News: Richard Buckley Leaves Us | Naomi Campbell Named Global Ambassador to the Queen | Billie Eilish for Air Jordan

Richard Buckley (left) and Tom Ford COURTESY OF TOM FORD

We are so very sad for Tom Ford and his son Jack, who have lost their dear love, longtime fashion journalist and Tom Ford’s husband and partner of 35 years Richard Buckley. We don’t see a lot of relationships that last 35 years anymore, and theirs was golden, including the entry of Alexander John Buckley Ford into their life in 2012. Ford and Buckley married on New Years Eve in 2014.

“It is with great sadness that Tom Ford announces the death of his beloved husband of 35 years, Richard Buckley,” a statement from the designer said. “Richard passed away peacefully at their home in Los Angeles last night with Tom and their son Jack by his side. He died of natural causes after a long illness.”

Whenever Ford has talked about his relationship with Buckley, he describes their relationship as “love at first sight.” Sharing the same elevator in 1986, Buckley was a fashion editor for Women’s Wear Daily, and Ford was working under sportswear designer Cathy Hardwick.

Ford’s interview in 2917 with Jess Cagle is so poignant that words do not do it justice. Responding to Cagle’s request for advice on maintaining a great relationship, Ford replied: “If the person you are with is someone you respect, who you believe has a great heart and a great soul — as good a heart and soul as you will ever find — don’t ever leave them, because you won’t find anyone better.”

We share what will be major commentary about this sad news, and with updates:

Richard Buckley, Tom Ford’s husband, dead at 72 Page Six

Stella McCartney, who is Jack’s godmother, shared her thoughts on Instagram Tuesday: “What a gentle man; grace and charm filled the room when he was in it,” she wrote in part, adding, “He was so loved, so respected and so madly and passionately dedicated to you, Tom and Jack, that his life was fully complete.”

Richard Buckley, Longtime Fashion Journalist and Husband of Tom Ford, Dies at 72 Hollywood Reporter

Naomi Campbell Now Global Ambassador for Queen’s Commonwealth Trust

Image Collage by Anne of Carversville

Among the roles the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had to relinquish in stepping back as senior royals to pursue a life in America were their positions as president and vice president of the Queens Commonwealth Trust, a new organization formed in 2018.

Legendary supermodel, activist and new mom Naomi Campbell has accepted an appointment as The Queen's Commonwealth Trust (QCT) Platinum Jubilee Global Ambassador, where she will be involved with championing the work of young leaders backed by the trust.

CEO of the charity Christopher Kelly cited Naomi’s diverse background and also her status as a woman of colour already engaged with young people as being key reasons why she was asked to step into the role created by Meghan and Harry.

The Telegraph reported Kelly’s view that “It will be very positive to have someone who not only transcends different countries and nationalities because she is a global superstar but who is also a British woman with Caribbean roots, who has got to the very top.”

Naomi Campbell was beloved by global

Billie Eilish Shows Off Her Sustainability Credentials

Billie Eilish in Oscar de la Renta at the Met Gala.Credit...Nina Westervelt for The New York Times

Billie Eilish is fresh off her gig as cohost of the recent Met Gala, where the 19-year-old, Goth pop star and climate activist crusader channeled her Marilyn Monroe alter ego. Eilish wore an Oscar de la Renta nude tulle ball gown to complement her more recent blonde bombshell look.

PETA was thrilled — not only to see the Met Gala go meatless — but to see Billie negotiate the terms of wearing her Oscar de la Renta gown. PETA wrote:

In working with Oscar de la Renta on her 2021 Met Gala look, the vegan singer-songwriter ensured that her dress would be animal-friendly. Last month, PETA announced that the legendary designer would be going fur-free after decades of our runway disruptions, protests, some carefully thrown tofu cream pies, and pressure from activists worldwide. Now we know that Billie Eilish played a major role as well!

The New York Times did a deep dive on the negotiations preceding Billie Eilish’s appearance as the youngest cohost ever of the annual Met Gala. Read on Billie Eilish Sets a Condition for Her Dress: No More Fur

This week Billie Elish flipped the switch, keeping her blonde locks — because she LIKES the look — but leaving her golden slippers at the Metropolitan Museum. Today’s news story is about Billie’s collab with Nike and Air Jordan.

Billie Reimagines Beloved Air Jordans

A release of Billie Eilish’s Air Jordan collab will land first via store.billieeilish.com on 9/27, predating a Nike SNKRS launch on 9/30.

