Ulla Johnson Opens West Hollywood Kelly Wearstler-Designed Global Vibe Store
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Zara Creates THIRTEEN PIECES for Self-Discerning, Arts-Loving Women
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Zara creates a capsule collection THIRTEEN PIECES, designed for the woman who owns her own identity. These are timeless pieces that avoid any type of frill and act as a backdrop for the woman, whose elegance and attitude position her center stage.
Supermodel Rianne van Rompaey and Spanish actor Angela Molina, now 67, are the two protagonists in the campaign, shot by Mario Sorrenti [IG] with creative direction and styling by Elodie David-Touboul./ Hair by Kalle Eklund; makeup by Petros Petrohilos; set design by Mathilde Vallantin Dulac
Molina becomes the oldest model Zara has used to date.
Read MoreGigi Hadid Sparkles in Paris for Self-Portrait FW 2023 Campaign by Tyrone LeBon
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Gigi Hadid returns to Self-Portrait in a FW 2023 campaign inspired by butterflies and shot by Tyrone Lebon in a private residence in Paris.
Glitter shimmers in abundance in the Self-Portrait campaign, both in the ready-to-wear pieces and the The Bow Bag, considered a signature bag for the brand.
Read MoreMessika Midnight Sun High Jewelry Spotlight Claims Carla Buni's Nightclub Glamour
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France’s former First Lady, supermodel and French singer Carla Bruni takes her turn in Messika’s Midnight Sun 2023 High Jewelry limelight.
Photographer Pierre-Ange Carlotti [IG] captures the nightlife the colorful 1970s in the Midnight Sun campaign, when cities like New York City and Paris crushed traditions, reinvented fashion, and redefined genres.
Read MoreCelebrating Glamour Anchors Mango's USA Expansion in Felice Noordhoff Campaign
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Mango celebrates summer 2023 festivities with a strong dose of unadulterated glamour delivered by top model Felice Noordhoff. The collection of limited-edition garments lives at higher-price points, is designed in Barcelona and produced in Morocco.
The yellow crossed dress with bow neckline above is $400, for example. The asymetrical satin dress belowis $650. Current availability in the USA is in smaller sizes online and not in stores, but the Mango customer can request it in larger sizes.
Read MoreLouis Vuitton Mens FW 2023 Campaign Images | White Americans in Paris 1923
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Louis Vuitton Men’s has released images from the FW 2023 collection, co-created by Colm Dillane [IG], aka Kid Super, and the Louis Vuitton Men’s studio design team.
Marq Rise styled the shoot with images by Paul Kooiker [IG].
Preparing to write these words, I scrolled my Apple News for any event connected to this post.
The Universe Dials In
You may or may not have read my recent post about American jazz musicians seeking refuge in the French Riviera — and not only to perform.
Apple News just shared one of those “on this day 100 years ago” articles from yesterday — as if it fell into this post. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued this statement on August 2, 1923:
“Some foreign tourists, forgetting that they are our guests and that they, therefore, owe respect to our customs and our laws, have lately, on several occasions, violently shown their disapproval when they have found men of colour from French colonies sitting near them in public places. They have even gone so far as to demand their expulsion in insulting terms. If similar incidents recur measures of redress will be taken.”
The Racists in Paris Were White American Tourists
The foreign tourists not respecting French customs and laws were Americans. Follow the link at top of post to the entire story of the ugly [and presumably rich] Americans in Paris.
Read MoreBlumarine FW 2023/4 Campaign with Abby Champion Lensed by Petra Collins
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Because model Abby Champion doesn’t have a gamine haircut, you are forgiven for not associating the Blumarine FW 2023/4 campaign with Joan of Arc. In fact, that is where the design season began and the runway show as well, for Blumarine designer Nicola Brognano.
Reeling back the creative impulse further still, the young creator saw a ‘90s image of a young Milla Jovovich with a Joan of Arc close-crop that captured his curiosity. This discovery took him to Luc Besson’s movie ‘The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc’, shot in 1999, with Jovovich as the Maid of Orleans, and she who was burned at the stake for her role as a fierce military leader during the Hundred Year’s War.
It’s no exaggeration to say that she saved France from the English by standing by the side of Charles VII of France. Her star fell quite a lot in the ensuing months and she was captured by Burgundian troops loyal to the English, accused of heresy and being demonic , stood trial, convicted and burned alive.
Read MoreLouis Vuitton FW 2023 Campaign with Emma Stone and Haim by David Sims
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Actor and brand ambassador Emma Stone headlines the Louis Vuitton Women’s FW 2023 Collection. American rock band Haim also joins the campaign, lensed by David Sims.
A Collection of Unbelievable Details
The most consistent and prevailing compliment to the Louis Vuitton FW 2023 collection is that one had to see it up close and personal, because the construction and fabrications in the collection are among the most luxurious and intricate techniques Nicolas Ghesquière has ever employed.
Vogue called the details “mindboggling”.
LVMH posted a 20 percent revenue increase in the first six months of 2023, with a profit from recurring operations of 14 percent among its fashion & leather goods division.
Read MoreCara Taylor's St. Barts Getaway Style for Massimo Dutti by Luis Ridao
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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.
Read MoreMiu Miu QiXi 2023 Collection Reminds Me When Polka Dots Were for Rebels
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Miuccia Prada’s Dots
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.
Read MoreRalph Lauren Details Global Citizenship and Sustainability Initiatives
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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.
Read MoreChristy Turlington for CH Carolina Herrera 'Insignia' Bags July 2023 by Brigitte Lacombe
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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.
Read MoreGucci 'An Ode to Love' Campaign with Wen Qi and Daniel Zhou Shot by Leslie Zhang
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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.”
Read MoreSporty & Rich Founder Emily Oberg In the Streetwear Passing Lane With Soho Store
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“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.
Read MoreDaniel Lee Rolls On As Burberry Resort 2024 Meets London New Bond Street Store Renovation
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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.
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Prorsum Knight Is Wilding in Scotland and Ireland in Burberry Fall 2023 Campaign
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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.
Read MoreAnok Yai Fronts Marc Jacobs Summer 2023 Campaign Lensed by Alasdair McLellan
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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
Read MoreFendi Fall/Winter 2023 Campaign with Julia, Mona, Rianne + by Craig McDean
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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
Read MoreSporty & Rich X Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc and the New French-American-AOC Alliance
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