Carolina Herrera SS 2023 Campaign Rocks Loudly for Creative, Progressive Women
/
Massimo Dutti Limited Edition Collection of Chic, Elevated Basics Is Worth a Look
/
The Case for Elevated Basics
The fashion trends term describing the Spring 2023 Massimo Dutti Limited Edition collection is ‘elevated basics’. Every fashion-aware person self-defines their own vision of ‘elevated basics’, but Massimo Dutti’s 2023 vision is one of sophisticated, chic simplicity and clarity.
The new campaign highlights models Ella Mccutcheon, Imaan Hammam, Tara Halliwell and Yilan Hua in images by Ezra Petronio [IG].
The vision is not a boring one, but more of a timeless, body-aware, polished, sensual approach in black and cream.
Skirts are longer for seekers of elevated basics, silhouettes are fluid. AOC asks if the long column of a dress is a modern woman’s caftan.
Note that caftans are showing up in men’s collections also, but the narrow, sleeveless column dress remains a typically female choice, except in the LGBTQIA+ community.
Read MoreZara's Sophisticated Spring 2023 Glamour Swimwear and Beachwear with Anna Ewers
/
Zara delivers another WOW collection, this time turning their increasingly sophisticated eye to Spring 2023 Swimwear and Beachwear.
We argue that Zara’s tremendous success raising their pricepoints, accompanied by stellar marketing campaigns and a discerning design eye is bringing new customers to the brand, while pulling a segment of existing customers into the new pricing tier.
Read MoreLouis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama Taps Cate Blanchett & Justin Timberlake + 4 | May 2023 New York Opening Awaits
/
Louis Vuitton taps six new talents and image-makers to its second drop in the Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama 2023 collaboration.
Mega stars Australian actor Cate Blanchett and Amercan music artist Justin Timberlake, a ‘friend of the house’ but not an ambassador, are joined by South Korean actor HoYeon Jung, French actor Lea Seydoux, tennis pro Naomi Osaka and Chinese actor Zhou Congyu.
Photographer Steven Meisel is again behind the lens with Carine Roitfeld in charge of styling. Creative Director Ferdinando Verderi worked with makeup artist Pat McGrath to create henna-like tattoos on the faces and bodies of the talents that twin the artworks decorating their corresponding Capucines and Monogram handbags.
Yayoi Kusama will open her largest exhibition in New York on May 12. Her exhibition, titled “I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers,” will include new paintings, sculptures featuring her signature flower and pumpkin motifs and a new Infinity Mirrored Room.
David Zwirner’s West 19th and West 20th street galleries will host the event.
Read MoreBanana Republic's Spring 2023 Campaign by Richard Phibbs Lands In Taos
/
Banana Republic’s Spring 2023 March campaign drop takes us to Taos, New Mexico, with photographer Richard Phibbs [IG] bringing his deep understanding of humanity, nature and ancestral roots to the campaign.
A currently incomplete model list includes Ella Eckerson, Louise de Chevigny, and Maria Borges. We will fill out the rest over the weekend, with other pieces of this Banana Republic Spring 2023 campaign.
Personally, I feel that Banana Republic is back on the right track, and I don’t want them to mess up. And a part of me was wondering how Phibbs could go to Taos and not have adobe buildings or any shots connected to Georgia O’Keeffe in the imagery. How about an indigenous model or two?
The photographer did all of the above in the Banana Republic Spring 2023 campaign. But it’s a compliment to Richard Phibbs that I refused to believe that this sequence of images constituted the campaign.
They’re lovely but also a very incomplete story for him. Not for 80-90% of the photographers I can name, but not Phibbs. What matters to me also matters to him. ~ Anne
Read MoreZara Studio's 'Spirited Romance' S/S 2023 Campaign Imagines Women in Solidarity
/
A‘Spirited Romance’ swept through global cyberspace this week, as Zara Studio launched its S/S 2023 Campaign. The limited-edition, top tier of Zara’s spring offering inspires a spiritual pause on sleepless nights and digital frenzy.
Do you still remember the smell of fresh grass? Did you ever eat clover? How about just lying on on a blanket and seeing a sky so beautiful, it seems impossible that a climate emergency is at hand?
