Yumi Nu in Okinawa for Vogue Japan [IG] September 2024. Styled by Giulia Revolo, Nu wears Fendi on the cover.
Nu was born in Englewood, NJ of mixed heritage, with her mother being Japanese and her father of Dutch descent. Her maternal lineage traces back to Okinawa, the largest of Japan’s Ryukyu Islands in the southern part of Japan.
‘Experimental’ is not a word used over the last 20 years to describe designer Tory Burch [IG]. When she presented her Fall 2024 collection at the New York Public Library last February, a new adjective arose to describe Burch — one we love. The word was ‘daring’.
Vogue Runway summed up the Fall 2024 Tory Burch collection, writing: “Let’s just say she’s come a long way from the people-pleasing crystal embellished tunics and Reva flats that were her earliest successes.”
The Fall 2024 campaign photographed by Jamie Hawkesworth [IG] in Lisbon, Portugal plays with light and quiet joy. It captures Tory Burch’s new word — which is good — because fashion hammers the same words to death. We need some new words — in this case ‘sublime’.
The Sporty & Rich brand has a habit of hanging out in the best hotels. Which is why the current Sporty & Rich x adidas Originals capsule collection popped into Le Bristol in Paris’ 8th arrondissement last week in time for the Paris Olympics.
Model Malika el Maslouhi models the sporting capsule in digital media and in-store materials.
Marketing and branding has tapped every aspect of food sourcing, including a flour mill and a chocolate factory in the hotel basement. This is important to know, when a Sporty & Rich x adidas Originals miche du pain arrives on one’s table in the relaxed brasserie. Or the famous Le Bristol door key for your room? Emily Oberg has left her mark there, too.
AOC completely missed the June announcement that L Catterton is partnering with actor Naomi Watts to acquire her menopause-care brand Stripes Beauty.
The American multinational private equity firm closely partnered with LVMH and Groupe Arnault is putting some expertise power behind the venture. Debra Perelman, the former Revlon CEO, is executive chair of Stripes Beauty and Cara Kamenev, a former L'Oréal executive, is president.
This nation is very messed up over the expression of a healthy female sexuality and sensual joy as a form of wellness. France and most of Europe are way ahead of America in supporting a positive sexuality at any age.
I just had a rush of my own joy reading that Naomi Watts is now in the hands of a platinum-level, business development team in the L Catterton stable. Talk about a safe harbor for Stripes Beauty. It’s a fabulous piece of news that will age well for all parties!! ~ Anne
W Korea’s Volume #7 2024 summer issue joins the bandwagon of Asian and Southeast Asian magazines rolling into fashion-content excellence with impossible-to-ignore photography that surpasses their counterparts in America and Europe. The differences are also noteworthy among European issues that are locally-owned vs. the global fashion conglomerate we all know well.
AOC understands the concept of editorial independence from luxury brands. But if the degree of recycling images across multiple titles — while also operating with obviously-reduced production budgets — doesn’t result in editorial excellence commensurate with smaller titles, that is a long-term problem
Additionally, we have ‘professional competence meets star power’ with people like Karlie Kloss entering the discussion with her titles at Bedford Media. I’m speaking of digital imagery as well, not only print.
Etro presents a summer 2024 collection inspired by the dreamy atmosphere of an Italian vacation, shot in the fascinating, stylish and rambling atmosphere of Villa Elia, in the heart of Puglia.
Models Claudio Goncalves, Lena Werner and Nathali Fried are styled by Francesca Parise in images by Raffaele Cerulo [IG]. Creative direction by Etro designer Marco de Vincenzo.
Versace [IG] celebrates Hollywood history, returning to Los Angeles and the Marmont Hotel for its Fall 2024 campaign. Mert & Marcus [IG] are behind the lens, capturing models Vittoria Ceretti, Fernando Lindez, Hedi Ben Tekaya , Lee Minseok and Loli Bahia.
Chateau Marmont officially opened its doors in February 1929, 95 years ago, just months before the stock market crash that heralded the Great Depression. It offered refuge for decades to celebrities, Hollywood stars and rich people engaging in frequent debauchery behind its secretive walls.
Supermodel, supermom, superactivist Karlie Kloss is styled by Gro Curtis in ‘Force of Nature’, a modern woman fashion story lensed by Emma Summerton [IG] for V Magazine Fall 2024 preview. / Makeup by Romy Soleimani; hair by Bob Recine
In a bit of brilliant marketing, in AOC’s opinion, Karlie is wearing Loro Piana ‘Into the Wild’ collection— with swagger. The brand positioning is perfect for Loro Piana because of Karlie’s long list of accomplishments.
Karlie Kloss’ To Do List
The list includes Kode with Klossy, devoted to hands on tech camps for girls across America; and more recently, Gateway Coalition, focused on reproductive care for American women under assault with the overturn of Roe. In short order Gateway has directed more than $3 million in donations to abortion clinics in the Midwest.
Dior’s creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri was recently called the most modern couturier working today by Vogue’s Nicole Phelps.
