Category Archives: PARIS FASHION WEEK 2018
LANVIN NO SHAW
The anagram of Lanvin is not lapidary but nival, the rich Chinese woman, Shaw-Lan Wang, who is in reality Taiwanese, recruits the new designer on feeling. But who would be the fashion designer of her dreams? It is a man, 100% straight, no salary expected, and supposed to have no integrity … For this first collection of Olivier Lapidus the emotion is egal at : nothing ! in the same way that you have no emotion when you go to Zara.
No observation of the world, superficial, outfashioned dresses, the common sewing and devoid of characteristics.
We leave the collection as the pigs emerge from a quagmire, stunned by displeasure. Even, Mrs. Imatoumi of the Qing dynasty, told me at the end of the show that she had never seen so much ‘duster cloth’. If you do not believe me, look at the pictures hereafter immersed in this abyss of diarrhea incubator, and you will stay without stifling or throw up, is prohibited, as a prisoner of the none creativity house Lanvin. Continue reading
HERMES, WHAT’S GROWING ON?
Hermes sales were up 8.9 percent in the second quarter, down from 13.5 percent in the previous three months. Revenues in the three months to June 30 totaled 1.36 billion euros, representing a rise of 8.3 percent at constant exchange rates.
That compares with a 15 percent rise in revenues at LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, and a 25.4 percent increase at Kering, which saw net profit surge 77.6 percent thanks to another outstanding performance from its cash-cow brand Gucci.
In the medium-term, despite growing economic, geopolitical and monetary uncertainties around the world, the group confirms an ambitious goal for revenue growth at constant exchange rates. Everybody can dream. Continue reading
NAMILIA TITS TILTE
Fashion Weeks are a real opportunity for new designers to make them known. Unfortunately, often we attend to presentation which will never be produced and are better suited for a conceptualized student show than one from a brand trying to sell product. It is a real debate which has been on for quite some time over the traditional fashion week runway format.
Namilia designers Nan Li and Emilia Pfohl seemed far from thoses concerns and have presented a collection inspired of the XVI/XVII centuries.
Therefore not only these clothes cannot be sold and technically there is a real lack of know-how. Those two designers should go back to a fashion school. Continue reading
TOM FORD SPRING SUMMER 2018 NY
PAUL KA AND PARTNERS
Change Capital Partners has sold a majority stake in French fashion brand Paule Ka to businessman Xavier Marie, and the brand will be parting ways with its chief executive officer and creative director.
Marie, founder and former ceo of furniture and home decor company Maisons du Monde, has acquired an 80 percent stake in Paule Ka, with Change Capital retaining the remaining 20 percent, a spokeswoman of the label said on Wednesday.
Catherine Vautrin, chairman and ceo of the house since February 2015, is leaving to explore new opportunities in Italy. Creative director Alithia Spurri-Zampetti will also be leaving the company after a two-year collaboration.
Paule Ka will not be presenting a spring collection during Paris Fashion Week. Instead, a capsule collection designed by its in-house studio will be shown to buyers at its showroom between Sept. Continue reading
DESIGUAL GOULD DEAL
Desigual has hired French artist, filmmaker, jean-Paul Goude as a creative director for the Spring Summer 2018 season.
Jean paul Goude, best known for his fashion illustrations and his work for Esquire Magazine, joins the Spanish brand . His debut as creative director will take place during New York Fashion Week on 7 September 2017, where he will present the first collection styled and selected by him.
The show will demonstrate Goude’s creative vision for Desigual, and will mark his arrival to the brand as creative director for the Spring Summer 2018 season. “I like challenges and helping Desigual on the process of updating its image while keeping faithful to its DNA it is extremely exciting.” said Goude. Continue reading
NY FASHION WEEK
Plenty of major names have skipped out of New York Fashion Week; Tommy Hilfiger is off to London for his show and the season has been shortened by one day. Nonetheless, despite, a five-brand departure.
Many designers have felt the allure of Europe; truly major global brands Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors and Tory Burch are still firmly committed to New York.
Proenza Schouler moved to Paris for the couture season in July. While Thom Browne took his menswear show all the way to the Beaux Arts. New York has also suffered the departure of Joseph Altuzarra who will take his spring 2018 show to the French capital. But Altuzarra’s is French nobody is perfect. Continue reading
LA REDOUTE NO DOUBT
Amazon will be in France the new digital retailers. That is why Galeries Lafayette announced on Thursday its control over the French clothing and home furnishing catalogue, La Redoute.
It is the start of a move of Department stores to face Amazon. Department stores like Galeries Lafayette are the right balance between physical stores and digital offerings.
La Redoute, which historically belonged to Kering, is a household name in France, selling a broad selection of clothing and furniture. Kering exited the business in 2014 as part of a broader strategy to focus on brands with global appeal, selling the company to La Redoute managers. Continue reading
LAURENCE XU PARIS 2017
CHANEL NEGATIVE RESULT
Unlike its main competitors, LVMH and Kering, which last year both posted record growth, in 2016 Chanel suffered a fall in sales and profits. After years of steady growth, Chanel indeed continues to slow down. As in 2015, last year the French fashion label, led since 1983 by Creative Director Karl Lagerfeld, saw its net income plummet by 34.8%, down to $874 million (€736 million), while its revenue lost 9%, reaching $5.67 billion (€4.77 billion).
