Category Archives: BREAKING MODE

SIX MILLION EUROS FOR A HANDBAG

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Luxury is a matter of money. Elegance is a matter of education. An Italian niche accessories brand, Boarini Milanesi, has just unveiled a hyper luxurious bag that retails for 6 million euros. How is that possible? The top-handle bag is crafted from alligator skin and festooned with 10 white gold butterflies studded with sapphires, diamonds and Paraiba tourmalines totaling more than 130 carats. Only three of the bags, which requires 1,000 hours of work to be completed, are to be produced.

Behind the astonishing opulence of the project lies a giving-back strategy. In fact, 800,000 euros from the sale of each bag will be donated to institutions dedicated to ridding the sea of plastics.

This decision is deeply linked to Boarini Milanesi’s cofounder Matteo Rodolfo Milanesi’s personal history, who wanted to celebrate the love for the sea of his father, who passed away when he was only a teenager. Continue reading →

DESIGNER FRAGRANCES WHAT NEXT

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Designer fragrances have had a storied history. Paul Poiret became a perfume entrepreneur in the early 1900s, while Gabrielle Chanel in 1921 introduced Chanel No. 5. Christian Dior started his storied perfume business with Miss Dior in 1947.

Yves Saint Laurent came out with Y in 1964. Norell, in 1968, “hit American department stores like a bomb,”. Halston by Halston launched in 1975. “In its second year, it made more money than the whole of Max Factor USA,

“Then came Opium in 1977, the blockbuster from Chantal Roos ,” YSL launch that channeled the brand’s essence of excess with everything from its provocative name, juice, advertising, bottle and launch party one year later on a boat moored in New York’s South Street Seaport, where vessels loaded with opium used to arrive from Asia. Continue reading →

THE WALKING DEAD

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Actor Christian Serratos is best known so far for her role in “The Walking Dead,” but she’s about to become a lot more recognizable to the masses when she takes on the role of Selena in Netflix’s upcoming “Selena: The Series,” which premieres on Netflix Dec. 4.

She attended the American Music Awards Sunday night, wearing a Tom Ford gown and Forevermark jewels selected for her by her “Designer” .

As a stylist when you fall in love with something, you hope that the right girl and the right event comes along so that you can get the dress and style it. And she was the right girl. She’s stunning and I think Tom Ford noticed how stunning she was. It just felt right; she feels like the Tom Ford aesthetic. It was a really good collaboration.

A FLAVOR OF NEWS

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Puig Acquires Majority Stake in Charlotte Tilbury

Charlotte Tilbury became the latest founder to score a billion-dollar beauty deal when Puig agreed to buy a majority stake in her business for what sources said was about 1.2 billion pounds. BDT Capital Partners also bought a stake in the business. For fragrance-focused Puig, the acquisition furthers exposure to the color cosmetics category, which the company has played in with Christian Louboutin Beauty and Carolina Herrera’s makeup line. The Charlotte Tilbury business also has an expanding and successful skin-care component, and was growing quickly even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Multiple strategic buyers, including the Estée Lauder Cos., were said to have looked at the business. Continue reading →

SNEAKER IN GOLD

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Fans of Balenciaga’s Track.2 sneaker can now buy a limited-edition sculpture of the shoe, part of a new category named Objects produced outside of the Paris-based label’s fashion collections. Only 20 of the metal sculptures, shaped like a size 41 sneaker, are available in Balenciaga stores and on its web site priced $5,750.

The sculpture is made in Italy with 16 cast brass pieces that are soldered and coated with palladium. Further objects, ranging from collectibles to items for everyday use, will be introduced individually throughout the year.

Saint Laurent, which like Balenciaga belongs to French luxury group Kering, began diversifying into limited-edition objects last year with the opening of its Rive Droite concept stores in Paris and Los Angeles, selling everything from yoga mats to Saint Laurent-branded condoms.

After transforming the stores into museums, the Fashion Brands transforms the accessories for the museums.

LOCKDOWN OVERSIZED ME

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When designers showed their fall collections they had no idea we would be sequestered at home in our leisure wear for the foreseeable future.

Per usual, they paraded models down the runway in gorgeous gowns and sky-high heels, tailored suits and pointed boots. But one thing they did get right for fall 2020 is the oversized look. Continue reading →

WINES FOR CHRISTMAS 2021

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The Grands Crus de France are truly the showcase of the excellence of French viticulture. Indeed, it is with these wines that the whole world can perceive the exceptional character of the terroirs and the know-how of our winegrowers, our oenologists and all the people who make up the fabric of France’s winemaking world.