In trying to explain her ‘design ethos’, while unintentionally drawing a line in the sand between herself and Christian Dior, Chiuri explained further. “Couture has historically been about ‘building the body’ with its corset foundations and highly-structured silhouettes. But I don’t want to build the body, I want to release it.”
For her Fall 2024 collection, Chiuri turned to the Miss Dior boutique, opened in 1967 to showcase a separate ready-to-wear collection during the tenure of Marc Bohan.
The designer explained: “I think he was really visionary for the time because the couture house was in difficulty. They had this relationship only with these couture clients—and women were changing. Not all the couture-house creative directors were so visionary to understand the new era, and new women.”
Actor Emma Corrin covers the August 2024 issue of S Moda El Pais, lensed by Pablo Sáez [IG] in ‘Tiempo De Antihéroes’.
“Boys are idiots…” Corrin’s villianous character says in the film. Like the non-binary Corrin, Cassandra Nova’s shaved head and superpowers dramatize the actor’s own desire “to explore, change, and not be pigeonholed.”
Director Shawn Levy seeks to render Cassandra as an anti-villain, a charming and nice human who suddenly ups and kills someone. The character is only evil some of the time — a frequent signature in Marvel’s films.
Supermodel Bella Hadid’s latest street style moment sought to make the adidas SL72 sneaker summer-games supreme. Originally crafted for road runners, the SL72 was released in conjunction with the 1972 Olympic games back in the day, long before many AOC readers were born.
On Thursday, July 18, the American Jewish Committee spoke out against the campaign and called for Adidas to “address this egregious error.”
It makes far more sense to AOC that in a world of young people globally protesting in support of Palestine, and the SN 72 debut at the Munich Olympics that adidas — with or without Bella’s knowledge and cooperation — decided to turn up the global heat with this campaign.
AOC fears Adidas has bet that young people will rally around the shoe as a symbol of pro-Palestinian resistance, once Bella has been attacked by the Israeli press and numerous anti-semitism groups in America and Germany. How sad.
Chemena Kamali could write a book about the history of Chloé, having worked there as an obsessed junior designer under Phoebe Philo and then again under Clare Waight Keller. Everyone says that Kamali understands the soul of the brand.
Chloé Fall/Winter 2024 campaign models include Jessica Miller, Kristine Lindseth, Liya Kebede, Ornella Umutoni, Saphira Krumhaar, Shuqi Lan and Suvi Riggs — lensed by Sam Rock.
Just three letters spelled out the new day at Chloé: J-O-Y! The world is in serious need of a bit of joy, and Chemena Kamali is here for the moment — along with her buckets of design and marketing talent.
Deauville, a charming seaside town in Normandy, France, holds a special place in the history of fashion as the birthplace of modern Chanel fashion. It was here in 1913 that Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel opened her first boutique outside Paris. Deauville's affluent visitors and relaxed atmosphere provided the perfect backdrop for Chanel to revolutionize women's fashion.
Coco Chanel introduced a new aesthetic that embraced simplicity, comfort, and elegance — with menswear and the lives of men being a key psychological component in Chanel’s approach to fashion design for ‘liberated’, wealthy women.
Leisure as a signature of wealth surrounded Coco in her observations of Deauville's elite vacationers.
Top model and talented actor Cara Delevingne talked details of her sobriety journey in yesterday’s interview with The Sunday Times July 7, 2024 issue.
Writer Vassi Chamberlain recalled meeting the mischievous Delevingne for the first time at her aunt’s wedding in 2001. It’s unlikely she was prepared for Cara’s response.
“You know I got drunk that day,” she says. “I was eight, what a crazy age to get drunk.”
The Delevigne sisters are daughters of their famous mother Pandora Delevingne, who first used heroin days after her 18th birthday. One assumes that being diagnosed with a serious bipolar condition, coupled with drug use presented very big challenges for Pandora’s daughters.
Beloved actor Lupita Nyong’o covers Glamour magazine June 2024, serving four powerhouse covers that project strength, confidence and high-voltage modernity across Britain, Germany, Mexico and the US.
The fashion message styled by Rachel Wang presents a sleek, bodycon fashion statement in pure red and leopard prints lensed by Adrienne Raquel [IG].
Superstar Lupita Nyong’o had such a severe fear of cats, that she begged director Michael Sarnoski to employ a different animal for her role in the new horror film ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’.
For Lupita, the film production coincided with a deeply sad time in her life, self-described as a ‘season of heartbreak’ over the end of her public relationship with Selema Masekela.
A voice in a devastated Nyong’o said, 'Get a cat.”
Nymphia Wind, a Taiwanese-American drag performer and dressmaker, covers the July 2024 issue of Vogue Taiwan [IG], looking every part the fashion drama queen. In 2024, Wind was crowned the winner of season 16 of RuPaul's Drag Race, becoming the first East Asian winner.
Nymphia Wind is the stage name of Leo Tsao, a Taiwanese-American drag performer and dressmaker. The Internet “went crazy” on April 20, 2024, when Nifeiya broke the Asian curse and became the second Asian champion of RuPaul's Drag Race in 13 years.
The talent Nymphia Wind, is anchored in an enchanting, descriptive portrait written by Nicole Lee for Vogue Taiwan.