of lingerie and corsetry. “Leave it to Karl Lagerfeld to narrow the gap between a tuxedo and a lingerie set along with a wink to the Chippendales.

A clip-on collar and black waist-cinchers with satin buttons are all part of the brand’s latest surprising collaboration: a capsule collection of lingerie and corsetry with Aubade Paris, the ne plus ultra of premium French innerwear.

FOOTWEAR NEWS THE WINNER IS

Posted on by

Footwear News, this year marking its 75th anniversary, presented its annual Footwear News Achievement Awards on Tuesday night .

André Leon Talley presented the Company of the Year award to Deckers, parent company of Teva, Hoka and Ugg. In his remarks, Talley pledged allegiance to the Ugg Boot. “I even have my own monogrammed Ugg boots, just so I feel unique. No one can take them in case I’m at the gym, but they are a size 18 so it’s not like they are going to fit everyone,” he said.

Christian Louboutin presented the Style Influencer Award to Cardi B, who he described as, “A hell of a woman, one of a kind. She stands and fights for what she believes in. She is a force, she speaks her own language…and is the opposite of politically correct.” Continue reading →

MONCLER AQUIRE STONE ISLAND

Posted on by

Moncler SpA acquire Sportswear Company SpA, owner of the Stone Island brand. Carlo Rivetti, chairman and ceo of Stone Island, said the company’s headquarter in Ravarino “will remain the beating heart of the brand and a center of excellence that will be further enhanced and my team and I will continue, in our current roles, to do what we have been doing with great passion for many years.

The agreement was signed between Moncler and Rivetex Srl, a company referable to Carlo Rivetti, owner of a stake equal to 50.1 percent of Sportswear Company’s capital and other shareholders of SPW, referable to the Rivetti family, owners of a stake equal to 19.9 percent of SPW’s capital.

The agreement values Stone Island at 1.15 billion euros, corresponding to a multiple of 16.6 times 2020 EBITDA and a multiple of 13.5 times the estimated 2021 EBITDA. The consideration for the purchase of the shares will be paid in cash by Moncler.

CHLOÉ A SELF MADE WOOLMAN

Posted on by

Chloé took another big step in its transformation to a purpose-driven company by recruiting Gabriela Hearst already synonymous with sustainable luxury as its new creative director. She founded her namesake brand in 2015 on the principles of timelessness, quality and sustainability.

The appointment, revealed Monday, gives the Uruguayan-American designer an even larger platform for her eco convictions. Indeed, instead of praising Chloé’s legacy of free-spirited fashions, Hearst trumpeted founder Gaby Aghion’s “purposeful vision” and the company’s new commitment “to create a business that is socially conscious and in balance with our environment.

Hearst a forward-thinking woman whose creative leadership will be a positive force in further evolving and expanding the founder’s original vision and powerful femininity.

Hearst started her label in fall 2015 after taking over the operations of her father’s sheep ranch in Uruguay, and built a luxury women’s ready-to-wear and accessories business on the principles of timelessness, quality and sustainability. Among her raw materials is merino wool from the family farm. Continue reading →

BALENCIAGA VIRTUAL GAME

Posted on by

What to Know About Balenciaga’s Hybrid Video Game Fashion Show, really nothing at all !.The brand is revealing its fall 2021 collection in a video game titled “Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow.”

Balenciaga creative director Demna Gvasalia is continuing his inclination for unusual fashion show formats with a first-of-its kind hybrid video game fashion show.

The Age of Tomorrow.” The video game is the latest unique format from the designer, who showed Balenciaga’s spring 2021 collection through a fashion film set to Corey Hart’s “Sunglasses at Night” and showed the pre-summer collection on a rainy Paris evening.

From what to expect during the video game to how to play, here is everything you need to know about Balenciaga’s video game fashion show. That’s it.

C LIKE CHENON SCEAU CHANEL

Posted on by

Chanel had hoped to invite 200 guests to creative director Virginie Viard’s first fashion show outside Paris, but a second French lockdown forced the brand to revise its plans. When visitors take a guided tour of the Château de Chenonceau, they are often intrigued by the interlocking C that appear throughout the castle.

The initials are those of Catherine de Medicis, the former queen of France whose portrait hangs above an elaborate carved stone chimney bookended by lions. But to 21st century eyes, they look similar to the Chanel logo.

Also known as the Ladies’ Château, Chenonceau has a history marked by a succession of powerful women, of which the Renaissance rulers, in particular, inspired the label’s founder, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel. Continue reading →