TRUSSARDI NEW DIRECTION

Trussardi the Milan-based company has appointed Serhat Işık and Benjamin A. Huseby as new creative directors of the brand, tasked with overseeing all aspects of design, image and branding. Their first collection for Trussardi will bow for fall 2022.

Işık and Huseby are known for their own label, the Berlin-based GmbH, launched in 2016, and which they plan to continue to design.

Işık is a first-generation German of Turkish descent and Huseby, of Norwegian-Pakistani heritage, grew up in Norway. Işık, who had been teaching fashion at the university in Berlin, was making collections on a noncommercial basis. Huseby had been a photographer and artist, who as a child sketched fashion looks and made his own clothes as a teenager. Cultural mixes and a sense of otherness have informed GmbH, and the city and cultural scene of Berlin have also shaped their approach. Continue reading

RICHEMONT AND KERING

With a surge in fourth-quarter sales and Compagnie Financière Richemont in recovery post-pandemic, the last thing on Johann Rupert’s mind is selling the company he founded more than 30 years ago.

Rupert, chairman, founder and shareholder of reference, said the group has invested and reaped far too many rewards for the company to sell or merge now with a competitor. If that happened, he said, then all of the shareholders would suffer.

Profits climbed 38 percent to 1.29 billion euros, with the company confirming a “strong start” into the new financial year, “with accelerating trends across all business areas. Continue reading

DIOR 2022 BY KIM

Kim Jones for his resort collection, skipped forward a decade to Dior’s successor Marc Bohan, whose graphic patterns inspired the laid-back, sporty lineup.

Roomy pants that pooled around the ankles anchored most of the looks, from relaxed tailoring in a warm palette of chocolate, forest green, caramel and dusty pink, to casual pieces in tactile materials.

Subtle variations on the Dior Oblique pattern, perhaps Bohan’s most lasting contribution to the house’s visual identity. But the former Dior designer’s lesser-known logos also provided fodder for inspiration: the CD initials, shaped like a heart, came embroidered on jackets and shirts.

As the world emerges from the coronavirus pandemic, that pragmatic approach felt both grounded and optimistic: packing a suitcase never felt so good.

FRANCOIS PINAULT’S MUSEUM

More than 20 years after first floating the idea of creating an art institution in Paris, billionaire François Pinault will finally open the doors of his private museum to the public on Saturday. The Bourse de Commerce is the latest venue to house the Pinault Collection, after the Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana in Venice, Italy.

The museum is housed in a historic building in central Paris that can trace its roots back to the 16th century. At one point it served as a grain exchange, with an imposing circular floor that is the centerpiece of a renovation led by Japanese architect Tadao Ando, who has erected a concrete cylinder in the central rotunda.

Project began in 2017 and was completed in March 2020, the new museum features more than 75,000 square feet of exhibition space, in addition to a restaurant, the Halle aux grains, run by award-winning chefs Michel and Sébastien Bras. Continue reading

HEARST AND THE EARTH

I wanna see bags and dresses, not bees reads one comment on Chloé’s Instagram account, which was recently scrubbed clean to make way for a radical visual narrative, so far focused on insects, plants, fruits and the occasional freckled nose.

To be sure, some of the French brand’s 9.5 million followers on the photo-sharing platform wondered if its account had been hacked, with users describing the nature closeups as super strange, stupid or weird.

Over Zoom on Friday, Chloé’s creative director Gabriela Hearst cited a deep and ambitious reason: A wish to rewire people’s brains and reconnect them to all the things the planet gives us.

It’s healing, she said. I feel that it’s doing something we never thought we could do on social media. It does have this healing vision for the eyes, as we go through the journey together of understanding where things come from. Continue reading

AIR OF TIME BY PUIG

Nina Ricci Closes Historic Flagship Boutique in Paris, owned by Spanish fragrance and fashion group Puig, the brand is pivoting to a digital-first.

The brand, founded in 1932 and known for its bestselling fragrances, including L’Air du Temps, is expected to launch an e-commerce site this fall. Ricci is carried by around 80 retailers worldwide, including Le Bon Marché, Printemps, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Isetan, Joyce and Lane Crawford. It is also sold online via Net-a-porter, Farfetch and Ssense.

The store, opened in 1979, will be taken over by Paco Rabanne which, like Nina Ricci, belongs to Spanish fragrance and fashion group Puig, the parent company of brands including Carolina Herrera, Jean Paul Gaultier, Dries Van Noten and Penhaligon’s.

