Category Archives: BREAKING MODE
VUITTON TRACE AND TRACK
Louis Vuitton on Friday unveiled the first global blockchain designed to help consumers trace the provenance and authenticity of luxury goods, a platform named Aura it has developed in partnership with Microsoft and New York-based blockchain software technology company ConsenSys.
Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive officer of parent company LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, said the technology was still in the very early stages, but touted it as a key tool in the fight against fakes.
Executives at the luxury conglomerate, including chief digital officer Ian Rogers, declined to elaborate on the platform, which will be open to all luxury brands without intermediation, with data remaining confidential. Continue reading
INSIDE DIOR DINNER AT CANNES
NAZHA THE KERING McQUEEN
China is the Kering-owned brand’s biggest market, and have 18 stores in the Greater China region, including four in Hong Kong, three in Macau. British fashion house Alexander McQueen appointed Chinese actress Nazha to be their first China brand ambassador on Wednesday.
The brand made the official announcement on Weibo, China’s own Twitter, with five images of her wearing McQueen’s pre-fall 2019 collection.
“I am thrilled to be the brand ambassador of Alexander McQueen, may we join hands and walk into the unique aesthetic world of Alexander McQueen,” the actress said on Weibo. Born Gülnezer Bextiyar in Ürümqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in 1992, Nazha began her modeling career at the age of 16 and later graduated from the prestigious Beijing Film Academy in Beijing in 2011. Continue reading
BURBERRY AND GIGI
Gigi Hadid Fronts Burberry Campaign For First Ever Monogram Collection can lean into any look. Is it any wonder, then, that Burberry has tapped the model to transform into several characters in its campaign for its first-ever monogram collection?
Photographed by Nick Knight and designed by Riccardo Tisci in collaboration with British artist Peter Saville, Hadid showcases the brand’s interlocking TB initials across an array of pieces from bomber jackets to tote bags and trainers. “I have always loved and respected Riccardo’s work, and I feel so honoured and grateful that he trusted me with this project,” Hadid said.
The distinctive monogram was first showcased in 2018 after Tisci discovered a selection of 20th century Burberry logo motifs in the house’s archive.
WE ARE ALL ANIMALS
Kering SA, the French owner of Gucci and Saint Laurent, says it wants to improve suppliers’ treatment of animals used for products like leather handbags and cashmere suits.
The luxury company will apply European Union standards for animal welfare considered to be among the world’s most rigorous as a global baseline by 2025, it said Monday. For suppliers that already meet the requirements, which include unfettered access to clean water and room to move freely, the company said it wants to encourage further improvements like allowing free grazing for cattle or making sure ostriches have enough space to run. Continue reading
RIHANNA ATTRACTS MR ARNAULT
After months of hype, LVMH and Rihanna’s fashion venture is finally materialising. The superstar is set to present her first collection for the new label, which will be branded Fenty, on May 22 in Paris. The label will span ready to wear, accessories, sunglasses, jewellery and shoes.
“Mr Arnault has given me a unique opportunity to develop a fashion house in the luxury sector, with no artistic limits.”
Fenty is the first fashion brand launched from scratch by LVMH since Christian Lacroix was founded in 1987. LVMH wants probably to compete with the Kardashian Familly. The war between Bimbos is open.
The Bimbo naturally finds her full place within LVMH. To support Rihanna to start up the Fenty Maison, they have built a talented and multicultural team supported by the Group resources. LVMH puts at her disposal a model & a designer as Rihanna does nothing apart from singing. Continue reading
CHANEL PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
One of the most famous buildings in Paris, the Paris Opera, celebrated its 350th anniversary on Wednesday and it went all out.
A flurry of glamorous guests including Meg Ryan, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Golshifteh Farahani mounted the central staircase of the Palais Garnier, surrounded with an installation of wild flowers by florist Eric Chauvin.
The audience took their seats under the venue’s stunning ceiling painted by Marc Chagall to enjoy a performance by Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, as part of the fund-raising gala supported by Schiaparelli and Rolex and, not by Chanel as we said few month ago. Shame on the people who said it was a fake news.
There was a certain frisson about spending the evening in such a famed landmark, known for being the setting of Gaston Leroux’s novel “The Phantom of the Opera.” In fact, we were the Phantom as we were not invited. So unfortunately we cannot tell you more about the performance.
DRUG SEX AND LUXURY
It’s a green new world full of opportunity for CBD and THC beauty and wellness brands. Cannabis companies are IPOing and heading out on the acquisition trail within a matter of days.
Founded in 2016 by Thea Wayne and Jordan Darian, Humble Flower produces cannabis-infused lotions and oils combining THC and CBD, promising hydrating properties and topical relief from pain and other ailments. Continue reading
MET GALA 2019
BREXIT IMPACT- KORS RELOCATES IN LONDON
Michael Kors to cut two-thirds of staff at French HQ. In order to justify the redundancy plan, Michael Kors has highlighted the brand’s declining results in France. Indeed, in the first three quarters of fiscal 2019, the company’s operations in the EMEA region saw an 8.8% decrease across both wholesale and retail sales.
Luxury ready-to-wear brand Michael Kors intends to cut two-thirds of the staff at its French HQ. The plan affects some 20 employees of the company’s French subsidiary, who will discover exactly which positions are being cut in the next few weeks, with some roles possibly being relocated to London.