Models Annemary Aderbrigbe, Ava Christian, He Cong and Ida Heiner are the spring muses lensed by Steven Meisel. Frequent collaborator Fabien Baron acts as creative director in a moment where fashion swings back to sensual elegance and beautiful clothes, styled here by another Meisel-Baron collaborator Karl Templer.
There will always be contrived fashion around us, but the trend to clothes that we wear as honest pleasure — as opposed to them wearing us as artifice, an IG photo op and to feed some designer’s ego is real.
Read MoreLily Aldridge & Weekend Max Mara Make a Cali-Style Love Fest for Spring 2023
/
One of fashion’s nicest women Lily Aldridge joins forces with Weekend Max Mara in a smile-generating, warm-weather, global traveler collaboration “From Lily With Love.”
Photographer Zoey Grossman [IG] captures the California vibe collection that uses organic cotton and linen blends and other sustainable materials. AOC believes the denim is organic cotton denim, which uses less water, energy, and toxic chemicals than conventionally grown cotton. Rating groups also say workers are treated better.
The Lily Aldridge AOC knows divides her time between New York City and Nashville, nurturing her daughter Dixie Pearl. Lily is well known for her philanthropy, partnering with causes close to her heart including St. Jude Children's Hospital and humanitarian initiatives such as No Kid Hungry, World of Children and Everytown for Gun Safety.
There are givers in fashion. And there are takers. Lily Aldridge is a giver in every part of her beautiful spirit.
Read MoreBurberry Drops New Creative Expression-2 by Tyrone Lebon in a Good Start
/
Daniel Lee’s Burberry debut is gaining momentum, as he charts a new course for the brand. This part 2 drop of the new ad campaign called ‘The New Creative Expression’ delivers new personalities to help define the Burberry ‘family’.
The Burberry Family Expands
South Korean football star Son Heung-min became a Burberry ambassador in June 2022. The brand devotes major online presence to a serious interview with the Premier League player, now living in the UK.
Entering the Burberry fam is Georgia May Jagger, who delivers near British royalty as the daughter of The Rolling Stones singer Sir Mick Jagger and model Jerry Hall. Jagger also delivers a sensual jolt to the emerging Burberry narrative.
The star of the campaign is the Equestrian Knight logo, revived from the brand’s archives and oh so Burberry. Add him to a corgi image, and the Brits are swooning. I adore its presence everywhere — in an almost off-kilter manner. The knight is also ubiquituous in the fall 2023 collection — on labels in unexpected places. ‘Off-kilter’ is a Burberry theme on my mind.
Read MoreGisele Bundchen Fronts Arezzo Winter 2023 Campaign | Is Paris Texas Next?
/
Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen fronts the Winter 2023 campaign for footwear brand Arezzo, lensed by Fernando Tomaz [IG]. Pedro Sales styles the campaign with creative direction by Giovanni Bianco and set design by Jean Labanca.
Arezzo & Co. the 50-year-old Brazilian conglomerate behind Arezzo, Gisele’s ad campaign featured here, Schutz and Alexandre Birman acquired 65 percent of Paris Texas footwear brand two weeks ago.
Arezzo Acquires Majority Stake in Paris Texas Footwear
The question is: will Gisele next be stepping out in buzzy Milan, Italy-based Paris Texas boots? That could happen.
It was Emily Ratajkowski who put Paris Texas knee-high leather boots on the map in 2018 via Instagram. The brand was founded in 2015 by sisters Annamaria and Margherita Brivio.
Read MoreActor Whitney Peak Named Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Ambassador
/
Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle Fragrance has a new ambassador — 20-year-old actor Whitney Peak [IG], who now follows in the footsteps of Kate Moss and Keira Knightly.
The Ugandian-Canadian actor has an existing relationship with Chanel. Peak had a major role in the 2021 HBO Max reboot of the Gossip Girl series, the Apple TV+ series Home Before Dark, the Netflix series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and the Disney+ film Hocus Pocus 2.
The Coco Mademoiselle fragrance and Whitney Peak are a perfect match. Whitney Peak isn’t a shy femme; rather she embraces her bold and carefree side, as expressed in her natural, 2023 Diana Ross hairdo.
