MORAND GUEST MEMBERS

Two new couture houses, Christophe Josse and Noureddine Amir have been elected as guest members of the official calendar by the membership committee of the famous and worldwide known Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture.

The invitation is a much sought-after approval by fashion houses and guarantees the two couturiers a slot on the official catwalk schedule during Paris couture week. The next season will take place over four days from Monday, January 22 to Thursday, January 25, 2018.

Amir is a Moroccan-born designer, noted for making film costumes in the 1990s and known for creating “wearable sculptures”, who received the distinct honor of an exhibition in the Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent in March 2016.

For Josse, the annoucement could be seen as a comeback. French-born Josse is an experienced designer, who, after studying art history, joined the house of Torrente, where he eventually became the creative director of its couture collection. Continue reading

DIOR MAKE UP COVENT GARDEN

Dior invites you to step into the captivating world of beauty at the Dior Beauty Boutique in the Market Building. The essential trend destination for beauty lovers. Discover the latest Dior look, direct from the runway; from couture to ready-to-wear with Dior’s very own Covent Garden Boutique colour experts.

The boutique offers a complete makeup collection, exclusive products, bespoke services, exceptional events, and more. Discover Dior’s Backstage Universe and learn the most cutting-edge techniques hot off the runway, with lessons from the Dior Makeup Experts. 15 minutes, complimentary. Walk-ins only and subject to Artist availability. Continue reading

VERY SECRET VICTORIA

The Victoria’s Secret show has been steeped in controversy this year, amid reports that several models have been denied entry to China where the show is taking place, and angry locals protesting the event.

Yet Bella Hadid, Alessandra Ambrosio, Romee Strijd and Candice Swanepoel ensured that all would go well during one of the biggest fashion moments of the year as they lead the host of models taking to the runway for the 22nd annual show which was held at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai on Monday.

Flaunting their enviable physiques in skimpy lingerie and of course their famed Angel wings, the stunning supermodels were serenaded down the runway with musical entertainment provided by Harry Styles, Miguel, Jane Zhang and Leslie Odom Jr.

 

FASHION DESIGNER ALAÏA DIED

Azzedine Alaïa, one of the most iconic couturiers of the modern era whose body-con designs defined Eighties fashion, died in Paris of heart failure last Saturday.

The Tunisian-born designer  gained international fame in the Eighties because of the success of his evening dresses, snug knits and sculpted leathers. He was nicknamed “The King of Cling” because his clothes fit like a second skin.

Alaïa counted among his friends and customers Sozzani, Naomi Campbell, Tina Turner, Madonna, Michelle Obama, Grace Jones, Raquel Welch, Victoria Beckham, Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus. Continue reading

GRANVILLE BUYER PAINT

After 19 minutes of dueling, with four bidders on the telephone and one in the room, Leonardo da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi” sold on Wednesday night for $450.3 million with fees, shattering the high for any work of art sold at auction. It far surpassed Picasso’s “Women of Algiers,” which fetched $179.4 million at Christie’s in May 2015. The buyer was not immediately disclosed.

There were gasps throughout the sale, as the bids climbed by tens of millions up to $225 million, by fives up to $260 million, and then by twos. As the bidding slowed, and a buyer pondered the next multi-million-dollar increment, Jussi Pylkkanen, the auctioneer, said, “It’s an historic moment; we’ll wait.” dont hang up Mr. Bernard from Granville.

Toward the end, Alex Rotter, Christie’s co-chairman of postwar and contemporary art, who represented a buyer on the phone, made two big jumps to shake off one last rival bid from Francis de Poortere, Christie’s head of old master paintings. Continue reading

TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD

Kim Kardashian expects social media will work its magic for her once again and give her a place in the congested celebrity fragrance game.

The reality TV star has become a serious businesswoman and will launch on Wednesday three eau de parfums at her online beauty destination, www.kkwfragrance.com. There will be three variations of the gardenia fragrance, her favorite flower and scent: Crystal Gardenia, Crystal Gardenia Citrus and Crystal Gardenia Oud. Each  will be sold in 30-ml. and 75-ml.

The three Eau de Parfums will be just sold online and be done it all digitally, she said. There is one exception: the range will have a small off-line presence, to start, at Los Angeles-based e-commerce site Violet Grey’s store on Melrose Place.

The twenty-year-old sister, Kylie Jenner, has spent the last two years building her multihundred-million-dollars “Kylie Cosmetics” empire, and Kardashian is angling to do the same with KKW Beauty. Continue reading

ALEXANDRE BOULAIS PASSED AWAY

This former student of ESMOD, excellent modelist, has successively been press officer of Thierry Mugler, Communication manager of Paco Rabanne in Spain and then to create a press agency called People’s Revolution.

His desire was to create an agency on a human scale contrary to large press agencies which give an impersonal and preformatted service.

Known by all those who matter in fashion, Alexandre Boulais passed away on 3 November in defeaning silence of the French Fashion Federation. We present our sincere sympathy to his family and his friend Romain.

SCHEINSTEIN BY KARL ?

Karl Lagerfeld Skewers Harvey Weinstein in Cartoon, the sketch is to appear in the monthly supplement of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

In his latest “Karlikature” for the monthly supplement of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, Lagerfeld depicts the disgraced Hollywood producer, embroiled in widening accusations of sexual misconduct, in the manner of Babe, Wilbur or Porky.

With his inimitable wit and penchant for word play in multiple languages, the headline in German reads, “Do you know Schweinstein?” schwein being the German word for swine or pig.

