We don’t think of St. Barts as a summer destination, but unlike the winter months, the island is a peaceful paradise where visitors can experience a more authentic island life.
This is the mood of Cara Taylor’s dreamy summer escape for Massimo Dutti[IG], a fashion story ‘On the Sunset Strip’ styled by Marina Gallo. Photographer Luis Ridao, who does more interior photography than fashion, captures the buy-now, resort elegance perfect for summer into fall dressing.
Polka dots have appeared regularly in Miuccia Prada’s collections over the years and they are out in full force in Miu Miu’s QiXi 2023 [Valentine’s Day in China] collection and campaign lensed by Lengua [IG].
The campaign stars models Ying Ouyang and Ruiqi Jiang, styled by Lotta Volkova.
Miu Miu is on fire in everywhere in the world, reporting a 42 percent increase in the first quarter and a blistering 57 percent in second quarter.
For Ralph Lauren’s exciting achievements in committing to the Cradle to Cradle Certified Gold Cashmere Sweater, coupled with other significant achievements in sustainable materials and products, Ralph Lauren earned a prime spot on Fast Company’s 2023 Top 10 list of the most 540 most innovative companies in North America, across all sectors.
Ralph Lauren redesigned its signature cashmere sweaters to receive certification from Cradle to Cradle, a nonprofit that helped the company meet C2C’s standards for using safe materials, employing fair labor practices, and enabling the garment to be recycled into a new one.
The full 2023 Ralph Lauren Global Citizenship & Sustainability Report and ESG Supplement are available for download on the Company’s website. AOC is reading the report and feels compelled to cite more calls-to-action for the Ralph Lauren Corporation beyond the press release.
The support by Ralph Lauren brands of HBCUs and especially Morehouse and Spelman Colleges continues at an accelerated level. Equally impressive is an accelerated commitment to indigenous communities in America. Of all the severely-impacted humans who have been part of the glorious American experiment, indigenous peoples have experienced the dark side of American excellence and high standards.
In these new images by Brigitte Lacombe [IG], Christy Turlington poses with key bags from the Insignia collection of CH Carolina Herrera bags, with its special focus on the craftsmanship.
InStyle writes about Christy Turlington that there are models, and then there are ‘supermodels'. They are correct, of course, but the cavalier attitude towards crowning just about any model a “supermodel” is for real.
AOC has always written about Christy’s ‘titanic’ work in the area of maternal health worldwide with her own foundation Every Mother Counts and her other humanitarian work with CARE.
There’s an A-team on this new summer 2023 campaign including art directors Kevin Tekinel and Charles Levai, director Tin Seoi and photographer Leslie Zhang [IG], whose photography we love. Taiwanese actor Wen Qi and Chinese singer Daniel Zhou star are the lovebirds.
AOC disagrees with more than one fashion writer who has seen this new Gucci ‘An Ode to Love’ campaign and responded with words of praise that storytelling is back at Gucci. Whew!
This new campaign is pure and innocent — which is not how Alessandro Michele served it up. He took you into the setting to experience the imagery yourself, not as an observer.
In my case, he sometimes admonished me [metaphorically], because I wasn’t in the mood to be part of the joke. Yet I chuckled when he grabbed me by the arm, saying “Would you take a damn break, Anne, and let your imagination run wild. Come and play with us.”
“I do consider Sporty & Rich streetwear, but I also consider it a lifestyle and wellness brand,” Oberg is quoted by Vogue. “I’m trying to get out of the ‘streetwear’ lane because I feel it is very limiting—even Supreme’s business isn’t as strong as it once was because people are just shopping differently. The demand for logo-driven items is decreasing, so I want to expand and broaden the range.”
The spa facilities are very much “if you know, you know” and Oberg has no intention of putting a sign in the window. “Health is Wealth” is a core brand plank for Sporty & Rich — and very deeply embedded in in Emily Oberg’s personal DNA.
On June 29, 2023 creative director Daniel Lee’s evolution of the Burberry brand continued with the opening of the renovated New Bond Street store in London.
The 22,000 sq m space stretching over three floors, has been transformed into a minimal, modern space with an with open-plan design.
It’s safe to say that in the area of store design, Burberry has met the 21st century, and there is nothing uniquely British about the interior environment.
Chanel shares images of their Pre-Fall-Winter 2023 collection featuring model and actor Iman Pérez, who is of Spanish, Senegalese, German and French descent.
The video is more modern glam — but energetic — than these images. Ib Kamara [IG] styles Pérez, with images by Malick Bodian [IG].
Burberry’s [IG] Winter 2023 campaign is out, lensed by Tyrone Lebon [IG] in Scotland’s Isle of Skye and Northern Ireland’s Giant’s Causeway.
About the cow . . .
AOC needs to make one small point. We are thrilled with the cow, and the speed with which Burberry delivered it. It was only Monday in writing about Daniel Lee’s second Resort 2024 collection, that we brought up cows for Burberry. Voila! We have a cow.
It’s great but . . .. . . it was cows in relation to the Burberry dandelion print revised to a daffodil. Because we are promoting a great climate change study with cows and daffodils.
