Israeli model Dorit Revelis is among the most naturally-sensual of our young models; and the beauty industry has embraced her sensual DNA as well. Authenticity is a buzzword of the decade, but Dorit projects a beauty that is both ancient and modern, traits that make it authentic and not contrived.
These images by her ‘love’ Dudi Hasson [IG] for Harper’s Bazaar France [IG] June 2025 issue belong to a beauty story called ‘Le Nouveau Régime Crétois’.
Crete and The Dawn of Minoan Civilization
The Minoan civilization represents the dawn of Crete's history, flourishing during the Bronze Age from approximately 2600 to 1100 BCE. This civilization, named after the legendary King Minos, is considered Europe's first advanced society, showcasing a high degree of sophistication and complexity.
Crete was largely conquered by the Myceneans around around 1450 BCE. And while their diets were compatible in many ways, one distinctive feature is that the Cretans ate fish and the Myceneans were heavy meat eaters.
Actor, activist, wife of Ryan Gosling and mom to their two daughters, Eva Mendes is a fabulously sensual woman. Much of American culture would call her a sex bomb.
Eva Mendes also calls herself a sex bomb, highly influenced by her husband’s deep appreciation for her sex appeal.
I asked AI to explain how neuroimaging would differentiate brain activity in a person who particularly enjoys fragrant flowers, dancing, and swimming with heightened awareness and intense pleasure. Someone like Eva Mendes.
AOC has been a huge fan of brain science for years because our brains are truthful when different regions are activited.
The basic idea I want to communicate is that our brains are a fingerprint of sorts of who we are. In the case of Eva Mendes, I promise you that she has highly-elevated SPS, as defined in point 4.
She also has elevated Openness to Experience, as defined in my Louis Vuitton analysis from Monday, see final notes in article link.
Delfina Delettrez Fendi is featured in a stunning visual presentation of her recent Fendi High Jewelry Collection ‘Radici Romane’ for Harper’s Bazaar Italia [IG] June 2025 ‘The Jubilee’ issue.
Maria Giulia Riva styles the shoot, using creations from the House of Fendi lensed by Szilveszter Makó [IG]. Stefano Tonchi is editorial director of Bazaar Italia, with Sissy Vian as creative fashion director. /Hair by Franco Gobbi; makeup by Cosetta Giorgetti
Actor Emma Stone became a Louis Vuitton ambassador in October, 2017, one month after she appeared in this delicious Dior fashion story in the September 2017 issue of Marie Claire US.
Earlier in 2017, Stone won a Best Actress Oscar for ‘La La Land’. Also in 2017, the actor bagan dating veteran comedian and writer, director David McCary, who she married in 2020. The couple has one daughter.
Stone and McCary also formed a production company ‘Fruit Tree’ in 2020, with A24 having a first option.
Today, Emma Stone is seen in new work as a Louis Vuitton ambassador, shot by Ethan James Green in the Fall 2025 Campaign.
It may be LVMH’s newly-named chairman and chief executive of its Americas division Michael Burke, who first introduced the term ‘hodgepodge’ to the popular press and select financial analysts’ LVMH lexicon.
Anne will explain, but first the latest news.
The Burke appointment comes at a critical moment when the luxury sector is haunted by waning demand and US President Donald Trump’s ever-changing, often daily, tariffs landscape.
LVMH also appointed Burke as nonexecutive chairman of Tiffany’s board of directors. He retains his 2024 appointment as Chairman and CEO of LVMH Fashion Group.
In June and July 2025, AOC has been obsessed with the word ‘hodgepodge’ being bandied about by select financial analysts, with the tangential support of several fashion journalists. Their focus is a lack of branding clarity around Louis Vuitton in particular.
Referring last evening to the issue, I set off again this morning, trying to document the original source of the word. The person may be none other than Michael Burke.
My case for LVMH got a big boost Monday, July 7th with Goldman Sach’s decision to add LVMH to its European Conviction Buy list. Goldman’s Louise Singlehurst recommends investors "look through Q2 softness and Buy into LVMH" as a clear winner in the next luxury upcycle, noting asymmetric risk reward with potential upside of 69% versus 5% downside.
The Goldman analysis also mentioned that the steep selloff of LVMH shares borders on being irrational. This was welcome news after the June 22, deeply-personal, Bloomberg supplied hit piece on LVMH published on BoF.
I then read — again from HSBC, the same financial institution that financed all of Donald J. Trump’s bankruptcy business messes, when no other bank would — that the current Louis Vuitton brand strategy is a “hodgepodge”. Seriously!
Formula 1 [FI] has moved into the fast lane, striking new business alliances with Apple and LVMH starring Louis Vuitton in 2025.
Today we focus on LV and F1, with visuals from the new Formula 1 and the Apple Original Films' highly-anticipated movie movie in F1. The movie starring Brad Pitt and Damson Idris opens June 27.