The boutique at 39 Avenue Montaigne, across the street from Dior, is closed and its windows are covered with stickers bearing the Paco Rabanne logo. Continue reading

ADDIDAS AND MARVEL

Adidas just dropped a new sneaker that’s perfect for fans of Marvel Comics. The German sportswear giant has partnered with Marvel to give its ZX 2K Boost shoe a new look by taking inspiration from the iconic comic book character Iron Man and his fictional company Stark Industries.

The look of the Marvel x Adidas ZX 2K Boost “Stark Industries” is executed with a black-based textile upper that’s paired with white panels at the forefoot and heel counter. Adding to the style is the text “Stark Industries” on the lateral side, an orange heel tab, and a full-length Boost midsole. According to the shoe’s product description, glow-in-the-dark details appear on the upper’s overlays and on the outsole reminiscent of Iron Man’s armored suit while the tongue is designed in the shape of his mask. In addition, the sneaker comes packaged with a special box printed with various Marvel comic book characters.

The Marvel x Adidas ZX 2K Boost “Stark Industries” collab is available now at Adidas.com with sizes ranging from a men’s 5 all the way up to a men’s 12. The shoe comes with a $150 price tag.

THE BEAUTY OF THE DEVIL

Nike may have settled its lawsuit with MSCHF over the collective’s Lil Nas X “Satan Shoes,” but the controversy leaves lots of questions for both brands looking to be more litigious and for resellers.

After being granted a temporary restraining order on April 2 to halt the sale of 666 pairs of the $1,080 “Satan Shoes,” Nike’s settlement calls for MSCHF to initiate a voluntary buyback of the shoes, which were reimagined Nike Air Max 97s that featured an engraved bronze pentagram; the Bible passage Luke 10:18, which details Satan falling from Heaven, and one drop of blood in the sneaker’s air bubble sole that was provided by MSCHF staffers. Continue reading

L’ATELIER DE CHINE

Here is the most sublime collection of Fashion Week and the theme is Art Nouveau, an artistic style that develops from the late nineteenth century, first in Belgium and then in France. It flourishes in architecture and decorative arts. The search for functionality is one of the concerns of architects and designers. Art Nouveau is characterized by forms inspired by nature, where the curve of nature dominates.

Unlike many other artistic movements, Art Nouveau does not seek to promote a precise system of artistic principles invented by an artist or a group of artists and theorists. The name itself is that of a store in Paris, the Maison de l’Art Nouveau, opened in 1895 by the German art dealer Siegfried Bing. For Bing, as for many of his contemporaries, European civilization was going through a period of great turbulence and was facing unprecedented political, social and technological changes; the world of art and decoration therefore had to respond to the demands of this evolution. Continue reading

ERMANNO SCERVINO

“I always wanted to be a stylist” Ermanno once announced. And from a young age, he dreamed of dressing the most beautiful women in the world. This is not a first for us, because we already talked about him in 2010. A collection of ultra-feminine style and the time was to highlight the curves and other feminine attractions, because down the masks, thus throwing the spotlight on dresses guipure for legs as long as compasses.

Guipure from Ireland, Flanders, Le Puy; making guipure for a sublime trench coat, collar, cuffs with lace ruffles, not too young they say, but it is the only material that silk likes for neighbor, and this one comes from China. This static show deserves nothing less than the epithet of Royal, at least for the atmosphere of the almost moving sculptures, of an intense presentation that in terms of eloquence sews to the maturity of a great, from the Huang Mountains. Continue reading

CHINA YU PRIZE

Chen Peng, the designer best known for his outsize down puffer jackets, took home the top award from the Yu Prize, the platform founded by Wendy Yu that seeks out China's best up-and-coming fashion talent.

Chen will receive funding of 1 million renminbi, or $152,000, in addition to a year’s mentoring from OTB Group, retailing at Harrods, and a showcase by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. The inaugural event grew from one prize, as it was originally announced, to four awards that grant the winners a total of 1.5 million renminbi, or $229,000. Continue reading

SUPERMASK MEDICAL MUSIC

Music group Black Eyed Peas introduces his newest tech innovation today: Xupermask. Pronounced “supermask,” the product is made in partnership with technology and manufacturing company Honeywell International.

The wearable face technology, launching April 8, is made using medical-grade silicone and an adjustable elastic strap, featuring three dual-speed fans and a Honeywell created filtration system, plus noise-canceling audio, a microphone, a magnetic earbud docking system, Bluetooth connectivity and a seven-hour battery. Produced in two colors and sizes, Xupermask retails for $299 and will be available in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and E.U. at Xupermask.com.

The product offers newness as consumers adjust to COVID-19, its impact on everyday life today and moving forward. While the price point might prove prohibitive for some, especially when compared to the myriad cloth or Continue reading

RALPH LAUREN AND SELFRIDGES

Ralph Lauren Corp., which has been on course to build even stronger digital connections, has made some key changes in its creative department.