Collabs with musicians are not new to the Jordan Brand. Nor are collabs with women — although men rule. AOC took a deep dive on the Jordan Brand a few months ago, learning that black women are taking over the footwear industry.

On Monday, September 20, Billie Eilish was center stage for the Jordan Brand, designing two styles of Air Jordans for the collab: a pair of Air Jordan 1 KO and a pair of Air Jordan 15. "I am SO excited to finally share my two Air Jordan silhouettes with you!!" Billie wrote. "I've always loved @jumpman23 and it was such an incredible and surreal experience getting to create these."

Each pair of Billie’s Air Jordans is made with 100% vegan leather instead of the traditional leather and contain more than 20% recycled materials. The shoes feature Billie's logo, one she drew up at age 15, and her name next to the iconic Air Jordan logo. You can read more about Billie’s beauties on Sneaker News.

AOC didn’t know that the performance basketball shoe market peaked in 2015 and has experienced double-digit declines since then, according to NPD.

Sales fell a massive 23% in 2020, enough to crush companies not prepared for it. Nike was prepared, and the “retro” or lifestyle business has more than made up for the declines. When I read the words “retro’ and lifestyle business in new business articles about Air Jordan and Jordan Brand, I knew we were talking about ToiletPaper Magazine shoes.

Jordan is the dominant player, with 96% of the market including Jordan and Nike brand sales, writes Sportico. “The retro product has done phenomenal,” Cowen & Co. analyst John Kernan told the website. “Nike is doing a lot of different colorways now, and they are launching product in very smart, very creative ways. They have done a masterful job managing the marketplace.” [That’s the example I just gave you of arty sneakers in Toilet Paper Magazine,]

Enter Nike’s new Air Jordan Collab with Billie Eilish. Is this Nike’s first Air Jordan collab with a white woman? Our inquiring mind wants to know. The answer appears to be yes, but we could be seriously embarrassed. AOC has never purported to be the work of sneakerheads.

The Enduring Popularity of Air Jordans and 'His Airness'

By Anne Enke, Anne of Carversville

Republish via AOC at FeedBurner CC 3.0 License Attribution Required: Daily Fashion Design Culture News

Air Jordan Is Nowhere Near Its Last Dance

NBA star MIchael Jordan has made over $1.3 billion from Nike, an estimated sum Forbes magazine calls "the biggest endorsement bargain in sports".

As the richest athlete endorsement deal ever, the Chicago Bulls superstar NFL player Michael Jordan did as much for Nike, as the Nike Swoosh did for him. Note the the Swoosh disappeared in the second year of the shoe, prompting Air Jordans and Jordan Brand to thereafter draw "inspiration from jets and sports cars, jazz and even wildlife," writes the Chicago Tribune, who offers one of many histories of Air Jordans on the Internet.

The History of Flying Men

Icarus: Perhaps you’ve heard about Icarus. In Greek mythology, Icarus attempted to escape from Crete flying with wings made of feathers and wax. His father Daedalus warned Icarus first of complacency and then of hubris and lack of awareness.

Literally, Icarus was to fly in the middle of the sky. Too close to the water, the wax would harden and clog his wings. If Icarus flew to high and close to the sun, the wax in his wings would melt, After takeoff, Icarus did indeed fly high into the sky.

Unable to resist the hubris of defying gravity and flying on a divine trajectory, Icarus lost his wing power as the sun melted the wax in his wings. He fell into the sea and died.

Read more about how Michael Jordan became America’s heroic Superman

Ka-Ching

After agreeing to a deal that sent heart palpitations through the bodies of high-level Nike executives, Michael Jordan, the Brooklyn boy who grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina, walked away with a five-year deal at an annual base pay of $500,000.

Sounds good, right? It was triple any other NBA sneaker deal in 1984. To sweeten the deal, Jordan also got his own shoe line: Air Jordan was born.

“Nike’s expectation when we signed the deal was, at the end of year four, they hoped to sell $3 million worth of Air Jordans,” says Falk. “In year one, we sold $126 million.”

Probably The Biggest, Baddest Licensing Deal in History

Bauhaus-Inspired Nike Air Max 270 Sneakers Inspired Toilet Paper Magazine Posters AOC Fashion July, 2019

Unlike blogs, websites, video-makers and more people, who just copy the work of others, Nike is seeking creatives with an Apple-mentality, involved in the relentless pursuit of perfection. Without being paid a dime — or with only the original creative spark being paid — communication players built-out the story around the new Air Max lifestyle sneaker.

Knowing from Fast Company that the posters honored the Bauhaus, AOC (as always) went intellectual. We don’t assume that especially younger readers necessarily know or care about the Bauhaus. How can we use the campaign to teach them?

