Church’s X Miu Miu Campaign Is Home to Whip Smart Boys Club Girls
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Will Icon Collection Pay Off for Victoria's Secret? Adriana, Candice, Gisele, Naomi to the Rescue
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The new VS campaign is excellent and has some real VS icons featured. Bringing back past VS models is a terrific idea for a brand trying to find safe ground to stand on. Shop the new collection at the VS website.
If I read the VS copy carefully, I’m sure we are all icons somewhere in it, so let’s just cut the AOC analysis short here and say “good job, VS.”
The Icon by Victoria’s Secret Collection models includes VS greats Gisele Bündchen, Naomi Campbell, Adriana Lima, and Candice Swanepoel.
The Icon cast campaigns expands to include Adut Akech, Emily Ratajkowski, Hailey Bieber, Paloma Elsesser and Sui He. I’m pleased to say that every woman listed here has archives on AOC.
Oyadeas!
Oh dear goddess Oya. I tried . . . I tried . . . I tried so hard to step carefully, but I just fell down the “we’re all icons” rabbit hole, and I did not see it coming.
Read MoreGisele Bundchen in 'Dream On' Arezzo Footwear and Bags for Winter 2024 by Lufre
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Gisele Bundchen returns as the face of Brazilian brand Arezzo’s winter 2024 campaign called ‘Dream On’. The uber-supermodel finds herself again in an aquarium, but this one is without water.
In this delicious new Arezzo campaign, lensed by Lufre [IG], Gisele reminds us that barriers are sometimes transparent — bigger in our minds than they are in reality. And while we reference an aquarium, there are no breathing bubbles in the water. No one will drown.
In stepping into a prism of new light in our ever-changing, modern world, it’s often our very selves who put the dead weights around our ankles, when we can drift upwards into the light, if only we permit ourselves to fly.
Read MoreChanel Les 4 Ombres Byzance Beauty and Jewelry for Vittoria Ceretti by Elizaveta Porodina
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Chanel shares an inspired new eyeshadow collection Les 4 Ombres Byzance with design and color roots in the rich history of Byzantine jewelry, and several pieces in the archived collection of Gabrielle Chanel herself.
Chanel muse Vittoria Ceretti is the face of the campaign, with an image style that is a perfect expression for the creative mind of photographer Elizaveta Porodina [IG].
Read MoreRalph Lauren's 2023 US Open Collection Is Courtside August 28 in Queens/NYC
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Ralph Lauren’s 2023 US Open collection is courtside on Monday, August 28 thru Sunday September 10 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York.
Skirts and/or Shorts for the Ball Crew
Ball girls made their debut at the US Open in 1977, an encouraging factoid until you learn that ball girls first ‘worked Wimbledon’ in 1920.
Ah yes. It’s a long road to women’s emancipation, even when you’re chasing balls around the tennis court in a grand slam event.
AOC finds the French much more emancipated for women than America these days. But the French Open didn’t get ball girls until 1984; and the Australian Open was also in the early 1980s.
Ralph Lauren, Team USA and the Road to Paris 2024
AOC expects LVMH to help deliver another spectacle for the ages, as a premium partner of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
I’m not sure how they will top the June 20, 2023 Pharrell Williams debut for Louis Vuitton Men — a night that rocked Paris with sounds of ‘Joy’.
Ralph Lauren will again be outfitting Team USA for the Paris 2024 games— giving us two global citizens companies, who share Anne of Carversville’s values.
Read MoreFerragamo New Renaissance Fall 2023 Campaign by Tyler Mitchell Spotlights Uffizi Gallery
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Today’s release of a new Ferragamo Fall 2023 campaign, conceived by Ferragamo creative director Maximilian Davis, takes a spin on the Louvre’s success, confirming a new and very important, global-culture role for Ferragamo and Italian culture, via the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
The partnership between the Ferragamo brand and the Uffizi Gallery is not a one-off ad campaign. Details of its depth and reach will emerge in the coming months.
Lensed by American photographer Tyler Mitchell [IG], who was named to the TIME 100 list in 2023 and has a cameo in the images, the Ferragamo Fall 2023 campaign features top models including Anok Yai, Jessica Stam, Lina Zhang, Mona Tougaard, Paul Hamline, Taemin Park, and Vittoria Ceretti.
I asked my AI partner Lulu to research the history of the Uffizi Gallery, and she has delivered in a major way. Read on in AOC link top of post.
Read MoreNike x Billie Eilish - Nike Air Alpha Force 88 Drops a Major LIVING INK Black Breakthrough
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Billie Eilish and Nike made sustainability news again this week, with the Tuesday [Aug.8] drop of the Nike x Billie Eilish - Nike Air Alpha Force 88 in Chicago Bulls colors.
Eilish is a devoted environmentalist and leverages her reputation always to move the fashion industry forward.
Billie’s New Kicks in Chicago
The mega-watt star wore her new kicks paired with a Chicago Bulls jersey at Lollapalooza 2023 Chicago last weekend. The scene was mega-watt, authentic Billie Eilish and the much-admired singer was generous with her kicks pics on her IG.
In total, her shoe is 25% recycled, and I’m sure Billie was begging for 35%.
In a clever headline, Vogue B wrote: “Algae is the new black: Nike sneaker swaps petroleum for sustainable ink. . . Other brands can take note.” This is news to AOC and we live close to the topic of sustainability.
Read MoreUlla Johnson Opens West Hollywood Kelly Wearstler-Designed Global Vibe Store
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Designer Ulla Johnson grew up in Manhattan but lived also ‘on the road’ as the daughter of archaelogists.
AOC immediately wants to know if Ulla traveled to the Cradle of Humankind in South Africa, a paleoanthropological site located about 50 km northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa, in the Gauteng province.
How about the Lake Turkana region of today’s Kenya, where the Leakey family discovered Lucy. Better yet, has Ulla Johnson been to the Omo Valley? Her clothes suggest ‘yes’.
As a mother to Soren, now 17; Asher, 13; Agnes, 11 and a vizsla named Daphne, and wife to Zach Miner, Ulla Johnson has travelled her own road out of Brooklyn and now to the opening of new store in West Hollywood.
Read MoreZara 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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