From the 13th century through the 17th and 18th centuries, most of the wines of France enjoy an outstanding reputation! Cheval Blanc in Saint-Emilion, Petrus in Pomerol, Yquem in Sauternes, Margaux, Latour in Pauillac, Haut-Brion in Pessac-Léognan, to name but a few, find their names mentioned in numerous historical collections.

Margaux is one of those jewels that adorn the crown of Bordeaux’s great growths. Situated on the left bank of the Gironde river in the wine region of the Médoc, this appellation of more than 1450 hectares, includes 21 grands crus classés in 1855. Continue reading →

YANNICK MACHADO

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Perfectly constructed, superbly embroidered, he announces it himself, one is never better served than by himself. “I would like to give women the opportunity to show their strength, not their power”. So here is a chapter for a label that is Chinese whereas it should be French and be part of Chambre Syndicale. Yannick Machado, half Italian and half French with a hint of Portuguese, is a hardened bachelor who loves wedding dresses. Who knows why? Continue reading →

THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO

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Egypt-Based Okhtein Branches Into Eyewear, Retail. The brand is looking to grow from a handbag label into a lifestyle one and expand its international footprint.

Accessories label Okhtein has become a star in its Cairo, Egypt, Now the label is broadening its ambitions, with the aim of growing from a handbag label into a lifestyle one by way of a new eyewear category.

The sunglasses seemed like a good transition to play around with, and to display the strength of the brand identity.

Their brass minaudière bags have been gaining more visibility internationally and catching the eye of major celebrities including Beyoncé and Cardi B, while select international retailers such as Browns and Selfridges have picked up the label.

The company’s sunglass launch saw immediate traction, with one style even making an appearance in Balmain’s latest men’s wear campaign featuring the Colombian superstar Maluma.

NO MATTER WHO WINS FOR EU

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No matter who wins Tuesday’s presidential election, the future will most likely remain challenging for British and European firms looking to do business with the U.S., according to Allyson Stewart-Allen, who argues that domestic issues will dominate the agenda in a Joe Biden, or a second Donald Trump, term.

Since Trump took office, the U.S. has been seen as a much more nationalistic and isolationist place: The messages around ‘America first’ and ‘Make America great again’ are about prioritizing the U.S. before any other place or country.

You see it a less attractive place possibly to want to hire people, set up offices, and create jobs if you are a non-U.S. company. All of that isolationism is bad for the American economy and bad for the world. Continue reading →

JOHNNY ZHOU

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Vice President of the Grace Chen fashion house, having worked in Sydney for the Schenker company, a division of the German rail operator, Deutsche Bahn
Johnny Zhou was previously in logistics for Bax Global. This young Chinese executive graduated from the Australian Graduate School of Management and soon this art lover turned to fashion as a natural choice. Behind a successful brand, there are always men in the shadows.

Athletic, he could be an actor in a Wong Kar-wai movie, and with his costume from one of the best French designers, he would not denote if he came to Paris for Fashion Week. A fan of sleepless nights of work, this globetrotter embodies the fury of extreme oriental living. With the look of an aristocrat, he is in couture as he could be a hero of Marguerite Duras. Continue reading →

MIU MIU ICONS CAMPAIGN 2021

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Miu Miu Launches Icons Campaign Revealing Pre-spring 2021 Collection. The Italian fashion house on Oct. 29 will launch the holiday 2020 ad campaign called Miu Miu Icons, fronted by seven diverse artists, embodying women’s polyhedric personalities and talents.

The campaign will also reveal the brand’s pre-spring 2021 collection, aligning it with its delivery in Miu Miu boutiques, specialty stores and on Miumiu.com in early November.

Continue reading →

CHINA VIEW

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Betty Bachz, cofounder of British eyewear brand Møy Atelier, said she has been seeing a lot of oversized sci-fi-inspired eyewear designs in China, priced at the accessible $200 mark. The brave new world may already be upon us, the future is now.

The futuristic-looking design comes with a one-piece lens design and a fluid oversized titanium frame that stretches across the forehead with triangle patterns Hadid commonly used in her works in China. If you are wearing this piece in a strong wind, you would see you are not only in style, but it functions like a windshield. This piece and three additional commercial styles will be available beginning in February in selected stores. Continue reading →

TIFFANY THE BIG UGLY DEAL

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The European Commission gave the now-disputed deal the thumbs-up on Monday, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Tiffany.

