There are beings whose clothing becomes the reflection of their soul, and Diane Keaton was one of them. Each fabric she wore seemed to gather a fragment of her thought; each accessory, a tremor of her free spirit. It was a style all her own a wide-brimmed hat worn like a diadem of defiance, glasses that filtered the world’s light, vests or turtlenecks embracing the discreet grace of a woman’s neck, ties or scarves chosen not to seduce but to signify independence. Pleated trousers, as ample as a breath, harmonized with jackets sometimes tweed, sometimes velvet and in that blend of daring and restraint, she found her truth.
They called it the “Annie Hall style.” They were mistaken. It was not a role but a revelation the “Diane Keaton style.” From her very first appearance in Woody Allen’s film, this language of clothing became an eternal signature and consecrated her as an icon. An Oscar was bestowed upon her, as one crowns a muse for her brilliance, yet even then, the tribute fell short of what she embodied: the freedom to be oneself.
Fifty years passed, and fashion, like a river, changed its course; but Diane remained faithful to her own shore. Designers often came to draw from it, copying her lines, imitating her light. On red carpets, she could still be seen a clear, determined silhouette dressed sometimes in a masculine suit, sometimes in a flowing dress cinched with a wide belt, as if to remind the world that elegance is first and foremost an inner vow.
Last year, she lent her grace to fashion shows Ralph Lauren’s in New York, Thom Browne’s in Paris where her presence seemed to bless contemporary creation with a benevolent gaze. At seventy-nine, she still carried within her the quiet fire of beginnings. Continue reading
Once the sacred territory of dusty flea markets and grandma’s handbags retrieved from the attic, this market now represents a tidy sum of $320 to $360 billion by 2030. Yes, you read that correctly: your antique leather totes and forgotten heels now have a global market value. Who would have thought that Grandma, with her slightly old-fashioned sense of style, was actually sitting on a goldmine under her bed?
Paris, usually so vibrant during fashion week, seemed drowsy this time as if the city itself had lost touch with its own magic. Buyers from around the world had hoped for the rebirth of a creative spark, yet they found themselves facing an unexpected dullness.



They say that one day, in a house on the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, the dresses began to breathe. It was the breath of Chemena Kamali, new guardian of the Chloé temple, whispering to the fabrics of oblivion and rebirth. For two years, she has been summoning the spirits of lightness and sun, searching through the archives as one would search for relics in a perfumed crypt.
It’s true that after turning Gucci into a Venetian bazaar for children of the moon, Alessandro Michele wasn’t suddenly going to embrace minimalism at Valentino. But was it really necessary to repaint Rome in the colors of Saint-Germain-des-Prés after a bad trip to San Francisco?

Sarah Burton’s first runway for Givenchy had already betrayed signs of an over-manufactured sensibility, and her second confirms the slope: a couture of loud affirmation in the Chiuri vein, believing itself feminist simply because it exhibits. The clients, living trophies of this supposedly liberating fashion, paraded that evening in a pale yellow duchesse satin pea coat, cinched in black, as if to proclaim loudly and clearly their right to ostentation.


Fendi has made its choice sorry, the Lord has spoken and it is Maria Grazia Chiuri who takes over the artistic direction of the Roman house. This appointment comes in the midst of a chaotic reshuffle: Kim Jones’s departure, once expected to embody the creative breath of both haute couture and ready-to-wear, has left a void that Fendi is now scrambling to fill. Silvia Venturini Fendi, meanwhile, has been asked to step back, relegated to the more symbolic role of honorary president but given her last collection, this hardly comes as a surprise.
Big bows and old lace that’s about as faithful a summary as you can get of Nicolas Guesquière’s latest show for Vuitton. The staging is as stable as a Windows 98 system on life support, swinging between awkward hybrids and copy-pastes from Milan Fashion Week. You can tell the inspiration made a pit stop at Malpensa before taking off.
This collection was born from a secret oath between the splendor of yesterday and the vigor of today (says the designer). From the magnificence of the French court, she borrowed grandeur, brocades, solemn braids, and radiant crosses; but instead of letting them slumber in the dust of palaces, she set them against the wild momentum of our century, so that they might clash and fertilize one another in a dazzling embrace.


On Wednesday in Milan, Silvia Venturini Fendi unveiled a motley collection for Fendi, bursting with flowers and references to the 1990s. The exercise is clever: taking what, until yesterday, was considered “cheap” elastic cords, adjustable straps, flimsy windbreaker zippers and elevating it to the status of a new chic ornament on Calais lace “made in China.” Luxury has always loved recycling the banal since the man from Toledo, provided it’s wrapped in a carefully crafted narrative and staged with theatrical flair. It was as if we were laying the first stone of a memorial dedicated to the victims of stoning.
Summer not the heatwave one, but the world’s summer that clings to old Britpop rags. Shabby tracksuits and drooping polos with fishtail parkas dragging through the mud like the Gallaghers, priests of nothing and celebrants of noise…