Jack Becht, most recently digital fashion director at Selfridges, joined last month as creative director, agency, at Ralph Lauren, overseeing the Polo, Luxury, Lauren, Home and RL content studio divisions.

He reports to Alice Delahunt, chief digital and content officer, who has been with the company for three years, having cut her teeth at Google, Snap Inc. and Burberry, where she worked for six years and rose to global director of digital and social.

Becht has more than 10 years of experience in advertising, branded content and editorial. Prior to his year at Selfridges, he spent three years as creative director at Condé Nast, where he led the Fashion/Luxury group creating advertising and content campaigns for client’s channels, as well as the print, digital and social platforms of Condé Nast’s brand portfolios.

H AND M SNEAKER

After the Vuitton sneaker the H and M sneaker the two extreme ones are here, except that Vuitton was an April fool, so stop calling the office to know where the sneakers are on sale.

Sustainable sneaker label Good News has joined forces with H and M on a capsule collection of unisex sneakers. The sneakers, which have a retro flair and feature upbeat stripes and colors, were made using grape leather, fibers derived from banana plants and biodegradable soles.

Despite these efforts, there remains a lot of scrutiny around fast-fashion giants and their sustainability claims which some often dismiss as greenwashing.

For the Good News duo, however, the retailer’s willingness to make changes and its levels of transparency the Swedish company topped the 2020 transparency ranking by campaign group Fashion Revolution made the tie-in a step in the right direction. Continue reading

GUCCI VACCINATES EMPLOYEES

Gucci will open the doors of its corporate offices and facilities to vaccinate more than 6,000 Italian employees, including offices, factories and retail. The rollout of COVID-19 vaccines has been slow in Italy and a number of Italian fashion companies are taking steps to help speed up the process.

Gucci on Monday said it was joining an initiative by Italy’s association Confindustria. Even LVMH has thought of using its new flagship la Samaritaine to vaccinate its employees. As soon as Italian national and regional health regulations allow it, Gucci will open the doors of its corporate offices and facilities to vaccinate more than 6,000 Italian employees, from offices, factories and retail.

The decision is in line with that of parent company Kering, which is offering its own spaces and those of the other brands of the group operating in Italy. Continue reading

MAURIZIO GUCCI A VISIONARY

While much of the subsequent media attention obviously focused on Maurizio Gucci’s murder in 1995 the anniversary of which is Saturday his ex-wife Patrizia Reggiani’s jealousy and greed, and their strained relationship, Morante talked some light on the events that preceded the tragedy and which also helped set the scene for the global development of the luxury goods industry  such as the arrival of private equity funds and international and diverse creative and management teams as well as the challenges family businesses face.

Maurizio Gucci was the first to realize the potential of the Gucci brand at a moment when the luxury industry was nascent. In the late ‘80s, Maurizio understood ahead of time that the luxury industry was about to embark on and experience a global renaissance. Not everybody was convinced at that stage, he told to Jacques Mouclier about Haute Couture and Metiers d’Art ; the only man who shared the same opinion. Continue reading

KOHLER LEAVES FERAGAMO

The Salvatore Ferragamo Group is seeing changes in the Americas, as Donald Kohler will be exiting the company. Kohler joined Ferragamo as chief executive officer of the Americas region and chief retail officer of the worldwide group in September 2017.

Ferragamo confirmed Kohler was leaving to pursue another professional experience at the end of his contract, but did not provide a specific time frame, while adding that the company has given a mandate to an executive search firm to seek a successor.

Kohler started his career in 1990 at Macy’s, in the executive training program, working both in stores and in the buying office. In 1993, he joined Gap in San Francisco, rising to the role of vice president merchandise planning for the international division. Continue reading

CAPUCINES SEYDOUX FOR LV

After channeling the screen icon for the December issue a French magazine, the French actress is reprising some of Monroe’s most famous photo shoots in her latest Louis Vuitton campaign, which finds her naked in bed with only a Capucines handbag for company.

A Monroe rolling in bed, a photo shoot with Bert Stern that took place six weeks before the iconic actress died in 1962.

For Vuitton said that while Monroe was “an everlasting source of inspiration,” the images also refer to the fantasy of “Jane Blond girls” Seydoux is set to reprise her role as Madeleine Swann opposite Daniel Craig in the upcoming James Bond film “No Time to Die,” which is now set for release in October after several postponements due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A woman and her bag the timeless elegance of the Capucines bag. The French fashion house is billing the style, launched in 2013, as a “modern classic,” highlighting the large model in black leather for the campaign. Continue reading