LOST HIGHWAY FOR LYNCH’S
It was a shock to learn of David Lynch’s death and to realise that there would be no more films from him. A filmmaker who left a profound mark on the history of cinema, from ‘Eraserhead’ to ‘Mulholland Drive’, via ‘Blue Velvet’, ‘Sailor et Lula’ and the world of ‘Twin Peaks’.
Elephant Man, his second feature film in black and white, was David Lynch’s crowning achievement. Fascinated by deformity, the young director brought to life the story of Joseph Merrick, a British man at the end of the 19th century suffering from a deforming disease. The man with the monstrous morphology became a freak show throughout the country.
Last August, after an interview with Sight & Sound magazine in which he revealed that he was suffering from the consequences of years of smoking.
PROENZA SCHOULER EXIT
Proenza Schouler founders Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, who are stepping down as creative directors of the brand they founded in 2002.
Their exit is effective Jan. 31 They are widely expected to succeed Jonathan Anderson at the creative helm of Spanish luxury house Loewe, owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, clearing the way for Anderson to eventually take up a creative role at Dior, as has been reported.
The Proenza Schouler duo have long been on the radar of top European fashion houses. Valentino Fashion Group took a stake in Proenza Schouler in 2007. Four years later, a group of backers led by John Howard and Andrew Rosen bought most of Valentino’s position.
Then in 2018, Mudrick Capital Management led the designers’ buyback of their company. According to sources, LVMH has held discussions with McCollough and Hernandez over the years about joining one of its marquee fashion houses, which include Dior, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy and Fendi.
EMILIA PEREZ
I am not a film critic, and yet, after last night’s shock, I am going to tell you about Jacques Audiard latest nuggets that will change French cinema and bring it, like the New Wave in its time, into another dimension. The film “Emilia Perez” stands out for the complexity of its plot, centered on the personal transformation of its protagonist. The film explores in depth the journey of “Manitas Del Monte”, a cartel leader who has aspired to become a woman since childhood, and who, with the help of her lawyer Rita, begins a transition to become Emilia.
This transformation is much more than a simple physical change; it represents a quest for identity and redemption. Manitas, played by Karla Sofía Gascón, must navigate the emotional and social challenges of her transition, while facing the consequences of her criminal past.
The film explores themes such as self-acceptance, overcoming prejudice and finding inner peace. But the complexity of the plot also lies in the relationship between Emilia and Rita, played by Zoe Saldana. Their dynamic evolves over the course of the film, from a professional relationship to a deep friendship, marked by understanding and mutual support. This relationship is a central pillar of the story, illustrating how empathy and solidarity can help overcome personal obstacles. The subject it addresses: can we become a better soul by changing sex? Is redemption possible?
DOLCE & GABBANA IN PARIS
Bringing together for the first time the luxury fashion house’s unique creations, ‘From the Heart to the Hand: Dolce&Gabbana’ is an open love letter to Italian culture, the constant source of inspiration for Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. The exhibition retraces the aesthetic itinerary of their creations, first worn in their hearts, then handcrafted in their workshops.
CHINA NIBBLING THE FRENCH LUXURY
Suggesting investor appetite remains strong for unique luxury properties, Chinese fashion conglomerate Youngor Group has acquired 100 percent of French childrenswear brand Bonpoint from private investment firm EPI.
It is understood Bonpoint attracted several unsolicited offers, and Youngor outmaneuvered other potential suitors by touting its retail, Shein is suppose to be sad.
SWAROVSKI YEARS OF JOY
In honor of the Year of the Snake, Swarovski has revealed its latest Lunar New Year collection, “130 Years of Joy,” marking the brand’s 130th anniversary celebrations. A variety of symbolic designs highlight Swarovski’s craftsmanship and creativity in this collection, which combines tradition with modernity.
At the heart of the collection is the Swarovski Swan. For this milestone year, the swan is reimagined in a new design that combines it with its mirror image, their necks intertwined.In pieces such as a gold-tone pendant featuring one gold-tone and one rhodium-plated swan, both adorned with shimmering Swarovski Zirconia pavé, this design is demonstrated.
I am writing this article because when I went to the store with my friend’s ring to buy her a new one, seeing that the one I had brought was slightly damaged she exchanged it for a new one.
TAISNE RIOCOUR AT THE TOP OF THE SUBLIME
This is a sparkling journey in the heart of the Côte des Bars, a day through the enchantment of the setting sun on the vineyards. There is the pleasure palace with its voluptuousness of the superfluous and the fantasy, taking us to the heart of the medieval and finishing on the hill of the Biodynamic.
