Category Archives: PARIS FASHION WEEK 2018
DRIES VAN NOTEN ACQUIRED BY PUIG
Puig, the family-owned Spanish fragrance and fashion firm, has just been acquired by the Belgian fashion label known for its dignified and elegant designs.
“Puig will be the majority owner alongside Dries, who remains, over the long term, a significant minority shareholder,” the companies said jointly in a statement on Thursday. “Additionally, Dries Van Noten will continue as chief creative officer and chairman of the board.”
Dries, baron Van Noten (born 12 May 1958 in Antwerp) is a Belgian fashion designer and an eponymous fashion brand. In 2005, the New York Times described him as “one of fashion’s most cerebral designers”. His style is said to be “eccentric”, and fell out of favor during the long period of minimalistic fashion in the early 1990s, only to make a comeback towards the mid-2000s,culminating with Van Noten’s winning of the International Award of the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2008. Continue reading
RED COLOR FOR LOUBOUTIN
The designer Christian Louboutin claimed an important victory in his ongoing battle to trademark red soles, after the European Court of Justice on Tuesday supported the company’s claim that the use of a specific shade of red on the underside of its shoes constitutes a recognizable characteristic of the brand.
The ruling by the European Union’s highest court comes in the context of a dispute between Louboutin and Dutch high street shoe brand Van Haren dating back to 2012. A Dutch district court in The Hague asked the European Court of Justice to rule on the nature of Louboutin’s trademark before it settles the matter.
Louboutin’s lawyers argued, on the contrary, that the trademark consisted of “the color red (Pantone 18‑1663TP) applied to the sole of a shoe,” regardless of the shape of the sole.
At issue was whether Louboutin’s trademark should be considered a shape trademark or a position trademark an important distinction as European trademark law does not protect signs consisting exclusively of the shape of a product. Continue reading
VIKTOR AND ROLF 2019 RESORT
BASQUIAT, SCHIELE AT FONDATION LOUIS VUITTON
This Fall, Egon Schiele and Jean-Michel Basquiat will be both the subject of two separate monographic exhibitions at the Fondation Louis Vuitton. We will celebrate this year the anniversaries of their deaths — both died at 28, in 1918 and 1988, respectively and offers an opportunity to confront the old (Europe at the beginning of the 20th century) and the new (the U.S. in the Eighties) with a focus on lines, through mostly drawings for Schiele and paintings for Basquiat. Many works by the latter have never been shown to the public before as they are drawn from Bernard Arnault’s personal collection. Continue reading
VERSACE RESORT 2019
LIPAULT A GOOD TRIP
Lipault is the latest brand looking to capitalize on the luggage fever sweeping the industry, with a collaboration with Jean Paul Gaultier set to launch in August. Following the success of Rimova, a brand of LVMH, that is a good Idea indeed.
Following a line codesigned with Inès de La Fressange last year, the capsule, which will be distributed in Lipault stores and on the brand’s e-shop as well as in select retailers internationally, marks the second hook-up for the French luggage brand since being acquired by Samsonite Group in 2014.
The Gaultier capsule — a first for the couturier, who did bags for his now-shuttered ready-to-wear line but has never before dabbled in luggage — is based around a soft suitcase available in three formats that plays on the house’s masculine/feminine and innerwear/outerwear codes. It has a sober patchwork of pin-striped wool and nylon on the outside and, on the inside, a contrasting pink satin corset to hold items in place. The line includes a range of leather goods and small accessories. Prices range from 69 euros for a toiletry bag to 269 euros for the large suitcase. Continue reading
MARNI PRE FALL 2018
GUCCI VESPER FOR THE BLESSED VIRGIN
Alessandro Michele deserves the award for the most dazzling spectacle to date in a season thick with powerful imagery. The Gucci creative director chose the Alyscamps, a Roman necropolis in the southern French city of Arles, as the setting for his show, and took full advantage of the area’s epic history with a nighttime display that transcended space and time with a trove of references ancient and modern. Continue reading
THE SWIMSUIT YOU MUST HAVE
JIL SANDERS PRE-FALL
CARVEN CHAPTER 11
The house was founded in 1945 by the late Madame Carven, the French couturier who traveled the world with her collections. The French contemporary brand and its parent company, Société Béranger, have filed a voluntary petition with the Paris Commercial Court for the French equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the spokesman said.
Carven underwent a renaissance under Sebaoun and the former artistic director Guillaume Henry, who positioned it as a contemporary brand.
After Henry moved to Nina Ricci, the brand initially named Alexis Martial and Adrien Caillaudaud as artistic directors for the women’s collections, and Barnabé Hardy for men’s.
The company, which was “already fragile,” was hit to the tune of several million euros by a delay in the production of its spring 2018 collection designed by Serge Ruffieux, which forced it to cancel deliveries, he explained. Carven, which employs 99 people, has annual revenues in the region of 20 million euros. Continue reading
DIOR HAS NAMED C.DELAPALME
Charles Delapalme must be the new Diore managing director of commercial activities. The appointment takes effect on June 15, 2018.
