Fendi Pops Into NYC Soho for 25th Anniversary Baguette Celebration
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LOEWE Perfumes Opens First US Store at Bergdorf Goodman NYC
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The new fragrance boutique at Bergdorf Goodman showcases the full collection of LOEWE Botanical Rainbow fragrances and the LOEWE Home Scents range.
Center stage in the installation is fine art such as an installation of Japanese artist Kunié Sugiura’s conceptual photo-painting artwork ‘Mum Above Orange’ (1978).
In August, 2022 Anne of Carversville took a deep dive into the world of LOEWE Perfumes with a special focus on parfumer Nuria Cruelle’s background and fragrance philosophy.
It’s almost as if the LOEWE images are speaking to us directly, with no intermediary in this brand relationship. The approach feels so very private and personal. Cruelle uses the phrase “modern equlibrium’, and it resonates.
Read MoreHighly-Skilled Bjorn Gulden Leaves Puma to Lead Adidas Back to Glory
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Adidas announced that Bjørn Gulden will take over as CEO on 1 January 2023, after leading a successful Puma rerival. The announcement should help to stabilize financial markets’ perception of Adidas, given Gulden’s leadership at the brand as senior vice president of apparel and accessories in the 1990s,.
“We are very pleased to welcome Bjørn Gulden back at Adidas. [He] brings almost 30 years of experience in the sporting goods and footwear industry. As a result, he knows the industry extremely well and draws on a rich network in sport and retail,” said Thomas Rabe, chairman of the supervisory board. “Bjørn already served Adidas successfully for seven years in the 1990s. As CEO of Puma, he reinvigorated the brand and led the company to record results.
Read MoreHailey Bieber Hosts TIFFANY & CO. X ANDY WARHOL Holiday Collection
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Luxury jeweler and gift-creator Tiffany & Co. shares holiday-loving images from its 2022 campaign, Hailey Bieber, model, talent, and businesswoman, plays host in a campaign celebrating Tiffany’s deep artistic roots with American visual artist Andy Warhol.
Shot by Mario Sorrenti [IG] in New York City with still photography by Raymond Meier, the Tiffany & Co. x Andy Warhol campaign film greets the holiday season in a larger-than-life party filled with diamonds, Tiffany Blue Boxes and no-rules attitude.
The Tiffany & Co x Andy Warhol collaboration includes a treasure chest of limited-edition designs that include tableware and holiday tree ornaments, holiday cards and more. As always, Tiffany steps up to generously support the larger mission of its collaborators.
Read MoreTory Burch Holiday 2022 Campaign Blue Hues Prompts Reflections on Traditions
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While we associate the campaign’s silvery blue mood with the sea, let’s also remember that Hanukkah begins Sunday, December 18 this year and ends on December 26.
Whether she intended to make a subliminal statement or not in the Tory Burch Holiday 2022 Campaign, I appreciate blue in this moment. It’s refreshingly ecumenical, when brands are exploring exactly what traditions mean within the context of today’s world.
Hands down, Ralph Lauren has no peer in this realm of recasting the truth of the American experience. But Tory Burch is traveling on the same moonbeam — with an added emphasis on women’s lives and achievements. I love her for that long and sincere contribution to telling women’s stories.
Kanye West and his desire to rip America apart as a MAGA lover — and now Hitler, too — has gotten people up off the sidelines.
That would NOT be AOC, btw. We are never on the sidelines, when the focus is stopping hate.
Read MoreMeet the Civic Cipher Guys Who Now Own the White Lives Matter Trademark to Contain It
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Many of us are determined to start publishing good stories about black, brown, yellow, red, white, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and everybody else living together in America. And this is a GREAT story!
Civic Cipher is a nationwide show that started in 2020 to create a space for Black and brown people to have courageous conversations.
West will give them the finger and do what he wants, while ranting on Parler that Ja and Ward stole his designs. But facts matter, and Kanye West would be violating their trademark.