Read MoreWhat If the Louis Vuitton Men's 'Crochet Leather Overshirt' Came With Its Own DNA Test?
/
Technically-speaking, when Virgil Abloh’s parents came from Ghana and settled in Rockford, Ill. which is close to Chicago, he was conceived in what once was New France in North America.
The design of the Louis Vuitton ‘Crochet Leather Overshirt’ is hardly workwear in the style of the American West . . . or even coal miners in Appalachia. Those pretty crochet Louis Vuitton flowers and emblems would get real dusty damn fast.
To purchase the jacket will cost you $37,000 and it’s made to order, so you must contact your local LV to pursue the conversation.
OMG! What LV could do under Pharrell is to create the patches custom — with plenty of LVs, of course. But after purchasing a DNA test as part of the jacket, the wearer could learn his/her roots. Then a select number of patches could honor those roots.
Read MoreKylie Jenner for Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2023 Eyewear Campaign Joins Kim's RTW Ads
/
Following sister Kim Kardashian’s fantastic Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2023 campaign released last week, Kylie Jenner goes to bat for Dolce & Gabbana Eyewear in a new campaign lensed by Mert & Marcus [IG].
Jenner shared the campaign with her 280m IG followers. That’s called reach!
As for the Kardashian women being cheap, I’m sure that Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce have paid a premium price for their prior insults against the family. Given the full range of their business savvy, the Kardashian women know their worth.
It wouldn’t surprised me if Mama Bear Kris Jenner added a 3-5 years, 5-10% penalty to the contract, right before their disbelieving eyes.
Cuz that’s how the Kardashian women roll, and AOC admires them for their moxie.
Read MoreLouis Vuitton SS 2023 Campaign with Hoyeon Jung and Cast by David Sims
/
South Korean ‘Squid Game’ actor and Louis Vuitton ambassador Hoyeon Jung plays with scale in the Spring 2023 campaign.
Jung just booked another very important beauty ambassador role with Lancôme.
The campaign is fast and young — more than usual. The playhouse structure is modeled after Louis Vuitton’s historic home in Asnieres, located on the left bank of the river Seine, some eight kilometres from the center of Paris.
Today the home is called ‘La Galerie’, and it functions as a permanent exhibition space for Louis Vuitton.
The rest of the cast includes Elio Berenett, Franzisla Jetzek, Greta Oberwalleney, Killian Smits, Sarah Brown and Samile Bermannelli.
Frequent LV photographer David Sims [IG] is behind the lens, with styling by Marie-Amelie Sauve.
Read MoreLOEWE SS 2023 Women's Campaign with Taylor Russell by David Sims
/
The LOEWE Spring Summer 2023 women's campaign, shot by David Sims [IG], features LOEWE Global Brand Ambassador Taylor Russell posing as a form of acting.
A theme throughout the LOEWE Spring 2023 season, beginning with the late September 30, 2022 fashion show is artifice and provocation.
LOEWE’s enormously-talented creative director Jonathan Anderson took his audience on a modern, almost clinical journey into the natural world, with anthurium flowers as his guide.
Enter the Anthuriums
This ‘non-threatening’majority-view flower is the perfect hospitality gift, even for someone you don’t know well.
These modern flowers look like an erect phallus penetrating a flower that is in fact poisonous. Not only with pets but in the human mouth, you will experience a painful burning sensation with blisters and swelling if you eat an anthurium.
In this LOEWE Spring 2023 Campaign, Taylor Russell wears anthuriums as a breast plate. There’s a lot of human psychology going on here.
Read MoreMax Mara Spring 2023 Collection with Adut, Annemary, Dara by Ethan James Green
/
Max Mara’s Spring-Summer 2023 campaign has sophisticated swagger. Models trio Adut Akech, Annemary Aderibigbe and Dara Allen step it up to remind us that they are far more than muses or mannequins. Fashion editor Tonne Goodman styles the shoot — a collection of sophisticated essentials with discreet details that she herself would wear — in images photographed by Ethan James Green.
Looking at the images immediately took me back to December 2018, when former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi exited a tough meeting with then president Donald Trump.
The shot of Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer leaving a hard-as-nails meeting with Trump went viral, generating such digital heat that Max Mara creative director Ian Griffiths responded that the coat would be reissued.