“Charles will be taking over from Serge Brunschwig,” Dior said in a press release Tuesday morning. Brunschwig left Dior in January to become president of Fendi, which like Dior is a major fashion house within the giant LVMH luxury conglomerate. While at Dior, Brunschwig’s principal role was overseeing Dior Homme.
Moving in the opposite direction Delapalme joins Dior from Fendi where since 2016 he has been Managing Director of Retail & Wholesale.
While at Fendi, Delapalme reported to Pietro Beccari, the former president of the Roman luxury brand who is became CEO of Dior in January. Continue reading
BALMAIN A COPY CAT COLLECTION
A collection representing the whole collection of other designers. Who copies who? thank you Mr. Rousteing for this retrospective.
BRITISH DRESS OF SUSSEX
I am a working mother, I am used to juggling schedules! In total, about 50 people worked on the dress, veil, shoes and bridesmaids’dresses. Three thousand, nine hundred hours over the course of four months work.
Clare Waight Keller was born in Birmingham, England on 19 August 1970. She studied at Ravensbourne College of Art, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Fashion, followed by a master’s degree at the Royal College of Art.
She started her career at Calvin Klein in New York as a stylist for the women’s ready-to-wear line, then at Ralph Lauren, for the Purple man line.In 2000, she was hired by Tom Ford to join Gucci, responsible for women’s ready-to-wear and accessories, until her departure in 2004.
After months of speculation about Meghan Markle’s wedding dress, with names including Ralph & Russo, Erdem and Franck Sorbier being tossed around like bridal bouquets, the designer turned out to be Clare Waight Keller.Indeed, the artistic director of Givenchy fulfilled her assignment with such discretion that only she and Markle knew who and what the dress being designed was for. Continue reading
J’ADIOR MYKONOS
Dior is opening a Pop-up shop in Mykonos in June. Maria Grazia Chiuri has designed exclusive pieces, including Dior Book Tote bags featuring the name of the island woven into the canvas.
Maria Grazia Chiuri, artistic director of women’s collections at the French fashion house, has designed a collection of exclusive pieces for the occasion, including striped bodysuits and sweaters, silk cravats and cotton pareos bearing the slogan “J’adior Mykonos.”
The boutique will also carry advance items from Dior’s fall collection, including Dior Oblique zipped pouches, baseball caps and berets, and a Dioraddict bag that can be accessorized with a choice of five straps. These items will be available in Dior boutiques worldwide from mid-July.
The Greek influence could be felt in his designs from 1953, with dresses carrying names such as Athènes, Corfou and Rhodes. Maria is reinventing in copying looks in the archives of the Fashion House! At Myconos, Dior is becoming Iconos!
CATE BLANCHETT IN McCARTNEY
Today is the first day of both the Cannes Film Festival and the rest of our lives, since it truly doesn’t matter what happened prior to jury president Cate Blanchett and her peers storming the red carpet on the Croisette.
Blanchett was dressed by the British Designer, Stella McCartney who has just put an end to her cooperation with Kering. Everybody wonders why such a situation… However if you look at the jacket worn by Cate you understand. I do not know who has tailored and sewed this jacket but surely not someone who has studied couture. it looks more like if it had been done by H&M or Zara and I am not sure you will find something so badly made. Shame on you Mrs McCartney…
Blanchett was joined by fellow jurors Ava DuVernay, Kristen Stewart, Léa Seydoux, and Burundian singer Khadja Nin, and while their looks were incredible enough when taken on their own, the five ladies combined to form a Voltron of glamour. Eventually, they were joined by the male jurors actor Chang Chen and directors Denis Villeneuve, Robert Guédiguian, and Andrey Zvyagintsev and entered the Palais for a press conference.
One journalist asked the jury whether the focus on red-carpet fashion was frivolous, given the more important matters at hand for women in the film industry. Blanchett answered easily. “Being attractive,” she said, “doesn’t preclude being intelligent.” Continue reading
VASKA TBILISI 2018
HYÉRES FESTIVAL
“Hyères” “means in French yesterday” During Sunday night’s prizegiving for the 33rd Festival International De Mode, De Photographie Et D’Accessoires De Mode a Hyères, Lisi Herrebrugh are a Dutch duo, neither of them fluent in the local speak and therefore momentarily ignorant their names had just been called. So their models beat them to the podium, their chaotic exuberance amplifying the winning collection of menswear infused with the couple’s Caribbean roots. Continue reading
FRENCH LOOSING CRAFTSHIP
As consumer demand for artisan craftsmanship continues to flourish, brands and retailers are integrating one-of-a-kind, hand-made objects and accessories into their product offerings.
To work in the fashion industry, one must understand the processes behind it. There are two levels of perception. The first level is tangible it implies the aspects of the product that you can consciously touch, smell and perceive, such as quality, comfort and elegance that are the very lifeblood of artisanship.
People started buying Louboutin shoes because, unlike others, they were extremely comfortable, original in design and crafted by hand. This level is based on logic but when it comes to customer choice, fashion has almost nothing to do with rationality. This brings us to the second level that is intangible and rooted in our subconscious. Continue reading