The Bauhaus was founded by Weimar-based architect Walter Gropius, who combined both arts and crafts and the fine arts worlds in a democratic, populist intellectualism. The Art Story describes the Bauhaus movement in terms that resonate today:

The origins of the Bauhaus lie in the late 19th century, in anxieties about the soullessness of modern manufacturing, and fears about art's loss of social relevance. The Bauhaus aimed to reunite fine art and functional design, creating practical objects with the soul of artworks.

Performance Basketball Shoes Are in Downward Spiral Since 2015, but Retro Is Rising

AOC didn’t know that the performance basketball shoe market peaked in 2015 and has experienced double-digit declines since then, according to NPD.

Read all the details of Air Jordans’ staggering financial performance in Nike’s fiscal 2021 revenues and profits. Also, we share eye-opening details about the decline of basketball performance shoes and the rise of retro.

The World of Air Jordan Drops

Air Jordan drops are huge events in the sneaker world. Countless communities have grown up around the world of sneakerheads. Social psychologists write about them. There are calendars online with all the drop dates organized with images. Determined fans look for ways to get a pair of targeted Air Jordans months before the releases.

Back in 2018, Nike brand president Trevor Edwards stated, “We want to keep Jordan icons coveted and special, which is why we are proactively managing the exclusivity of specific iconic styles.” This means that these shoes will continue to be hard to get your hands on, making them unique to say the least.

The more AOC digs and explores the Air Jordan brand DNA — including this incredible new place for Air Jordans in the world of activist fundraising — call us speechless.

Image by Mike Von, Downtown Los Angeles, CA via Unsplash

Air Jordan: A Brand People Believe In

Studying the Nike press release on fiscal 2021 sales, Air Jordan has been very much with us in America’s darkest hour in decades. In all honesty, I don’t have an emotional relationship with Nike. But I’ve definitely developed an attachment to Air Jordan and Jordan Brand, especially when we get to the section on values and activism.

Covid Sent a Gut Punch to the Air Jordan Community

Who did ordinary people turn to for comfort and a sense of hope and security — but also a shot in the arm to keep us running in COVID-world 2020? ‘His Airness’ Michael Jordan — that’s who.

There is no debate around this issue. The Nike fiscal report on sales and profitability tells us all we need to know about how “we the people” felt about Air Jordan and Jordan Brand in 2020. Businesses were reeling, and in saunters Air Jordan to take a Wall Street bow.

I daresay, Jordan Brand’s influence was even more critical to our bleeding hearts, because Michael Jordan got seriously in the game on the topic of racial justice post George Floyd’s May 2020 murder in Minnesota. That’s the focus of AOC’s future post on values and activism in Air Jordan and Jordan Brand.

Why Am I doing This Giant Freebie for Nike and Air Jordan?

Read our in-depth series on Air Jordan to find out.

Our kids need Air Jordan as an example of American grit and determination to overcome not only COVID, but the drive to end American democracy and the disenfranchisement of million of voters of color.

Each of us is obligated to use our best skills to stop this march of Trumpism in America, and I EXPECT Nike to be in this game of American politics that has become a scary blood-sport.

I can’t think of a better tactical move to make this minute for Anne of Carversville, than to start bird-dogging Nike and Air Jordan. Regular readers expect us to bird-dog brands on sustainability.

Now we will be tracking brands taking a stand for “we the people politics” in America and worldwide.

Fasten your seat belts, because AOC intends to fly high in this new endeavor. We won’t fly into the sun — Icarus, we are not. But we will fly in the face of business. In the words of the great Muhammad Ali, we will “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”

How Successful Is Michael Jordan? He's the GOAT!

16 years after playing his last professional basketball game, Michael Jordan out-earns every current NBA player in the sneaker income category. Earning $130 million from his Nike deal, Jordan made four times the No. 2 ranked LeBron James, who made $32 million in 2019.

AOC shares the summer 2021 research rankings on Michael Jordan tying Muhummad Ali as the greatest athlete ever in history.

We want to “Be Like Mike”

Note the music in the Gatorade commercial. It transcends America. Heck I expect Nelson Mandela to enter stage left any second. The commercial is deeply Black in its powerhouse influence on global culture and yet it transcends race.

That was Nelson Mandela’s approach, too — pure ubuntu. Mandela found that the power of Ubuntu, the inner core of every person's humanity, could move mountains.

Our young people don’t really know and understand the power of Nelson Mandela’s message. But they DO want to be like Mike. So do I. So should you. ~ Anne