AOC has always liked Ian Griffiths because he’s a male designer willing to explore his own contradictions. He does just that in speaking about the 2023 campaign inspired by the French Riviera. Griffiths has not been caught up in trying to make women ‘its’ or ‘theys’, degendering us in such a way that the very concept of women’s rights is no longer necessary. We’re all humans, no need to discuss the failure of mostly — but not exclusively — men to acknowledge women’s inequality.
Read MoreDior Men's Summer 2023 Campaign Is a Rich Adventure for Garden Lovers
/
Dior Men’s Kim Jones once again joined France and England in a celebration of flowers and gardening in his Summer 2023 campaign.
Jones united his beloved, Bloomsbury, free-spirit artists with their equally free-spirit lifestyles on the English side of the channel to Christian Dior’s seaside childhood home in Granville, Normandy.
In choosing the work and life of Duncan Grant, a British post-impressionist, Bloomsbury painter who shares a birthday with Christian Dior, the artistic synergy is further intertwined between England and France.
These campaign images by Rafael Pavarotti [IG] are like fine champagne. The talented photographer is at ease swinging from a highly-stylized, Erdem-inspired, vintage garden with dark undertones campaign to these images that are crisp and modern, imbued with a cleaner and lighter garden vibe.
Read MoreLouis Vuitton SS2023 Capucine Campaign Teaches Us Kintsugi with Lea Seydoux
/
Louis Vuitton’s Capucine bag heads into its second decade, showcased for Spring/Summer 2023 by maison ambassador Lea Seydoux.
In this moment of so many challenges central to our lives, the Spring 2023 Capucine bag with a handle made using the ancient Japanese Kintsugi technique may be the most special.
Seriously, can the handle of a Louis Vuitton Capucine bag teach us a life lesson?
In an throwaway, one and done, age of mass production and reckless disposal, ‘kintsugi’ is not only focused on repairing our favorite chipped vessels.
Now we learn that ‘kintsugi’ is also a way of crafting — even mending — our lives. It’s very Zen and challenges humans to consider the contemplation of imperfection, as well as the constant flux and impermanence of all things.
Read MoreEtro Unveils 'Eden of Etropia' Spring 2023 Campaign Lensed by Zhong Lin
/
Etro unveils ‘Eden of Etropia’, the first campaign for new creative director Marco De Vincenzo celebrating the spring 2023 collection.
Not only is the campaign beautiful on a visceral level. It drives a dagger [literally in the video] into the apple and a search for the truth of women’s identity.
Inspired by the paintings and portraits of the Pre-Raphaelites, Marco De Vincenzo communicates his poetic vision, creating a new paradise centered around the apple, the iconic fruit of the collection and a potent symbol of love, seduction and eternity.
That’s great copy. But the truth is also that the word ‘malus’ besides being Latin for ‘apple’ is also a very negative word associated with bad, evil and wicked. From a religious perspective the apple reference with Eve didn’t even appear in versions of the New Testament until 500 AD.
I wrote about this discovery after watching a PBS show ‘Mysteries of the Garden of Eden’, first released in 2007. The documentary will be purchased before sundown at whatever price.
Read MoreDigging Deeper Into Pharrell Williams' Real Mission at Louis Vuitton Mens
/
A fashion industry earthquake happened this week with the appointment of Pharrell Williams as Creative Director at Louis Vuitton Men’s, replacing his close friend Virgil Abloh who passsed in November 2021. The hip hop mogul, business entrepreneur, social activist with a high-volume voice on racial and gender-justice has drawn major criticism from fashion writers who argue that Pharrell’s lack of a formal design education indicates that all that matters to LVMH is his celebrity status.
I don’t mean to sound sassy, but knowing that Louis Vuitton doubled its volume from $10 billion to $20 billion in the last four years suggests that this executive team knows what it’s doing. I’m a maverick to the core and rarely silent on important topics.
But I do show respect to professionals who have just accomplished unimaginable results in business, results that defy logic. Before accusing them of being money-hungry Las Vegas strippers ready to trash the most valuable brand in the luxury world for a few bucks, I dig deeper.
Read MoreThe Beautiful Pharrell Williams has been Named Louis Vuitton Men’s Creative Director
/