The trademark was filed the day Kanye West dropped his WLM clothes in Paris. The original owner of the trademark is a listener of their show. The original filer was so disturbed over the implications of Kanye West’s marketing of the divisive and race-baiting merchandise that he moved immediately on a filing. That individual wishes to remain anonymous.
Read MoreTom Ford Genderless Timepiece N.004 Series in Ocean Plastic Waste and Recycled Stainless Steel
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For Fall 2022, Tom Ford added a new eco-conscious design to his timepiece collection with the 004 series, a slender new model with universal appeal to men and women.
The Swiss-made watch is housed in a 27mm x 48.5mm case in either black and white. It, and its braided strap, are made from 100 percent recycled plastic reclaimed from the ocean.
Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize
Tom Ford has exhibited a consistent concern about plastic pollution since diving into the problem of ocean waste. In 2021, AOC wrote: Tom Ford and 52HZ Launch a $1.2 Million Prize for Biodegradable Poly Bag Replacement
An update about the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize has been issued.
Read MoreChanel's Cruise 2023 Campaign, Shot in Monaco by Mikael Jansson with Loli and Vittoria
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French luxury powerhouse Chanel shares its Cruise 2023 campaign starring rising French model Loli Bahia and top model Vittoria Ceretti. Bahia first walked the fall 2020 Louis Vuitton show when she was still in high school.
The campaign, shot by Mikael Jansson [IG] pays tribute to Monaco and Karl Lagerdeld’s ties to the principality. Designer Virginie Viard highlights Monte Carlo’s cosmopolitan elegance, and glamour in her designs.
Coming on May 5 through July 16, 2023 ‘Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty’ will be on view — and the focus of — The Metropolitan Museum’s of Art’s Spring 2023 The Costume Institute Benefit [also known as The Met Gala®].
Read MoreAdidas Terminates Relationship with Ye, AKA Kanye West, In a Costly Move for Sports Brand
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Adidas, the German sportswear giant had faced pressure from the public and its own employees to cut ties with Ye, who said on a podcast on Oct. 16: “I can say anti-Semitic things, and Adidas can’t drop me. Now what?”
Adidas said in a statement: “Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech. Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.”
“After a thorough review, the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately, end production of Yeezy branded products and stop all payments to Ye and his companies. Adidas will stop the Adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect.”
Read MoreDior's Resort 2023 Cruise Show and Ad Campaign in Seville Makes Arnault a 21st Century Medici Name
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The New Medicis
My own takeaways from this extraordinary Dior Cruise 2023 show in Seville is the idea that LVMH, in particular, with its Arnault family really represents the 21st century House of Medici.
Dior is the leader of the pack, presenting a cruise 2023 show that celebrated flamenco artist Carmen Amaya, the first female flamenco dancer to wear men’s clothes, in the 1950s; and centuries of intellectual learning and advancement — much of it closed to women. Chiuri unleashes her history lessons always in her collectons.
The layers of cultural influence in the Dior show are staggering. But this visionary attitude is on display in many LVMH brands.
Their direct support of the artists and creative talent gives the Arnualt family enormous power. Given the alternatives, I am all for it, because the world of rich people is not going anywhere. AOC admits we try to influence this world.
Read More'The Devil Wears Barbour' in Sunday Times Style and the Call to Kant-Style Humanism
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It’s no exaggeration to say that luxury fashion has fallen in love with the countryside. The Sunday Times Style [IG] tells us to ‘Grab your Chanel wellies’ thanks to a fashion story featuring Ukrainian model Anastasia Netrebiuk.
Barbour does set the stage about this slow living, back to the land vision, humanistic-values, brand-integrity-rich clothing company — describing the ‘Barbour Way of Life’.
Creating Beauty As Purpose
Brunello Cucinelli’s landing page, a brand also featured in The Sunday Times Style fashion story, has a pre-entry message, one I was discussing this morning with my closest human friend: Kant’s philosophical observation that “Beauty is the symbol of the morally good”.