According to the group, the downturn is chiefly explained by the sale of its Chanel Limited UK subsidiary, which accounts for approximately 11% of sales, to another Chanel-owned corporation. “On a like-for-like basis and at constant exchange rates, the results were on par with 2015,” wrote the group in its yearly report, noting also how, among other reasons, in the first part of the year Chanel was affected by the terrorist attacks in Europe, which “had a negative impact on tourist flows and consequently sales.” Continue reading
CHRISTIAN DIOR COUTURIER DE RÊVE
VANS AND KARL COOPERATION
Vans and Karl Lagerfeld have just signed a cooperation to design a footwear and apparel capsule set to be launched worldwide on September 7.
The two brands have fused their respective universes, the Vans’ hallmark checkerboard pattern is revisited using a cameo motif depicting Lagerfeld’s iconic profile.
There will be six interpretations of Vans footwear classics include the Sk8-Hi laceless platform and Old Skool laceless (old school, Karl knows well about it) styles outfitted in leather with the quilted letter-shaped detail atop white platform soles, and a solid black leather Classic Slip-On — also with the quilted letter K. Continue reading
LVMH LAND PARIS
The luxury goods giant and a leisure industry partner want the historic Jardin d’Acclimatation to join the ranks of France’s top three amusement parks.Louis Vuitton and ski resort operator hope to propel a 150-year-old Parisian leisure park to the future with a 60 million-euro rejuvenation. Located in the French capital’s western greenbelt, the Bois de Boulogne, the park will stay open during the works, LVMH said in a statement Friday. With the help of a team of architects and landscape planners, the pair plans to build an ecological promenade, restructure the park’s digital offering with a new web site, rebuild the mini farm and the install 17 new carousels in a steam punk-inspired ambiance.LVMH plays an active role in urban renewal projects in its home city and has operated the park since 1984. Continue reading
LVMH MASTER OF THE WORLD
LVMH powered ahead in the second quarter thanks to “outstanding momentum” at its cash-cow Louis Vuitton brand, but reiterated its cautious outlook for the second half as it starts to face tougher comparatives, particularly in Asia.
The parent of brands including Fendi, Sephora, Bulgari and Hennessy said revenues, including for the first-time German luggage maker Rimowa, rose 15 percent year-over-year to 9.83 billion euros in the three months to June 30.
Organic growth was 12 percent, above a market consensus forecast of 10 percent growth. The group said it benefited from a favorable comparison base in Asia as well as France, where activity last year was affected by the impact of terrorist attacks, adding that current trends could not be extrapolated for the full year. Continue reading
RALPH LAUREN WOMEN PERFUME
After having played a major role in the men’s fragrance planet, Ralph Lauren has chosen the american actress Jessica Chastain to represent the new Ralph Lauren’s fragrance of eau de parfum “Woman”.Woman is the first women’s franchise the brand has launched in nearly a decade. Continue reading
VUITTON NET OF THRONES
Last week, Louis Vuitton joined the online market likes of Burberry, Gucci and Michael Kors still dominated by local China giants such as Tmall and JD.com.
“This was expected and somewhat overdue — clearly a good sign that the European megabrands are finally entering the Chinese luxury digital market,” said Luca Solca, head of luxury goods at Exane BNP Paribas.
Rogerio Fujimori, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, agreed it was a logical move, since Chinese consumers are increasingly making luxury purchases at home, taking advantage of narrowing price differentials and Chinese government initiatives to streamline customs procedures for e-commerce.
“There is a structural trend toward repatriation in general, and within China, like in any other market, there is a shift to omnichannel, a shift to mobile,” he said. “You have the Millennial segment that is more digital-influenced, that will grow older and they’ll carry on those habits, so I think they’re adapting.” Continue reading
GEORGES CHAKRA COUTURE
THE FRANCO-ITALIAN LVMH CONNECTION
Louis Vuitton is extending its vocational training model to Italy through a partnership between the Institut des Métiers d’Excellence (IME) and the Italian fashion and design school Polimoda, aimed at training leather-goods artisans.
Founded in 2014, the IME program is involved in schooling more than 200 young people in areas including jewelry, dressmaking, winemaking, leather goods, culinary arts, watches, luxury retail and design together with partner institutions in France and Switzerland.
They include BJO Formation in Paris for jewelry, the École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne for fashion and the Ferrandi Paris school for gastronomy. Polimoda becomes the first Italian school to join the initiative, beginning with the 2017-2018 school year. Continue reading
GEORGES KERN QUITS RICHEMONT
The recent management shake-ups at Richemont Group just took an unexpected turn. The luxury conglomerate, which owns brands the likes of Cartier, IWC and Vacheron Constantin, announced earlier today that its head of watchmaking, marketing and digital, Georges Kern, has resigned, effective immediately.
Kern, who has been with the Swiss luxury group for 17 years, only assumed this latest role less than four months ago.
He has also stepped down from the Senior Executive Committee and the Group Management Committee, and will no longer be standing for election to the Board of Directors of Compagnie Financière Richemont SA at the forthcoming annual general meeting of shareholders. Continue reading