“All regulatory approvals required for the completion of the merger have now been obtained,” Tiffany said.

But the most important approval of all the go-ahead from LVMH chief Bernard Arnault has been withdrawn and the two sides are embroiled in a nasty court fight that’s set to go to trial in Delaware on Jan. 5.

LVMH started to back away from the deal over the summer and in September publicly said it was walking away, citing a letter from the French government.

Immediately, the case went to the courts with Tiffany accusing, among other things, that LVMH was dragging its feet over approvals. Continue reading →

AMAZING GRACE

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To me she seemed apparelled in celestial light. She represents glory and freshness of a dream where the sunshine is a glorious birth, when the birds sing a joyful song, who gives beauty and cheerful.

Every fashion designer are on holidays except Grace who presented her collection at the Shanghai Fashion Week. What a pretty first name for a Fashion designer ! In the soothing thoughts that spring out of human suffering,

Since the beginning of the Shanghai Fashion Week, we had been collecting hundreds of chimeras and dresses. But, for the first time, we saw beauty in all its luminescence. Regarded as one of China’s most influential fashion innovators, Grace Chen has been hailed as “the Power Dresser of China” by South China Morning Post and “China’s Most Sought-After Couturier” by The Hollywood Reporter.

Continue reading →

CAVALLI FAUSTO COPY

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Roberto Cavalli Has Found Its New Creative Director, Fausto Puglisi . Roberto Cavalli has zeroed in on its new creative director, according to sources here, who believe Sicilian designer Fausto Puglisi has been selected for the job.

This isn’t the first time Puglisi’s name is associated with the brand, as he was rumored to join the company back in 2017, but Paul Surridge ended up nabbing the role, succeeding Peter Dundas.

Surridge exited last year, and the collections have been designed by an in-house team since then. Things have changed this time around as Cavalli has a new owner, Hussain Sajwani, who is looking to relaunch the brand with the help of Puglisi, sources say. Continue reading →

THE EXCEPTIONAL SALE OF PRADA AT SOTHEBY’S

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The luxury brand Prada had chosen to auction 40 looks from its autumn-winter 2020 collection as well as the decor of the fashion show in which it was presented last February. Entitled “Tools of Memory”, the operation enabled a donation to be made to UNESCO and the Global Coalition for Education, an educational response to covid-19 .

A Prada sale at 439,362 euros this Wednesday, around 4 p.m., the press release sent by the Prada press department had a taste of success. All the pieces were sold for a total amount of 439,362 euros. The sale brought together 72 items, participants from 27 different countries and a large majority of new bidders: 68 percent of them were first-time participants at Sotheby’s and 30 percent were 40 years old or younger. Continue reading →

FIRST AWARD AT 42 YEARS OLD

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The designer From the flat country, I mean from Belgium for uneducated people,  Tom Van Der Borght won the Première Vision Grand Prize at the 35th edition of the Hyères International Festival of Fashion and Photography, which wrapped on Sunday, winning over a jury headed by designer Jonathan Anderson, founder of JW Anderson and creative director of Loewe.

In a break with its recent tradition of rewarding graduates fresh out of school, finealy. The Hyères jury selected a designer who is already established almost a retired fashion designer, It’s always better than Didier Grumler’s choices for his nights in Toulon. Van Der Borght started his fashion education at the age of 30 and established his label in 2013 after graduating from the Stedelijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten Sint-Niklaas, a fashion school located between Antwerp and his home base of Ghent. Continue reading →

ARNAUD SUPPORT LAGARDÈRE

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Bernard Arnault has again upped his stake in Lagardère SCA, as a French commercial court is expected to wade into a battle between French industry titans for control of the embattled publishing and retail company.

Acting in concert, Groupe Arnault and Financière Agache, the holding company controlled by Groupe Arnault, together with a group of companies controlled by Arnaud Lagardère, chief executive officer of Lagardère, now jointly hold 15.01 percent of the capital of Lagardère SCA and 16.93 percent of voting rights.

The move, revealed by stock market regulator AMF in a filing on Tuesday, comes as a Paris court is set to rule on Wednesday on a request from Vivendi, a media group controlled by French billionaire Vincent Bolloré, and activist investor Amber Capital for an exceptional shareholder meeting, part of their bid to gain board representation. Continue reading →