I’d say it’s very Ralph Lauren — especially now that Ralph Lauren is officially a cultural creative, and I’m loving him to death for it. But Barbour preceded Ralph by about 50 years.
Read More2 Moncler 1952 Fashion Story Lensed by Janneke van her Hagen for AnOther Magazine
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Veronica Leoni has been the Genius vision behind womenswear since 2018, adding her sophisticated design eye to the confines of the puffer-centric codes of Moncler. The adaptation required by the design-vision fence in which the Jil Sander and Philo-era Celine alum had to create was challenging at best.
She perservered and now celebrates the fact that the fall /winter 2022.23 collection contains her “favorite puffer ever”. In a word AOC must credit to Luke Leitch, Leoni’s silhouettes are typically ‘unlumpen’. Perfectly stated!
Much of the materials used in the fall /winter 2022.23 2 Moncler 2 1952 is Como-warehoused deadstock. Additionally, Moncler will go fur-free after the fall 2023 collection
All of these advancements and learnings with Moncler help Veronica Leoni advance her personal project QUIRA, a brand apart from Moncler, named after her grandmother, the seamstress Quirina.
Read MoreBalenciaga Deletes All References to Kanye West and Ye With Few Words but Bold Actions
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After removing all visible references to Ye, known to the world as Kanye West, from their own websites on Thursday — along with any products sold on third-party websites carrying an association beween Balenciaga and the rapper/creative marketer of all things Ye or Yeezy — Balenciaga has issued a statement Friday saying that the luxury label no longer has "any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist.”
On Oct. 17, the Kering-owned luxury label fashion giant announced that saying Kanye’s runway imagers was removed from Balenciaga’s Spring 2023 Paris fashion show and also from Vogue Runway, as well as the Balenciaga website.
Balenciaga’s severing of any association with Kanye West is due to his recent anti-Semitic statements and threatening behavior, as expressed on the podcast Drink Champs. Kanye has threatened to go death con 3 on Jews in recent days.
Additionally, West’s right-wing, conspiracy-theory assertion that George Floyd died of a drug overdose — and not because of the nine-minute, knee on his neck, no-mercy murder that the entire world watched live — was stated as a reason why Balenciaga has severed all connections to Kanye West, legally known as Ye.
Read MoreEtro's Kean and Veronica Etro Say Goodbye in Henrik Purienne Fall 2022 Campaign
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Where Heritage Is Proud, Celebrate It
The Fall 2022 campaign with models Mica Arganaraz and Sam Mallos, shot by photographer Henrik Purienne in Palm Springs, CA was described by the Etro family creatives as “our road to nowhere towards faraway worlds, sun-drenched as far as the eye can see, strong in the nomadic and curious spirit that has always pushed us forward, because it is never the destination that counts, but the journey itself”.
There’s a rich taspestry of Italian DNA roots at play in Etro in this moment, even if the brand is now majority-owned by LVMH-backed L Catterton. So goodbye to the Etro family and hello to Marco de Vincenzo.
Given the times we are living in and the storied history of the Etro brand, including the legendary timing of its birth [and a quick Google search] give that brand DNA a big hug. Note that I’ve also learned that brands have made conscious efforts to wipe Google clean of certain aspects of their history.
But you, dearest Etro with your magic-carpet ride, global-nomad, people-loving history, you have riches in 2022. Honor them, because you look good to go, Etro.
Read MoreBella Hadid Returns to Swarovski Holiday Campaign After Speaking Against Antisemitism
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Without naming her client, Bella did ruminate in a recent interview on the contained backlash she received this year about her new role as the Swarovski ambassador.
Bella’s pro-Palestinian, perceived as anti-Israeli posts on IG, created pushback by some Israeli jewelry stores and dealers against Swarovski.