“I never liked this man,” Lagerfeld commented. The designer has often contributed caricatures with political themes to the monthly since it launched in February 2013. Continue reading

SIDNEY LEAVES DIOR

Sidney Toledano is leaving Dior and will take over as chairman and ceo of LVMH Fashion Group.. The longtime CEO spent almost 20 years at the helm of the fashion house. He will be replaced by Fendi’s Pietro Beccari.

In a wide-ranging reshuffle, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton has appointed Pietro Beccari chief executive officer of Christian Dior Couture.

Toledano will thus replace Pierre-Yves Roussel, who held the title of chairman and ceo of LVMH Fashion Group, and who will remain with the group as a special advisor to LVMH chairman and ceo Bernard Arnault.

The heads of Céline, Givenchy, Kenzo, Loewe, Marc Jacobs, Pucci, Rossi Moda and Nicholas Kirkwood will report to Toledano.  Continue reading

SNEAKER BRANDS FACE OFF THE FUTURE

Wale, whose real name is Olubowale Victor Akintimehin, highlighted what a difference a year makes, and in 2016 Adidas seemed to own the spotlight at the shopping festival. This year, Virgil Abloh’s take on the Air Jordan 1s as part of his The Ten project with Nike won the top spot  last year Kanye West’s Yeezy 350 V2s were a top contender  and out of the 10 sneakers discussed, only one style came from Adidas, which was the Yeezy Boost 700 Wave Runner that’s yet to be released.

Nike dominated the ComplexCon show floor with a sizable booth that commemorated the 35th anniversary of the Air Force 1s. The space featured a center court speaking area, retail store and separate section where attendees could customize Air Force 1s. Other activations included Master Classes from brand partners including Abloh and Errolson Hugh, a surprise performance from Rich the Kid, and a talk between Kobe Bryant and Kendrick Lamar. Continue reading

ESMOD BEST SCHOOL IN 2017

Esmod (SchooL) – Best school in the world. As we have seen in the last few years, some of the most successful CEOs in Fashion Industry do not come from fashion school, their success often comes from their know-how of business acuity and also of the meaning of fashion.” Esmod teaches technical processes of the fashion industry. The business will be learned during internship experience in companies. You can learn mix-marketing, but you can’t learn common sense of business. When you possess the technique of fashion including Haute Couture know-how, you are eligible as the perfect candidate to be successfull.

The world changes, technologies constantly change. However, technics remain the same and have not changed for decades. Therefore when you are graduated of Esmod and you have acquired those processes you can face the constantly changing world and to update to it which is not the case of a graduate who has only been studying marketing, management and international business. He has nothing in his hands: no technic, no know-how. So we totally disagree with Pascal Morand, Former President of IFM, and presently Executive President of France’s Federation of Haute Couture and Fashion in France because Continue reading

BURBERRY A PHILO SOPHY

Burberry’s new chief executive officer, a fashion management star who helped steer Givenchy and Céline to success, declared during his first annual general meeeting in July that Burberry needed to take more risks.

Bailey said he plans to step down in 2018 after 17 years on the job. Many would argue that Gobbetti’s new creative chief is right under his nose: Phoebe Philo, whose future at Céline has been the subject of speculation, and who’s said to be getting itchy feet after nine years at the LVMH-owned fashion house.

“Phoebe has the vision,” said Laura Vernier, partner at the Paris-based headhunter Jouve & Associés. “She is truly one of a kind, a highly intelligent artistic director and English.” Continue reading

HERMES OPENS FAKESTORIES IN FRANCE

Hermès International plan to open two new manufacturing sites to its French network by 2020.

The luxury brand will build plants in Bordeaux, in southwestern France, and in Montereau-Fault-Yonne, southeast of Paris, where it has been present since 1996 following the acquisition of the Gordon Choisy tannery. Each site will eventually employ 250 craftspeople specializing in leather goods.

Today the maker of Birkin bags and silk scarves has 15 plants in France, most of which employ between 250 and 300 people. In 2016, Hermès invested 71 million euros in its production facilities and secured its supply chain. Continue reading

COLETTE LAST CHANEL POP-UP

Karl Lagerfeld’s parting gift to Colette, the store that has counted him as its number-one customer for two decades.

Chanel will launch an Adidas Hu NMD shoe specially customized by Pharrell Williams for the house. The music star is featured in the advertising campaign for Chanel’s Gabrielle bag, has walked the runway for the brand and once composed a song for a Lagerfeld-directed Chanel film, but this marks the first time Williams has designed a product for the label.

Other exclusives include limited-edition T-shirts designed by Lagerfeld, creative director of Chanel since 1983, and a music compilation by Michel Gaubert, who designs the soundtracks for its runway shows. Continue reading

OCCITANE DECLINES

The French company L’Occitane International reported unaudited first-half sales declined by 0.6% year-over-year, dampened by business in the U.S., U.K. and Japan.  A few decade ago Reinold Geiger, former AMS company, transformed his plastic money and petroleum industry into a supposed natural perfume & cosmetic products from Provence. Lie is not always successfull!

The company, which did not disclose profit figures, said net sales in the six months ended Sept. 30 were 548.2 million euros. Revenues in the U.S. and U.K. declined by 11.1% and 11.4%, respectively. Japan, the group’s largest single market, posted a 4.8% decrease.

Emerging markets China and Brazil made up for some of the weakness, though. L’Occitane in China, its third largest market, saw a 18.2% surge in sales, continuing on from a strong first quarter. Continue reading