Supermodel Anok Yai delivers the Marc Jacobs Summer 2023 campaign, styled by Alastair McKimm. Anok poses in key pieces from The Bi-Color Snapshot, The Utility Snapshot in Bubblegum and The Denim Monogram Collection, lensed by Alasdair McLellan [IG]./ Hair by Akki Shirakawa; makeup by Sam Visser
Models Farah Nieuwburg, Julia Nobis, Migoa Guol, Mona Tougaard, Rianne Van Rompaey and Yilan Hua front Fendi’s F/W 2023 Campaign, styled by Melanie Ward. Photographer Craig McDean [IG] is in the studio with creative direction by Karl Bolander./ Hair by Anthony Turner; makeup by Peter Philips
Embracing her faux French roots without behaving like an imposter, it’s perfectly natural — even logical — that Sporty & Rich finds itself in an exciting collaboration with one of the world’s most important destinations — Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc Antibes.
Sporty & Rich is not just a fashion brand; it represents a lifestyle that seamlessly blends athleticism, wellness and luxury. At its core, the brand embraces the belief that being active and maintaining physical fitness should not compromise one's sense of style or desire for clothes with an attitude of luxury.
Canadian-born, New York-based founder Emily Oberg has a sixth-sense for brand DNA and pedigree, and she plays her hand expertly — choosing a name like Sporty & Rich for her brand, but not falling down the rabbit hole of vapid pretentiousness.
Models Dara Gueye, Hedi Ben Tekaya and Jay Jang are styled by Marq Rise in select pieces from the Louis Vuitton Men Pre Fall 2024 collection.
Photographer Dan Beleiu [IG] is behind the lens with set design by Sophear Van Froment and art direction by Lucie Matussiere. / Hair by Christian Eberhard; makeup by Adrien Pinault
Dior Rose des Vents Jewelry is a collection of luxurious and intricate jewelry pieces created Victoire de Castellane, creative director of Dior Joaillerie for 23 years.
The July 2023 campaign features three Dior ambassadors Haerin, of NewJeans South Korean girl group formed in 2022; Franco-Argentine actor Julia de Nunez, and Chinese musician Xin Lu. Photographer Tyler Mitchell [IG] is behind the lens for Dior Joaillerie.
Kaia Gerber returns to Celine’s new 2023 campaign in a collection named “Age of Indieness”, with its big reveal last December 2022 at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles.
The Chasseur jacket, the Newspaper Triomphe bag, and bold sunglasses worn 24/7 express the Celine vibe in the new campaign.
Slimane’s images of Gerber channel the rebellious spirit of the mid-2000s. Kaia wears all the sleek and structured silhouettes we’ve come to expect from Hedi Slimane, who has refashioned the LVMH brand in his own image.
As Phoebe Philo is ready to return with her own eponymous collection, with a beloved following, LVMH financing and her Celine old mailing list, it’s important to note the great success that Celine has enjoyed under Hedi Slimane’s tenure as creative director.
Reality is that LVMH has achieved staggering results with the expansions of Louis Vuitton and also Dior. I would never second guess their goals on what is achievable with Celine.
The fashion story ‘Lago Di Como’ fabrications include 100% cotton, 75% of select items made of European grown linen, viscose/linen blends and select fabrics with 20% recycled yarns.
In a week when America is just shaken by turbulent weather, the highest temperatures ever recorded, flash floods everywhere, multi-million dollar homes sliding down the hill in California and never-before-seen creatures crawling out of the sea, the message in fashion is that we are losing any semblance of progress in sustainability efforts.
Spanish-Argentine social media influencer Georgina Rodriguez [IG] brings the Fall 2023 GUESS campaign to her 50M followers. The glamorous images were shot at Madrid’s Santo Mauro Hotel by Nima Benati [IG], who just shot Sharon Stone for Vogue Arabia’s September 2023 cover.
Georgina Rodriguez met her life partner, soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo, working in a Gucci store after his five-year relationship with Irina Shayk ended. At the time, Ronaldo was playing for Real Madrid.
As part of her Netflix series I am Georgina, now in season two, Ronaldo tributes his partner, reflecting on their meeting: "I didn't think at the beginning that [the relationship] would be this strong. That I would fall in love with her," Ronaldo shared during the first episode. "I didn't expect it honestly. But after a while I felt that she was the woman of my life."
‘90s Playboy models Carmen Electra and Jenny McCarthy are 50 and fabulous, thank you very much, as Kim Kardashian rolls out another fantastic SKIMS swim July 2023 campaign.
Electra, 51, and McCarthy, 50, "capture the essence of a sizzling, hot summer," notes SKIMS in a release. "This fun campaign celebrates the impact these women had on pop culture and their timeless appeal, reminding the world that confidence and sexiness cannot be confined."
Brazilian influencer and model Juliana Nalú, takes the limelight in the new Pucci Eyewear social media campaign, lensed by Ryan Schostak. [IG].
The entrepreneurial and charismatic Nalú [did we say sexy and gorgeous, too?] is rising from the Chapadão favela in the heart of Rio de Janeiro. She describes herself on IG as a “Brazilian masterpiece” and is represented by Elite Models in NYC and LA.
All systems are “go” for Juliana Nalú.
Still, AOC feels a need to say that this dynamic young woman is rising from one of the most dangerous favelas in Brazil. It wasn’t always this way for Chapadão, which is another socio-political story.
Prada’s FW23 ad campaign “In conversation with a flower” explores the dominant relationship that humans have with flowers and with nature generally. Ferdinando Verderi provides creative direction, with styling by Olivier Rizzo.
These surreal images by Willy Vanderperre [IG]put humans and flowers on an equal footing with each other, upsizing flowers until they take on their own, otherworldly persona and emotions — leaving the entire cast of actors and flowers to deal with each other eyeball to eyeball.
