VICTORIA BECKHAM 2021

If there was ever a designer fully tuned into trans-seasonal fashion, and the laws of layering, it’s Victoria Beckham, who’s been spending her lockdown in Miami with the family, as husband David gets on with work at Inter Miami CF, the MLS team he cofounded.

The family has been in south Florida since Christmas, and Victoria has been homeschooling the kids and working remotely with her team back in freezing, snowy, locked-down London. This season, she’s combined her pre-fall and fall collections, and filled them with pieces that can work in a variety of climates.

Her lineup was packed with military looks — roomy topcoats with shiny buttons; navy trousers with red stripes, and a puffer jacket with regimental details.

LVMH STOPS THE FENTY BRAND

Rihanna, LVMH Are Pausing the Fenty Fashion House. Lord Arnault had thrown powder in Rihanna’s eyes to make her believe that she would become a fashion designer, but in fact he only wanted her brand of cosmetics.

The music star and the French luxury giant have mutually agreed to put the Fenty maison on hold, less than two years after the launch. The brand stopped posting on its Instagram account on Jan. 1, and the last collection drop on Fenty.com dates back to November 2020.

LVMH have jointly made the decision to put on hold the rtw activity, based in Europe, pending better conditions. According to sources, a skeleton staff remains at the Paris headquarters of Fenty fashions to wind down remaining operations. Continue reading

THE MANTERO ARCHIVE

The Mantero Archive has long been considered a comprehensive and extraordinary collection of textiles and an inspiration for numerous designers, with more than 10,000 volumes and 60,000 foulards from the top fashion houses, thousands of drawings and prints.

Now it has expanded further, housing the Ken Scott Foundation in Grandate, just outside Como. Italian silk specialist Mantero, which is based in Como, bought the Ken Scott brand in 2019, and has structured the foundation as an exhibition space.

We are anxious to open it up to the world, once the travel restrictions will be lifted, said Franco Mantero, chief executive officer of the family-owned company.

The Ken Scott Foundation was established in 1989 by the Indiana-born designer, who died in 1991 and became popular in the 60s and 70s with his colorful prints. Continue reading

ROCHA AND H&M

H&M is getting ready to release its latest designer collaboration, this time with Simone Rocha.

The retailer released the full look book for its Simone Rocha x H&M collaboration on Monday, a collection that includes women’s and men’s wear, and children’s options. The collection is said to take inspiration from the history and fashion of Ireland and Hong Kong, representing Rocha’s dual heritage.

“I hope that the items in this collection will be worn and treasured for years to come,” Rocha said in a statement. “They were all informed by ideas and inspirations that have shaped me and my brand over the last 10 years, and I am so excited to see them worn out-and-about and interpreted and styled in new ways.”

The collection includes a variety of feminine dresses with lace and tulle detailing in floral and tartan prints. Many of the pieces are embellished with pearls, a detail also seen in Rocha’s spring 2021 ready-to-wear collection. Continue reading

BRITISH FASHION WEEK KILLED BY BREXIT

British fashion threatened to be “decimated” by Brexit. The sector “risks being decimated by the Brexit agreement and current government policy,” the Fashion roundtable warns in a letter.

This is a call for help from the British fashion world to the government. In an open letter, the Fashion roundtable warns of the risk that the sector could be “decimated” because of Brexit.

Fashion and textiles, “an industry that contributes 35 billion euros to the UK’s GDP and employs almost a million people”, “risks being decimated by the Brexit agreement and the government’s current policy”, warns the letter, addressed to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Ministers of Culture, Industry and Home Affairs.
The sector contributes more to Britain’s GDP than the fishing, music, film and automotive industries combined.

Stressing that the EU is the biggest partner for both imports and exports, the fashion world denounces delays and “paperwork mountain” induced by the new rules. It calls on the government to support measures and consider tax cuts. Continue reading

MARTONE DIED AT 41

Saturday that Martone died at age 41 in tragic circumstances. She was hospitalized for a 15-minute surgery, but died suddenly due to complications during the operation.

Daughter of ICR’s Roberto Martone, she retained creative roles in the family-run fragrance manufacturing business, which develops scents for the likes of Salvatore Ferragamo and Bulgari.

There was something fascinating in being in the presence of Giorgia Martone, who was known in the beauty industry for her expertise in fragrance creation, a passion passed down by her father and Italian leading perfume manufacturer ICR’s president Roberto Martone. Continue reading

ON AURA TOUT VU

Corseted bustier in silk satin and cristals, enhanced with 100 Syringes filled with crystal vaccine, which ends in a needle whose tip is adorned with a drop-shaped pearl.
The vaccine dress … by @onauratoutvu

FARHAD RE GORGEOUS

Farhad Re was born in Rome and grew up between Italy and France, where he spent most of his time invested in his work as a stylist loved by stars, princesses, and jet-setting ladies such as Catherine Deneuve, Ivana Trump, Joan Collins, Brigitte Nielsen, Ursula Andress, and Princess Soraya – heads of sumptuous and marked elegance. Known for his high fashion garments and accessories that despite their modernity reflect a taste for extreme luxury.

It is difficult to classify his singular creations mixing, instinctively, baroque, punk and romanticism. Organza, satins, furs, embroidery and laces are the refined ingredients of his elaborated combinations. Without any dose of nostalgia, he knows how to combine heritage and modernity, technique and creation.

Even if his house is young, it is part of a long tradition that he respects, while not hesitating to move towards new ideas. In 2018, Farhad Re moved his Atelier and showroom from Rome to Paris… Continue reading

BARNEY SAKS IN GREENWICH

On Jan. 25, a 14,000-square-foot, two-level freestanding Barneys at Saks store will open in Greenwich, Conn., on the site formerly occupied by the Saks Fifth Avenue The Collective contemporary women's fashion store. Saks.com launched a Barneys shop in late December 2019.

We’re bringing Barneys to Saks in a way that’s relevant to today’s luxury consumer and focused on discovery, the unexpected, and fun.

Margolies characterized the Barneys project as part of the strategy of the past five years to elevate Saks, in her words, into the fashion authority delivering the best choices and the best edit, any way customers want to get it, and to further the four-year, $250 million-plus modernization of the 640,000-square-foot Fifth Avenue flagship, recasting and renovating the floors. It’s essentially complete now, except for some future men’s renovations. Continue reading

JEAN PAUL SACAI POSTPONEMENT

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

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

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

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

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

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

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