The brand’s French HQ currently employs around 30 people, who are responsable for sales and press operations in France and Benelux, as well as merchandising and franchises in the EMEA region. Continue reading
AURORA WOULD YOU SCENT ELEGANCE
What scent would be ideal to describe happiness or how would you scent elegance? Fresh and slightly fruity, with a rind of citrus gently hovering in the beginning the top notes are beautifully embraced with creaminess of rice note and sweetness of water lotus later on.
This fragrance resembles of a light silky dress gracefully flowing in the summer at the opera in Vienna. Something about this perfume feels very delicate, nearly fragile, yet it is so perfectly balanced that every time a touch of rose on my lips and a slightly sweet watermelon flavour….
Charles Wong is an author and a perfume enthusiast from Hong Kong and this is his first fragrance. Aurora was made in France by Corialys and released at the end of 2018. The nose behind this fragrance is Richard Asfour. Aurora is entirely Mr.Wong’s personal tribute to France, Parisian elegance, its romantic and dapper side. Continue reading
KARL LAGERFELD BRAND
The Karl Lagerfeld brand will attend the next session of Pitti Uomo with a presentation honoring its late founding designer. That will include a performance by the London-based street artist Endless, and displays of the brand’s spring 2020 collections of men’s wear, women’s wear, footwear, eyewear, denim and beachwear.
“Our presence at Pitti Uomo will be a special moment to kick off a series of global events that celebrate Karl’s legacy and reflect upon his pioneering, cutting-edge and iconic contributions to design,” said Pier Paolo Righi, chief executive officer of Karl Lagerfeld. “Pitti Uomo will also be an exciting platform to showcase our new collections and share the inspiring, immersive World of Karl experience.” Continue reading
CARDI B AND NOVA
Fashion Nova and Cardi B are back together again for a second collaboration. The 107-piece collection is set to launch May 8 and follows their first release in November. An announcement on the deal said the range draws inspiration from the Eighties and Nineties and includes cinched-waist silhouettes, leather corsets and latex. Continue reading
CHANEL 12 CAMPAIGN
Casting a wide net, Chanel has lined up 10 celebrities for its new J12 watch campaign that launches Monday. The approach is intimate, however, offering a peek into their personalities through snippets of conversation about time and life moments punctuated with the occasional flash of the latest version of the ceramic timepiece.
“It’s all about seconds,” is the catchphrase. Nine women are featured Keira Knightley, Carole Bouquet, Liu Wen, Anna Mouglalis, Ali MacGraw, Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Vanessa Paradis and Lily-Rose Depp and one man: William Chan.
“A second is a second and a minute is made up of 60 seconds and an hour is 3,600 seconds so it’s something that is very objective and universal. Yet, we have all had extremely different, personal and unique experiences with time,” said the executive, swiping through images and films of the stars on a tablet screen. Continue reading
FAD INSTITUTE OF LUXURY FASHION 2020
HERMES JUMPINGS
Hermès International clocked a brisk 15.5 percent rise in first-quarter sales, gaining momentum thanks to a lift from the label’s growing popularity in China, as well as an extra boost from currency swings.
Sales for the quarter were 1.61 billion euros, an 11.6 percent rise at constant rates, adding to evidence that high-end consumption remains firm with the all-important Chinese consumer.
Analysts were concerned at the start of the year that a flare-up in trade tensions between China and the U.S. could dampen the Chinese appetite for luxury goods, but recent results posted by the sector’s dominant groups LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and Kering have showed strength in that market, helped by government measures to promote consumption in the Mainland. Continue reading
MOON FOR TOOTH
Kendall Jenner has made her first investment in the beauty space, an oral-care brand called Moon. Moon is meant to be an elevated take on oral care, with products made from natural ingredients and with upscale packaging. Beach House Group would not comment on financials, but industry sources estimate that the line, in which Jenner is said to have equity, could do $30 million to $35 million in annual retail sales in its first year.
Jenner’s involvement began after Shaun Neff, who joined Beach House Group as a co-owner in 2016, reconnected with Kris Jenner to discuss potential business opportunities for her daughters.
Neff joined Beach House Group, which was cofounded by beauty industry veteran Ido Leffler, to help connect the business with influencers to co-create brands with. Continue reading
CALIFORNIA CLEANING BY VUITTON
Louis Vuitton’s trio of new fragrances has a Los Angeles connection in more ways than one. Nearly three years after dipping back into the world of scent, the luxury label is collaborating with L.A.-based artist Alex Israel, who designed the fragrances’ outer packaging. The boxes come in saturated yellow, green and blue, with renderings of a sun, cactus and wave, respectively.
Israel’s work also adorns two monogram Vuitton travel cases created to hold the perfumes, plus a shopping bag each available in limited editions. Continue reading
MESSE FRANKFURT GROWS WITH FASHION
Founded in Frankfurt am Main more than a century ago, Messe Frankfurt has established itself as the world’s largest trade fair organizer with a turnover of more than 715 million euros.
The company, jointly held by the city of Frankfurt and the Federal State of Hesse, has held a quasi-monopoly on sustainable fashion fairs for almost a decade. It acquired Paris-based Ethical Fashion Show and Berlin-based Greenshowroom in 2010 and 2011, respectively, and combined them into Neonyt, a business-to-business hub for sustainability, innovation and fashion. The first Neonyt event was held in January in Berlin.
Here, Messe Frankfurt ‘s Managing Director Detlef Braun and Vice President of Textiles and Textile Technologies Olaf Schmidt.
As the global market leader in the textile trade show segment, what prompted you to acquire niche concepts like the Berlin Greenshowroom and formerly Paris-based Ethical Fashion Show? Continue reading