Fresh off winning the prestigious 2025 Cannes Lions Grand Prix for their partnership with the Paris 2025 Olympic Games, this new F1 relationship announced in late 2024 represents what is called the LVMH “strategic narrative layering” approach across its maisons.
The fastest growing segment of F1 fandom is young women. From AOC’s perspective, layering bottles of Moët & Chandon into the F1 celebration experience, tying it directly to the Louis Vuitton brand experience is simply brilliant.
But hey — what do I understand understand about business in a purely transactional Wall Street world universe? ~ Anne
Hot spot Palm Heights hotel, Grand Cayman’s first all-suites boutique hotel and a favorite spot for A-listers Bella and Gigi Hadid, Chloë Sevigny, Emily Ratajkowski and Hailey Bieber launches a collaboration with H&M Home that navigates the line between luxurious and pretentious.
Palm Heights is situated on Grand Cayman’s famous Seven Mile Beach and is inspired by 1970s Miami. Designed by Palm Heights creative director Gabriella Khalil, the hotel opened in 2019, shortly before the pandemic.
The newest initiative from Dom Pérignon, titled "Creation is an Eternal Journey," is 2 minutes of video beauty, longing and enthusiasm for a life well-lived in a world infused with turmoil and conflicting values.
The distinguished champagne producer, part of the LVMH group, has collaborated with seven established creatives from various disciplines to reinterpret the Dom Pérignon narrative in nonmaterialistic self-expression and humanist values.
The Dom Perignon [IG] ‘Creation Campaign includes Zoë Kravitz - actor and director [film]; Tilda Swinton - actor and artist [cinema & art]; Iggy Pop - pioneering musician [punk rock legend]; Anderson .Paak - music producer and director [Grammy-winning artist]; Clare Smyth - Michelin-starred chef [gastronomy]; Alexander Ekman - dancer and choreographer [contemporary dance]; and Takashi Murakami - contemporary artist [visual art icon].
Most LVMH brands are adept at sophisticated marketing to clients for whom nuances matter. With anti-billionaire hate growing exponentially in America and around the world, brands must be extra careful in how they communicate their values. A new book ‘The Haves and the Have-Yachts: Disparities on the Ultra Rich’ offers a field guide to the ultra-wealthy, exploring their lives and influence.
Maison Keï Akai is proud to unveil DAMIER, a striking new black-and-white group exhibition opening on Thursday, June 12th, in celebration of Grand Prix Montreal 2025 weekend. Drawing inspiration from the graphic elegance of the iconic checkered flag, the exhibition is a bold homage to the visual language of Formula 1 and the energy it brings to Montreal each summer.
AOC’s pleasure in sharing this Maison Keï Akai news flows from the intersection of multiple events, cultural issues and people who have touched my life in very positive ways.
Richard Bernardin: the Heart of Maison Keï Akai’s ‘Damier Exhibition
Breathing “life, sensuality and wisdom” [all Anne’s words] into the Montreal exhibition is internationally-acclaimed fashion photographer Richard Bernardin, whose evocative large-format black-and-white prints will be prominently featured.
The Northern Irish designer will present his first collection, Dior Men Summer 2026, in Paris on June 27, 2025, skipping a haute couture show and then showing in Paris Fashion Week in October.
Delphine Arnault says she remembers climbing the stairs to a small apartment Jonathan Anderson rented near the Gare du Nord. She was immediately struck by the clarity of Anderson’s vision for JW Anderson. In short order the LVMH group took a minority share in JW Anderson and appointed him creative director of Spanish leather goods brand Loewe.
For reasons I understand deeply, based on our tremendous support for Maria Grazia Chiuri, we want her light to continue to shine brightly. However, Delphine Arnault’s point about Anderson staying 11 years at Loewe — when he absolutely declined other offers — is valid.
In AOC’s love for Chiuri, I been raving for years about Jonathan Anderson at LOEWE. And this 40-year-old massive talent, spontaneous but also deeply schooled in design and product development has his own visions for Dior’s future.
We’ve added some of our favorite campaigns from Jonathan Anderson’s LOEWE years.
In a luxury fashion industry seeking good news, the appointment of Pierpaolo Piccioli as Balenciaga’s creative director starting July 10th is worthy of fireworks.
Kering confirmed Monday evening in Paris that the highly-regarded talent will show his first collection during Paris Fashion Week in October.
As the Wall Street Journal’s Andrea Figueras wrote today in announcing the Balenciaga appointment, “Coupled with Gucci’s difficulties, Kering was hit by Balenciaga’s scandal in 2022 over controversial ad campaigns featuring children.”
WSJ isn’t just being difficult with these jabs. There is a method to their madness.
Burberry has launched its fourth capsule in partnership with Highgrove, the foundation dedicated to funding Highgrove Gardens, which surround the private residence of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
This ongoing collaboration with Highgrove also promotes the work of The King’s Foundation, a charity founded by then Prince of Wales in 1990 to support now King Charles III’s philosophy of Harmony: that by understanding the balance, order and relationships between ourselves and the natural world, we can create a more sustainable future.