In France, there are sometime chapels which, without noise, export the image of these in all their greatness, like a kind of abstract goddess escaping from a bottle after a light explosion, like Bacchus and the lord of the wine. So here is Les Riceys in the Côte des Bars with its 866 hectares of vineyards, and a commune that has the largest wine-growing area in the whole of Champagne.
Like Helios, Pierre welcomes us with his brotherhood, watching over the pleasure of the others. Coco Chanel said about champagne: “I only drink champagne on two occasions. When I am in love and when I am not. Here, the family produces nectar that helps to amaze the taste buds, but above all, they are passionate. The land of Ricey goes from the mystical to the divine with Pierre, it’s amazing, but also overwhelming. A historian’s concept, you may ask? No, I was thinking more of a network of links that governs a family for a set of poles that found the slopes of the heart of others.
BETWEEN TRADITION AND MODERNITY
As everyone knows, I often visit young designers, and when I saw a jacket with a fabric that looked more like a Napoleonic Guard ceremonial set, I pointed this out to the designer: ‘I like this bomber with these fabrics from the 18ᵉ century to the 19ᵉ because it gives the buyer something to think about. Indeed, it is always reassuring to think that, in a garment, there is a bit of history from the past.’ The designer looked at me with an interested expression, because in fact she hadn’t thought about it, she’d done it instinctively, as artists often have this instinctive vision of the world of the future. It is no doubt commonplace to observe that modernity gives tradition a bye, and to say that the modern is the era of the new or of renewal; it is a little less so to explore this assertion in greater depth and to grasp the twofold gesture that constitutes its substance.
The new of modernity to dismiss the old, for a gesture of rupture, a caesura without appeal. But in the same way that Lord Arnault said to Steve Jobs: ‘You have the technology of the moment, while I am selling the heritage of France’. Modernity begins when it reflects on its separation from the previous world and culture. The thread of tradition is broken, and supposedly cannot be renewed, but as the sentimental man that I am knows, we always need a bit of the past to appreciate the future, or to hate it. Continue reading
A WOMAN AT THE HEAD OF FASHION
Finally a woman at the head of fashion (A hidden message for French organisations.). The British Fashion Council has appointed Laura Weir as its new chief executive, succeeding Caroline Rush. Ms Weir, currently executive creative director at Selfridges, will take up the role on 28 April.
Laura said she would work with designers, industry partners and government bodies to advance the organisation’s mission to champion British fashion through programmes that support creative talent.
AWARDS FOR WINTOUR AND LAUREN
Fashion designer Ralph Lauren receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from U.S. President Joe Biden in the East Room of the White House on January 4, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Biden presents 19 recipients with the nation’s highest civilian honor.
With Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue, receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from U.S. President Joe Biden in the East Room of the White House on January 4, 2025 in Washington, DC.
This is the nation’s highest civilian honor, recognizing Lauren’s extraordinary contributions as a visionary fashion designer, pioneering entrepreneur, innovative business leader and dedicated philanthropist. No comment for Wintour who had asked France and Great Britain for an award, it will finally be the United States that will obtain it thanks to her unwavering support for the Biden campaign.
NO 21 PRE-FALL 2025
Alessandro Dell’Acqua continued to explore bourgeois codes in a collection that wasn’t short on embellishments but with an anarchic undertone from Jurassic. Rebellion can come in many guises, including wrapped in candy hues and cascades of glitzy sequins.
CALENDAR OF MY UNWANTED DESIRES
The men’s and couture calendars published by the Fédération des méandres and the Haute “mouture” de la Mode will be from January 21 to 26, and only 38 shows of the men’s collections in 2025 will be presented, followed by 28 fashion houses from January 27 to 30.
Among the expected highlights of the men’s calendar, we find the arrival of New Yorker Willy Chavarria and the return of Jacquemus back home, who had left Paris since 2001.
MANGO FOUNDER DIES
Isak Andic, non-executive chairman and founder of Mango, died Saturday. The Spanish retailer’s chief executive officer Toni Ruiz confirmed that the cause of death was an accident.
Andic was 71 years old. According to media reports, Andic died falling almost 500 feet in a cave of the Montserrat mountain range near Barcelona, in Catalunya, Spain, during an excursion with his family. We extend our deepest condolences to his family.
FM
TROTTER AND KERING
Kering and Bottega Veneta are delighted to announce the appointment of Louise Trotter as Creative Director.Formerly Creative Director of Carven, she is renowned for her meticulous approach to craftsmanship. She will join Bottega Veneta at the end of January 2025.