Last week, Bella Hadid did not specifically call out Kanye West, but she noted on Instagram that it would be a “disservice” to herself and her loved ones if she did not “speak up.” She went on to specifically condemn antisemitism and the “things” that have been shared about it recently on “public platforms”.
“To allow any form of antisemitism to slip by, as desensitized as the world has become, it would be a disservice to my friends, the families I have grown up with, the people I love and work with, myself, and even the Palestinian cause as a whole,” she wrote.
She then emphasised that her Palestinian community does not stand for “hatred or violence,” adding that anti-Semitic social media posts “will never be okay”.
Read MorePrada Launches Fully Recycled Eternal Gold Collection with Aura Blockchain Certification
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American poet, activist, Prada ambassador and UNICEF supporter Amanda Gorman; Dutch-Korean-Canadian singer, rapper and dancer Jeon Somi; and American actor and model Maya Hawke, daughter of actors Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke star in Prada’s 2022 launch of Eternal Gold, representing the luxury brand’s first forray into fine jewelry.
In addition to being made from certified recycled gold, every piece of jewelry in the collection will be fully traceable, thanks to blockchain technology. Every purchase will be traceable by logging into the Aura Blockchain Consortium.
The Prada Eternal Gold collection is very modern a 100 percent recycled collection that pushes category boundaries. Amanda Gorman came to Prada’s attention, not because of her 2021 Inaugural Poem, but because of her environmental activism.
Read MoreKezako Paris Rolls Out Real-Deal VS Angels in More or Less Magazine by Oliver Hadlee Pearch
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This fashion story ‘Earth Angels’ from More or Less Magazine [IG] adds a fabulous new twist to the VS Angels saga. If you don’t know, the magazine is devoted to sustainability and our living with less. More or Less wrote:
Hallelujah! For our final cover, we assembled an all-star cast of Earth Angels, styling nine ex-Victoria's Secret models in faux-fashion label Kezako’s upcycled underwear made from aluminium wrap, dried-out loaves of bread, old newspapers, cuddly toys and then some.
We are looking at creativity on steroids here and a brilliant way to call attention to sustainability.
Models include Alessandra Ambrosio, Candice Swanepoel, Elsa Hosk, Lais Ribeiro, Leomie Anderson, Lily Aldridge, Martha Hunt, Sara Sampaio and Stella Maxwell.
Read MoreA World of Increasing Rarity: Green Fancy Diamonds With A Master Strategy to Sell Them
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Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have done more to educate the world about fancy diamonds than any two people alive.
Neither of their engagement rings was purchased at Astteria, headquartered in London, but they could have been.
Perhaps it’s because I devoted 30 minutes listening to Mr. Hadary’s podcast with Paul Zimnisky [scroll to bottom of page] that I have a sense of his personality.
He is absolutely an ambitious, very intelligent, savvy businessman. But there is also a warmth to his personality that inspires engagement and trust. He’s a human you want to know — an asset to the planet.
Read MoreRalph Lauren Polo Originals Fall 2022 Classics for Woke Humans by Richard Phibbs
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A breeze is blowing through fashion collections and marketing as humans adjust to pre-pandemic life. Not that reality is faraway, mind you, or that a decade of streetwear’s dominance is over.
Coincidentally, posting images of the just launched on September 15 Polo Originals collection by Ralph Lauren comes on the heels of sharing incredibly-glamorous images of the spring 2023 glamorous Schiaparelli collection.
I can imagine critics calling the Ralph Lauren Polo Originals campaign a celebration of robber baron wealth. Photographer Richard Phibbs [IG] made harmonious artistry out of these images starring Hamid Onifade, Hugh Laughton-Scott, Kit Butler, Rishi Robin.
To me, I see a modern, honoring nod to traditions and classics — to wellmade clothes that are designed to last.
Read MoreSchiaparelli Spring 2023 Women's Collection Is Too Fabulous for Words
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