CARTIER TAKES OFF

cartierThere are few men in that world who can say they made and are part of history. The Cartier brothers are certainly two of those men. They have transformed with their design and esthetics the early twentieth century. Besides, Louis Cartier was fascinated by aviators like Alberto Santos-Dumont. Cartier’s latest fragrance “L’Envol” honours those pioneers.

L’Envol de Cartier is a fragrance that was created by perfumer Mathilde Laurent. The idea was to galvanize the spirit and stimulate the soul. As suggested by the name of this perfume, it aims to give sufficient strength to those who wear it to excel and take flight. It is as if the gods themselves had put their magic in the hollow of a glass case. Continue reading

WHAT HAVE THEY BECOME?

per-spookHe was running a fashion house in Paris from 1977 to 1995. He was awarded Aiguille d’Or (The Golden Needle) in 1978, and Dé d’Or (The Golden Thimble) in 1993. Born in Oslo, Norway, 1939, he studied at School of Fine Arts, Oslo, and Esmod Paris.

Arrived in Paris in 1957, he joined house of Dior soon afterwards; and worked as freelancer with Yves Saint Laurent and Louis Féraud before opening his own house, 1977;

Spook clothes were instantly applauded for their new, soft shapes and color. He established a hallmark for well-cut clothes that were elegantly understated but upheld the characteristics of quality, individuality, and wearability. Continue reading

CHANEL FASHION VIRTUAL WEEK

chanelcanalIn 1938, Antonin Artaud described the illusory nature of characters and objects in the theatre as “la réalité virtuelle” in a collection of essays, Le Théâtre et son double.

The English translation of this book, published in 1958 as The Theater and its Double, is the earliest published use of the term “virtual reality”. The term “artificial reality”, coined by Myron Krueger, has been in use since the 1970s. The term “virtual reality” was used in The Judas Mandala, a 1982 science fiction novel by Damien Broderick.

We live in a technical world. We’re plugged in, switched on, and everything that Star Trek (sliding doors) and George Orwell (Big Brother is watching you) predicted has more or less come true. The only thing Karl knows about the virtual world around him is nothing, Choupette is more connected than him. Continue reading

HERMES PARIS FASHION WEEK

canalluxeA cotton drill denim jacket or coat and flat leather fringing like a bassorilievo. Moving through to the bags, there’s the new way, a rigid vanity case with a metal closure as well as mini bags, which were carried in pairs. All had metal chain straps to add a bold touch to the total look.

A simple catwalk exalted the bold colors chosen by Nadege Vanhee-Cibulski for Hermès.

The mood remained very chic, exemplified by all the prints with an invisibly elegant feel, folded within the pleats of a swishing skirt for example.

Issey Miyake look or style, Nadege find her style in the eyes of Japan.

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KARDASHIAN UNDER ARREST IN PARIS

kim2This morning, at the Pourtales Hotel, Kim Kardashian, star of the real TV, was under arrest by fake cops. Two armed, masked men dressed as police held the celebrity inside her hotel room on Sunday.

It is the second aggression of Kim Kardashian in Paris during the Paris Fashion Week: A blogger tried to kiss her ass when she was arriving at the Givenchy show. She could have also been arrested in the streets of Paris as she was almost naked for the Balmain show.

Kanye West, her husband, stopped the concert in New York for personal reasons. Kim Kadashian flies to Paris ‘very light’ with only ten million of jewelry. Continue reading

SUPREME IN PARIS

supremeSupreme has opened a shop in Paris. This time it’s official, the New-York based brand inaugurated its store at 20 rue Barbette in the Marais district. Located close to the ‘Rue Vieille du Temple’, the exterior is very basic: a black front, with two windows and no signs or labels.

In April 1994, Supreme opened its doors on Lafayette Street in downtown Manhattan and became the home of New York City skate culture. At its core was the gang of rebellious young New York skaters and artists who became the store’s staff, crew and customers.

Supreme grew to be the embodiment of the downtown culture, playing an integral part in its constant regeneration. Skaters, punks, hip-hop heads – the young counter culture at large – all gravitated towards Supreme. Continue reading

LACROIX A FURNITURE

lacroixFor his first collaboration with Roche Bobois, the creative director of Christian Lacroix Maison, Sacha Walckhoff, has designed a series of furniture items.

The collection focuses on high-quality materials such as lacquered wood and shimmering brass. It features several pieces for the living room, including a beechwood chair with legs half-finished in brass, matched with black and white striped upholstery. It’s also available in black and fuchsia, red and black or blue and black. Continue reading

QUATAR FUND ACQUIRE BALMAIN

BALMAIN X H&M Collection LaunchThe French fashion house was started in 1945 by designer Pierre Balmain and has passed through several hands and periods of financial difficulty over the years.

Today a Qatari investment fund, already owner of the Italian Valentino label, will take over French luxury fashion house Balmain, which has become a favourite of film stars, the advisor for the acquisition announced Tuesday.

“After completing this transaction, Mayhoola for Investments will hold 100 percent of Balmain’s capital,” Bucephale Finance, specialists in mergers and acquisitions, said in a statement without revealing how much the Qataris paid for Balmain.

French financial daily Les Echos in reporting on the acquisition said the Qataris offered 485 million euros ($546 million) for Balmain, which is 70 percent held by the heirs of the former CEO Alain Hivelin who died in December 2014, with the remaining 30 percent held by management. Continue reading

RAFFLE SIMONS

SIMONSThe man, who did not like women, or the Calvinist of Fashion has just been nominated at Calvin Klein as Artistic Director. The press release does not mention the amount of the transaction.

For a little while, Raf Simons’ name was stated to replace Francisco Costa and Italo Zucchelli, who respectively were in charge of Women and Men design at Calvin Klein’s.

Raf Simons, who maltreated the Dior brand when he was the Dior designer, would be more successful with the American brand where the stakes are less important. He might do like Anne Valérie Hash: be bad in Haute Couture and good in Ready-to-Wear.

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WHO IS DEMMA GVASALIA?

balenciagaThe Georgian trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp in Belgium (alma mater of the likes of Dries Van Noten and Ann Demeulemeester) before leading design teams at Maison Martin Margiela and Louis Vuitton. Mr. Gvasalia was recently the primary designer behind Vetements, one of the coolest and most hyped labels to emerge in Paris in recent seasons. Its spring show on Thursday took place on the upper floor of a gaudy Chinese restaurant, and it attracted attention from style-set movers and shakers as well as celebrities, including Kanye West. Vetements was a finalist for the LVMH Young Fashion Designer Prize this year.

What is Vetements? By Morand Pascal! The label was founded as a creative collective by seven designers who initially remained anonymous because of contractual commitments elsewhere. Continue reading

ONE BILLION EURO BABY

HERMESBILLIONSThe luxury Hermes cie has declared a net profit for one billion euro in 2015 and has slightly increased its margin by to 31.8%. Early February the leather-saddle company had already released its annual turnover, which reached 4.84 billion euros in sales, up 8.1% at constant exchange rates.

Axel Dumas, the president, said the operating margin “increased to 31.8% of sales” (against 31.5% last year) “despite a difficult global environment, whether the situation in Hong Kong, Macao or the terrorist attacks in Paris. “

Hermes has hired nearly 500 people last year, “including 400 in France, mainly in manufacturing and sales teams.” End of 2015 it employed a total of 12,244 people, including 7,461 in France. Finally we wonder why Hermès refused Arnault’s offer as they adopt a strategy similar to the LVMH cash machine.

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