Thus, Chanel will be able to give the information that Matthieu Blazy will become the creator of the Coco brand, as announced in our magazines a few weeks ago.
The Sunderland-born designer studied marketing and design at Newcastle Polytechnic. She then moved to the US to work as Vice President of Womenswear Design at Gap in New York. She then became Head of Womenswear at Calvin Klein, before taking on a design role at Tommy Hilfiger. Continue reading
THE NEW FASHION EMPIRE
Sales at Zara’s parent company Inditex are holding steady, albeit slowing from pandemic peaks, with sales up 9% during the holiday season from November 1 to December 9.
That’s still below the 14% sales surge seen at the start of last year’s holiday shopping season, however. The news sent shares down 6.5% in Wednesday trading after the news broke. Zar is taking market share from the LVMH-owned brands.
CHANEL CHINESE STYLE
These Chinoiserie give us a luxury without doubt, and without doubt, there is no mystery, and without mystery, there is no more dream. Here the public, brain in hand, film and look through the prism of their mobile phone, and even the AI will not make this collection a sublime moment.
THE QUEEN OF TAX
T
he Alexander McQueen brand is the subject of a tax probe by Italian authorities, Kering announced on Monday. Kering and the company are confident that their operating mode is correct and are pursuing these discussions constructively, it said.
Italy’s financial police allege that Alexander McQueen failed to declare between 60 million euros and 70 million euros in taxable income between 2016 and 2022, leading Florence prosecutors to open an investigation.
To settle an investigation into Gucci’s tax payments related to its Italy sales between 2011 and 2017, the conglomerate paid the Italian Revenue Agency a total of 1.25 billion euros in 2019. Italian tax authorities claim Kering intentionally avoided Italian taxes by directly operating a Swiss subsidiary named Luxury Goods International to distribute Gucci products in Italy. Continue reading
A NICHE MARKET
A woman flew from Australia to meet master perfumer in the South of France. A lover of fragrance, she wanted a made-to-measure perfume. But more than having it just for herself, the client hoped the scent would ultimately be passed down to her granddaughters, to stir up memories of her. A small selection of perfumers are offering bespoke services to people from the world over. Just don’t ask who the clients are Confidentiality the rich aren’t secretive, they’re discreet.
Prices are from 45,000 euros and go up to 100,000 euros-plus. Among major cost contributors are the olfactive ingredients used. Yet still there are often waiting lists for those women and men wanting their own fragrance, since perfumers generally can only accommodate a handful of clients annually. In 1853, Eau de Cologne Impériale was created as a special order for the Empress Eugénie for her marriage to Napoleon III by Pierre François Pascal Guerlain, founder of the perfume house.
In 1933, his grandson Jacques Guerlain developed Sous le Vent for Josephine Baker and six years later conceived Coque d’Or for Sergei Diaghilev, founder of the Ballets Russes to name a few of the made-to-measure creations. A niche market; let’s hope it’s not a doghouse.
FM
A NIGHT IN NEW YORK
In 2024, New York City is looking forward to a repeat performance of last year’s holiday season. The city attracted 4.4 million visitors in 2023 who spent over $500 million and created 14,000 jobs.
New York City is back, as said Arnold… Holidays are a time when millions of people come to our shopping districts from around the world and we can’t wait to welcome them. Our local economy benefits from thousands of jobs and businesses. There were 4.4 million people in town on the weekend before Christmas last year.
The most popular retail hubs in Manhattan were Fifth Avenue, Bryant Park, Times Square, and SoHo, as well as downtown Flushing in Queens and MetroTech in Brooklyn.
A SILVER TIFFANY AND CO
Tiffany & Co. has opened a reimagined boutique at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre, spanning more than 8,000 square feet. According to the American jeweler owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the new location reintroduces Tiffany to Canada and showcases the brand’s latest design concept: a luxury and elevated destination featuring exceptional fine jewelry and diamond designs.
The store’s façade fuses heritage and inventiveness, with 32,000 glass bricks framed by polished aluminum panels. Inspired by the concept of “diamonds in the rough,” the design symbolizes Tiffany’s expertise in transforming rough diamonds into jewelry. The arrangement of the glass bricks further enhances the sense of movement, creating a sense of fluidity and dynamism; visitors are greeted by a custom light sculpture designed by architect Hugh Dutton, paying homage to Canada’s national symbol, the maple leaf.