The latest 28-piece Highgrove X Burberry collection has collaborated with British artist Helen Bullock [IG], who has created four artworks inspired by the Kitchen Garden at Highgrove. Bullock said in a statement: “The Gardens are so vast and rich it was hard to decide where to start. But I soon fell for the tangled sway of wildflowers and that special combination of dancing poppies and cosmos.”
Zara celebrates its 50th year in business, putting Steven Meisel [IG] behind the lens, capturing fashion’s top models in a celebration of creativity, longevity and love for fashion.
Jason Duzansky acts as creative director on the campaign, with styling by Karl Templer./ Hair by Guido Palau; makeup by Pat McGrath
The 50-models ensemble is also featured on a special-edition tee that benefits the Women’s Earth Alliance [link]. The 128-piece collection created around the celebration features monochromatic wardrobe essentials with a lot of black which is obvious in the imagery. See the Zara 50th anniversary collection online.
AOC has done some homework on this 50 Years of Zara post, which is now subdivided into two parts: Part 1 here, focused on the models and their archives on AOC.
Part 2 focused on Zara’s new store design and product strategy. It also features other ZARA X MEISEL COLLABORATIONS.
The Met Gala 2025 debut of the Bvlgari Magnus Emerald Necklace a rare emerald of 241.06 carats, is the largest faceted stone ever set by Bvlgari. Officially debuting in Taormina, Sicily on May 19, Priyanka Chopra Jonas owned the green-envy, Bvlgari moment Monday night.
We share the main event story in Jewelry News, including Chopra Jonas wearing a Balmain Couture gown by Olivier Rousteing at the Met Gala. As my writing evolved — because I check everything and everybody’s IGs — Johnnie Walker US entered the visually-fantastic, high-credentials marketing drama anchored by Bvlgari.
It’s a subplot to the main event Met Gala, sponsored by Louis Vuitton and Instagram. But it’s a superbly-executed, multi-chapter read.
Marrakech has a strong reputation for its coffee houses due to the historical importance of Bacha Coffee, a cafe that opened in 1910 within the Dar El Bacha Palace.
It was considered the highest authority on the coffee experience in Marrakech and hosted dignitaries like US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, UK's Prime Minister Winston Churchill, filmmaker Charlie Chaplin and entertainer Josephine Baker.
Fast-forward to now, and the history and reputation of Arabica coffee served at Bacha Coffee can be experienced in Paris at 26 Av. des Champs-Élysées. In a testament to grandiosity, this three-floors, 1500 sq. meters, undeniable temple of Arabian coffee rivals all we know about the ‘memorable before it even opens’ Louis Vuitton Hotel, under construction at 107 Av. des Champs-Élysées in Paris.
Today we return to Mesopotamia, asking about the rise of courtesans. Was it a worldwide role for select women, a role crossing many different global cultures but with compatible definitions?
In Mesopotamia Temple priestesses, often referred to as "sacred prostitutes," were involved in religious rites, highlighting a blend of the sacred and the secular that involved sexual service as part of worship. . . These practices are mentioned in the Code of Hammurabi, which provides one of the earliest written references to women who engaged in such roles.
In Greece The concept of the courtesan emerged more distinctly in Greece. . . In India Ancient texts in India also offer early textual evidence of courtesans, with references in ancient texts such as the Arthashastra and the Kamasutra . . . In China The origins of courtesans can be traced back to the Zhou Dynasty, which lasted from approximately 1046 to 256 BC . . . In Italy The origins of courtesanship can be traced back to a complex interplay of social, economic, and cultural factors that emerged during the Renaissance.
In America Yes, there is a record of courtesans in America. But AOC needs to catch up with the facts. After reading about white women courtesans in urban cities like New York and Chicago, we queried the story in New Orleans.
The findings were borderline extraordinary, and we will explain in our next deep dive into red lips women.
Timberland calls it “a new shade of iconic”. Too bad that ‘iconic’ is now the most overused word in fashion, because this New Hampshire wilderness meets Jacquemus south of France ‘La Bateau’ 3-Eye boat shoe just might live up to the meaning of the word ‘iconic’.
Or as the AOC/Bernie Sanders ‘Fight Oligarchy’ tour around America would say “a Riviera-looking AOC joins forces with New England workwear Bernie Sanders” and the crowds are losing their damn minds.
With all the stress America is under in this moment, I recommend that we all bask in the atmosphere of four beauties: Blésnya Minher, Devyn Garcia, Imaan Hammam and Paula Soares, in Victoria’s Secret Very Sexy, Very New Spring 2025 campaign.
Emmanuelle Alt styles the campaign, introducing the new Lightly Lined Low-Cut Demi Bra, lensed by Lachlan Bailey [IG]. This is a multi-pronged campaign from Atelier Victoria’s Secret x Altuzarra, representing the first time that VS has worked with designer Joseph Altuzarra.